Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

The God of the Impossible

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10:25-27 (NIV)

I started to get dressed for church this morning and discovered that my favorite pair of socks had a hole in the toe. I didn't have time to mend them right then, so I thought I could do it during children's time this morning. Perhaps we can learn something about Jesus while I am mending my socks.

I have a needle and some thread. The first thing I need to do is thread the needle. That means you hold the needle like this and push the thread through this little hole called the "eye." Hmmm, this may be more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I can't seem to get the thread through the eye of the needle. Perhaps my eyesight is not as good as it once was or maybe my hand isn't quite as steady as it needs to be. Would one of you like to help me? (Choose one of the children to help you. After they have tried a couple of times, continue with the sermon.)

You know, this problem of threading the needle does remind me of a story about Jesus.

One day a rich young man came to Jesus and asked him what he needed to do to go to heaven. Jesus answered him, "You know the commandments, 'do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

"Oh, I have done all of that since I was a child" the young man told Jesus.

"You must do one more thing," Jesus said, "You must sell all that you have and give the money to the poor."

The Bible tells us that the young turned and walked away. He was very sad. You see, he was very wealthy, and he was not willing to give up his wealth -- not even to go to heaven.

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Now, putting tread through the eye of the needle can be pretty difficult. How would you like to try to put a camel through the eye of a needle? That wouldn't be difficult, it would be impossible! Does that mean that Jesus was saying it is impossible for a rich man to enter into heaven? No, I don't think so. Listen to what Jesus said next.

"With man, this is impossible, but not with God. With God, all things are possible." That is the God we serve. The God of the impossible!

Heavenly Father, we are thankful that you are the God of the impossible. Without You, it would be impossible for any of us to get to heaven. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

To Be Like Jesus

"Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43b-45 (NLT)

When I was a little boy, the best thing about having chicken for dinner was the "wishbone." After we finished eating, my sister and I would each hold one side of the wishbone, close our eyes and make a wish. Then we pulled on the wishbone until it broke apart. The one who got the biggest piece was supposed to have their wish come true.

Have you ever wished for something? Sure you have. We all have. Sometimes we make a wish without thinking about what would happen if our wish really came true.

Have you ever planned to have a picnic and it rained? Perhaps you sat and watched the rain and grumbled to yourself, "I wish it would stop raining." What if that wish came true and it really stopped raining...FOREVER? There would be no grass, no trees, no flowers. Rivers, lakes, and streams would dry up and all life would begin to disappear. This world would be a miserable place if it stopped raining, wouldn't it?

James and John were two brothers who were disciples of Jesus. One day, the two of them came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask."

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus replied.

"In your glorious Kingdom, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one at your right and the other at your left." You see, they thought that Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom, and they wanted to sit beside him on the throne. They wanted to share in his greatness.

Jesus answered them and said, "You don't know what you are asking." Then he explained that whoever wants to be great must be a servant of all. He said, "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." (NLT) Jesus was right! I don't think that being a servant was exactly what James and John were wishing for!

Sometimes you and I may say, "I wish I could be more like Jesus." Is that really our wish? If we really want that wish to come true, we must give our lives in service to others.

Dear Jesus, help us to mean it when we say, "I wish I could be more like Jesus." Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

I Want to See Jesus

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." Mark 10:51

Isn't this a beautiful bouquet of flowers? Can you imagine what it must be like to be blind and never see the beauty of things such as these beautiful flowers? The gift of sight is one of the most precious of all of God's gifts.

There is a story in the Bible of a man named Bartimaeus. He had never seen the beauty of a bouquet of flowers, because Bartimaeus was blind. One day as he sat begging beside the road, he heard the sound of a large crowd of people coming his way. He asked someone what was happening and they told him that Jesus was passing by.

Bartimaeus had heard of Jesus and about how he had healed many who were blind. He began to call out to Jesus. Others in the crowd tried to get Bartimaeus to be quiet, but he would not be silent.

Jesus heard the voice of Bartimaeus calling out to him and he stopped and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Teacher, I want to see!" said Bartimaeus.

"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." The Bible tells us that immediately, Bartimaeus received his sight.

That is a wonderful story, isn't it? Unfortunately, stories about the blind don't always end that way. There are many blind people who want to see, and yet they are never healed. Fanny Crosby was one of those people.

When Fanny was only six weeks old, she was left blind by an illness. Even though she was blind for the rest of her life, Fanny was never bitter or complaining. Instead she made the most of her life by using the other gifts that God had given her. She had a wonderful gift for writing poetry and during her lifetime, she wrote over 8000 poems. Some of her poems were set to music and many of them are still in our hymnals today.

One day a well-meaning minister said to Fanny, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you."

"Oh no!" Fanny replied. "If I could have only one request, it would be to be born blind.

"Why?" asked the surprised minister.

"Because," answered Fanny, "when I get to heaven, the first face that these blind eyes will ever see is the face of Jesus, my Savior."

Some, like Bartimaeus, receive the gift of sight. Some, like Fanny Crosby, are blind their entire life. One thing is certain, when we get to heaven, we will all see Jesus.

Dear Father, we thank you for the gift of sight, but more than that, we thank you that one day we will see you in heaven. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Greatest Commandment

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."  Mark 12:30-31 (NIV)

I imagine that most of you have seen a list of rules like this in your classroom at school. One day last week I walked through the school and every classroom I walked into had a list of rules on the wall. Even though there were some slight differences, most of them said pretty much the same thing. They said things like:

   1. Listen Carefully
   2. Follow Directions
   3. Work Quietly
   4. Keep Your Hands to Yourself
   5. Be Kind to Others

If you were to ask me which classroom rule is most important, I know what I would say. I would say that the most important rule is to respect and obey your teacher and the second is very much like it -- be kind and show respect for your fellow students. If we would just follow those two rules, there really wouldn't be a need for any more.

Most of you know the ten commandments, don't you? Which of the ten commandments do you think is most important? One day a lawyer came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the greatest commandment?"

Jesus answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

You know, if we would just keep those two commandments, we wouldn't have any trouble keeping the rest of them, would we?

Dear Father, help us to love You with all our heart, soul, and strength -- and to love one another as we do ourselves. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Widow's Mite
 

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." Mark 12:43-44 (NIV)

Each Sunday in our worship service we take an offering. Do you think Jesus is interested in how much money we put in the offering plate?

The Bible says that one day, Jesus went to the temple and sat down near the place where the offerings were placed. He sat and watched the people as they came by and put in their offerings. Many rich people, dressed in fine robes, came by and put in a lot of money. Then, a poor widow came by and put in two small copper coins that weren't even worth a penny.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "This woman has given more than anyone. The others gave out of their wealth, but this woman gave all that she had." You see, Jesus is more interested in what is in the heart of the giver than he is in the size of their gift.

I have a small coin purse. Let's see how much money is in it. Hmm...fifty-seven cents. Well, that isn't much money, but this morning I want to tell you the story of a little girl named Hattie and how her gift of fifty-seven cents helped to build a great church.

One Sunday morning, the pastor of a church went outside to find a group of children who were unable to get in to go to Sunday School because the building was too crowded. One of those children was a six year-old named Hattie. When the pastor saw her, he lifted her up in his arms, put her up on his shoulder, and carried her into the church where he found a place for her to sit in the Sunday School class.

The next morning as he walked to church, the pastor saw Hattie again and stopped to talk to her. He told her that he hoped that some day the church would be able to build a building that was large enough so that there would be room for all the children who wanted to attend.

Two years later, little Hattie died and the pastor was asked to preach the funeral service. After the service, Hattie's mother handed the pastor a small purse containing fifty-seven cents. She told him that Hattie had been saving her pennies to help the church build a new Sunday School building. The pastor took the fifty-seven cents back to his church and told the people about the little girl who had been saving her pennies to help them build a new Sunday School building. The people were so inspired by Hattie's gift, that they gave faithfully until they built a wonderful new building with plenty of room for all of the children who wanted to attend.

I am sure that Jesus would say that Hattie gave more than anyone to build this great church. She gave all that she had.

Dear Father, everything we have is a gift from You. Help us to remember that we should give back to You with a cheerful heart. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Be Careful Who You Follow

Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. Mark 13:5-6 (NIV)

How many of you know how to play the game "Hana, Hana, Hana, Kuchi?" You don't? It is a Japanese game that is a little bit like a combination of "Simon Says" and "Follow the Leader." Hana is the Japanese word for nose and Kuchi is the word for mouth. I will touch my nose three times as I say, "nose, nose, nose," but when I say "mouth," I will touch some other part of my body such as my ear, eye, or chin. You have to touch the part that I say -- not the part I touch. If you touch what I touch instead of what I say, you are out of the game. Let's try it once just for practice.

"Nose, nose, nose, mouth." (Touch your ear when you say mouth.)

Uh-oh! I caught a few of you. Well, that was just for practice, so nobody is out of the game. Let's try it again.

"Nose, nose, nose, ear." (Touch your mouth when you say ear.)

Well I caught a few of you again, didn't I?

(Continue to play the game as time permits, then continue with the lesson.)

When we were playing that game, I was trying to trick some of you into doing the wrong thing. It was only a game and we were just having some fun, but there are times when people try to trick us into doing the wrong thing. Jesus warned about people like that.

One day Jesus told his disciples to be careful not to let anyone deceive them. He warned that there would be many false teachers who would come teaching in his name and claiming to be him. Jesus said that many would be fooled.

It was fun to try to trick you in the game of "Hana, hana, hana, kuchi," but it isn't any fun to see people follow false teachers instead of following Jesus. It is important to read the Bible and know what it says so that we won't be fooled.

Dear Father, help us to read our Bibles each day and follow Jesus and his teachings. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Watching and Waiting

Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark 13:33 (NIV)

Today marks the beginning of the most exciting time of the year. Today we begin the countdown to the day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. I always look forward to this time of year and to all of the beautiful music, lights, and decorations of the Christmas season. One decoration that we will see everywhere during this season is the star. The reason we will see so many stars during the holiday season because a star was so very important to the very first Christmas.

I'm sure that all of you know the story of the wise men. You know about how the wise men, sometimes called Magi, saw a star in the sky and followed that star to find Jesus.

The Magi studied the stars and planets night after night looking for signs that might predict the coming of a great leader. I wonder why the Magi choose this particular star to follow? Did they just say to themselves, "Hey that is a really bright star. Why don't we follow it and see where it leads us?" I don't think so. God's prophets had written about that star hundreds of years before. They had told when and where it would appear and that it would announce the birth of the Messiah. I think that perhaps the wise men had heard about those prophecies, so when they saw the star, they knew where that star would lead them.

If the Christmas story ended with the star leading the wise men to Jesus, it wouldn't bring much hope to to us today would it? Well, it doesn't end there. In fact, it hasn't ended at all! The Bible tells us that just as surely as Jesus came to be born in a manger, he is going to come again. The next time Jesus comes, he will take us to heaven to live with him. Now, that is a message of hope! That is what this season is really about! Just as the wise men were watching and waiting for the star that would lead them to Jesus, you and I are watching and waiting for his return.

Dear Jesus, during this season when we look back and remember your birth, we are also watching and waiting for your return. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Gift of Love

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me -- holy is his name." Luke 1:46-49 (NIV)

One of my favorite movies is "The Sound of Music." In that movie, there is a song called "My Favorite Things." Some of you may have seen the movie and you may know that song. If so, you will remember that the character named Maria, sings about her "favorite things." One of the things that she mentions in that song is "brown paper packages tied up with string." A package like this one. (Hold up the package wrapped in brown paper.)

We are just a few days away from Christmas and I imagine that there are a lot of presents under the tree at your house. I am sure that the packages under the tree are wrapped in beautiful paper like this package is wrapped. (Hold up the beautifully wrapped package.) If there was a package under the tree that was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string mixed in with all of the beautifully wrapped packages with their colorful bows ... and if that package had your name on it...would that be the package you would choose to open first? I don't think so! After all, a gift is supposed to come in a beautiful package, isn't it?

You know, I think that is why a lot of people have missed out on the gift that God sent to them. You see, God's Gift didn't come in a beautifully wrapped package. God sent Jesus, His only Son, as His gift to us. Jesus' mother was a young virgin...his earthly father was a poor carpenter...he was not born in a beautiful palace...he was born in a manger. Not a very pretty package, is it? But do you know what? It was the greatest gift the world has ever known. It was the gift of salvation and it had your name on it...and yours...and yours...and mine!

The Bible tells us that when Mary found out that she had been chosen to be the one to deliver God's gift to the world, she was filled with joy. She sang a song glorifying God for choosing her.

"The Mighty One has done great things for me," she sang.

Well, the Mighty One has done great things for us too. He has sent us the gift of His love, but some people are so busy unwrapping the beautifully wrapped packages that this world offers that they have missed out on the greatest gift. Maybe it is because it came wrapped in brown paper tied up with string.

Today we light the candle of love. It reminds us of the greatest gift we have ever received...the Gift of Love...from our Father above.

Dear Father, we are thankful that you loved us so much that you sent your only Son to be our Savior. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

"You Shall Call His Name Jesus"

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Luke 1:31

One of the most exciting times in any couple's life is when they find out that they are going to have a baby. There are many things that must be done to prepare for the birth of a new baby, but none is more important than choosing a name for the baby. A baby's name is chosen very carefully because the baby will live with that name for the rest of his or her life.

When a couple is choosing a name for their baby, they will sometimes go to a bookstore or a library and get a book like this one that I have this morning. It has thousands of names from which to choose. Not only that, but many names have a special meaning and a book like this will tell you what those names mean. I looked up a few popular names to see what they mean. (Note: These names are given as an example. Choose names that are popular in your area, or if time permits, look up the names of some of the children in your group.)

John - God gave
Mary - the perfect one
Caleb - faithful, bold
Alex or Alexis - helper
Michael or Michaela - one who is like God
Elizabeth - God's promise
Daniel or Danielle - God is my judge

When Mary and Joseph found out that they were going to have a baby, they didn't go to the bookstore and get a book to help them choose a name for Mary's baby. In fact, they didn't choose the baby's name at all! God chose it for them! God sent an angel to tell Mary what to name her baby. The angel said to Mary, "You will have a son, and you will call his name Jesus" You see, the name Jesus means "the Lord saves." Was it important for Mary's baby to be named Jesus? Yes it was, because the Bible tells us that there is no other name that can save us from our sin. (Acts 4:12)

Dear Father, thank you for sending your Son. During this season when we celebrate his birth, help us to remember that there is salvation in the name of Jesus. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Our God Is Faithful, 100%!

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Luke 2:25-26 (NIV)

Have you ever read the story, "Horton Hatches the Egg" by Dr. Seuss? It is a wonderful story about an elephant named Horton. The story begins with a lazy bird named Mayzie sitting on her egg in a tree. Sitting on the egg was tiresome and boring and Mayzie hated it. "I'd take a vacation, fly off for a rest if I could find someone to stay on my nest!" said Mayzie.

That’s when Horton walked by. Mayzie asked Horton if he would sit on her egg while she took a little rest. Horton objected at first, but Mayzie promised that she would not be gone long, so Horton finally agreed and soon he was sitting on the nest while Mayzie flew off to Florida for a vacation.

In Florida, Mayzie had such fun that she decided she would never return to her nest. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, but Horton kept sitting there, day after day. Winter came and icicles hung from Horton's trunk and his feet, but still he remained faithful to his promise to Mayzie.

"I'll stay on this egg and I won't let it freeze," he said with a sneeze. "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant is faithful, 100%."

Now, I don't know if elephants are really faithful 100% or not, but I know someone who is. God is faithful, 100%! The Bible is full of the promises of God, and God is always faithful to keep his promises.

In the Bible, there is a story about a man named Simeon. Simeon was a very old man who had faithfully served God all of his life. Simeon was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. God had promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Christ, the promised Messiah. A few days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to dedicate him to God. Simeon was in the temple. As soon as Simeon saw the baby, he knew that Jesus was the Christ and that God had kept his promise that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. God is faithful to his promises, 100%!

We are at the beginning of a new year. Many of us will make promises to God about things that we will do in the new year. I'm afraid that many times they are promises made, but never kept. If God is faithful to keep his promises to us, don't you think that it is important for us to keep our promises to him?

This year, as we make our promises to God, let us say, like Horton, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. I'll be faithful to God, 100%."

Dear Father, as you are faithful in keeping your promises to us, may we be faithful in keeping our promises to you. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Fanfare for a King

As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.'" Luke 3:4-6 (NIV)

(If possible, begin by having someone play a fanfare on the trumpet or a blast on the shofar. If that is not possible, just show the children a trumpet or shofar or play a fanfare on a recording and adapt the sermon to fit your situation.)

Wow! That was exciting, wasn't it? That exciting piece played on the trumpet is called a fanfare. A fanfare is a loud, short piece of music that is usually played on a trumpet to announce the arrival of someone important. For example, a trumpet fanfare is often played to announce the arrival of a king, queen or president.

The trumpet fanfare has been used to announce the coming of a king for many, many years. It was even used in Bible times! The Bible tells us that when Solomon was crowned as the King of Israel they blew the trumpet and shouted, "God save king Solomon." (1 Kings 1:34)

The word fanfare is also sometimes used to describe any showy celebration surrounding a special event. There is always a lot of fanfare surrounding the coming of a king, isn't there? Well, not always. There wasn't much fanfare surrounding the coming of Jesus. There were no trumpets and no one shouting, "God save the king!" The Bible tells us that there was only a man named John who was like a voice calling out in the desert saying, "Prepare the way for the Lord."

That wasn't much of a fanfare for a king, and it sure wasn't much of a fanfare for the King of Kings. As we look forward to the celebration of his birth, we do it with great fanfare. (Have trumpeter play the fanfare again.)

Today we light the second candle on our Advent wreath. We light the candle of peace -- for our King -- the Prince of Peace.

Heavenly Father, we look forward to celebrating the birthday of our King, Jesus. He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Prince of Peace. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 "New Beginnings"


When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Luke 3:21-22 (NIV)

This is an exciting time. It is the beginning of a brand new year. Some people like to make New Year's resolutions or promises to themselves about what they plan to accomplish in the new year. The number one resolution that people make is, "I am going to lose weight." I don't think too many people succeed, since it seems to be the number one resolution year after year. I know that it usually makes my top ten list of things I would like to accomplish in the new year.

Even if you don't make any New Year's resolutions, this is an exciting time. It is a time that we can forget our past mistakes and look forward to new opportunities that lie ahead of us. It is a time of new beginnings.

Jesus experienced times of new beginnings in his life too. One of those times was when he was baptized. There were a couple of very important things that happened when Jesus was baptized. First of all, the Bible tells us that the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and landed upon him. The second thing was that God spoke and said, "You are my Son. I love you and I am well-pleased with you."

This event marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry here on earth. Up until that time, he had not performed any miracles, but with God's stamp of approval and with the spirit of God upon him, Jesus began to perform great miracles. From this new beginning, many people began to understand that Jesus was truly the Son of God and they began to follow him.

Our own baptism represents a new beginning for us as well. When we are baptized, it shows the world that just as Jesus rose from the dead through the glory of God the Father, we also live a new life in him. (Romans 6:4) God may not always be well-pleased with us, but I think that He looks down with an approving smile when he sees us trying to walk with Jesus.

New beginnings -- God gives us opportunities for new beginnings. Let us make the most of them as we live a new life in Christ through the power of his Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, thank you for new beginnings. Help us to make the most of them -- not through our own strength -- but through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Luke 4:1-2 NIV

How many of you have ever seen a bracelet like this one? It is a WWJD bracelet. Can any of you tell me what the letters WWJD mean? The letters WWJD stand for "What Would Jesus Do?" WWJD bracelets were very popular a few years ago and many people were wearing them. When a person was tempted to do something wrong, the bracelet was supposed to remind them to stop and ask, "What would Jesus do?"

I must say, I have seen some people doing some very naughty things while wearing their WWJD bracelets! You know, the most important thing is not what I THINK Jesus would do -- the most important thing is -- WHAT DID JESUS DO? If you and I want to know what we should do when the devil tempts us, we should read our Bible and do what Jesus did when the devil tempted him.

Hey! Wait a minute, does that mean that Jesus was tempted by the devil just as we are? Yes he was. The Bible tells us that one time Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Do you know what Jesus did when the devil tempted him? He answered him with Scripture!

Jesus had not had anything to eat for forty days. Satan knew he was hungry, so he said to him, "If you are really the Son of God, turn these stones into bread."

Jesus could have easily done what Satan suggested, but he didn't. Instead, he answered, "It is written, 'Man does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil took Jesus up to a high place and showed him the worldly kingdoms below. He said, "All of this belongs to me. If you will bow down and worship me, I will give it to you."

Jesus answered, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

Next, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and led him up to the highest point on the temple. He said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. God will send his angels to rescue you."

