This children’s sermon was written to accompany a sermon about seeing God in both the miracles and the mundane. The scripture focus was the passage from John 20:24-29, when Jesus appeared to Thomas and encouraged him to touch and believe. So the question I wanted to broach with the kids was how do we find/see God in the world around us. Maybe God Is Like That Too, by Jennifer Grant, is a perfect book to help children think about this question. It’s also a great one for thinking about the fruits of the spirit.
Good morning, girls and boys. Were you listening and watching as our fifth graders acted out the scripture? The time when Jesus appeared to some of the disciples after he had been killed on the cross, and Thomas wasn’t there, so he didn’t believe it? And then what happened?
It would be so nice if Jesus would appear to us right now, so we could see him and ask him questions and believe. But maybe he does show us his presence in other ways. I brought a book today to share with you that’s about that very thing. I’m going to read it quickly, but you can find it in our gathering room and take your time reading it. It’s called, Maybe God Is Like That Too, and it’s by Jennifer Grant.
(Read the book. It’s a short one, but powerful.)
We might not be able to see Jesus like the disciples did, but maybe we don’t need a miracle. We can find signs of God’s spirit all around us if we look.
Let’s pray: Dear God, thank you for all the everyday miracles that happen before our eyes, signs of you in the way we treat each other and the way we treat our world. Help us as we try to live the fruits of your spirit, so that you can use us, God, to show people what you are like. We love you, God. Amen.