Children’s Sermon
Matthew 17:1-9
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OBJECTS SUGGESTED:
Pictures illustrating human and/or animal ears, clipped from magazines or found online.
Let’s talk about ears.
An elephant’s ears are very large and are used to help keep the elephant cool.
A rabbit’s ears are long. Some rabbit’s ears stand up straight and others flop over.
Owls have short pointed ears.
Dogs have ears that allow them to hear things we can’t hear. Can you describe your dog’s ears?
Bats have interesting ears. Bats make high pitched sounds that they bounce off objects and then catch the sound waves in their ears. They are then able to form a picture in their mind of what is in front of them. You could say that a bat uses its ears to help it see.
A cricket’s ears are located on its front legs, just below its knees.
Can you think of other interesting examples of ears?
Our human ears are wonderful. Sound waves enter our ears and cause tiny bones and hairs in our ears to move, sending a signal to our brain that lets us hear many types of sound.
Why are we talking about ears? In the Bible there is a story in which God asks us to use our ears and listen. The story describes Jesus going up a high mountain with Peter, James and John. While they were there the face of Jesus “shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light” (17:2).
“… a bright cloud overshadowed them” and “a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him'” (17:5).
On this occasion, God spoke from heaven and asked one thing: “Listen to him.” God is asking us to listen to the words of Jesus. Those words are recorded in the Bible and are there for us to read and hear. We can learn how to make our lives and the lives of others better by listening to the advice and lessons we find there. Let’s use our wonderful ears and listen.
Scripture quotations from the World English Bible
Copyright 2007, Richard Niell Donovan