How Do We Know What We Believe is True?
I post these Children’s Sermons to inspire other Children’s Ministers with ideas for their work.
Text: I John 4
When I was a kid the school bus stopped in front of our door. However, our house was set back from the road so you needed at least 2 minutes to get to bus stop in time. If you were still running to the bus stop the driver often kept on going because the trees in our yard blocked his view.
I was the oldest in my family. I had two scrawny brothers who made it their calling to harass me. They would often try to beat me up, banged on my bedroom door to break in my room, stuff me in a sleeping bag, or chase me around the yard with pyracantha clippings in their hands. This bush is also known as the firethorn, and it hurt a lot if one’s brother swung it at your face, arms, or legs. Did I mention that I became a very fast runner? Even though the plant has lovely orange berries, I will never ever plant one of these bushes because of those bad memories.
Back to the school bus. I planted my books by the front door the night before as part of my plan to catch the bus. But my brothers had other plans. They would stand by the door and shout, “Here comes the bus! Here comes the bus!” I would burst from the breakfast table or the bathroom, grab those books, and realize there was no bus. However, my brothers were crafty. Sometimes, they yelled, “Here comes the bus! And it was true!” Then I had to fly out the door, hoping that the bus was delayed while someone else was getting on. I couldn’t trust those brothers with the truth.
Today’s passage in I John 4 is far more serious than knowing if the bus is coming or not. But it is similar in that it’s about being tricked. It was written about 60 years after Jesus had lived on the earth. Even though that wasn’t a long time in church history, it was long enough for wicked people to spread the story that because Jesus was God, he could never have come to earth as a baby and grown up as a human like we are.
What difference did this lie make? These people still said Jesus was God, isn’t that ok? No, it makes all the difference if Jesus wasn’t human. If He wasn’t human, then he couldn’t have ever lived among the disciples as a man and taught them while living everyday life. He certainly would not have suffered the physical whippings and shaming that the Roman soldiers did to him. He could not have known what it was like to suffer and could never relate to you and me when we suffer. He certainly couldn’t have died for our sins. And he surely would not know death, nor would he ever be resurrected from the dead, proving that He had satisfied God’s demand that our sin be punished. We would have no way to be saved from our sins We would have no hope. When we died, we would be separated from God forever. So you see, a lie like this changes everything about who God is and about our relationship with him.
Even though we live 2,000 years after John wrote this book in the Bible, many lies are being told about faith in God today. This letter from John is in our Bible today because you and I will hear lies from these tricksters. Here are some of their lies:
Everyone is going to heaven there is no such place as hell.
2. You can believe what you want, but be good and nice.
3. We are almost the same as Jesus. We are sons of God like He is. He was just a good man.
I have friends who believe that everyone is going to heaven. I have friends who believe if you’re good and kind, you will be fine after you die. I have a friend who grew up being taught that there isn’t sin, pain. sickness, or death in the world. They are all an illusion, all make-believe.
You may say, well, this is good to know, but I wouldn’t be tricked by that. I agree, if we read God’s word and study it, we will always know if we are being tricked. We have God’s Spirit inside of us and we can listen to God, read his word, and ask our pastor and our parents when we have questions that make us wonder if something is true. You may even doubt what is true and what is not. As you get older, you will hear lies such as: God did not create the world, that there is no purpose for us being here, or that when you die, that’s the end. There is nothing else.
A great teacher once said, “The Bible Can Take All Comers.” That means that God’s Word can handle our doubts and questions. We are free to ask our questions because we have God’s Words and other believers to help us along the way.
I never did get wise enough to figure out if the bus was coming or not coming. Eventually my middle brother got old enough to ride that same bus with me. And he was always running behind. He should have thanked me because I always asked the driver to wait for him. But maybe not. After all, he didn’t like going to school and would have been happier to stay home. Let’s pray.
Dear Lord,
We thank You for Your Word that tells us who You are, what You’ve done for us through Your son Jesus Christ, and how, as believers, we should live. Protect us from the lies around us. Give us wisdom from your Spirit to tell the difference between lies and tricks and truth.
Thank you for placing us in a body of believers in this church to grow together, ask good questions, and find the truth in your Word. Will you help us speak this truth to our friends who are being tricked and who have been told lies? Help us to tell our friends how much you love them. You loved them so much that you sent your Son, who left heaven and became a human being who got tired and hungry, who cried and suffered pain like we often do. But more than that, He died for each of us. He gave his life so that we may have our sins forgiven and live with him forever.
In Jesus name, Amen.