Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

 Who Is the Minister in Your Church?

There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NCV)

Today, we have a special treat. We’re going to listen to some music played by an orchestra. Who knows what an orchestra is?

Well, an orchestra is a big band. There can be as many as 70 people playing over 20 different instruments! Let’s listen (play about a minute of the music).

What kind of instruments did you hear? (Show them pictures of the instruments from the book)

(Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Harp, etc.)
(Brass: Trumpet, Trombone, French horn, Tuba, etc.)
(Wind: Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, etc.)
(Percussion: Timpani, snare drum, triangles, cymbals, etc.)
(Keyboard: Piano, xylophone, Glockenspiel, etc)

So there are many people playing many different instruments.

Do you think they have to work together?

Do you think they need to know their part and do their part well?

Do you think it took a lot of practice alone and together to make such beautiful music?

The Church is like an orchestra, too. In the Church we have many people. And God has given every Christian special abilities to serve others. Like an orchestra we have to do our part and work together with others to get the work done that God has for us.

So it’s important for you to know that a part of becoming more like Jesus is that we serve others alongside of other Christians.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to know that my part in the Church is very important. Show me ways that I can serve others.  Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Just What the Doctor Ordered

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  And he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:18-19, 21 (NIV)

We often hear someone say, "That was just what the doctor ordered." What do they mean?  They usually mean that something happened which was exactly what they wanted or needed.  Do you know where we got that expression?  Well, when we are sick, we usually go to the doctor.  After checking us over to find out what is making us sick, the doctor takes a piece of paper like this one and writes out a prescription. The prescription tells us what kind of medicine we need to take to make us well.  After leaving the doctor's office, we take the prescription to the drug store and the pharmacist fills the prescription with the medicine that the doctor ordered.  If we take the medicine as the doctor ordered, we usually get well. That's where we got the expression, "That was just what the doctor ordered."

When God created us, he wanted us to be happy and well.  He didn't intend for us to be unhappy and sick.  He never wanted people to be crippled or blind.  But sadly, something happened -- and that something was sin.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they changed life for all of us.  But God still loved us and he had a plan to make us well again.  Jesus knew God's plan too.

One day Jesus was in Nazareth on the Sabbath so he went to the temple as he always did.  When he stood up to read the Scriptures, he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  He looked through the book until he found the part that said, "The Lord's Spirit has come to me and has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to free the prisoners, give sight to the blind, and to set everyone free from their suffering."

When he had finished reading, he handed the book back to the man who was in charge and sat down.  Everyone in the place was looking at Jesus and waiting to see what he would say.

Jesus said to them, "What you have just heard me read has come true today."

What did Jesus mean?  He meant that he was the one who came to make us happy and whole the way God intended for us to be.  He came to heal the sick and the lame.  He came to make the blind to see and to free us from sin.  Now if we want to have what Jesus came to give, we must put our trust in him and do what he has told us to do.

Dear Father, we thank you for your love.  We thank you for sending your Son to free us from sin so that we can know the joy that you want for us.  Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 As White As Snow

“No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool. 19 If you will only obey me and let me help you…” Isaiah 1:18-19 NLT

How many of you have told a lie before? Have you always told the truth?

Is telling a lie, good or bad?

(Squirt a little bit of red GEL into your hand so they kids can see)

Do you always do what your parents tell you to do, the first time?

Is it right or wrong to disobey your parents? (Squirt a little bit)

Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours?

Is stealing, good or bad? (Squirt a little bit)

Have you ever been selfish before? (Squirt a little bit)

Do you see that red stuff on my hands? That represents all the bad things we have done.

Did you know God will not allow bad stuff (sin) into Heaven?

Who can tell me what Jesus did on the cross for us?

(As you read the Bible verse start rapidly squeezing the red shaving gel in your hand. The RED GEL will turn white like snow).

Isaiah 1:18-19 NLT

"No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.  If you will only obey me and let me help you…"

When you tell God that you are sorry for your sins and you want Him to help you obey Him, He will forgive you and make you clean.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for making a way for me to be forgiven of my sins. Thank you for inviting me to Heaven. You are so good to me. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Let Us Pray

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.  Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT

When you think of loving someone what do you think of doing for others?

Did you know that one way we show love for others is by praying for them?

(Explain each picture and who we should pray for).

God gives us so many things to pray about that we should never be able to say, “I don’t know what to pray for.”

Hey, you could even make your own chart.

You can take pictures of your family, friends, teachers and your doctor.

You could ask your parents to take you to the fire department to take a picture of the firemen and tell them you want to pray for them every week.

You can tear pictures out of the newspaper or magazines of the president and soldiers.

You can even take a picture of me, your pastor, and pray for my family.

Have fun making your own prayer chart!

And make sure you use it every day to help you know who and what to pray for.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for listening to my prayers. Help me to pray each week for the people around me. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Keep Trusting in Jesus

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Hebrews 3:14 NLT

How many of you like to go to the beach?

Well, this weekend my family went down to the beach. And whenever David went into the water he had to wear this.

What’s this? That’s right, it’s a life vest.

What is a life vest used for?

Do you think you are safe when you wear one of these?

This life vest is no good to David unless he puts it on.

If David goes into the ocean water without this life vest on he’s most likely going to drown, because he can’t swim.

Can you swim?

All it takes is one wave or for that water to pull him under and David would be gone. That’s very scary.

But you know what? Jesus is like a life vest. He’s there to protect us and rescue us from trouble.

But like a life vest we have to trust Jesus.

Just like we have to put on and keep on our life vest to keep us safe, we have to put our trust in Jesus and keep it there so we can be safe.

Remember whatever Jesus says in the Bible believe it’s the truth.

And always remember you can trust in Jesus.

He always loves you and He always wants what is best for you.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Off with the Old, On with the New

Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT

Look at my new clothes. My wife bought them for me a few weeks ago.

Do you like to wear new clothes?

When do you get new clothes? (Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Back to School)

I like to wear new clothes.

Did you know that Christians are like people who put on new clothes?

When we become Christians, God makes us into new people.

Before we can put on new clothes we have to take off our old and dirty clothes, right?

To become new people in Christ, we must take off our old bad ways and put on God’s ways.

Let me give you an example: God tells us to control our anger and don’t desire bad things.

God also commands us not to say bad things about people, we should not say bad words, and we should not tell lies.

Those are some of the old ways that we must get rid of.

After we have taken off our old ways, God can clothe us with His ways.

We can love one another and be kind, polite, obedient, and helpful.

We can become more like Jesus every day.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to change and become more like you every day.  Amen

[Soldier4Christ]

 A Different Kind of Freedom

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.  Galatians 5:13

Good Morning! Have any of you ever gotten a dog from an animal shelter or dog pound? How about a cat? Why did you want a pet? Was it for companionship; to give you comfort when you are sad; maybe to protect you and your house from robbers?

I love dogs and all of my dogs, for at least the last 25 years, have been rescued animals.

If you’ve ever gotten a pet from a pound or shelter, sometimes you have to pay like $5.00 or maybe more and when you get them home, you know how they act at first! Once they are freed from their cages and brought home, they go nuts! They jump up on you, get on the furniture, potty in the floor, dig holes in the flower beds, bark and howl all night, etc. Cats usually scratch the furniture, climb the curtains, get on the counter and try to eat the fish in the fishbowl! They are so happy to be free from their former lives they think they can do whatever they want. They have to learn that that is wrong. They have to learn they have a different kind of freedom now. Apart from us, they can’t do that. We have to teach them the right way to behave because they can’t learn on their own.

Christians are kind of like that. You see, we were once bound by guilt and sin and it was sort of like being in a cage. Jesus purchased our freedom from sin by his death on the cross. But just because we have freedom in Christ doesn’t mean we can just go out and do whatever we want. Did you know there are a lot of Christians today who think they can? (I don’t mean climb the curtains or bark and howl all night!) We have to learn the right way to behave. The Bible teaches us in Gal. 5:13 says, ‘You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.’ In other words, we have a different kind of freedom now and we are to live like Jesus lived.

Just as we paid the price for, and freed, our pets to serve us, we are to live to serve God. He will teach us because we can’t learn on our own. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for paying the price and freeing us from guilt and sin. Teach us how to live like you want us to. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 God of our Fathers

Which one of you fathers would give your hungry child a snake if the child asked for a fish?  Which one of you would give your child a scorpion if the child asked for an egg? 13As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. Luke 11:11-13 CEV

Do you know what today is? It’s Father’s Day!

Can you name one thing that your father has done for you that you are thankful for?

Today, I brought a few things that remind me of my father as I was growing up.

The first one is a coat. Do you know my father always made sure that I had clothes to wear, food to eat, and a house to live in? He made sure all of my needs were taken care of.

What do you think this is? That’s right, it’s a map. This map reminds me about the times my father took the whole family on vacation. It was really important to me that my father spent time with me.

Here’s an interesting item. It’s a Hot Wheels race track. This was a fun toy to play with, but father used it for other things when I was bad. It reminds of how my father loved me enough to teach me right from wrong.

This last one is the most important to me. It’s a model of a little church. I love my father most of all because he took me to church every week so I could learn about God. When I was a teenager I didn’t want to come to church. I wanted to stay home and sleep. But my father knew that knowing God is the most important thing in life so he took me. Now that I’m a Christian I’m very thankful he did. And I want to be just like my father and take my boys to church too.

[Soldier4Christ]

 My Sheep Know My Voice and Follow Me

…And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he brings all his sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger. They will run away from him because they don’t know his voice.” John 10:3-5 NCV

Have one of the more mature children stand up and walk about 15 feet away from the front of the church. Explain what you are doing as you put the towel over his head so he cannot see.

Ask the remaining children to stand up. Position them all over the place between the blindfolded child and you. There should be about 15 feet between you and the blindfolded child.

Say to the blindfolded child:

"________ (blindfolded child’s name), can you recognized my voice? In front of you are all of the other children. They are positioned where you cannot walk straight to me. You must listen to my directions only. If you listen to my directions you will make it to where I am. Do you understand?"

Say to the other children:

"Children, you are not allowed to move your feet. You cannot reach out and touch _________ (blindfolded child’s name). You can make noise or even tell __________ the wrong directions to try to confuse him/her. Your job is to keep _________ from making it to me. Do you understand?"

At this time you start giving the blindfolded child directions to you. Do not give him the most direct route, but make him rely totally on listening to your voice. The children at this time should be trying to confuse him. When he reaches you pull the towel off his head and congratulate him/her on a job well done. Have the children sit back down.

In the Bible, Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd and he called Christians His sheep.

Jesus said that His sheep, His followers, would recognize His voice and follow Him wherever He led.

Today, _________ had to listen for my voice and carefully obey my directions.

Because __________ listened to me he was able to make it where I was.

The rest of you represented the world and how everyone is always telling you what to do and what not to do. Sometimes they are telling you the truth. Sometimes they are lying. To be sure of doing what is right, you need to listen for Jesus’ voice and then follow Him. Remember you can always trust Jesus to help you do the right thing.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, train our hearts and feet to follow you. Help us not to get confused and fall into sin. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Called to Be Salt

Everyone will be salted with fire. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other." Mark 9:49-50 (NIV)

You have all seen those taste tests on t.v. where people are asked to taste two kinds of soda from unmarked glasses, and decide which one they like better, right?

Today, we are going to have a taste test just like that! Two of you stand up here, you are the official blind taste test sample holders, and one of you will hold bag "X" and one of you will hold bag "Y." Now I need a volunteer sampler! Volunteer, we are going to have you sample each cracker in these bags and tell us which one you think tastes better.

Holder "X," please open your bag, and Volunteer take out the cracker and just take a little taste of the cracker. How does it taste?? Ok?? Now, Holder "Y," open your bag and Volunteer, take out cracker "Y" and taste it! How does it taste? (Your volunteer will probably not say one is better, rather like mine did, that "Y" has salt on it and "X" doesn't.)

So, you noticed that cracker "Y" has salt and cracker "X" didn't! Which did you like better, the one with salt, right?

(Have your volunteers all sit down with you)

Our volunteer was right, a lot of food tastes so much beter with salt. Which do you guys like better, french fries without salt or with salt? Eggs without salt or with salt? Crackers with or without salt? (They'll say salt every time!)

You're right. Salt makes many foods taste better. It makes some bland foods like crackers taste more exciting and it makes plain 'ole french fries taste better, and who wants to eat an egg without salt? Not us!

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us to be salt and the "have salt in ourselves!" He wants us to be out in the world making people's lives better and more flavorful and more exciting by bringing Jesus to them! We can be just like salt and make people's lives better and tastier by introducing them to Jesus and telling them all we know about him and all the wonderful things that happen in our lives because of Jesus.

But Jesus doesn't only want US to be salt, HE wants to be the salt in OUR lives...just like the cracker with salt tastes better than one without salt, OUR lives are better, more exciting, more flavorful when we let Jesus into our lives. When we go to church and Sunday School, and invite our friends to come, when we talk about Jesus and talk to him and pray, when we read the Bible, when we do the things he ask us to do, we are letting Jesus"salt us" with his Holy Spirit. Having Jeus salt us with his Holy Spirit is like having salt on our food, our lives are just so much better with Jesus' spirit than without it.

Oh, you can be a plain old saltless cracker in the world, like people who don't know Jesus -- you'll be living out in the world and maybe even doing ok, but your life can be so much more if you let Jesus into your life, to salt you up with his spirit and make your life more flavorful, more tasty, more complete.

Let's say a prayer: "Dear Jesus...thank you for being like salt on crackers for us, you make our lives better and happier because you are in our lives. Help us to be salt for you and bring your joy and happiness and flavor to other people by telling them about you!"

