Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

God Owns You

"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (Psalm 100:3)

When you build a tree house, it is your own workmanship. Because you made it, you own it! Your friends have to ask your permission if they want to come into the tree house. And they call it your tree house because you made it. In the same way, if you bake cookies or make caramel apples, you have to offer them to others before they can eat them because those goodies belong to you.

The Bible says that you are God's workmanship. God created you for His own glory and He desires you to honor Him in all things! Because He made you, your body and everything about you really belong to Him. You have to answer to God for everything you think, say, and do. Your life is not your own. Do you pretend sometimes that it is?

Psalm 100:3 says that it is important for you to remember that the LORD is God. You should keep in mind that it was God Who made you, not you yourself. Because He made you, you belong to Him. The rest of Psalm 100 is about praising God and honoring Him with your life. A right response to knowing that you belong to God is to "serve the LORD with gladness."

Are you serving God with gladness? Or do you instead serve yourself with gladness? Do you come before His presence with singing? Or do you come to Him with complaining? Whom do you obey – God or yourself? You are not your own; you belong to God. When people watch you, can they see that God owns you and that you are His?

Because God made you, you belong to Him and your actions need to honor Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is a Spirit

"God is a Spirit." (John 4:24a)

Have you ever seen the wind? Probably not! If someone asked you to describe the wind, you would not be able to tell its shape or color. You would only be able to tell what the wind does – it makes tree limbs sway, causes waves to swell, howls in the night, and cools you down on a hot sunny days. In the same way, you could not describe what God looks like, because God is a spirit.

A spirit is invisible. That means a spirit does not have a body or a form that you can see with your eyes. In the world, there are spiritual things and material things. Material things are things you can see and touch. You see material things every day: cars, your computer screen, your clothes, your nose, the sun, and your schoolbooks are all material things. You know they are real because your five senses show them to you. You can see a cell phone. You can hear it ring. You can touch your book. You can taste your mom's homemade cooking. You can smell your dad's dirty feet.

But just because you cannot sense something does not mean it is not real. Spiritual things are the supernatural things that you cannot sense with your five natural senses. It takes faith to believe that spiritual things are there. You might be are tempted to think that just because you can't see something it cannot be real. But the Bible says very clearly that even though you cannot see God, He is real.

By faith, you can believe that God is real even though you cannot see Him. By faith, you can know for sure that the God who is a Spirit is the same God who does everything. By faith, you can sense spiritual things – not with your five senses, but with spiritual understanding. You can know in your heart that God is who He says He is, even if you cannot see Him for yourself. You can genuinely love Him and live your life before Him, knowing that He is always near and that He is worthy of your trust and your obedience. God expects you to rely by faith on the truth of the Bible. God's desire is for you to be even more sure about Him than you are about the material things you can see or feel.

God expects you to believe what He says about who He is, no matter what your five material senses tells you.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Answers Prayers

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." (Jeremiah 33:3)

Kelly was in second grade. Her parents were teachers in a Christian school. They lived a happy life, serving God in their church and school. But all the sudden, something happened that changed their lives forever: doctors found a deadly tumor at the base of Kelly's brain.

The students in Kelly's school, people at her church, family members, and many others who heard about Kelly prayed for her. She had surgery, but the surgeon was unable to remove the entire tumor. She was a good girl with a bright smile and cheerful attitude through all the doctor visits, hospital stays, and extra attention she got from everyone. The family took a dream vacation so that they could have some wonderful memories with Kelly before she died. Would God answer many people's prayers that Kelly would be healed, even when the doctors said it was hopeless?

Kelly's parents showed awesome trust and dependence upon God, but doctors did not expect for her to live very long. Surgery and medication could not get rid of all of the tumor, and there was nothing else the doctors could do! But God stepped in and miraculously healed Kelly. Her health continued to improve, and years later, she is still doing well and is serving the Lord in full-time Christian ministry. She has been cancer-free for years.

God delights in answering our prayers, but He does not always answer them immediately or in the way we think they should be answered. In Kelly's case, God chose to answer people's prayers in the way they wanted Him to. Sometimes, God says "yes" to us; sometimes he says "no"; sometimes he says "wait." We can always trust Him to choose the answer that will give Him the most glory and be best for us.

