Children's Sermon on Jesus Clearing / Cleansing the Temple - John 2

 

Needed: Nothing

Scripture: John 2:13-22

 

Children's Sermon: Say, I've thought of a new idea to make church easier for people and for us to make some money. How about if instead of people singing when they come to church, we sing for them? We'll stand when it's time to stand and sing really well, and the other people can pay us to do the singing instead of them doing the singing. Does that sound like a good idea?

And instead of people saying their praises and prayer requests, we'll get really good at praying and just say all the praises and prayer requests for people, and they can pay us since we're making that part easier for them? 

And instead of the people paying attention and taking notes during the sermon, we'll listen to the sermon and take really good notes for them and they can pay us to do that job? 

I think if we sing and say all the prayers and take the sermon notes, it makes it easier for people to come to church. People can come to church and they don't have to do anything. They can just play on their phones or something while we do all the things, and they can pay us to do that!

Does that sound like what church should be? What's wrong with that idea?

 

(Read John 2:13-22) 

 

What were the people doing at the Temple? And why was Jesus was angry about it?

The leaders were selling animals for people to sacrifice. People were supposed to bring their own animal to sacrifice to pay for their sins. The animal was being put to death instead of them for all the wrong things they had done. But to make it easier, so that the people didn't have to bring their own animal, the leaders were selling animals and making money. Does that sound like what God wanted to happen, for people to make money so that other people could make their sacrifices?

When we come to church, Jesus doesn't want it to be about making money. Jesus wants it to be about having a place for people to interact with God themselves, not pay someone else to do it for them.