(Of course, all the kids got salted crackers -- but I told them to meet me after church for their crackers so we didn't make our janitors have to vacum all the pews! You could also hand out little bags of oyster crackers, which wouldn't crumble so much in the pews.)

[Soldier4Christ]

 The Hard Thing

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV)

Hey, what’s that bag doing in the middle of the sanctuary? That doesn’t belong here. Could you move that out of the way, please? Take it down to the storage closet. What’s the matter? You can’t move it? Why not? What do you mean it’s too hard?

Have you noticed that God sometimes asks us to do the difficult things? Why do you suppose He wants us to do things that are hard for us?

Jesus taught a lot of hard things during His time on earth. In His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, He taught a lot of things that were opposite to the ways of the people. They were opposite to the ways of the religious leaders. But Jesus was teaching about a different society. He wanted the people to learn about the Kingdom of God—He wanted them to know this is a different world where people live in peace and help one another. He wanted the people to know that they could see this Kingdom on earth if they lived by God’s principles.

We’ve talked many times about the most important commandments: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. If God wants you to love Him with everything you have, how do you think you’ll do that? How will you love your neighbor as yourself?

One of the ways to love God is to forgive. When your brother or sister or your even best friend hurts you, Jesus says forgive them. Oh, that’s hard, isn’t it? Maybe you want to get back at them and make sure they hurt too, but Jesus says forgiving is better. He says that God will forgive the things you do when you forgive those who hurt you. Maybe you think what your sister did is just the most wrong thing that could ever be done. Doesn’t matter…Jesus says do the hard thing. Forgive her.

Jesus says love your neighbor. Does that just mean the lady who lives down the street? No, the word neighbor means one who is nearby. Who is near you right now? That person is your neighbor. You will have lots of "neighbors" today. And God says to love them—even if you don’t know them. You may have neighbors who annoy you. Maybe they are loud or messy. Jesus says, "That doesn’t matter--love them anyway." If you get angry or hold a grudge against your neighbors, will you be loving them? Jesus asks you to do the hard thing. He says look beyond their noise and their messes. Forgive them. And as you forgive the hurts and bothers that others do to you, you will be loving them…as God loves you…with a forgiving love…even when you hurt or bother Him. Let’s pray.

Dear Father, help us to forgive one another as you forgive us.  Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Where Your Treasure Is

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Do you guys collect anything? What do you collect? I am collecting the quarters of the 50 states. My collection is worth about $9.50 and my family has fun trying to fill the spaces. Some collections are very valuable, like rare coins or stamps, or paintings by famous artists. Some collections, like family photographs or seashells, may not be valuable in terms of money but are special to just you because of the memories they hold.

Jesus warned his followers about collecting treasures on earth because treasures on earth can break, get stolen, wear out, or be destroyed. If someone were to break into my house, they might find my quarter collection and steal it. A water leak in your house could ruin your collections of stuffed animals or trading cards. Do you understand why Jesus warned his followers not to concentrate on stuff on earth? Treasures on earth can’t last forever.

Jesus encouraged his followers to store up treasures in heaven instead where they won’t break, get stolen, wear out, or be destroyed. What are some ways you can store up treasures in heaven?

    * Obeying God
    * Helping others
    * Giving money to God
    * Sharing Jesus with our friends
    * Spending time at church worshipping, learning, working, and serving

Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What Jesus was saying is that if you concentrate on collecting treasures in heaven by doing the things we talked about, your heart will be in heaven also. Is “in heaven” a good place to have your heart? I think so too.

Dear God, We want our hearts to be in heaven with You. Help us to concentrate on storing up treasures in heaven by obeying You, helping others, giving You money, sharing Jesus with our friends, and spending time at church worshipping, learning, working, and serving. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Give Up Your Treasures?

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Hey, look what I have here. Do you know what this is? It’s my treasure box. It contains some of the "treasures" from my life. When I look through this box, I remember some of the best things that have happened to me.

Like this…it’s my Girl Scout badge sash. That reminds me of when I was about nine or 10 and the most important thing was earning as many badges as I could. I’ve got my varsity letter (for band because we didn’t have competitive girls sports when I was in school). But band was really important to me—till my last year of high school. Here’s a picture of my first car. Probably the only brand new, off-the-assembly-line car I’ll ever own. That Horizon was pretty special to me. But then it got banged up, and it was never as slick as the used car a friend bought a few years later. Look. These are the shoes I wore on my wedding day. That will always be a special day for me. I kind of expected it would be a special day to everyone, but people seemed to take it for granted once Pastor Mike and I got home from the honeymoon. It became just one wedding of many to other people.