God answers prayer in different ways, but He always answers in a way that shows His power and His goodness.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Sovereign

"But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever He hath pleased." (Psalm 115:3)

Imagine being surrounded by a large invisible net. Imagine that everywhere you go – school, your house, your friend's house – you are surrounded by this net. The net is there to stop everything from touching you. If someone throws a volleyball at you during P.E. class, it would just bounce off of nothing. If someone throws their carrots at you in the lunch room, the carrots won't touch you. Nothing can get past the net!

One of God's gifts to us is His sovereignty. God's sovereignty is much like an invisible net. Situations in life – both good and bad – cannot touch you without getting God's permission.

The word sovereignty is a big word with a simple meaning. Sovereign means "chief" or "highest in power." To say that God is sovereign means that God is the One in charge of everything – it means nothing can get past God's control. A car accident can't harm you without God's permission. Surprises and blessings can't touch you without God's permission. God is in control of everything!

God's sovereignty is like a net that surrounds and protects you.

[Soldier4Christ]

God's Timing Is Always Best

"And [Hannah] was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." (1 Samuel 1:10 & 17)

Have you ever really wanted something? Maybe it was a special toy, a brother or sister, or a new friend. You prayed and prayed for it, but you just had to keep waiting for God to answer.

The Bible speaks about a woman named Hannah who prayed a long time for a son. In biblical times, the Jewish people felt that it was shameful if a woman was unable to have children. Hannah was unable to have children, and she prayed that God would give her a son.

You may know people who have prayed a long time for something. Maybe they prayed for a job, a child, the salvation of a family member or friend, or something else. Maybe you have heard of a couple who prayed years and years for a child, and finally the Lord has given them a precious little son or daughter of their own!

God's timing is sometimes hard to understand. Why doesn't He answer as soon as we ask Him for something? After all, we might not be asking for something bad. In fact, most of the time, we pray to ask God to do something good for someone else. But you know what? God's timing is always best. God knows and understands things that you do not know. God has reasons that you do not understand. Sometimes He tells you "no" and sometimes He says "yes." But some of the hardest times are when God says "wait."

When you are frustrated by what seems to be no answer to your prayers. remember Hannah. God answered her prayers by giving her a son. God's timing was best, and He used her son for His own glory. Hannah's son served the Lord all his life. Do you remember the name of her son? His name was Samuel. God had a special purpose for Samuel's life. Samuel had a special job to do for the Lord, and the timing of his life had to be God's timing, not Hannah's or any human being's timing.

What are you praying about today? Are you willing to wait for God's timing instead of your own? Are you willing for God to say "no," or will you push and make it happen your own way?

God's timing is always right. He listens to and answers your prayers with a "yes," "no," or "wait."

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is Holy

"And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5)

Moses was a shepherd. He lived in the desert and watched the sheep that his father-in-law owned. He had once been a prince of Egypt, but he had left that life, gotten married, and had decided to stay in the desert to raise his family rather than return to Egypt. Moses remembered that he was a Hebrew, and his mother had taught him all about Jehovah God even before he had gone to the palace to be a prince. Moses knew how to worship and serve the Holy God. But Moses preferred to do that in the quiet of the desert rather than back in Egypt.

One day, as Moses was watching the sheep in the desert, he saw a fire. At least, he thought he saw a fire. When he found the source of the fire, he realized a bush was on fire, but it was not burning up! What an amazing sight! Moses had never seen anything like it. Suddenly, he heard a voice calling his name. He realized it was coming from the burning bush. The voice said, Turn aside and take off your shoes. You are standing on Holy Ground. Moses did as the voice commanded. He realized as the voice continued to speak to him that it was the Lord talking to Him. God told Moses that he would be the one to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. Moses realized it was a tremendous task and that he was unworthy of the job. God assured Moses that He would give him the words to speak. Moses only needed to do what he was commanded.

One of the lessons that Moses learned at the burning bush was that God is a holy God. Do you know what the word holy means? In part, it means that God is worthy to be worshipped. Worship is not simply singing hymns on Sunday at a worship service. According to Romans 12:1, our whole lives are worship to God.

