This children’s sermon was given September 13, 2020, in the middle of our pandemic. We were able to meet in a large space, the Peace Center, in Greenville, SC, socially distant and masked. I’m sharing it here in hopes that it is helpful to someone.
Good morning kids! Could you stand up where you are, just for a moment! I’ve been missing seeing you in worship and I just want to see you! Thank you! You can sit down now, but please put your right hand on your left shoulder and your left hand on your right shoulder and give yourself a generous hug for me.
What does it mean to give a generous hug, rather than just a plain hug?
It’s a good time to think about that because today we’re talking about generosity- being generous. I brought some things in my bag to remind us about when people in the Bible were generous.
*Bread and fish- boy who gave his food to disciples when Jesus was teaching. Shared to make others ok
*The woman who was about to have stones thrown at her because a crowd said she had broken a law, and Jesus stopped them, and said, the only ones who can throw a stone are ones who’ve never made a mistake. He was giving her care that he didn’t have to, to make sure she was okay.
We live in 2020, not back in Bible times. How can we be generous?
*Fruit- we’re having a fruit drive next Sunday on Pastor Jim’s birthday, for United Ministries. We give fruit we are helping others be okay. That’s being generous.
*Masks- when we wear our masks, we are helping others be okay. We don’t think we’re sick, but if we are and we don’t know it, wearing a mask helps us keep our germs to ourselves. That’s being generous.
*Give an offering. When we give an offering, we give some of our money that we could spend on ourselves, because we want to make sure others are okay. We want to make sure the church building is okay, that church bills are paid, that the church has money to help people who need help. That’s being generous.
So, back to hugging. What’s a generous hug? It’s giving one in a big way, making sure others feel it. Even though we’re not touching each other, I hope you feel generously hugged by your church family today.
Dear God, you are so generous to us. Thank you for being close to us and caring that we’re okay. Help us to be generous like you, God, to care and serve others. We love you, God. Amen.