It’s quite a collection, isn’t it? All the things in this box are priceless—but only to me. The eBay value of this box is probably…just the box. No one would pay a huge sum for anything in the box.

In that famous sermon that Jesus gave on the Mountain, he told the people not to hang on to the treasures of life on this earth. He told them to look ahead to heaven and all the treasures that wait for them there. He said that holding on to possessions here on earth could lead to missing the great things in heaven.

Why do you suppose he said that? I think one of the reasons is here in this box. Look at all the things in my treasure box. Is there anything in here that I still work on today? Am I still earning badges? Do I still play the flute? Do I still talk to the woman who helped plan this big important conference? No. At one time all these things were so important to me. I treasured them all and thought I would always care about them. But I don’t. As my life went on, different things became important to me.

I think one of the reasons Jesus said to let go of treasures on earth is because they never stay important to us. We always want a better car. A girl is only a bride for one day. But treasures we’ll have in heaven we’ll cherish forever. What we have with God right now and what He’s planning for us in heaven will never wear out, we’ll never grow tired of them. Isn’t that exciting? Think about what you treasure, what you hold on to because over the next few weeks we’re going to talk about these things…and the things that God has for us. Let’s pray.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Give Up Your Treasure?
(Part 2)

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

I brought my treasure box back today. Do you remember what’s in this box? Right. My treasures—reminders of the special times in my life. Do you remember what Jesus said about hanging on to the treasures of our lives? He said don’t do it. He said we should look ahead to heaven and all the things that wait for us there. He said holding on to the things of this earth could lead to missing the great things in heaven.

That’s kind of hard to understand. But this box also holds some reasons why Jesus said don’t hold on. Last week we said we shouldn’t hold on because these things just don’t stay important. As we go on in life we lose interest in things that seem to be the most important.

Another reason is here in these bags. You know what these are? They’re flowers. When Pastor Mike and I were dating, when we were falling in love, he used to send me flowers. That made me feel so special, because flowers are expensive and they don’t last. But Pastor Mike spent the money anyway. And within a week, the flowers would die. I put the best ones in these bags to remember that special feeling.

I think another reason we shouldn’t hold on to things is because they don’t last. They wear out. They break down. They die. But still some people hold on to things so much they try to keep them from wearing out. Sometimes adults get silly about this. They might have special dishes they never use because they could get broken. Or they have nice furniture you can’t sit on because it could get dirty.

Do you have a favorite toy? Do you play with it a lot? Does it look like the day you got it? No. The only way you could keep it looking brand new is to not play with it. Just keep it sealed in the box. Here’s where adults can get silly again. Did you know some people collect things like Barbies and Tonka trucks? They’ve got dolls and trucks that are over 40 years old, but they’ve never been out of the boxes they come in. These toys are more valuable if their boxes are never opened. The only reason they’re worth anything is because it’s never been played with. That’s kind of backwards, isn’t it? They’re only valuable because they’ve never been used for what they were made for. Where’s the treasure in that?

Things lose their value if they’re used. And when things get used, they wear out. So Jesus said appreciate what you have on earth. Enjoy these things and use them wisely. But don’t waste your energy treasuring things you can’t play with, things that don’t last. Instead treasure what God has for you. You can enjoy the things of God today and they will never wear out, you’ll never grow tired of them. Isn’t that exciting?

[Soldier4Christ]

 Making Choices

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God."  Luke 8:11 (NIV)

Good morning boys and girls! Who can tell me what this is? Right, it's a stalk of cotton. What do we use cotton for? (Give them time to answer.) There are so many uses for cotton aren't there?  Now what do we have to do to get more cotton?   Right, we have to plant the seeds. (At this point take a seed from the cotton boles and give one to each child.)

Now we have to make some choices to get our seed to grow, don't we?  (Show them the choices you have brought for the vessel. If necessary help them to decide which one would be best.)

OK, we've go our pot.  (Drop the seed into the bottom of the pot.)  Now, we just wait for it to grow, right? (After they disagree with this show them, one at a time, the choices you have brought for soil. If necessary help them to decide which one would be best.)

Plant the seed and repeat the above with the choices you have brought for watering the seed.

Ok, we've made the best choices possible to help this seed become a cotton plant. Did you know that we have to make choices to help the seed of our faith in Jesus Christ to grow so we can become mature Christians? What do you think some of these choices are? (Allow the children time to answer. If necessary help them to understand that we need to chose prayer, studying God's word, going to church, etc.)

Let's say a prayer.

Father God please help us to make wise choices so the seed of our faith in Jesus Christ can help us to grow and become mature Christians. Amen.