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This children's sermon was prepared to celebrate the Week of Compassion, which is both an event and the name of the emergency relief, refugee assistance and self-help development mission fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Week of Compassion partners ecumenically with Church World Service, Action by Churches Together, One Great Hour of Sharing, Bread for the World, and other church agencies. Once upon a time there was a little boy--he was about your age--who went off to see Jesus. He wanted to hear Jesus tell stories and watch him make people well. The little boy took with him a lunch. His mother had fixed the lunch for him so that he would have something to eat when he got hungry. In his lunch were five pieces of bread and two dried fish. Do you ever take a lunch with you when you go to school or when you go on a picnic? If you were going off to listen to Jesus tell stories, and your mother or daddy fixed a lunch for you, what kinds of things would be in your lunch? [Responses.] After a while the little boy began to feel hungry, and he thought about eating his lunch. But when he looked at the people around him, he saw that they didn't have anything to eat. He felt that somehow it would not be right for him to be eating when other people did not have any food. About that time one of Jesus' helpers--his name was Andrew--asked if anyone there had any food. The little boy timidly raised his hand. "Would you give your lunch to Jesus?" Andrew said. The boy was a little bit worried. He was so hungry. "What will I eat," he thought, "if I give my lunch to Jesus?" But he knew that Jesus was a good man, and he trusted him. So he gave Andrew his five loaves and two fish to give to Jesus. And then the boy watched in surprise as Jesus began to divide the bread. And the more he divided it, the more there was. He did the same thing with the fish. And Jesus' helpers gave the food to the people--including the little boy; he got his share, too. And everyone had enough to eat. I'm wondering: If Jesus asked you to give him something today to help people who are hungry or whose houses have been destroyed, what would you be able to give him? [Responses.] And what about the rest of us--all of the grown-ups here? What do you think we could give Jesus so that he can help people who have no food and no homes? [Responses.] Well, that's what we're doing in our church today. You and I, your mothers, your fathers, and everyone in the church--we're all bringing our gifts to people like Andrew so that Jesus can use those gifts to help hungry people. Let us pray: Dear God, our bodies are small, but our hearts are big. We trust you, and we want to help you help other people. We pray that you will multiply our gifts so that there will be enough for everybody, in Jesus' name. Amen. |
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