DON'T
FORGET TO BOOKMARK TheChildrensSermon.com
Would you like to receive notice of
each new sermon posted? Click
"Contact" (above) and
e-mail your request to join The Children's
Sermon's mailing list.
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Gospel:
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
What's Real?
Highlighted
Verses: Matthew
11:25-30
All
things
have been handed over to
me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no
one
knows
the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him. “Come
to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I
will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for
I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(NOTE:
This week's children's sermon makes use of a toy hammer and a real
hammer. If these items are not easily accessible to you, the sermon can
be easily adapted by substituting another suitable object - and a toy
counterpart with which to illustrate the concepts of "real" and
"pretend.")
I've brought a couple things here today. (Hold up hammers so that they
are easily visible to all.) Is there anything you notice that is the
same about them? (Both are hammers, have handles, heads,
etc.)
That's right! We have a pair of hammers - and they look the same
in a lot of ways. But there's at least one way that these two hammers
are very different. Do you know what I'm thinking of? If I needed to
fix the roof here at the church - or drive a nail into a board - which
one do you think I'd be better off choosing?
Of course! And that's because one of these
hammers is the real thing (it can really do the job we think it can)
and one is just pretend. This one might look a lot like a
hammer, but in truth it's not really a hammer at all! If we tried
pounding a real nail with this one it would probably break into pieces!
When Jesus was on Earth as a man he had a similar problem. He had to
help people to understand that he was "the real thing." And since he was real, sometimes that meant helping
people to understand that what other people were telling them in their
churches was sometimes pretend.
In today's Gospel reading Jesus explains - even though the people had
been told otherwise and given lots and lots of special rules to follow
- that there is only one real way to know God. And it's him!
If you listen carefully, you'll even hear Jesus sort of "make fun" of
all of the pretend rules that the people have been given. During those
days when something very heavy had to be carried or pulled, they would
use animals to do the job - and they would attach heavy pieces of wood
called "yokes" to their
backs to help them pull.
Today Jesus compares the people to those animals. He tells them that they're having to
carry around all those pretend rules, but that the real way to God -
his way - is much easier. Their pretend yoke is heavy, but his
real yoke is light. (Does that make sense? Make sure you listen for it,
ok?)
Let's pray.
Dear God,
We thank you for sending your real son, Jesus, to show us the way and
lighten our yokes. Help us to always follow his one true path.
Amen.
Copyright
2008 - The Children's
Sermon.Com