Children’s Sermon

Mark 2:1-12

Hurting on the Inside

OBJECTS SUGGESTED:

Pair of Shoes

Have you ever had a shoe rub on your heel until it has caused a blister? That hurts! Or maybe your feet grew until your shoes were too small and pinched your toes. Even new shoes can be uncomfortable if the shape of the shoe does not fit the shape of your foot. The shoes may look just fine on the outside, but on the inside they cause pain.

In the Bible there is a story about how Jesus first healed a man’s pain on the inside (pain that couldn’t be seen) before he healed the man’s illness that could be seen on the outside.
Jesus was at home in Capernaum and many people crowded around, even blocking the door to the house. Four men carried a man who was paralyzed (couldn’t walk) to the house to be healed. They couldn’t get close to Jesus so the men cut a hole through the roof and lowered the man into the house on a mat.

Jesus saw their faith and said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (2:5). Sins are bad choices. We all make bad choices and do things that hurt God, hurt others, and hurt ourselves. These hurts are on the inside and can’t be seen. We know they are there because they make us feel bad.

In this story Jesus shows us that he has the power to “forgive our sins.” When the paralyzed man came to be healed, Jesus first healed the man’s inside hurts – sins, and then he healed his paralysis. He said to the man, “…arise, take up your mat, and go to your house” (2:11). And the man who had been paralyzed “arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all…” (2:12).

The people who had gathered about the house “were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!'” (2:12).

When you make bad choices that cause you to hurt on the inside, remember that Jesus has the power to heal that pain.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible