Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

 May I See Some Identification, Please?


Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John 20:24-25 (NIV)

It happens all the time. I go into a store to buy something and when I have found the item I am looking for, I take it to the cash register, write out a check, and hand it to the cashier. The cashier takes my check and then asks, "May I see your driver's license please?"

I have my name and address printed on the check. It even has my driver's license number printed right there on the check. Why does the cashier need to see my driver's license? The answer is quite simple. The cashier wants to see if I match the picture on the driver's license. Am I really who I claim to be?

There may be other times when you will be asked for proof of identity. You may need a picture ID to get a library card. You might even need a picture ID to sign up for youth soccer. Many schools are now requiring students and teachers to wear a picture ID at school. Almost every day of our life we are asked to prove that we are who we say we are.

On the Sunday that he rose from the grave, Jesus appeared to a group of his disciples. One of the disciples, whose name was Thomas, was not with them. When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus and that he was alive, Thomas said, "I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes." He said he wanted to see the nail-prints in Jesus' hands -- and the place where the spear was thrust into his side.

A week later, Thomas saw Jesus. Jesus invited Thomas to touch his hands where the nails had been. He told Thomas to put his hand in the wound in his side. Then Thomas believed!

A lot of people today won't believe that Jesus really rose from the grave because they haven't seen him with their own two eyes. They want "proof of identity" before they will believe. Jesus said, "Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."

How about you? Do you have to have "proof of identity" before you will believe in Jesus, or will you accept him by faith?

Dear Jesus, help us to accept by faith that you have risen from the grave and that you are alive. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Seeing Is Believing!


Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29

Do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you, even if what they tell you seems impossible? For example, suppose I said to you, "I am going to take this paper strip and cut it in half -- but after I cut it in half it will still be in one piece." Would that be easy for you to believe? It doesn't make sense, does it? If I cut this paper in half, it should be in two pieces, shouldn't it? Well, let's try it and see what happens. (Cut the Mobius strip along the center line that you have drawn on it.)

Well, look at that! I cut the paper in half, but instead of having two pieces, I have one longer piece. Now that you have seen it, do you believe it? Sometimes we must see something before we believe it, don't we?

On the evening of the first Sunday after Jesus had been crucified, his disciples were together in a locked room. They were afraid that those who had crucified Jesus would also want to put them to death. Suddenly, Jesus appeared there in the locked room with the disciples. It was hard to believe, but they saw him and Jesus showed them his wounds in his hands and his side, so they knew it was him.

One of the disciples, whose name was Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus appeared to them. When they told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, he did not believe them. He had seen him crucified and buried, how could he be alive? Thomas said, "Unless I see the wound in his side and put my finger in the holes where the nails were in his hands, I will not believe it!"

A week later, the disciples were in the locked room again and this time Thomas was with them. Again, Jesus came and stood among the disciples. Jesus, said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Thomas fell on his knees and answered Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

You and I have never seen Jesus with our own eyes. The question is, will we be a doubter, or will we be one of those who Jesus said were blessed because they believe, even though they have not seen?

Dear Father, help us to believe in our heart those truths we find in your Holy Word, even though we have not seen them with our eyes. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Love in Any Language 


The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. John 21:17 (NIV)

A few years ago, there was a song that became very popular. The name of the song was "Love in Any Language." Can you say, "I love you" in any different languages? This morning we can learn at least three different ways to say, "I love you."

In German, you would say, "Ich liebe dich!" Can you say that?

In Spanish, you would say, "¡Te amo!" That is pretty easy -- try it.

In sign language, you would say, "I love you" like this. (Hold up the "I love you!" sign.) I know that you can all say, "I love you!" in sign language! (See bottom of page.)

You know, it is pretty easy to say, "I love you," but it is sometimes a lot harder to show it by our actions. That is what our Bible story is about today.

After Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to his disciples several times. On the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples, he was with them on the shore by the Sea of Galilee. He turned to Peter and said, "Peter, do you love me?"

Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Then, Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my lambs."

Jesus asked Peter again, "Do you love me?"

Again, Peter answered, "Yes Lord, I love you."

Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep."

A third time Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?"

Now Peter was very sad that Jesus asked him this question again, but he answered Jesus again, "Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

Why did Jesus ask Peter the same question three times? I think he wanted Peter to understand -- and he wanted you and me to understand -- that it isn't enough just to say, "I love you." We must show our love for Jesus by showing our love for one another and caring for one another.

Do you love Jesus?

Then feed and take care of his sheep! Now, that is love that can be understood in any language.