One way that Moses showed his worship to God was obeying what God told him to do at the burning bush. Even though Moses liked his quiet life as a shepherd, Moses did what he did not want to do and became the leader of God's people. Moses' life became a life of worship to the Holy God of Israel.

The same God Whom Moses worshipped by his obedience is the God we worship today. Our obedience to God is part of the worship that He deserves as a holy God.

Because God is holy, He is worthy of our worship.

[Soldier4Christ]

Jesus Christ Abolished Death

"[God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:9-10)

When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, his goal was to abolish slavery. To emancipate means to set free, and President Lincoln wanted to set the slaves free from the rule of slavery. So he signed a new law to abolish the slavery way of life.

To abolish something means to do away with it, or to destroy it. Abolishing is the idea of wiping away something that has been going on for a long time. Can you think of any rules that your family used to have but do not have anymore? If your parents abolish a rule, they are getting rid of it once and for all.

Before Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, death had the victory. No human being had ever been able to raise someone from the dead by himself (whenever there were miracles, it was God Who gave the supernatural power, not man). Jesus was the only Person Who ever raised Himself from the dead in the history of mankind. Because He lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose again, He showed the world He was totally God and totally man. He proved that He has the power to give eternal life to those who believe on Him. He abolished the rule of death.

If our trust is in the Savior Jesus Christ, our bodies may die, but our souls will have eternal life with God, because Jesus has the power to do away with death and to give eternal life. Back in the nineteenth century, President Lincoln made a new law to set slaves free from the bondage of slavery. But long before that, Jesus Christ did away with the rule of death and made it possible for sinners to be set free from the bondage of sin and from the punishment of eternal death. Single-handedly, our Savior abolished death and made possible the gift of eternal life.

Our Savior Jesus Christ did away with the power of death and made it possible for us to enjoy eternal life.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Is All-Powerful and in Control

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And [Jesus] was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." (Mark 4:37-39)

The wind wails and the rain pours down. Trees are crashing down everywhere. Windows are breaking and walls are falling. As trees fall, their roots are pulled from the ground, leaving gaping holes as big as a truck!

How can anything survive such a storm? Will any house, animal, or person come out of a storm like that unharmed, or without losing anything in the storm?

A storm like what is described above shows God's mighty power. God's power is shown in the strength of the wind and rain. A wind that can blow over a tree, break windows, or destroy a wall is very powerful. Rain and water that can uproot trees, fill a house, or make streets look like rivers and lakes – such a storm is great and powerful.

But did you know that not only can God create great storms, but He can also STOP a storm with just a word or command? Jesus said, "Peace, be still," and the winds and rains obeyed His command.

A storm like the one in the Bible or the one described above can be so destructive, but God is still in control.

You have probably read or seen things on the news about hurricanes and mudslides and and flooding and tidal wives and blizzards. There are all kinds of storms and storm results that can mean "bad news" for human beings. But why? Because we are not all-powerful. We are not in control. We who are Christians can be thankful we know the God Who is. He does protect and provide, even through bad weather and scary storms like that. We can be glad for weather's reminder of just how powerful and sovereignly in control God really is.

God is all-powerful, and He has complete control over everything that His power produces.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Wants Us To Fulfill His Righteous Law

"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:4)

The road to receiving a driver's license was not an easy one for Bob. At first, he couldn't seem to do much right. Thankfully, the driving instructor was there every step of the way – teaching Bob, encouraging him, and occasionally slamming the brake on the passenger side of the car in order to keep them both from disaster! The driving teacher was dedicated to helping students receive their licenses.

After a lot more practice under the careful watch of the instructor, Bob finally started getting it right. In fact, Bob passed all his written tests and road tests and was ready to receive his license. That driver's license was the goal of all the study and practice! On the day Bob turned 16, he went down to the Department of Motor Vehicles (a very special place indeed!) and stood in line to receive his license. He soon had his license – with his very own picture on it! That license was what he had waited so long to receive; now he could drive legally.

Now that Bob had his license, did he need the driving instructor to sit in the front seat with him anymore? Would he need to call the instructor every time he wanted to go to the store? No, he had his license. His license gave him the freedom to drive the car by himself.

But did having the driver's license give Bob the freedom to drive the car any way he wanted? Could he drive 100 miles per hour without putting himself and others in danger? Could he drive through red lights anytime he wanted? No. He was still bound to obey the rules of the road. The license didn't give him the freedom to break the law, but it did give him the freedom to obey the law. Once he had his license, Bob drove in the way that the driving instructor taught him was good and right.

Did you know that God does not save us so that we can live any way we please? God saves us so that we can obey His laws.

Much as the license enables Bob to drive a car legally, Jesus Christ enables us to obey His law and do good. When Bob did not have the driver's license, he was in a state of breaking the law anytime he tried to drive on his own. When we did not have faith in Christ, we were in a state of disobedience to God! Even the things we did that seemed good on the outside weren't truly good. Why? Because were in a state or condition of sinfulness before God. All people without faith in Christ live in a state of continual disobedience to God. They cannot please God until they humble themselves and believe in Christ for forgiveness of sins.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

[Soldier4Christ]

esus Knew How To Handle Temptation

"Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil." (Luke 4:1, 2a)

Are you ever tempted to do something that you know is wrong? Maybe when you get home from school you see the super-chewy, ooey-gooey, fudge brownies that your mom has just finished baking. You ask if you may have a brownie, but to your utter dismay, your mom responds with, "Only if your homework is done; do you have any?" Now you know that you have just a little bit of math homework. But your "need" for that brownie is so great that you think to yourself, "I'll say 'no' right now and just do the math homework later on tonight before I go to bed." When you think that way, you have been tempted to do something that you know is wrong.

How should we handle temptation? When we are right in the middle of being tempted to do wrong, that is no time to try to figure out a way to handle it. We need to decide before the temptation how we are going to handle it. One reason Jesus went through the temptations in the wilderness (listed in Luke 4) is to show us how to handle temptation. Let's take a look at this passage and see what it says about Jesus and temptations.

After Jesus was baptized, he went into the wilderness and fasted for forty days (fasting means that He prayed to the Father instead of eating). At the end of those forty days, Satan came to tempt Him. Our passage lists three temptations that Jesus went through during this time. Each time, Jesus responded by quoting something God had said in the Bible. This is very important. God has given us His Word so we can live in a way that pleases Him. If we are going to handle temptation correctly, we must know what God's Word says.

Remember the cookie and homework temptation-to-lie situation? A couple of verses that would be good to memorize for a temptation like that would be these:

"Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another." (Leviticus 19:11)

"Honor your father and mother." (Ephesians 6:2a)

Each time Jesus was tempted, He remembered something that God had said in Scripture. Think of what you are tempted to do. Can you think of any Bible verses that would help you if you had them memorized? If you can't, ask your dad, mom, pastor, or teacher to help you find some verses to help you when you are tempted to do something wrong.

Each one of us is tempted to sin. But Jesus showed us the way we can go through a temptation and not sin. Let's follow Jesus' example and handle temptation the way God wants us to!

Jesus is our Example for resisting temptation through the power of GOd's Word.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Takes Care of His People

"But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Genesis 50:20)

In the book of Genesis there are many different stories that tell us about the nation of Israel. To begin with, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. Abraham had a son named Isaac, and when Isaac became a man and got married, he had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob grew up and got married, and he had twelve sons of his own. Eventually, these twelve sons formed the twelve tribes of Israel.

But back to Jacob's twelve sons: Out of these twelve, Jacob had a favorite – Joseph. To show his high regard for Joseph, Jacob gave him a beautiful coat, often referred to as the coat of many colors. Jacob's other sons were jealous of Joseph because their father gave Joseph many gifts and because Joseph was the son set to become head of the family (even though normally the oldest son would have become the head of the family).

One day, Jacob sent his sons out to take care of the sheep – all of his sons except Joseph and Benjamin, that is. After his sons had been gone for several days, Jacob wanted to send food to them in Dothan, so he sent Joseph. As Joseph made his way to the place where his brothers were camped, they saw him in the distance. When he was still far away, the brothers plotted against Joseph to kill him. Reuben told the brothers they should not kill him and suggested that they throw him into a pit in the ground. Reuben's secret plan was to come back and rescue Joseph. But before Reuben could rescue him, the brothers decide to sell Joseph and make some money. They sold him to a group of merchants traveling to Egypt. Joseph was now a slave.