Again, Jesus quoted the Scripture, "'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Do you know what the devil did? He gave up! He said, "I'll come back and try another day."

The next time the devil tempts you to do something wrong, look in the Bible and see what the Bible says. Then...Do What Jesus Did...answer Satan with Scripture!

Dear Father, help us to learn what the Bible teaches us to do so that when the devil tempts us, we can do what Jesus did...answer him with Scripture. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Hometown Boy Makes Good

Jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he slipped away through the crowd and left them. Luke 4:29-30 (NIV)

This is a picture of Del Ennis. I doubt if any of you have never heard of him. Del Ennis was a professional baseball player -- and a very good one too. During his career, he hit 288 home runs. He hit 25 or more home runs in a season seven different times during his career.

Del Ennis played for his hometown team -- the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, you would think that being such a good player and being a hometown boy would make Del Ennis very popular with the Philadelphia fans, but this was not the case. During the eleven years that he played for the Phillies, the fans booed him every time he came up to bat. No matter what he did, it never seemed to be good enough. He never understood it. It didn't make any sense.

Later in his career, Del Ennis moved to the St. Louis Cardinals. Although he still loved his hometown team, he was treated much better by the fans in St. Louis. Sometimes, it seems that even when a hometown boy makes good, he just can't please the hometown crowd.

The hometown of Jesus was Nazareth. It might surprise you to know that Jesus wasn't treated very well in his hometown either. One day, Jesus went to the temple in Nazareth. After reading from the prophet Isaiah, he told the people in the temple that he was the one that Isaiah had written about. He was the one sent from God to preach the good news to the poor and heal the sick and give sight to the blind.

Everyone was quite impressed with the words of Jesus until some of them recognized that he was a hometown boy. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.

They demanded that Jesus perform some miracles such as the ones they had heard about that he had performed in other places. When Jesus refused to put on a show for the people, the crowd began to turn against him. They mobbed him and took him out to the edge of a hill on which the city was built. They planned to throw him off the edge of a cliff, but Jesus slipped away from them and escaped through the crowd.

That isn't very good treatment for a hometown boy, is it? It seems that no matter what Jesus did, he just couldn't seem to please the hometown crowd. I wonder...if you and I had lived in Nazareth during Jesus' day, would we have treated him any better, or would we have gone along with the crowd?


Dear Jesus, help us to be loyal and true, even when the crowd has turned against you. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Let's Go Fishing


Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11

Do you like to go fishing? If someone were to ask me that question, I guess I would have to say, "No." I like to catch fish, but I don't enjoy fishing unless I am catching fish. I have heard some people say that they don't care whether they catch any fish or not -- they just enjoy going fishing. Not me!

I remember one time when I went fishing with my son. He was about the age of some of you boys and girls -- about seven or eight, I guess. We got up early in the morning and went to the lake. We had been fishing for about five minutes when he turned to me and said, "Dad, when are we going to catch something?" After about thirty minutes, he gave up and went to play with some other children. I sat there and fished all day. I never did catch a fish. Now, that is not my idea of a good time!

As I think about that fishing trip, I am reminded of a story in the Bible about some men who had a fishing experience a lot like mine -- until Jesus came along.

One day Jesus was standing by the sea of Galilee. A large crowd of people started to gather around him. He saw some fishermen nearby who were cleaning and mending their nets so he climbed into one of their boats. He asked one of the men whose name was Peter, to put the boat out a little way from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat teaching the people.

When he had finished teaching, Jesus said to Peter, "Put the boat further out into the deep water and let down your nets to catch some fish."

"We've been fishing all night long and haven't caught a thing, but if you say so, we will let down the nets one more time," Peter answered.

An amazing thing happened! When they started pulling the nets up, there were so many fish that the nets began to break. As they pulled the fish into the boat, there were so many fish that the boat was beginning to sink. When Peter and his fellow fishermen saw this, they were astonished and even a bit frightened.

Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men."

The Bible tells us that they pulled their boats up onto the shore, left everything, and followed Jesus. From that day on, Peter and his friends became fishers of men and brought many people into God's kingdom.

Jesus wants you and me to be fishers of men too. If we will be faithful in telling people about Jesus and his love, we can trust Jesus to bring in the catch!

Dear Jesus, help us to be good fishers of men -- faithful to go, patiently waiting, and tusting you to bring in the catch. Amen.