Believing In Jesus
Children's sermon
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: a carpenter's sawhorse
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to share a problem with you this morning. How many of you like problems? (let them answer) We all like problems we can solve, but there are not many of us who like problems that we cannot find answers to in a short period of time. I can't fix my car when it doesn't work, and I don't like that kind of a problem. I have the same kind of problem when my radio or television is broken. I can't make them work. Saint Paul had another word for problems that I like, and I want to share it with you.
The Apostle Paul called problems--without--answers "stumbling blocks." I don't know what a stumbling block looked like to Paul, but it could have been something like this. (show them the carpenter's sawhorse) Suppose you were walking in a dark room and you ran into this thing. What do you think would happen? (let them answer) That's right; you would probably fall over it. This sawhorse, that's what carpenters call it, would keep you from getting to where you are going. You would fall or trip over this stumbling block.
Paul said that Jesus being crucified was a stumbling block for many of the people he knew. People could not believe that their sins were forgiven because Jesus died on the cross. That was not logical. How could Jesus being crucified help forgive their sins? People like it when they hear that God is love and God is forgiving, but how could Jesus dying like a criminal help them be saved? That was a problem. People whom Paul knew thought that they were saved when they learned all the great teachings of Jesus and knew how to use them. That kind of learning and understanding is called wisdom. People were saved by law or wisdom. That's what they believed. The idea of Jesus being crucified and dying for their sins was impossible to them. Paul said it was a stumbling block. They tripped over the crucifixion and they never went any further.
We know differently today. It was God's plan to have Jesus die for our sins. We all break God's law and we will never know enough about anything to save ourselves. But when we trust in Christ and his dying for our sins, then we are saved to live forever with God in his world.
Believing in Jesus, and Jesus crucified, may be a stumbling block for some but not for us. We thank God for his plan to save us through Jesus.
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to share a problem with you this morning. How many of you like problems? (let them answer) We all like problems we can solve, but there are not many of us who like problems that we cannot find answers to in a short period of time. I can't fix my car when it doesn't work, and I don't like that kind of a problem. I have the same kind of problem when my radio or television is broken. I can't make them work. Saint Paul had another word for problems that I like, and I want to share it with you.
The Apostle Paul called problems--without--answers "stumbling blocks." I don't know what a stumbling block looked like to Paul, but it could have been something like this. (show them the carpenter's sawhorse) Suppose you were walking in a dark room and you ran into this thing. What do you think would happen? (let them answer) That's right; you would probably fall over it. This sawhorse, that's what carpenters call it, would keep you from getting to where you are going. You would fall or trip over this stumbling block.
Paul said that Jesus being crucified was a stumbling block for many of the people he knew. People could not believe that their sins were forgiven because Jesus died on the cross. That was not logical. How could Jesus being crucified help forgive their sins? People like it when they hear that God is love and God is forgiving, but how could Jesus dying like a criminal help them be saved? That was a problem. People whom Paul knew thought that they were saved when they learned all the great teachings of Jesus and knew how to use them. That kind of learning and understanding is called wisdom. People were saved by law or wisdom. That's what they believed. The idea of Jesus being crucified and dying for their sins was impossible to them. Paul said it was a stumbling block. They tripped over the crucifixion and they never went any further.
We know differently today. It was God's plan to have Jesus die for our sins. We all break God's law and we will never know enough about anything to save ourselves. But when we trust in Christ and his dying for our sins, then we are saved to live forever with God in his world.
Believing in Jesus, and Jesus crucified, may be a stumbling block for some but not for us. We thank God for his plan to save us through Jesus.