When Joseph got to Egypt he became a slave for a man named Potiphar. Joseph became the head of Potiphar's household. But when he was serving his master Potiphar, Potiphar's wife tried to get Joseph to sin with her. Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife, but she told her husband a lie and Joseph went to prison. He stayed in prison for two years.

One night, the Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream. No one could interpret his dream. One of Pharaoh's servants told him about Joseph and Joseph's God, so Pharaoh sent for Joseph out of prison and asked him about the dream. Joseph prayed to God, and God told Joseph the meaning of the dream – and then Joseph told Pharaoh what God had told him. Pharaoh then made Joseph the second ruler over all of Egypt. God took care of Joseph!

But God also took care of Joseph's family. There was a famine in the land where Joseph's brothers were living. Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to find food. When they did, they did not recognize Joseph. Joseph told his brothers who he was, and then he was reunited with his family. His dad and all his brothers and their families moved to Egypt and lived there until the famine was over.

Joseph was sold into slavery, and then thrown into prison and forgotten there. Those seem like the worst possible things that could have happened. But through those painful, "bad" circumstances, God sent Joseph to Egypt and used his presence there to provide a way for the whole family to survive the coming famine.

Even when very bad things happen to us – even if people are mean or lie about us or punish us for sins that we really did not commit – even then God is working everything out for our good and for His own glory. Of course, God promises to do this only for His own people, for those who love Him and are called by him according to His purpose (from Romans 8:28).

God takes care of His own people, even through painful or bad circumstances.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Never Changes

"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Malachi 3:6)

Cabinet doors were slamming; angry looks were given; Dan was snapping commands to everyone, and now his entire family was in a bad mood. All of them were wondering what they had done to cause Dan to be so rude. What happened? Normally Dan was a nice kid, always helping his family and never saying unkind words. But today it seemed like no one could do anything right, and he acted as though everything and everyone was against him. Did someone say something mean to him? Did he have a bad day at school? Why was he so upset and mad?

Sometimes we let people and events affect our moods and attitudes. If we are sick, if someone is mean to us, if we have lost a soccer game, or if we perform badly in a recital, we let it show through our attitudes and actions. For example, when someone is not feeling well, he might be tempted to "take it out on" everyone around him. Other people are affected by the mood, attitude, and actions of one person.

Have you ever noticed that your mood affects others? Whether you are in a bad mood or a good mood, people around you are affected. If you walk into a room, smile, and greet a person with a pleasant hello, he will probably smile and respond with an equal amount of cheerfulness. But if you come in and scowl at a person, you will probably cause him to frown and look away to avoid your glance. When you are in a bad mood, You might allow your attitude, actions, or even the tone of your voice to change. You let the way you feel cause you to treat others badly.

We are all human, and our moods change. Some people are even more like that than others; we call them "moody" because their moods swing back and forth all the time. But do you know Who never changes? God! God never changes – He is always the same. It doesn't matter what is going on in the world or what you do – God still loves and cares for His children. Aren't you glad that God doesn't change His mind about loving you when you do something wrong?

Let's list some ways that God does not change:

God's love is unchanging. (See 1 John 4:9)

God always cares for us. (See 1 Peter 5:7)

God always forgives. (See 1 John 1:9)

God is always just and fair. (See Revelation 16:9.)

God is always patient. (2 Peter 3:9.)

God is always present. (Hebrews 13:5.)

God is all-knowing – nothing takes Him by surprise. (See Psalm 139.)

God never changes. He is always loving, caring, forgiving, just, patient, present, and all knowing.

[Soldier4Christ]

Jesus Deserves Your Best

"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair." (John 12:3)

Imagine that your family had invited the President of the United States to your house for dinner tonight. What would you do? Would you leave the house messy? Would your mom make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Would you set the table with paper plates and plastic forks? Of course not! You would clean your house until it was spotless. Your mom would cook her best meal and set the table with her finest dishes. You would give your best to the President of the United States.

