Youth Sermons: Who is the Greatest?

A friend shared with me a beautiful legend about a king who decided to set aside a special day to honor his greatest subject. When the big day arrived, there was a large gathering in the palace courtyard. Four finalists were brought forward, and from these four, the king would select the winner.

The first person presented was a wealthy philanthropist. The king was told that this man was highly deserving of the honor because of his humanitarian efforts. He had given much of his wealth to the poor.

The second person was a celebrated physician. The king was told that this doctor was highly deserving of the honor because he had rendered faithful and dedicated service to the sick for many years.

The third person was a distinguished judge. The king was told that the judge was worthy because he was noted for his wisdom, his fairness, and his brilliant decisions.

The fourth person presented was an elderly woman. Everyone was quite surprised to see her there, because her manner was quite humble, as was her dress. She hardly looked the part of someone who would be honored as the greatest subject in the kingdom. What chance could she possibly have, when compared to the other three, who had accomplished so much? Even so, there was something about her— the look of love in her face, the understanding in her eyes, her quiet confidence.

The king was intrigued, to say the least, and some-what puzzled by her presence. He asked who she was. The answer came: “You see the philanthropist, the doctor, and the judge? Well, she was their teacher!”

That woman had no wealth, no fortune, and no title, but she had unselfishly given her life to produce great people. There is nothing more powerful or more Christlike than sacrificial love

James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True,
Dimensions, 1994, 129.

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Sermon 4 Kids: What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,
He called it ... Dad


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Sermon for Kids: Unless the Corn Die

Years ago a minister in Iowa went home from a service for dinner with a wealthy farmer. This man, though not a Christian, was moral and upright. As they entered the house from the rear through a shed, the minister noticed several bushels of corn twisted together by the husks and hung from the open rafters. The farmer pointer out to the minister the finest seed corn he had ever raised. Said the preacher: "If I were you, I would always keep that corn there. You will never get any more like it."

"You must think I'm a fool," said the farmer. "I must plant that corn or I'll have no more crop." And the preacher rejoined: "That corn is like yourself. I never knew a man so rich in natural endowments as you. If something would only happen to let the seed corn be planted, be buried, you would be so useful to God and humanity!"

Months later the minister received a call to visit the farmer. The old farmer surprised him by saying, "Glory to God!" The seed corn has been planted." He related gladly how it happened. He had been currying a mule when the mule let both heels fly at him, cutting open his face with a sharp-shod hoof. The injured man got on his knees and surrendered to God. "And now," said he, "I want to make my life yield a harvest for Him."

Author: W.W. Clay
Source: "Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 12-13.

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Sermons for Youth: The church = Trophies of Grace?

I sometimes wonder if there is a place for grace in the church today? Churches get berated for "cheap grace." But grace was anything but cheap. It was costly. it doesn't matter if you are a youth that doesn't know better, or a seasoned youth worker that should know better. We all fail and we all need grace. It is only through grace that anyone is saved.

"The church is more than a group of people who have all been born again. The church consists of God's trophies of grace...

Throughout eternity, God will be glorified because He has extended His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. We certainly didn't deserve His grace, yet He *chose* to extend loving grace toward us on the basis of His own loving nature.

Unlike their Father, performance-based Christians accept other people according to their conduct. One walking in grace accepts people on the basis of unconditional love. This doesn't suggest a blanket approval of all behavior, but grace allows one to accept and love others regardless of ther actions.

Legalists set out to change what people *do.* Grace looks beyond what others do and affirms them for who they *are*, encouraging them to live up to their identity.

Legalists heap guilt and shame on those who fail to measure up. A gracious Christian loves unconditionally.

As you extend grace to Christians who stumble and fail, you will be amazed at the impact it has on their life. A Christian who has fallen doesn't need condemnation. He probably already has enough self-condemnation to cause him to feel crushed under its weight. Condemnation of a believer *never* comes from God...

Legalism separates Christians, but grace draws us together in a love relationship. We are one in union with Christ."

Source: Steve McVey "Grace Walk" Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR

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Children's Sermons: The Right Thing

"This is a reminder of the legacy we have been given and the responsibility we have to pass it on to our children and those that we mentor by our example and words.

He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from a dock at his family's cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.

On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching some fish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset, thin silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.

When his pole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish along side the dock. Finally, he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass. The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 pm -- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. 'You'll have to put it back, son,' he said. 'Dad!' cried the boy. 'There will be another fish,' said his father. 'Not as big as this one,' cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father's voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the blackwater. The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that never again would he see such a great fish.

That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father's cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock. He was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish--again and again--every time he comes up against a question of ethics. For, as his father taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult. Do we do right when no one is looking? Do we refuse to cut corners to get the design in on time? Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we aren't supposed to have? We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth.

The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory. It is a story we will proudly tell our friends and our grandchildren. Not about how we had a chance to beat the system and took it, but about how we did the right thing and were forever strengthened."


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Youth Sermons: The Other Side

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing, I know my Master is there and that is enough."

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Sermon 4 Kids: The King Bearing Us in His Arms

There is a vivid picture of Christ's sacrifice for sin in Mark Twain's novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

The story tells the adventures of an ordinary man (the Connecticut Yankee) from the 19th century, who is transported back to the medieval world of King Arthur. At one point he convinces King Arthur to dress like a peasant and take a journey through his kingdom. The results are generally laughable as the king, completely oblivious to life in the trenches, tries to carry on with all the pomp of the court while those around him simply think he is crazy.

But there is a touching chapter titled "The Smallpox Hut" describing how the king and his companion happen upon a beggar's hovel. The husband lies dead, and the wife tries to warn them away: "For the fear of God, who visits with misery and death such as be harmless, tarry not here, but fly! This place is under his curse...."

The woman asks the king to go into the loft and check on their child. "It was a desperate place for him to be in, and might cost him his life," observes the Yankee, "but it was no use to argue with him."
The king disappears up a ladder looking for the girl.

"There was a slight noise from the direction of the dim corner where the ladder was. It was the king descending. I could see that he was bearing something in one arm, and assisting himself with the other. He came forward into the light; upon his breast lay a slender girl of 15. She was but half conscious; she was dying of smallpox. Here was heroism at its last and loftiest possibility, its utmost summit; this was challenging death in the open field unarmed, with all the odds against the challenger, no reward set upon the contest, and no admiring world in silks and cloth-ofgold to gaze and applaud; and yet the king's bearing was as serenely brave as it had always been in those cheaper contests where knight meets knight in equal fight and clothed in protecting steel. He was great now; sublimely great. The rude statues of his ancestors in his palace should have an addition-I would see to that; and it would not be a mailed king killing a giant or a dragon, like the rest. It would be a king in commoner's garb bearing death in his arms."

There is Jesus on the cross! A king in commoner's garb bearing sinners in his arms.

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