Dear Jesus, help us to show our love for you by loving and caring for one another. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 A New Wind Blowing


When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)

How many of you like to fly kites? It is great fun to watch a kite soaring high into the sky. What is it that keeps the kite up there? It is the wind, isn't it? How many of you have ever seen the wind? That was a trick question! No one has seen the wind. We can't see the wind because it is invisible. Well, if we can't see the wind, how do we know that it is there?

One way we can know the wind is there is that we can hear it. When I wake up in the morning, I sometimes turn on the TV to see what the weather is doing. There are some mornings that I don't even have to look at the TV to know that the wind is blowing because I can hear it! I can hear it whistling through the trees, down the chimney, and around the windows and doors. We can't see the wind, but we know it is there because we can hear it.

Another way we can know that the wind is there is that we can see it moving things. (Take some bits of paper in your hand and blow them into the air.) We can see it moving the leaves on the trees and blowing bits of paper around. We can't see the wind, but we know it is there because we can see what the wind is doing.

Still another way we can know that the wind is there is that we can feel it. Blow onto the back of your hand. Did you see anything? No, but you could feel something, couldn't you? We can't see the wind, but we can feel it blowing against our faces and blowing through our hair.

Today, many churches celebrate a special day called Pentecost. It was on the day of Pentecost that God sent his Holy Spirit to the church. The Bible tells us that the apostles were all gathered together when suddenly there was a sound like a mighty, rushing wind. Then, it says, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. God's Holy Spirit is like the wind, we can't see him, but we can know that he is there, just like we can know that the wind is there.

We can know that the Holy Spirit is there because we can hear him. The Bible says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him." (Revelation 3:20) We can't see the Holy Spirit, but we know he is there because he speaks to our hearts.

Another way we can know that the Holy Spirit is there is that we can see him moving people to do God's will. The Bible says that the Spirit of God moves his people to speak and to do things for him. (2 Peter 1:21) We can't see God, but we can see people doing things that God's Holy Spirit has moved them to do.

We can know that the Holy Spirit is there because we can feel his presence. The Bible says, "I will fear no evil for Thou art with me." (Psalm 23:4) The Bible also says that "if we love one another, God lives in us." We can't see the Holy Spirit, but we know he is there because we can feel his presence in our life.

Father, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit. Even though we can't see him, we are thankful that we can hear him speak to our hearts, feel his presence in our daily lives, and see him moving us to do your will. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

All the Children of the World


Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:34-36,43 (NIV)

Do you like eggs? There are so many different ways to fix eggs -- fried, scrambled, or hard boiled. You can make an omelet or a breakfast burrito. You can eat them by themselves or mix them with chicken or tuna to make sandwiches. Eggs are also used to make delicious treats such as cookies, cakes, and pies.

Did you know that some eggs are white and some eggs are brown? Have you ever wondered why? Well the answer is quite simple. White chickens lay white eggs and reddish brown chickens lay brown eggs. Is there any difference in white eggs and brown eggs? Well, yes, white eggs are white and brown eggs are brown.

"What about the inside?" you may ask. Well, let's see. (break a brown egg and a white egg in to the clear glass bowl.) Can you see any difference? No, on the inside they look just the same. I also read that the color of the shell has nothing to do with an egg's quality, nutritional value, or flavor. On the inside, all eggs are the same.

You know, that is true of people too. Some people may be light-skinned and have blond hair and blue eyes. Others may be dark-skinned and have brown hair and brown eyes. On the outside, they may look different, but on the inside they are the same.

Simon Peter was one of Jesus' disciples. He was a Jew and he believed that God sent Jesus only to the Jews. God gave Peter a vision that showed him that He created all people and that He loved them all the same. After God showed him that, Peter said, “I now realize that God does not show partiality. He accepts people from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” God also showed Peter that he must ”tell the good news that Jesus is the Lord of all and that everyone who believes in him will be forgiven of their sins.”

Sometimes we sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children."

Jesus loves the little children.
All the children of the world.
Red, brown, yellow, black and white
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

We sing the song, but do we believe it? Do we show it in the way that we treat other children? I hope so!

Heavenly Father, help us to love others as you do -- without partiality. Help us to tell the good news that Jesus is Lord of all and that all who believe in him have forgiveness in his name. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 One At A Time



Sharing the story of Jesus with others.

Scripture: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes  Romans 1:16

Look what I have with me this morning.  A starfish!  At one time, this starfish was alive and swimming in the ocean.  You probably know what happened.  As so often happens, this starfish was washed up on the beach and because a starfish can't live out of water, it died.

I heard a story about a man who was vacationing in Mexico.  One day he was walking along a deserted beach when he saw a man approaching from the opposite direction.  As he watched the man, he saw that the man kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water.  As he got closer, he could see that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up onto the beach and he was throwing them back into the water.

As the two men met, he said, "Good morning.  I was wondering what you are doing."

"Why, I am throwing these starfish back into the ocean, because if I don't, they will die."

"I understand, but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach and you can't possibly get all of them.  Besides, there are hundreds of miles of beaches along this coast and the same thing is happening on every one of those beaches.  Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?"

The man bent down and picked up another starfish and threw it back into the ocean.  He smiled at the man and said, "I made a difference to that one, didn't I?"

All over the world there are people who are like a fish out of water.  They are dying because they don't know about Jesus.  Can we make a difference?  You bet we can!  Maybe we can't get to all of them, but we can tell those that we meet each day about the love of Jesus.  Each time that we tell someone about Jesus, we can say, "I made a difference to that one."

Dear Lord, help us to make a difference in the lives of the people we meet by sharing the love of Jesus with them.

[Soldier4Christ]

 We All Make Mistakes!


For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3: 23

Just look at all of these pencils!  I have short pencils, long pencils, skinny pencils, and fat pencils.  I also have yellow pencils, red pencils, black pencils and white pencils.  There are many different shapes, sizes, and colors of pencils but there is one thing that all of these pencils have in common.  Every one of them has an eraser.  No matter what size or shape a pencil is, it needs an eraser to erase mistakes.

These pencils remind me of people.  People come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors too.  We all make mistakes don't we?  That is why God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to erase our mistakes.  When we do something wrong, we can ask God to forgive us and Jesus will erase those mistakes and make our paper clean so that we can start all over again.

Remember the lesson of the pencils.  It doesn't matter if we are short or tall, skinny or fat, red, white, yellow, or black.  We all make mistakes and we all need Jesus.

Dear Lord, we all make mistakes, thank you for sending Jesus to erase those mistakes.  Amen

[Soldier4Christ]

 Making Pearls


We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Romans 5: 3-5 (NIV)

This morning I have brought a string of pearls. Do you know where pearls come from? They come from oysters. An oyster is a shellfish that lives in the ocean. They have a very hard shell that protects them, but sometimes something like a small grain of sand can get inside the shell and it causes a lot of pain and discomfort for the oyster.

God has given the oyster a way to ease that pain. When a grain of sand gets in there, the oyster oozes out a liquid that coats the grain of sand and then it hardens. The oyster keeps doing this over and over until the grain of sand no longer causes pain. This is how these pearls are made. Something that started out being painful turned into something very beautiful and valuable.

The same thing happens to us. Sometimes something comes into our life that causes a lot of hurt and pain. When that happens, God gives us something to help ease the pain. He gives us His love. If we ask Him to, He will ooze out His love to ease our pain and suffering. Often what started out to be very painful in our life can turn into something beautiful.

Dear Lord, we thank you that when we have pain and hurts in our life, you ooze out your love to ease the pain. Help us to remember that you can take the most painful hurts in our lives and turn them into something beautiful. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

He Loves Me...He Loves Me Not!


But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  1 John 4:20

How many of you know what kind of flower this is? That's right, it is a daisy. The daisy is a beautiful flower that is often used in a spring bouquet. It is bright and cheerful and can really perk you up if you are feeling low. There is something else about the daisy that some of you may not know. Sometimes, people use the daisy to find out if someone loves them. If a boy likes a pretty girl and he wants to find out if she likes him too, he might ask the daisy. As he picks the petals off of the daisy, he says these words, "She loves me....she loves me not. She loves me....she loves me not." When he pulls off the last petal, he learns the answer. Now, if the answer turns out to be "She loves me not," you can always try it again on a different daisy. You can keep on trying until you get the answer you want! Do you think that is a very good way, to find out if someone loves you? I don't either!

How do we know that God loves us? Do we have to pick the petals off of a daisy and hope that the answer is, "He loves Me!" No, there is a very easy way to know that God loves us. The Bible tells us that God showed his love for us when Jesus, His only Son, died for us on the cross! If someone is willing to die for you, you don't have to wonder if they love you or not. You know they love you!

How does God know that we love Him? Does He know that we love Him just because we say we do? No. Once again, we find the answer in the Bible. The Bible says that we show our love for God by loving others. The Bible says we can't say that we love God when we have never seen Him, if we don't love our brothers and sisters that we see every day.

It's easy for us to see that God loves us. Is it easy for God to see that we love Him?

Dear Lord, we say that we love you. Help us to show you that we love you by loving one another. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

What Is Love?


Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8 (NIV)

I don't know about you, but when I see a heart, the first thing I think of is love. We think and talk a lot about love, don't we? We often say things such as, "I love ice cream" or "I love to play baseball." We also say to our parents or special friends, "I love you."

A group of professionals asked some children from age four to eight, "What does love mean?" Here are some of the answers the children gave.

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." -Kari, age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." -Chrissy, age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day." -Noelle, age 7

"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken." -Elaine, age 5

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." -Mary Ann, age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

If I were to ask you to tell me what love is, what would your answer be? (Give time for responses from the children if time permits.) I think if we really want to know what love is, the best place to find the answer is in the Bible. God not only told us what love is, he showed us.

The Bible says, "God showed how much he loved us by sending Jesus to die for us, even though we were sinful." Wow! That's real love! God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us even though we did not deserve it.

You know that list of answers that children gave to the question, "What is love?" Well, here is one more.

"God could have said magic words to make the nails fall off the cross, but He didn't. That's love." I think that really says it all, don't you?

Dear Father, we thank you for loving us even when we did not deserve it. Help us to love others in the same way. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 A Picture Tells the Story


We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  Romans 6:4

This morning I have a photo album.  It has pictures of our son when he was born.  Just like any other parents, we were so proud when our son was born that we wanted to tell everyone about him.  We didn't just want to tell them about him...we also wanted to show them!  One way we did this was with pictures.  We always carried a picture of our baby with us to show anyone who would look at them.  I can't think of anything that makes a person more proud than the birth of a child.

The Bible says that when we invite Jesus into our heart, we are born again.  That is so exciting that want to tell everyone what Jesus has done for us -- but we don't just want to tell them about it, we want to show them a picture.

That is what baptism is -- it is a picture of what Jesus has done for us.  It shows the world that just as Jesus died, was buried, and rose again -- our old self died, our past has been buried, and we have been born again and raised to live a new life in Jesus.

Dear Lord, this morning we celebrate the joy of a new birth.  May we tell others of our new life and show them a picture of what you have done for us through baptism.  Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Building Bridges

"If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him--work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend." Matthew 18:15 (The Message) Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 (NLT)

Once upon a time, there were two brothers. Their father had a large farm and when he became too old to work, he called his sons to him. "I am too old to work anymore," he said. "I will divide my farm in half and give each of you one half. I know that you will always work together and will be good friends."

When the brothers first started farming on their adjoining farms, they were the best of friends and would share everything together. Then, one day there was an argument between the two brothers and they stopped speaking to one another. For many years, not a word was spoken between them.

One day, one of the brothers was at his house when a carpenter came to his door and said, “I would like to do some work. Do you have any work that I can do?” The brother thought for a moment and then replied, “I would like for you to build a fence on my property. Build it down near the stream there that separates my farm from my brother’s. I don’t want to see my brother any more and I would like for you to build a high fence there please. I’m going into town and I’ll be back this evening.

When he came back that evening, he was shocked to see that the carpenter had not followed his instructions. Instead of building a high fence there, he had built a bridge over the stream. The man walked down to take a look at the bridge, and as he did, his brother walked toward him from the other side. His brother said, “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I can't believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.” He reached out to his brother and gave him a big hug.

The brother then walked back up to his farmhouse to talk to the carpenter. “Can you stay?” he asked. “I have more work for you to do.” The carpenter answered, “I’m sorry but I can’t stay. I have to go, for I have many other bridges to build.”

Sometimes you and I have a disagreement with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When that happens, we often build a fence between ourselves and them. We stop talking to them. We don't want to see them. We don't want to be around them. That isn't what Jesus wants us to do. Instead of fences, he wants us to build a bridge of love between us.

Dear Father, we know it is your desire for us to live together in peace and harmony. Help us to love one another. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 The Snooze Alarm

The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Romans 13:11

Do you use an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning? A lot of alarm clocks have a button on them called a snooze alarm. When your alarm goes off, you can hit that button and go back to sleep. In about ten minutes, the alarm will go off again. You can just keep on doing this and go right on sleeping.

There are two problems with snooze alarms. The first is that if you keep on hitting the snooze alarm, you may be late or miss out on something completely. The second problem is that if you keep hitting the snooze alarm, you may get so used to the sound of the alarm that you don’t even hear it at all and you will sleep right through the alarm.

Did you know that God sometimes sounds an alarm in our lives? He says, "It is time to wake up. It is time to follow me." Some people just hit the snooze button and say, "Not now Lord, call me again a little bit later."