Now imagine that Jesus were coming to your house for dinner. What would you do? In the Bible, Mary of Bethany knew what she would do. She bought a bottle of ointment, or perfume, just for Jesus. This ointment, called spikenard, was all the way from India, and it was so expensive that a normal worker would have to save all of his money for a year to afford it.

Mary took the ointment to the room where Jesus sat. She opened the jar and poured it on His feet. Then, right in front of everyone, she began wiping Jesus' feet with her hair. Some people thought she was crazy for spending that much money on Jesus, but Mary did not care. She knew how special Jesus was, and she wanted to give her best because He deserved it.

Jesus still deserves your best. You cannot pour expensive perfume on His feet today, but you can give to Him in many other ways. He deserves your time, so you can read the Bible and pray to Him. He deserves your money, so you can give some of your allowance in the offering at church. He deserves your best attitude, so you can joyfully obey Him. Sometimes, you may even find ways to make special sacrifices beyond your normal devotions and offerings and obedience. You, like Mary, can still give your best to God.

God deserves the best that you can give Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Jesus Rewards Kindness

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)

Katie walked toward the back of the lunch room to sit with her friend Julie. Katie and Julie were best friends, and they always did everything together. The other kids in their class even called them The Twins.

As she walked to sit by Julie, Katie saw a girl sitting one at a table near the wall. It was Lucy, the new girl. Lucy was quiet, she smelled a little funny, her clothes looked old and worn-out, and she did not have any friends yet. Katie paused for a moment, but then hurried to her usual table without giving Lucy another glance.

Later that afternoon, Katie's teacher taught a Bible lesson. "Does anyone know who the least of these are?" Mrs. Johnson asked the class. The students shook their heads. "Jesus gives some examples of these people in Matthew chapter 25," she said. "He calls people who are hungry, poor, or lonely the least of these because they're the ones that most people think the least about."

Katie peeked over at Lucy. She was looking down at her desk. Mrs. Johnson continued, "Jesus told the crowds that He would reward those who help these people, and punish those who are too selfish to help. We have many chances to be kind to people everyday," she said, "and Jesus will reward you for your kindness."

The next day at lunch, Katie saw Lucy sitting alone again. Katie slowed down. "Dear Lord," she prayed, "help me to be kind to Lucy and the least of these." She walked up to Lucy and smiled.

"Hi! I'm Katie. Do you want to eat lunch with my friend Julie and me?" Lucy smiled back.

"I'm Lucy," she said, "and I'd love to eat with you."

She seems so nice, Katie thought. Maybe we can be 'The Triplets' from now on.

In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus describes the least of these as the kinds of people we see everyday. He says that when we do kind things to them, it is as though we are doing it to Christ Himself. Jesus promises to bless us if we are kind to His people. We have no excuse for ignoring people who are different. After all, Jesus loves us even though we have nothing.

Jesus blesses those who help the least of these.

[Soldier4Christ]

God Makes Everyone Unique

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139:14)

Sally sat in the front seat of the car watching the snowflakes fall on the car windshield. "Wow! Look at that one, Mom! Isn't it beautiful? Look at the tiny little lines!" Sally continued watching the snowflakes and pointing out her favorites.

"Sally, did you notice that none of the snowflakes are the same? Every snowflake you'll see is different from the others. God makes each one unique – that means that they are one of a kind." Mom challenged Sally to find two alike and Sally couldn't do it.

Sally sat back and thought hard for a little while. She looked at the mounds of snow that had fallen during the night. Almost two inches had fallen overnight, and Sally realized that it took a LOT of snowflakes to make even one small mound of snow! Mom said that each one was different. Wow! That was awesome to think about. Our God is so awesome that He made each snowflake – and there are no two snowflakes alike.

Sally could hardly pull her eyes away from the mounds of DIFFERENT snowflakes, but Mom was talking again: "Sally, do you realize that just as God made each snowflake unique and special, He also makes each person unique and special? Even identical twins are different in many ways. Each person can show God's glory in a different way from his brothers or sisters or parents or friends. Our differences show God's creativity and wisdom. To bring glory to God, you do not have to be just like your brother Jim, or like me, or like Dad. God made you special so that you'll bring Him glory in a way that no one else can."

God cared enough to make each of us uniquely different from everyone else.