Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

God Answers Prayer

"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months." (James 5:17)

Do you remember the story about Elijah and King Ahab in 1 Kings 17? Elijah told King Ahab that it would not rain. How did Elijah know that God would answer his prayer for it not to rain? Maybe because he knew Deuteronomy 11:13-17.

Deuteronomy 11:13-17 contains some of God's promises and instructions for Israel before they enter the Promised Land. God says to them: if you listen to God's commandments to love and serve him with all your heart and soul, He will give you rain "in his due season," so you can gather in the crops you have planted. He will also send grass to your fields for your cattle, so you can eat and be full. He warns, however, that you need to pay attention so that you are not deceived into serving and worshipping other gods. If you serve and worship other gods, the Lord will be angry and He will "shut up the heaven, that there be no rain," Then your crops will not grow, and you will die "quickly" in "the good land which the Lord giveth you."

Read 1 Kings 16:30-33. Who was King Ahab serving? The Bible says that "he reared up an altar for Baal." God was not going to answer his prayers, because he was worshipping a false god named Baal. Instead, He answered Elijah's prayer, because Elijah worshipped and served God with his whole heart.

God wants to answer the prayers of those who worship and serve Him with their whole heart.

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God Never Makes Mistakes

"As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him." (Psalm 18:30)

Have you ever tried to make it through a whole day without making a mistake, a wrong decision? When I was little I used to try so hard not to do anything wrong – not to sin – all day long. Of course, it didn't take long before I did something wrong and sinned. Don't you wish you could just decide to be perfect – and then not mess up? Well, you and I can't do that, but there's Someone that never messes up.

God never makes a mistake; He never sins! The verse I quoted above tells us that God's words can be trusted. What God says has been "tried." That means His word has been tested and proved. Isn't it nice to know that we can trust what God says because He never makes a mistake? He has never made a mistake in the past and will never make one in the future. Even though we make mistakes, we know that God never will and that He can help us make fewer mistakes in the future.

When you mess up, just ask God to help you not make the same mistake twice. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." That includes doing the right thing. With God's help you can make changes in your own life. Just trust the One who never makes a mistake!

God is perfect: He never sins, and He never makes mistakes.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Hears

"I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." (Psalm 116:1-2)

Have you ever tried to talk to someone who isn't paying attention to you? You probably feel frustrated or discouraged if you think you aren't being heard. It is encouraging, though, for God's children to remember that God always hears them when they pray to Him. He is never too busy to listen to His children. And He is never uninterested in what they have to say. No matter what time of day it is or where you are, God always hears you.

Sometimes, though, God is the last person Christians go to when they're having troubles. Instead of going to God, they sulk. Or they go to their unsaved friends. Their friends may be good listeners, but they have no power to give true answers. Maybe God's children do go to a godly friend or parent with their problems. But the whole time, they may be resisting God, using Him as a "last resort" only.

Who is the person you go to when you are feeling sad, or when you have a need, or when you don't know how to handle a problem? Do you go to God first? Once you truly understand that the sovereign God is always available, always ready to hear your supplications (your strong requests), you will agree with the psalmist who wrote, "I will call upon Him as long as I live"!

God always hears His children when they call to Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Gives Good Gifts

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm so lucky?" Have you ever said it yourself? The truth is, there is no such thing as luck. Whenever something good comes your way, it's not luck; it's a gift from God.

God delights to give His children good gifts. What kind of good gifts has the Lord given you? A warm house? A spot on the basketball team? A family vacation or a trip to camp? I'm sure you can think of many good gifts that God has given you, but maybe you hadn't thought about the fact that those things came from Him.

When you are playing outside on a sunny day, it may seem to you that the sun is changing its position throughout the day, because your shadow will fall in different directions at different times. But it hasn't – the earth is what's moving, not the sun.

God, the "Father of lights," doesn't move or change, either. He's always the same. He's constant, and we can depend on Him – not on good luck – to gives us many good gifts.

All good gifts come from God.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Knows Our Needs

"Behold, the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (Matthew 6: 26)

Gwen's bedroom window looks out on a little pond. A family of mallard ducks lives there all year long. So does a noisy flock of Canadian geese. Sometimes in the spring, there is a wood duck with feathers of so many colors that he looks like someone painted him as an art project. Gwen evens see a blue heron visiting the pond sometimes, wading into the water on its long legs and poking its beak into the tall grasses on the shore.

Gwen used to wonder if birds are able to think. What would they think about? She used her imagination.... "Hmm. I wonder if I'll find my favorite kind of worm at this pond. I hope the other ducks haven't eaten all the juiciest water bugs! Maybe I should have gone to some other pond. What if I waste so much energy looking for my meal that I'm too worn out to fly afterwards? What if I starve? Who's going to take care of me?"

