Trinity Sunday Children's
How many of you like ants ? At this time of year, people spend a lot of time out in the garden and one of the dangers involved is that you can from time to time get ants crawling on you – I really don’t like that and even after you’ve brushed them off – you still feel all itchy and need to go in and have a shower or a bath !
I want to tell you a story about a girl named Jane that I heard. She was outside with her dad in the garden watching him put down poison on the path where lots of ants were coming up. She decided to help by stomping on some ants, but they were fast so one would run up on her shoe while she was stomping with the other foot. Then she would jump up and down to get the ants off her feet. Finally her dad picked her up with one
arm and brushed off the ants with his free hand. He put her down in the grass away from the ants and finished his work. Jane waited patiently far away from the ants.
On the way back into the house, she asked her dad, "Why are there so many ants?"
"I guess because God wants lots of ants," said her father.
"If God wants lots of ants, why do you poison them?" asked Jane.
"Because Mummy doesn't want lots of ants," her father answered.
“Why?” said Jane.
“Well, one reason is because mummy doesn’t want them biting you, and God doesn’t want them biting you either.
That night, when Jane was getting ready for bed, she said, "How do you know what God wants?"
"How do you know anyone, Jane?" said her mother. "You know people by what they say and what they do."
"And how they look, you know people by how they look," said Jane.
Jane’s dad added, “we know God because we know what Jesus said, and we know what Jesus did. We don't know what God looks like but we know God by what God says and does."
Today is a day called Trinity Sunday – it’s a day in the Church calendar when we think of the 3 parts of God – God the Father, who created the world, and who continues to create life today, God the Son – the person we know as Jesus, who loves us and who, on the cross, took the punishment for all the things we have done wrong, and God the Holy Spirit, which is the power of God working in us, helping us to do the right things, and to care for others in the way that God cares for us.
These 3 parts of one God are a mystery – we can’t explain God, and though we’ll often have lots of questions, we never will - but one thing that we can do is to enjoy the lives he has given us. God the Father gave us life, Jesus shows us perfect love and care, and the Holy Spirit encourages us and strengthens us and supports us.
Now lots of you will know a man called Bear Grylls – what was he recently appointed as ? Chief Scout.
Now he’s done lots of incredible things in his life – can anyone think of any???
Well, at the time he did it in 1998, he was the youngest Briton to climb Everest – and he did it just 18 months after breaking his back !
He has also circumnavigated the United Kingdom on a jet ski, led a team of 5 who crossed the North Atlantic in an inflatable boat, had a formal dinner party in a hot air balloon at 25,000 feet, done a number of tv programmes including one on desert training in the Sahara with the French Foreign Legion and a survival programme which is shown in this country on Channel 4 and worldwide to a huge audience.
He has done all kinds of things which lots of people would only dream of doing, but he hasn’t just done it to satisfy himself – in the course of his adventures he has helped loads of different charities, and recognised the fact that living selfishly for ourselves will never satisfy us…
And there is something more about him which I want to mention and that is that he is a Christian – he describes his faith in Jesus as the ‘backbone of his life’.
Earlier in the story about ants we thought of the fact that people are known by what they do and what they say – lots of judgements are made about us and all people based on the things we do. Some people think of Christians as old and sometimes a bit miserable – and there may well be some who fall into that category, but age or looks or background or anything else make no difference in terms of how we choose to live…
Few people would actually look at Bear Grylls and automatically say ‘he’s a Christian’, and that just proves the point that we are all different, just as God made us all different, but everyone is special…
In the reading from the letter to the Romans (12:9-21) we heard all kinds of advice about how we should live – this book was written by another adventurer – a bit like Bear Grylls, St Paul travelled to lots of different places, taking all kinds of risks, but he did so to tell people that Jesus loves them, and he reminded people to let love be genuine, hate what is wrong in the world, love one another, laugh with those who laugh, cry with those who cry, feed those who are hungry, give the thirsty something to drink – and never be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by doing good !
Living is an adventure – maybe not quite in the way Bear Grylls does adventure, but God gives us life to enjoy, and, very importantly, to enjoy with other people. It doesn’t mean it will always be easy, or that every day you will walk around with a smile permanently fixed on your face – you’d look funny if you did, but lived with that central command to love and care for each other as a priority, our lives can truly be a celebration of all the good things that God gives us. AMEN
I want to tell you a story about a girl named Jane that I heard. She was outside with her dad in the garden watching him put down poison on the path where lots of ants were coming up. She decided to help by stomping on some ants, but they were fast so one would run up on her shoe while she was stomping with the other foot. Then she would jump up and down to get the ants off her feet. Finally her dad picked her up with one
arm and brushed off the ants with his free hand. He put her down in the grass away from the ants and finished his work. Jane waited patiently far away from the ants.
On the way back into the house, she asked her dad, "Why are there so many ants?"
"I guess because God wants lots of ants," said her father.
"If God wants lots of ants, why do you poison them?" asked Jane.
"Because Mummy doesn't want lots of ants," her father answered.
“Why?” said Jane.
“Well, one reason is because mummy doesn’t want them biting you, and God doesn’t want them biting you either.
That night, when Jane was getting ready for bed, she said, "How do you know what God wants?"
"How do you know anyone, Jane?" said her mother. "You know people by what they say and what they do."
"And how they look, you know people by how they look," said Jane.
Jane’s dad added, “we know God because we know what Jesus said, and we know what Jesus did. We don't know what God looks like but we know God by what God says and does."
Today is a day called Trinity Sunday – it’s a day in the Church calendar when we think of the 3 parts of God – God the Father, who created the world, and who continues to create life today, God the Son – the person we know as Jesus, who loves us and who, on the cross, took the punishment for all the things we have done wrong, and God the Holy Spirit, which is the power of God working in us, helping us to do the right things, and to care for others in the way that God cares for us.
These 3 parts of one God are a mystery – we can’t explain God, and though we’ll often have lots of questions, we never will - but one thing that we can do is to enjoy the lives he has given us. God the Father gave us life, Jesus shows us perfect love and care, and the Holy Spirit encourages us and strengthens us and supports us.
Now lots of you will know a man called Bear Grylls – what was he recently appointed as ? Chief Scout.
Now he’s done lots of incredible things in his life – can anyone think of any???
Well, at the time he did it in 1998, he was the youngest Briton to climb Everest – and he did it just 18 months after breaking his back !
He has also circumnavigated the United Kingdom on a jet ski, led a team of 5 who crossed the North Atlantic in an inflatable boat, had a formal dinner party in a hot air balloon at 25,000 feet, done a number of tv programmes including one on desert training in the Sahara with the French Foreign Legion and a survival programme which is shown in this country on Channel 4 and worldwide to a huge audience.
He has done all kinds of things which lots of people would only dream of doing, but he hasn’t just done it to satisfy himself – in the course of his adventures he has helped loads of different charities, and recognised the fact that living selfishly for ourselves will never satisfy us…
And there is something more about him which I want to mention and that is that he is a Christian – he describes his faith in Jesus as the ‘backbone of his life’.
Earlier in the story about ants we thought of the fact that people are known by what they do and what they say – lots of judgements are made about us and all people based on the things we do. Some people think of Christians as old and sometimes a bit miserable – and there may well be some who fall into that category, but age or looks or background or anything else make no difference in terms of how we choose to live…
Few people would actually look at Bear Grylls and automatically say ‘he’s a Christian’, and that just proves the point that we are all different, just as God made us all different, but everyone is special…
In the reading from the letter to the Romans (12:9-21) we heard all kinds of advice about how we should live – this book was written by another adventurer – a bit like Bear Grylls, St Paul travelled to lots of different places, taking all kinds of risks, but he did so to tell people that Jesus loves them, and he reminded people to let love be genuine, hate what is wrong in the world, love one another, laugh with those who laugh, cry with those who cry, feed those who are hungry, give the thirsty something to drink – and never be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by doing good !
Living is an adventure – maybe not quite in the way Bear Grylls does adventure, but God gives us life to enjoy, and, very importantly, to enjoy with other people. It doesn’t mean it will always be easy, or that every day you will walk around with a smile permanently fixed on your face – you’d look funny if you did, but lived with that central command to love and care for each other as a priority, our lives can truly be a celebration of all the good things that God gives us. AMEN
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