Children’s Sermon

Mark 8:27-30

Who Is Jesus?

OBJECTS:

A Fireman’s hat, a Badge and a Holy Bible.

Sometimes we hear people talking about what they will be when they grow up. They might say, “I want to be a Fireman.”(Hold up the Fireman’s hat.) Or they might say, “I’m going to be a policeman.” (Pick up the badge.) You might hear someone say, they plan to be a pastor of a church. (Hold up Holy Bible.) What would you like to do when you grow up? (Allow the children to answer.)

Now, answer this question: Who are you now? (Allow children to answer.) Some of you are daughters or sons of your parents. You are students at your school. You are happy, or you are sad. There are many answers to that question. And each of you could answer with your name. You could say, “I am _________.”

One day, Jesus and his disciples were walking along the road on their way to a place where Jesus wanted to teach. As they walked along Jesus asked, “Who do men say that I am?” (v. 27 WEB). One of the disciples said, “John the Baptizer.” John was Jesus’ relative who preached about repentance, and baptized people. He had even baptized Jesus.

Someone else in the group said Jesus was really “Elijah.” Someone else said, “One of the prophets.” Elijah was a prophet who lived many years before Jesus was born. A prophet was a person who understood a lot about what might happen in the future, so a prophet could warn people. The stories of Elijah and other prophets are in the Holy Bible.

Jesus wasn’t John the Baptizer. He wasn’t Elijah or one of the prophets. His disciples knew that. Jesus asked another question as they walked along. He asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 29 WEB).

Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples said, “You are the Christ.”

Peter understood that many years in the past, Elijah and other prophets talked about a Messiah who would come to earth someday to set people free and show God’s love. They called this person the Christ. Peter was very smart to understand that Jesus was the Christ.

Jesus is the Son of God, who came to earth to show people how to follow God and how to love and care for others. When you grow up, you may become a fireman, a policeman, a doctor, a farmer, a teacher, a mechanic or one of the many other jobs we talk about. Your most important job, though, will be to love God and do what you can to help others.

PRAYER: God, we are grateful that you sent Jesus to earth to show us how to live for you. Thank you for Jesus Christ, the One the prophets talked about long ago. Amen.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible