Pray and Don't Give Up

Children's Sermon: The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8)

I have a sticker for each of you this morning. As you can see, the sticker says Never Give Up.  Before I give you a sticker, I am going to tell you a story that Jesus told. One day Jesus told a story about a woman who went to a judge. 

Do you know what a judge does? (Allow answers.) 

A judge helps people know what is fair.  Jesus said in the story that the woman said to the judge, "There is a man who is not being fair to me. Give me my rights!" 

At first, the judge refused to do anything, but the woman kept asking him. Finally, the judge said, "This woman is bothering me. I will see that she gets her rights, or she will bother me until I am worn out!’”

After Jesus finished the story, he said, "Learn a lesson from the judge. God’s people cry to him night and day. God will always give them what is right, and he will not be slow to answer them. I tell you, God will help his people quickly!”

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that was so hard that you just wanted to give up? Maybe you were having trouble with your schoolwork. Perhaps you and a friend had a disagreement and you just couldn't seem to work it out. Or maybe one of your classmates kept being unkind to you. (Allow time for kids to share.)

What Jesus wants us to learn from this story is that God, our Heavenly Father, loves us and wants to do nice things for us. He wants what is best for us and he has the wisdom to know what is best. 

But don't forget, God likes to hear us ask, not just once, but again and again. He doesn't want us to ask once and then give up!

Give each child a Never Give Up sticker.

I hope you will wear your sticker today as a reminder to ask God to help you when you have a problem that makes you want to give up.