Some people hit that "snooze button" so many times that they get to where they don’t even hear God’s voice. Then one morning they wake up and find out that it is too late, they have missed out on God’s call.

Dear Father, when you sound the alarm telling us it is time to wake up and follow you, may we never be guilty of hitting the snooze alarm and saying, "Later, Lord." May we rise up and follow you. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 How Does Your Garden Grow?


But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  Romans 8:25  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6
 
Spring is just around the corner and it is just about time to start planting our gardens.  You see I have some packages of seeds with me this morning.  How many of you have ever planted a garden?  I can remember the very first garden I ever planted.  I was a boy about the same age as some of you.  I went out into the back yard and found a spot of ground that I thought would make a good spot for a garden.  I took a garden hoe, a rake, and shovel and broke up the ground and got it ready to plant the seeds.  I took my finger and poked it down into the ground to make a hole.  Then I placed some seeds into the holes and carefully covered them with dirt.  After all of the seeds were planted, I watered my garden and then went inside.  The next morning I went out to the garden.  Nothing had come up yet, so I watered it again.  The next day I went to check on my garden again.  Still nothing!  Finally, after several days I gave up on my garden and quit watering it.  Nothing ever came of my garden!  You see, patience never was one of my strong traits as a child!
 
Come to think of it, I don't think I have gotten much better as an adult.  Occasionally I will see something advertised on TV that looks really great.  You know the ads I am talking about.  Something like, "Elvis' Greatest Hits on two CD's for only $19.95 plus shipping and handling.  Call toll free!  All major credit cards accepted!"  I am reaching for my credit card and then they drop the bomb!  At the bottom of the screen it says, "Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery!"  No way!  Put the credit card away.  I can't wait 6-8 weeks.  I want it now!
 
I'm afraid that we are much the same way with God.  We pray and ask God to do something in our life and when we get up the next morning, we expect it to be done!  If God hasn't come through in two or three days, we give up on Him.  The Bible says that if we hope for what we do not have, we must wait for it patiently.  It tells us not to worry about anything, but to make our requests to God in prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving in our heart.  He will do what is best for us at just the right time!  Let's pray and ask God to help us to be patient as he answers our prayers.
 
Dear God, give us patience to wait for you to do the things that we ask for in our lives.  Help us to remember that you will do what is best for us when the time is right.
 
NOTE:  If you use these lessons in class setting, here is an idea for an activity to go with this lesson.  Put several  pinto beans in a zip-lock bag with a moist paper towel and seal the bag.  Have the children take them home and tape the bags to a window where they will get some sunlight.  They should watch the beans each day, making sure that the paper towel remains moist.  After a few days, some of the beans will begin to sprout.  The children could then transplant them to a pot and watch them grow.  What if some of the beans don't sprout?  A good opportunity to teach the children that God may not give us everything we ask for!
   

[Soldier4Christ]

Are You for Real?


It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.  1Corinthians 3:13  But obey God's word. Do not just listen to it. If you just listen to it, you fool yourselves.  James 1:22

I have something to show you.  It is really beautiful.  Just look at it sparkle!  When I first saw it, do you know what I thought it was?  I thought it was gold!  I later found out that it is actually something called iron pyrite and, unlike gold, it is not worth very much at all.  Well, it really fooled me, but I'm not the only one who has been fooled into thinking iron pyrite was gold.  In fact, so many have been fooled by it that it is often called "fool's gold."  Actually it is easy for people who see shiny golden colored flakes sparkling at them from some rock they just picked up to believe that they have found gold.  After all, it looks like gold.  One way to find out if this is real gold or fool's gold is to give it the test of fire.  When real gold is heated, it will not react to the heat, but when fool's gold is heated, it will smoke and produce a bad odor.

Did you know that a lot of people are like this fool's gold?  They claim to love Jesus and to be His children.  They can often be found in church and they fool a lot of people into thinking that they are really followers of Jesus.  One way you can tell if a person is a real follower of Jesus is by the test of fire.  It is easy to be a follower of Jesus when everything is going good, but when life starts to heat up and trouble comes your way how do you react?  Do you trust and obey God's word, or do you become angry and start to smoke and put off a bad odor like this fool's gold?  The bible says "the fire will test the quality of each man's work."  It also says that if we listen to His word and don't do what it says, we just fool ourselves.  We may fool others and we may fool ourselves, but we can't fool God.  Are we for real, or are we just "fool's gold?"   

Jesus, help us to be true to your word.  When the test of fire comes our way, may our work be found to be true.