She Did What She Could!
Children's sermon
Object: A small bottle with some perfumed oil in it. Even better, put the bottle on a string you can wear around your neck. The below photo shows what a typical “Tear Cup” bottle worn around the neck might have looked like.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!
Jesus and his friends were going to Jerusalem. When they got to the little town of Bethany, they stopped at Simon’s house. Now, Simon was a leper, and the religious leaders in Jerusalem said it was against the law to do anything with a leper. You could not talk to them or touch them and you absolutely could not go into their home. So how do you think the religious leaders would feel if they found out that Jesus was staying at Simon’s house? (Let them respond.) The leaders were already angry with Jesus, and this would make them so angry they would probably try to arrest him when he went to Jerusalem tomorrow. And if they arrested him, they would probably kill him. Everyone in the house was worried about what was going to happen to Jesus when he went to Jerusalem.
While they were at Simon’s house, the story says a woman came in and poured a bottle of nard over Jesus’ head. Nard was an expensive perfume oil that came from places like China or the Himalayan Mountains. The story says that her nard was pure, so that means it was very expensive. The story says that her oil probably cost more than $13,000, which was more than someone would earn working for an entire year.
She probably kept the oil in a little bottle like this one. (Show the bottle.) She wore it on a string around her neck so she would always have it with her. It was the only thing she had that was worth anything, so she wanted to keep it with her all the time. It was all that she had.
Some of the people who saw her pour the oil were upset. “Why are you wasting all of that money? You could have used it to buy food for the poor!” Judas was so angry he decided to go tell the priests he would help them catch Jesus. They gave him money!
Do you have any idea why she poured that expensive perfume on Jesus’ head? Well, she didn't just walk over and dump the bottle of oil on his head, like this. (Pretend to pour the oil out.) Let’s see if you think one of these reasons is why she did it.
Jesus had just walked a long way to get to Bethany, so he was probably pretty dusty and dirty, wasn’t he? (Let them respond.) And the water there was not very clean or safe. Do you think she decided to wash some of the dirt off with her oil instead of dirty water? (Let them respond.) Or do you think Jesus might have been really sweaty from the long walk, so she used her expensive oil perfume to make him smell better? (Let them respond.) Or do you think his feet were really sore from the long walk, so she poured her oil on his feet to help make them feel better? (Let them respond.) Or do you think she was worried about Jesus and just wanted to show him that she believed he was very special? (Let them respond.)
I think that was the reason she did it. And when everyone yelled at her for pouring the oil, Jesus told them that she had done a wonderful thing. She knew Jesus was going to be in trouble and might be killed and she wanted to show him how much she cared about him. She didn’t know what to do so she just gave him the perfumed oil in her little bottle. She wanted to show him that she cared for him and the oil was all that she had, so she did what she could do!
God wants us to show other people that we care about them and wants us to help someone who needs help, but we probably won’t pour oil on their head, will we? (Let them respond.) What else could we do if we meet someone who is afraid or being picked on, or someone feeling alone and lonely, or when we meet someone who is hurting? (Let them respond.) We might not be able to fix their problem or make it go away, but we can do what the woman did for Jesus. What did she do? (Let them respond.)
She just did what she could.
Before we go, I would like to share my oil with you like the woman who shared hers with Jesus. Who would like to try a little? (Let them respond and dab a bit of perfume on the foreheads of those who volunteer.)
Now, the next time we see someone who needs help, I hope our story, and this little bit of oil, will remind us to show them that we care. And what do we need to do to help them? (Let them respond.) We just need to do what we can.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!
Jesus and his friends were going to Jerusalem. When they got to the little town of Bethany, they stopped at Simon’s house. Now, Simon was a leper, and the religious leaders in Jerusalem said it was against the law to do anything with a leper. You could not talk to them or touch them and you absolutely could not go into their home. So how do you think the religious leaders would feel if they found out that Jesus was staying at Simon’s house? (Let them respond.) The leaders were already angry with Jesus, and this would make them so angry they would probably try to arrest him when he went to Jerusalem tomorrow. And if they arrested him, they would probably kill him. Everyone in the house was worried about what was going to happen to Jesus when he went to Jerusalem.
While they were at Simon’s house, the story says a woman came in and poured a bottle of nard over Jesus’ head. Nard was an expensive perfume oil that came from places like China or the Himalayan Mountains. The story says that her nard was pure, so that means it was very expensive. The story says that her oil probably cost more than $13,000, which was more than someone would earn working for an entire year.
She probably kept the oil in a little bottle like this one. (Show the bottle.) She wore it on a string around her neck so she would always have it with her. It was the only thing she had that was worth anything, so she wanted to keep it with her all the time. It was all that she had.
Some of the people who saw her pour the oil were upset. “Why are you wasting all of that money? You could have used it to buy food for the poor!” Judas was so angry he decided to go tell the priests he would help them catch Jesus. They gave him money!
Do you have any idea why she poured that expensive perfume on Jesus’ head? Well, she didn't just walk over and dump the bottle of oil on his head, like this. (Pretend to pour the oil out.) Let’s see if you think one of these reasons is why she did it.
Jesus had just walked a long way to get to Bethany, so he was probably pretty dusty and dirty, wasn’t he? (Let them respond.) And the water there was not very clean or safe. Do you think she decided to wash some of the dirt off with her oil instead of dirty water? (Let them respond.) Or do you think Jesus might have been really sweaty from the long walk, so she used her expensive oil perfume to make him smell better? (Let them respond.) Or do you think his feet were really sore from the long walk, so she poured her oil on his feet to help make them feel better? (Let them respond.) Or do you think she was worried about Jesus and just wanted to show him that she believed he was very special? (Let them respond.)
I think that was the reason she did it. And when everyone yelled at her for pouring the oil, Jesus told them that she had done a wonderful thing. She knew Jesus was going to be in trouble and might be killed and she wanted to show him how much she cared about him. She didn’t know what to do so she just gave him the perfumed oil in her little bottle. She wanted to show him that she cared for him and the oil was all that she had, so she did what she could do!
God wants us to show other people that we care about them and wants us to help someone who needs help, but we probably won’t pour oil on their head, will we? (Let them respond.) What else could we do if we meet someone who is afraid or being picked on, or someone feeling alone and lonely, or when we meet someone who is hurting? (Let them respond.) We might not be able to fix their problem or make it go away, but we can do what the woman did for Jesus. What did she do? (Let them respond.)
She just did what she could.
Before we go, I would like to share my oil with you like the woman who shared hers with Jesus. Who would like to try a little? (Let them respond and dab a bit of perfume on the foreheads of those who volunteer.)
Now, the next time we see someone who needs help, I hope our story, and this little bit of oil, will remind us to show them that we care. And what do we need to do to help them? (Let them respond.) We just need to do what we can.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