Then one day, Gwen read Matthew 6:26. It says that birds don't have to plant seeds in fields or store up food in barns. God feeds them. They don't have to worry about their own needs, because God is taking care of them.

God knows your needs, too. Are you worried about something? A move to a new city? A big test at school? A visit to the doctor or dentist? Something you need that costs a lot of money? God knows what you need in each situation. The same God who cares for the birds will take care of you. You matter to Him even more than they do. Trust Him.

God knows our needs and will take care of us.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Hates Sin

"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." (Proverbs 6:16-19)

What are some things that you hate? Brussels sprouts? Folding laundry? Cleaning your bedroom? We all have things we don't like to see or do, but did you know that the Bible says that there are certain things God hates?

God hates sin. Proverbs 6 says that God hates a proud look. Whenever you look at someone in a way that shows you think you are better than he is, you are giving a proud look. God also hates a lying tongue. Have you ever told a lie or misled someone? God hates that type of sin. God despises it when we plan wicked things in our minds. Have you ever done that? God hates it when His children are quick to run to mischief. God also hates it when we say or do things that cause our friends to fight. Have you ever started an argument between friends? God hates that.

God doesn't hate people, but He hates the sins they commit. Unfortunately, sometimes we think the sins we commit "aren't that bad." You might think, "I'm not so bad. It's not like I murdered anyone!" But did you notice that Proverbs 6:16-9 puts the sins of a lying tongue and a proud look in the same list with the sin of murder? In God's eyes, all sin is serious.

Are you committing sins that God hates? Have you been thinking that it's "no big deal?" Now that you understand how God thinks about those sins, confess them to the Lord and ask Him to keep you from committing sin.

All sin is a big deal to God.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Has Not Given You a Spirit of Fear

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7).

One day when Kelly was in second grade, she flipped a few pages ahead in her math book and saw little clocks all over the pages. She was going to have to learn how to tell time—on non-digital clocks! She was terrified. She was sure that she would never be able to learn that. From that moment on, she worried and worried and worried about the clock lesson.

When the day came to learn about telling time, Kelly was so worried and fearful that she could not even concentrate on the lesson. Just as she had feared, when she got her clock paper back, there were checkmarks next to almost every problem and a sad face at the top of the page! Her fear about that math lesson had taken over her mind and kept her from understanding.

Kelly eventually learned how to tell time on regular clocks. But she still sometimes allows herself to be controlled by sinful fear about other things. Any time that we are being controlled by fear, we are not being controlled by God. His Word says that fear does not come from Him. Instead, He gives us a spirit of power, love, and control. With God in control, we can be calm and clear-thinking, and we can obey everything that God tells us to do.

God does not give us a fearful spirit.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Delights to Answer Prayer

Matthew 7:11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

God delights to answer the prayers of His children.

When I was fifteen, my best friend left our school to go to a different school. Our class was small, and I didn't feel close to any of the other three girls in the class. I wanted so much to have a best friend that I could talk to.

That summer – it was the summer before tenth grade – my mom said, "Why don't you pray that God will send a new girl to your class next year to be your close friend?" I took my mom's advice and started praying, but I didn't have much faith. Where would this new girl come from? And even if she did come, would she really want to be my friend? I dreaded the beginning of the new school year because I didn't believe God would answer my prayer.

Then in August, Kelly came to our church with her family. God had moved her all the way to Kansas from the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean! That fall, Kelly was in my sophomore class. She was so cheerful and friendly that it was easy for me to get to know her. We quickly became best friends. We went through the rest of high school together, attended the same college for four years, and still keep in touch.

I know now that God delights to answer the prayers of His children. It brings Him glory when we ask and truly depend on Him for things we need. If we ask for things that are good for us, He is pleased to give them to us – in His time. But sometimes He goes beyond giving us what we ask for. Often, His gifts are better than anything we could have asked for or even imagined. And His gifts are always the best thing for us. God delights to answer the prayers of His children.

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God Is Our Refuge

"I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." (Psalm 91:2)

In the news, we hear a lot about refugees. We talk about those people, and we see pictures of them on TV. But who are they really? They are people who are looking for safety and help. For one reason or another they have been put out of their homes and villages – usually because of war – and are seeking a new place to live and a brand new start in life. We have refugees come to the United States sometimes because they can't live in their own countries anymore. Just as those people are looking for a safer, better place to live and raise their families, you and I are spiritual refugees. We are searching for a safe place, a refuge – and we find it in God.

The dictionary defines refuge as "a source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble." How is God my refuge? Psalm 91:2 refers to a spiritual refuge, not necessarily a physical one. When we are tempted to sin, what do we do? We need to find a place to get away from the temptation so that we don't sin. God provides that place. When we are tempted to sin we can run to Him, pray, and ask His help – and He will be our refuge, our source of help and comfort, our safe place.

Next time you are faced with temptation and don't know what to do, run to God, your refuge. Talk to Him, read His Word, and let Him protect you and be your hiding place from sin and temptation.

God provides safety from all spiritual danger.

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God Loves the Truth

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Does God ever lie? No, He cannot lie. He is a God of truth and does not sin, so He never says anything that is not true. Everything in His Word is absolutely true.

God wants us to tell the truth, too. Have you ever told a lie? Sometimes we plan ahead of time to tell a lie, maybe to cover a mistake we've made. Maybe your little brother rubs a whole can of red Play-Doh into the carpet because you weren't paying attention when you were babysitting him, so you decide that when your mom gets home, you'll tell her that it happened when you had to go answer the phone.

Other times, lies just sort of slip out when we're under pressure. Maybe your dad asks if you fed the dog, and you say you did – even though you didn't – because you're in the middle of a video game and don't want to stop.

We have all lied about something, and sometimes we don't take those lies seriously. Lying is sin. In fact, the Bible even says that God hates lying. In Proverbs 6, God lists six things He hates. Only one sin is listed twice in that list: lying! God wants us to tell the truth. When we tell a lie, we need to confess our sin to God, and then we need to confess our sin to the person we lied to and tell the truth instead.

God is Truth, and He hates lies.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Heals Broken Hearts

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)

What is a "broken heart"? Have you ever had one? We use the expression when we talk about the deepest kind of grief a heart can feel. Broken hearts are often caused by a hurtful change in a relationship with another person. If someone you love dies, or if you have to say good-bye to a friend, or if someone close to you does something to hurt you deeply, you might say that you have a broken heart. But those are just the surface causes for a broken heart. Do you know what really causes broken hearts? All of the grief, death, and sadness we experience came into our world as the result of human sin.

Jesus' heart was broken once too. Psalm 69:20 looks ahead to the time when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. "Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness." Jesus' heart was not broken because of His own sin; He never sinned. It was broken because of ours. All the sins of the whole world were laid on Him when He suffered and died. During those hours on the cross, He endured the awful wrath of God the Father in our place. The precious relationship Jesus had with His Father, closer and more satisfying than anything we could know, was broken while He bore our sin.

Does your God understand what your broken heart feels like? He not only understands, but He also knows how to heal it. Through Jesus Christ's suffering and death on the cross, He made a way for you to come directly to Him with your broken heart. Your grief may be the result of your own sin or someone else's. Or it may be the result of sin's effects on our fallen world. Whatever the cause, God promises to gently care for your hurting heart.

The God whose heart was broken for sin will heal your broken heart.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Deserves the First and Best

"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem." (Exodus 13:15)

When the Pharaoh – the supreme ruler of Egypt – was oppressing the Jews and refusing to let them leave Egypt, God gave him many chances to change his ming. But eventually God was done giving second chances to Pharaoh, and He told the Hebrews put lamb's blood on their doorposts. This act of faith would protect the Hebrews from the Lord's judgment that would visit the land of Egypt. The Bible tells us that since the Egyptians did not have the blood on their doorposts the firstborn Egyptian sons and animals died. But right next door in Goshen where the Hebrews lived, all the Hebrew firstborns were safe because they believed God and obeyed His command.

After the Hebrews left Egypt ("the exodus"), God told them that from then on He wanted the first of everything. That meant that if they had a cow, the first calf would be sacrificed to the Lord. If they had a sheep, the first lamb belonged to God. This was to be a constant reminder throughout the years that God had gone to great lengths to rescue the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. These "firsts" came to symbolize the best or most important, which God deserved.

Even though we no longer sacrifice calves or lambs, God still deserves the best that we have. Whether it is the talents He has given to us or some money that we earn, God deserves the first and the best. Every boy or girl, man or woman who has trusted in Jesus for rescue from sin owes his or her soul to the Lord. Because of the gratitude in our hearts for this amazing gift of salvation we should give God the first and the best!

Because God has rescued us, He deserves our best

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God Is Our Stronghold

Psalm 144:1-2 "Blessed be the LORD my strength... my goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust."

God is a stronghold for us when Satan tempts us to sin.

There is a place in Israel near the Dead Sea called Masada. It looks like a mountain with a flat, square top. Masada was once a huge getaway palace for Herod the Great. In the first century after the time of Christ, Jewish people used it as a fortress. Men, women, and children lived there for three years, hiding from the Romans who had attacked and destroyed their cities. "The Romans cannot get to us here," they thought. "We are safe in Masada."

