Children’s Sermon on Romans 2:17-29 – A Change of Heart

Use this children’s sermon on Romans 2 to show students that God wants to change our hearts, not just what we say we believe.

 

Scripture: Romans 2

 

Needed: sticky nametags for yourself (Post-It notes, nametags, etc.)

 

Children’s Sermon: You’ll use various “nametags” for yourself in this lesson; feel free to change the example “names” to fit your context.

 

As you put on a nametag that says Firefighter, say, I’m a firefighter. Do you believe I’m a firefighter?

 

I’ve never put out a fire or trained to put out a fire. I’ve never ridden on a firetruck. None of the other firefighters know me, and the fire chief didn’t hire me to be a firefighter. So, am I a firefighter?

 

No. I might call myself a firefighter, and I might even have a nametag that says Firefighter on it, but I’m not really a firefighter.

 

(Put on your next nametag – maybe of a hobby you don’t really enjoy or a skill you don’t actually have – and again show how having the nametag and calling yourself that thing doesn’t make it so. Finally, put on a nametag that says Christian.)

 

Would you all believe me if I said I was a Christian, but I never followed God’s rules? No! How could I really believe that God is real and not do what He says!

 

But what if I said I was a Christian and came to church and followed all God’s rules, but I didn’t really believe in Jesus in my heart? Would I be a Christian then?

 

No. Christians are people who don’t only do the right things, but also let God’s Spirit change their hearts. God wants to change us from the inside-out. His Spirit wants to live inside us and speak to us.

 

God doesn’t want someone who just calls themselves a Christian and doesn’t do what He says. And He doesn’t want someone to say they believe in Him and do what He says but not really have Him in their hearts.

 

God wants us to believe in Him in our hearts and then do what He says because we believe in Him.

 

Closing Prayer: Lord God, we don’t want to only call ourselves Christians. We want to be real Christians. We want Your Spirit to come live inside us and change us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.