Christmas is for the Kids, too!

I'm sure from the title you're thinking, Uh, Heather, doesn't it seem like Christmas is mostly for the kids?!  Well, sure, children really get into the spirit of things with all of the activities and the promise of gifts on Christmas morning.  But I'm scheduled to give the children's sermon at church this morning, so I thought I'd share with you what God brought to mind when I read this week's passage.

The topic: Jesus the Priest.  One of the passages is from Hebrews 4 and 5, about Jesus being THE High Priest, chosen by God to bring His people to Him.  When I first sat down to read the passage and another from Exodus 19, I said to God, I have NO IDEA where to go with this sermon, show me what to say to these kids.  So here you are, God's answer to my prayer and the Good News of Jesus the Priest to share with a child or children you know sometime this week!

Jesus: the boy, the Priest

Good morning, I am so happy to be sitting up here with you this morning!

I have a question for you.   Did you know that after Jesus was born, he grew up, so at one time he was the age you are now?  Jesus was a kid!  He went through everything you go through as a kid.

What are some fun things about being a kid?

What is tough about being a kid?

All of those things, Jesus experienced!  He played with his friends.  AND He had to obey is parents.  Just think!  Jesus, the one who would be our Savior - Jesus, the Son of God who lived in heaven with the Father and the Spirit before he came to earth – He had to clear his dishes from the table, sweep the floors, and make His bed when His mother asked him to!  And He had to listen and learn respectfully about how to be a carpenter from His dad!  God had to obey his parents.

And you know what the Bible tells us?  HE DID!

Do you obey your parents every time?  (You’re supposed to say ‘NO’ here.)

I didn’t when I was a kid either.  In fact, I am still rude to my parents sometimes.

I did always WANT to please my parents and obey them, but the sin in my heart would get the best of me.  I’ll bet it gets the best of you more than you would like, too.

But it is GOOD NEWS that Jesus obeyed His parents!  The Bible tells us why in the passage Pastor Milligan is going to preach from today, Hebrews 4: 14-16

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

That’s a lot of big words to say this:  Jesus is now alive in heaven with God.  He understands how hard it is for us to obey God and obey our parents.  He knows because he had parents and was tempted to disobey them.  But, he always obeyed and He’s up in heaven saying to God on our behalf, “Forgive them, I died for their sins.”   Through Him God will forgive our sin and help us not to sin.

Pretty neat, huh?  Jesus not only did amazing miracles, preached wonderful sermons, and died on the cross and rose again.  He was also a little boy who had to obey his parents and did it just right so he could understand us, forgive us, and change us to look more like Him each day, when we ask for His help.  It is very good news that Jesus was once a little boy!