Children’s Sermon

Mark 11:1-11

Knowing What’s Ahead

Objects suggested: Outdoor thermometer, barometer

Do you ever try to predict the weather? Maybe you wish it would snow so you can go sledding or hope it will be sunny on a certain day so you can go to the beach.

Weather forecasters (meteorologists) are people who broadcast weather reports. You may have seen them on television. They study the atmosphere (the blanket of air that covers the earth). They gather information from computers, weather balloons, satellites, and radar. They analyze the temperature, wind speed, air pressure, and the amount of moisture in the air so they can predict when a storm is coming or when the sun will shine. Even with all this special equipment and information they are not always correct in their predictions.

Jesus, because he is God, was able to predict exactly what would happen when he was preparing to go into Jerusalem. He sent two of his disciples to go ahead of him, into the next village and said, “Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat” (11:2). They did as they were told, found the colt, and brought the colt back to Jesus.

Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem and people lined the roads, some ahead of Jesus and some behind. The people spread leafy branches down before Jesus and they said, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (11:9).

The people had been told that God would send a special person to live on earth and teach them about God’s love. That person was Jesus. He came “in the name of the Lord” and the events of his life unfolded exactly as had been predicted many years earlier.

Although we may not know much about our future, or even if we will have rain or sunshine the next day, we do know one thing for sure – God will always love us and care for us. It is a prediction you can count on.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible