Children’s Sermon

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

At the Core

By Lois Parker Edstrom
OBJECTS SUGGESTED:

Object suggested: An apple. An apple for each child if appropriate to your situation.

Don’t you just love to hold an apple in your hand? This one has smooth skin and a nice round shape. It
is a beautiful red color. If you were to crunch into it would taste sweet and juicy.

Did you know there is a secret hidden inside an apple? Let’s cut the apple through the center this way.
(Cut the apple horizontally rather than from the stem to the blossom end.) Now look at this beautiful
design. See the five-pointed star hidden inside this apple? We call this part of the apple the core.

Would it surprise you to know that you also have a beautiful, secret core? It is called your spiritual
core and it is the place where you connect with God. Jesus says, “…when you pray, enter into your
inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret.”

That doesn’t mean you can’t also pray with your family around the dinner table or at church. Jesus
teaches us that you pray to make a connection with God the Father. When you pray there may be other
people around, but your thoughts and words are private, between you and God.

As you eat an apple and hold it in your hand think about its beautiful inner design. God has also
created us with a beautiful inner design, a spiritual core that links us to God the Father.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible