Children’s Sermon

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Build Each Other Up

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1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Build Each Other Up

By DELL SMITH KLEIN

KEY VERSE: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 WEB Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.

OBJECT: Small wooden birdhouse. Carpenter’s tools: a few pieces of scrap wood, hammer, hand saw, square, nails, pencil.

SERMON:

Do you like to build things? (Give children time to respond.) What kind of things do you like to build? (Give children time to respond.) I have a friend who likes to build things, too. He builds bird houses, bookcases, small tables and other small items. In his wood shop, he has carpenter’s tools, like these. (Show the items you have brought.) Look at the ones I brought today. I have a hammer, and a hand saw. This is called a square. Here are nails, and a pencil. I also brought a few pieces of wood, and a finished birdhouse.

Each of his tools helps the carpenter to build. But some of these tools can be used to break things, too. A hammer, for example, might break a bird house if it isn’t used in the right way. A saw would do a lot of damage. Even nails, if driven in the wrong place, or in the wrong way, can cause damage. The damage would be hard to fix and might always leave a mark.

Did you know that our words are like that? Our words can hurt others? A person can say something to a friend, even in a joking way that could hurt his or her feelings for a long time

The Bible tells us to “build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 WEB). We are to reassure, or support each other with our words. We want to encourage our friends and our brothers and sisters. The word “encourage” means to build up, to inspire, or cheer up someone.

Can you think of some words we might say to encourage someone? (Let children respond.) Yes, you might say, “You are awesome.” Or, you might say, “Thanks for your help.” Or, “I can always depend on you.”

Building things out of wood is fun and helpful. It can be exciting to see our project begin to grow from nothing into something useful. It is also exciting to know that we have encouraged another person. Building up people is an important part of life. We do that by always saying kind words to others. Can you do that? (Let the children respond.) Good. Now, let’s pray.

PRAYER:

God, thank you for the Bible that teaches us how to build each other up. We are learning to say kind things to one another. Help us to always remember not to tear down, but to build up. Amen.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2012, Richard Niell Donovan