WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT? Version 2
Wear a cross (the bigger the better) and hold a Bible
(the bigger the better)
Blue masking tape
I think that most of us would say “yes” if someone asked us
– are you a Christian. What are some
ways people think other people are Christians?
·
Wear a cross and hold a Bible
·
Go to church/AWANA
·
Talk to people about Jesus
Please get out your Bibles and turn to the Gospel of John
ch. 13:35
Jesus says people will know you are a follower of Jesus by
what?
(Loving one another)
Did Jesus say – all people will know that you are my
disciples if you have love for some people? Or if you love kids your own age? (ask children to read John 13:35 together out
loud)
Sometimes Jesus calls us to do things that seem
impossible! But everything Jesus calls us to do, he helps us
to do. (*can you repeat that with
me?)
I think that all of us sometimes are good at loving others,
and sometimes not so good. Let me give
you an example.
(Take blue tape and mark out a line about 6 feet long on the
carpet between you and the kids).
Let’s imagine that this line represents who I let in –
people I “love”. First, you have to notice
that I’m the only one on this side right now!
I guess I have a way to go to love.
The easiest thing is to let people into my part of the line
who are nice to me. So let’s think of
someone who has been really nice to me – I’m going to add (leader) inside
the people I love. (name), can you join
me on this side of the line?
Then maybe you feel it’s a lot easier to like kids who are the
same gender – so if you’re a boy, it’s easier to like other boys than to like
girls. Since I’m a girl, I’m going to
invite a girl up here – (T&T girl) up here.
Oh, looks like I already have something going on here – what do you
see? (all girls) – thank them and ask them to return to their seats.
Okay, so maybe another type of person I let in to the people
I love. A few years ago, before I led
gametime, I helped with the blue team.
So of course I want the Blue team win in gametime. And that’s okay. But imagine if someone joined my blue team
and I when I saw him or her, I made a face or rolled my eyes when they came on
my line? What if I told them to go to
another team because they would slow the team down! But if I want to win really badly, I might be
tempted to want only fast people on my side!
What if I only wanted smart people on my side, or funny
people? Or people who are cool or popular?
Or if I only wanted to be with my BEST friend and I ignored everybody
else.
Hmm, this problem of loving is harder than I thought.
We know from the verse we looked at – John 13:35 – that Jesus says the world will know we are his
because we love one another. Now let’s
look at John 15:17 just a little further on.
(have kids read it together). Jesus
says this is a commandment – an order to us!
If we are followers of Jesus, He’s the Boss, right? And we want to do what he says, so let’s
start loving others right here at T&T!
So I want you not to say anything, but look at the person on your
left. Is there room on your side for
this person to be your friend? Now look
at the person on your right – how about room for THAT person to be your
friend? Now in front of you, now in back
of you. Now look across the aisle to the
other side – what about them? Or do you
have a blue line to keep those people out?
It’s clear from what Jesus says that God is commanding you to love all
of these people! Kids who are funny and
kids who aren’t so funny. Kids who are
fast at gametime and kids who aren’t so fast.
Boys to have friends who are girls, and girls to have friends who are
boys. And that is how people will know
you are a Christian.
One way you can see if we need to do a little better at
loving is to look at who you sit with each week at T&T. Is it always the same friends? If it is, what does that say about who we welcome
and love?
Jesus said – John 13:35 – let’s let the world know that at
T&T, we are Christians not only because we may wear a cross, or learn
verses, but also because of the love we had for one another! And if it’s hard, remember – everything Jesus
calls us to do, he helps us to do! Let’s
stop now and pray about this together (have prayer begin with confession that
we haven’t loved one another, and asking God’s help to do it here at T&T)
Conclusion:
Jesus said people will know we belong to
Jesus not because we wear a big cross, or carry a Bible or even if we know lots
and lots of Bible verses. He says it’s
the love we have for one another that will show we belong to Jesus, so let’s be
people who love! And let’s get rid of
any “lines” that separate us from one another (tear up line dramatically!).
