When you find yourself tempted by a choice - or unsure about what to do - you can always ask yourself "what would God want me to do?" When I ask myself that question, it often clears the choice right up!
We need to give up certain things to be able to learn something new. (May involve the kids here by asking what new skill they would be interested in.) You don't become a good soccer player, dancer, speller, runner, or singer without giving up some of your time to practice those skills. We can say the same thing of being a Christian. Jesus tells us in the Bible that, "Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (8:34).
When Jesus lived on earth he spoke to his disciples and a crowd of people who were gathered around him and said, "Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (8:34). I think Jesus was telling us to find what it is that God wants us to do, not necessarily what we want to do.
Jesus is the Son of God, who came to earth to show people how to follow God and how to love and care for others. When you grow up, you may become a fireman, a policeman, a doctor, a farmer, a teacher, a mechanic or one of the many other jobs we talk about. Your most important job, though, will be to love God and do what you can to help others.
Today's Bible story is about a man who couldn't hear or talk. Jesus touched the man with his hands and the man was healed. The Bible tells us that those who saw and heard what Jesus had done "were astonished beyond measure, saying, 'He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak!'" (7:37). The people who saw Jesus heal the man were "astonished." They couldn't believe what they saw. They were amazed and surprised. The miracles of Jesus are surprising and we can only imagine how it would feel to suddenly be healed of deafness and be able to hear and talk.
There is a lesson for all of us in this story. It is that we, who can hear, must keep our ears open to God's word. As we listen to stories and lessons about God, we are given the ability to speak more clearly about God's love. Being open to God's love allows us to bloom and help others grow. "Be opened!" (7:34).
While it is important to have rules and play by the rules, it is also important to have fun. Some people become so concerned with rules and winning that they forget about the spirit of the game which is to have fun. Jesus talked about this very thing. When he lived on earth he told the Pharisees, "For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men" (7:8).
This is a special season of the year. We call it Fall, because this is the time of year when the leaves fall from the trees. Fall is a beautiful time, because many leaves turn colors before they "fall" to the ground. Did anyone here notice leaves turning color this Fall? What were some of the colors that you saw? (Red, yellow, orange).
Jesus said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (v. 17). He wanted them to know that blameless people didn't need to apologize for anything. It is a person who does bad things that need to say they are sorry and begin to follow Jesus and let Jesus help them to do good things. I'm glad Jesus came to earth to show all people how to live for God.
There is a saying that people use to describe things that are very much alike. They say, "……as alike as two peas in a pod." If you open a pea pod you will see that the peas inside are exactly the same color, the same shape, and the same size. Packaged frozen peas also look very much alike.. Each person is unique in many ways, but there is one way that we are all "as alike as two peas in a pod." We learn about this in the Bible.