But they were not safe. The Roman army built a siege ramp all the way up the side of the mountain. Day after day, the Jews saw the Romans working on the ramp, and they knew that they had only a little time.

When the Romans finally stormed up the siege ramp to take the fortress, they found all of the Jewish people dead. The Jews had decided to kill themselves rather than lose their freedom. Their Masada had not protected them after all.

The word Masada comes from a Hebrew word that is often translated "fortress," "defence," or "stronghold." This word is often used in the Psalms to describe God. God is a stronghold for us as believers. Because we belong to God, we have an enemy, Satan, who is the enemy of God. Satan would like us to turn away from God and live in sin, doubt, and defeat.

But when Satan and his forces attack our minds and hearts, God is a safe fortress for us to hide in. When we believe His Word and depend on His help to obey it, He will keep us from sin. God is stronger than Masada. He will never fail or be taken by the enemy. Satan can never defeat us when we make God our stronghold. God is a stronghold for us when Satan tempts us to sin.

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God Satisfies

Psalm 63:1, 5 "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.... My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips."

Only God satisfies the thirst in our souls.

If you look up Psalm 63 in your Bible, you will see this title: "A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah." Recently, I spent some time in the wilderness area where David was when he wrote this psalm. I understood what he meant about a "dry and thirsty land." It was hot, dry, and dusty. There weren't many trees or plants. What a barren, lonely desert it was. The group I was with visited the Dead Sea. Water—at last! But it was not the kind you could drink. The Dead Sea is saltier than any other ocean in the world. I could hardly wait to get back on the bus and grab a water bottle from the cooler. But when I opened it and reached inside, I saw that we were out of water.

Have you ever been thirsty—I mean, really thirsty? So thirsty that water is all you want, all you can think about? That's how I felt. And that is the kind of feeling David was using to describe his desire for God. He longed for God. He longed to know Him, to see His power and His glory. He knew that God was the only thing that could satisfy the empty, dry feeling deep inside—the thirst in his soul.

When our bus finally stopped at a little shop that day, I was willing to pay any price for water. I hurried inside and saw that there were two choices in the refrigerator—water and orange pop. I made a dumb decision. I looked at the bright orange pop cans and suddenly thought I'd like something sweeter and fizzier than plain old water. That can of orange pop was gone in about twenty minutes. But it didn't refresh me. When the can was empty, I was still thirsty. What I really needed was water.

How often do we reach out for other things to satisfy our souls when God is what we really need? Everything else is like orange pop. It might look good, but it doesn't refresh and satisfy us deep down in our souls. Only God can do that. Only God satisfies the thirst in our souls.

[Soldier4Christ]

God expects us to think rightly toward others

"And let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart." (Zech 7:10b)

It seems that brothers and sisters are naturally good at annoying their siblings. It is natural to love our family members, but sometimes it is hard to like them. Brothers and sisters seem to know just the right buttons to push in order to annoy one another. Our God is not like that. Think about it. What would we think of God if He were the kind of God Who would say "devise evil against your brother"? Our God does not say that. No way! He says, "let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart"! God is holy, and He has an opinion about the secret thoughts you have toward your brothers and sisters.

Right now, you may have no desire to be "pals" with your brother or sister. When they grow older, though, brothers and sisters often become the closest of friends. You might never dream that you could be good friends as grown-ups, even if your family ends up spread out all over the country. In fact, you might think, "No way! Impossible!" When you are in the middle of an argument, you can think only of ways to get back at that brother or sister. You might even feel tempted to think of him or her as your enemy!

In His sovereign wisdom, God has placed us in the families and neighborhoods and churches where we live. We may not have perfect families. We may not even like some of our family members! But to spend time dreaming up ways to make them miserable--that is the opposite of God's command. When we do these things to the people God has put in our lives, it is like we are telling God that He made a mistake and that He should have given us better people to live with.

In our natural sinfulness, we react against people--especially if we believe they have hurt us or wronged us. If we think people deserve punishment, we want to deal it out to them. And we cannot change our minds about people on our own. Where does that kind of heart change come from? What helps brothers and sisters change from enemies into friends? It is not what, but Who: God changes our hearts. God shows us how much He loves us, and then He shows us how much we should love the people He has given us. God tells us in I John 4:20, " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

When we refuse to think evil toward others, we honor God for His wisdom and goodness. And He can help us think rightly toward one another. When God changes your heart, you will not want to spend your time thinking of ways to hurt people. Ask God to forgive you of sinful thoughts toward Him and others. God will change your heart and help you obey His word!

We honor and obey God when we think rightly toward others.