God Looks At The Heart
Children's sermon
Ants Work Best Together
31 Object Lessons from Nature
Object:
seven clam shells and one abalone shell, all about the same size
Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
Material: seven clam shells and one abalone shell, all about the same size
When God sent the prophet, Samuel, to anoint a king for Israel, he sent him to the house of a man named Jesse. God told Samuel that he had chosen one of Jesse's sons to be the king. When Samuel arrived at Jesse's house, he saw that Jesse had eight sons. Let's pretend that these shells are those sons. (count out the clam shells and abalone shell with the children)
Samuel looked at the first son. (hold up the first clam shell) His name was Eliab, and he was tall and good looking, so Samuel thought, "My, what a handsome fellow! This must be the one the Lord wants for king of Israel." But God said, "No." (set the shell down) Samuel looked at his next son. His name was Abinadab. (hold up the second clam shell and take a moment to examine it closely, but be sure to look only at the outside of the shell) "This one is also a very fine looking young man," he thought. "Surely the Lord has chosen this one." But the Lord said, "No." (put the second shell down) The third son's name was Shammah. (pick up the third shell and examine it) But, guess what? God didn't choose Shammah, either. (put the shell down, sigh, and shake your head)
Samuel looked at seven of Jesse's sons. (Hold up each of the clam shells in turn. Engage the children with questions like, "Do you think he chose this one?" or "How about this one?" Reject each shell and put it down.)
Finally, Samuel looked at Jesse and said, "Don't you have any more sons? The Lord has not chosen any of these."
Jesse answered that he had one more son, the youngest. This son was out watching the sheep. Samuel gave orders to send for the youngest son, whose name was David. (pick up the abalone shell and examine it, but be sure to show and look at only the outside) Samuel looked at David, and he didn't see anything special about him, but God said, "Yes, he is the one."
You see, God could see something about David that Samuel could not see. Samuel was looking on the outside. (show the outside of the shell again) But God (turn the shell around so the children can see the beautiful inside of the abalone shell) looks at the heart.
This outside part of us (indicate your own body), boys and girls, is only a shell. We clean it and dress it up, and make it look as good as we can. But the important things, the things God cares about (show the inside of the abalone shell again) are the things on the inside. This shell is from a creature called an abalone. It lives at the bottom of the ocean where we would never see it unless we grabbed it and brought it up. If you looked at this abalone in the water, you would just see this kind of rough and ugly shell. But on the inside, it is smooth and pearly and beautiful. What are you like on the inside? Is your heart full of love or hate? Joy and happiness or ugliness and meanness? God knows. God looks in your heart.
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
Material: seven clam shells and one abalone shell, all about the same size
When God sent the prophet, Samuel, to anoint a king for Israel, he sent him to the house of a man named Jesse. God told Samuel that he had chosen one of Jesse's sons to be the king. When Samuel arrived at Jesse's house, he saw that Jesse had eight sons. Let's pretend that these shells are those sons. (count out the clam shells and abalone shell with the children)
Samuel looked at the first son. (hold up the first clam shell) His name was Eliab, and he was tall and good looking, so Samuel thought, "My, what a handsome fellow! This must be the one the Lord wants for king of Israel." But God said, "No." (set the shell down) Samuel looked at his next son. His name was Abinadab. (hold up the second clam shell and take a moment to examine it closely, but be sure to look only at the outside of the shell) "This one is also a very fine looking young man," he thought. "Surely the Lord has chosen this one." But the Lord said, "No." (put the second shell down) The third son's name was Shammah. (pick up the third shell and examine it) But, guess what? God didn't choose Shammah, either. (put the shell down, sigh, and shake your head)
Samuel looked at seven of Jesse's sons. (Hold up each of the clam shells in turn. Engage the children with questions like, "Do you think he chose this one?" or "How about this one?" Reject each shell and put it down.)
Finally, Samuel looked at Jesse and said, "Don't you have any more sons? The Lord has not chosen any of these."
Jesse answered that he had one more son, the youngest. This son was out watching the sheep. Samuel gave orders to send for the youngest son, whose name was David. (pick up the abalone shell and examine it, but be sure to show and look at only the outside) Samuel looked at David, and he didn't see anything special about him, but God said, "Yes, he is the one."
You see, God could see something about David that Samuel could not see. Samuel was looking on the outside. (show the outside of the shell again) But God (turn the shell around so the children can see the beautiful inside of the abalone shell) looks at the heart.
This outside part of us (indicate your own body), boys and girls, is only a shell. We clean it and dress it up, and make it look as good as we can. But the important things, the things God cares about (show the inside of the abalone shell again) are the things on the inside. This shell is from a creature called an abalone. It lives at the bottom of the ocean where we would never see it unless we grabbed it and brought it up. If you looked at this abalone in the water, you would just see this kind of rough and ugly shell. But on the inside, it is smooth and pearly and beautiful. What are you like on the inside? Is your heart full of love or hate? Joy and happiness or ugliness and meanness? God knows. God looks in your heart.
