Children’s Sermon

Matthew 10:24-39

It’s No Secret

NOTE: This week’s children’s sermon makes use of a wrapped gift box containing a picture (or pictures if you wish to distribute them) of Jesus.

I have something for you here – but I can’t tell you what it is quite yet. It’s a secret!

Have you ever kept a secret?

Secrets are things we know that we keep all to ourselves – and don’t tell anyone else.

Everyone has secrets – and that’s OK. Sometimes we keep secrets for good reasons – like to keep from hurting someone’s feelings or to keep from ruining a special surprise (like what’s inside a present).

But there are some things we should never keep secret. What if someone asked you to do something that wasn’t right – or was doing something very dangerous? Would you keep that a secret? Who would you tell? (A parent, teacher, etc.)

Jesus talks about secrets in today’s Gospel story – and tells us about one very important thing he wants us to be able to tell anyone…something he never wants us to keep secret. Can you guess what it might be?

I’ll give you a hint: It’s what’s in the box. Should we unwrap it and find out? (Unwrap box, revealing picture.)

It’s him! Jesus wants us to be able to share our love of God with everyone. Jesus is never a secret.

We share his love in two ways: in what we say (we can tell people about God) and in what we do (by living by God’s rules and helping others). And if we think carefully about the things we say and do – and always remember the things that Jesus has taught us – then we can be sure that God’s love is never a secret.

Will you pray with me?

Dear God,

We know that sometimes it’s okay to keep a secret. But there’s one thing that we will never hide from others – and that’s our love for you.

Amen.