Childrens Sermon Service

Object: Fancy, dark sunglasses like a famous person might wear.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

One day, Jesus got his friends together and told them they were going to go on a little trip. They were all really excited until they found out where they were going. Jesus was taking them to visit places called Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis. Jesus’ friends had never been to those places before. They weren’t very far away, but the people who lived there were very different people. They ate different kinds of food, wore different kinds of clothes, and believed different kinds of things. They even raised pigs! The people in Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis did not follow the old laws the religious leaders said everyone should follow. Most people stayed away from those places and even made fun of the people who lived there. And now Jesus was taking the disciples there to be with them. I’ll bet they wondered why he was taking them there, don’t you? (Let them respond.)

Well, let me ask you that question. Why do you think Jesus was taking his friends to visit those places? Does anyone have an idea? (Let them respond.) Do you think he might have been taking them there so they could tell those people how wrong they were? (Let them respond.) We do that sometimes, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we see people who are very different from us and we tell them they are wrong, or we call them names, or we just try to stay away from them because they are so different, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Do you think that might be why Jesus took his friends to those places? (Let them respond.) But that must not be the reason, because when they got there, Jesus and his friends visited their homes, and even sat down and had lunch with them. No, that must not be the reason they went there. Can you think of another reason Jesus took his friends to those places? (Let them respond.)

Maybe it was because Tyre and Sidon were pretty big cities, and the Decapolis was actually ten really big cities, and Jesus and his friends didn’t have any really big cities back home. So, maybe Jesus took them there so more people could see them and Jesus might get more people to follow him and he could become more famous. Do you think that might be the reason? (Let them respond.) Maybe they went there so Jesus could become a bigger influencer. Maybe that was it. Can anyone tell us what an influencer is? (Let them respond.)

I’ll bet you have seen some influencers before. An influencer is someone who does things to try and get people to pay attention to them. Influencers think they are really cool. (Put on the dark sunglasses and look “cool.”) Sometimes influencers tell people they can make them prettier or richer, and try to get them to buy things. And sometimes they just do crazy things to get people to watch them more. Sometimes those things they do are really dangerous and when other people try to do them, they get hurt. But influencers don’t care about that, because all they want is to become more famous and have more people follow them. So, maybe Jesus went to the big cities so more people could see him and start to follow him. Do you think that’s why they went to those places? (Let them respond as you take off the glasses.) But that can’t be the reason, because when Jesus got there, he told everyone to keep it a secret and not tell anyone he was there.

So, if Jesus did not go to those big cities to tell the people they were wrong, or to be more famous and get more people to follow him, why did he go there? I will tell you why. He went to Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis to heal one very sick man and one very sick little girl. That is why Jesus went there. Those two people needed help and Jesus went there so he could help them. He didn’t care how different those people were and he didn’t care how famous he was. All he cared about was trying to help other people the way God had asked him to help other people. That’s why he went there.

I hope this little story can remind us that no matter how different the people are that we meet (put on the sunglasses) and no matter how famous we might become as we grow up, God created us to take care of each other. (Take off the sunglasses.) 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.