Helping Kids Understand the Incarnation

HELPING KIDS UNDERSTAND THE INCARNATION Children's Sermon Merry Christmas! I hope you brought your imaginations with you, because I want you to use them to answer a question. What is your favorite animal, and why? Have you ever imagined you could be an animal? If you could be any kind of animal, what animal would it be? (Get answers) I brought a bag with me this morning and let’s see what’s inside. I think it would be fun to be a tiger because they are beautiful animals - so strong. And they can run really fast. Much faster than I can run. Now here’s another question. If you could be any kind of animal, what kind of animal would you NOT want to be? (Get answers) Suggestions: hyenas slugs worms dung beetles rat Why? When we imagine becoming an animal, the ones we want to be are animals that can do something we can’t, and are better than we are in some way - maybe stronger, or they can do something we can’t, like fly or swim deep in the ocean. Now keep that idea in mind – and let’s think about Christmas and Jesus. We’ve talked about God being eternal – can someone explain what we mean by that? And so Jesus is eternal too. So that means before he was born in Bethlehem, he was in heaven. He was God. And because He is God, what are some things that make God totally different from us? • Eternal • Can’t die • All-knowing • All-powerful • Is everywhere • Can’t suffer That meant he was all-powerful, he knew everything, he never was born and he never died. When Jesus became a human being like you and me - when he was born in Bethlehem - He let go of the wonderful things He was in heaven. That meant that he would get hungry and thirsty, he could get sick, it meant that later on as a man, Jesus would get hurt and killed and die. I don’t think Jesus made the decision to become human because it would make him better than he was as God, do you? I don’t think he felt that becoming human made him better than he was - the way we imagine becoming a tiger would make us better. He wasn’t stronger, or faster. In fact, it looks like he didn’t get better, but instead got weaker. So why did Jesus do it? He had a very different reason than trying to be better. Because He knew that becoming human was the only way he could rescue us from all the wrong things we do - things called sins. Sin makes us prisoners, and when sin makes us all prisoners, there was no one to free us. The only hope we have is God himself. And so Jesus, who is God, did what nobody else could do to free us. And it meant leaving behind all the wonderful things he had in heaven, and become human like you and me, and dying on a cross for my sins and your sins. Open your Bibles to Philippians 2:6-11 Now maybe you think – I wish Jesus didn’t have to do this. Maybe you feel so awful for Jesus when you think about his death for us. And it was awful, don’t think it wasn’t. But did you know that doing what was necessary to rescue us made Jesus very, very happy? Go to Hebrews 12:2 How did Jesus feel about coming as a human to die for you and me? Yes, it was horrible, but the joy he felt knowing what it would do – reconcile us to God – filled him with Joy. So Christmas is a very happy day. It did make Jesus happy to come to earth, and Christmas makes us happy because we remember the love Jesus has that made him come to rescue us.