The Tower of Babel

Children's Sermon: The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9)

How many languages do you speak? Do you speak English? How about Spanish or Japanese? I thought it might be fun to learn how to say, "Hello" in several different languages. I have some flashcards that will help us to do that. (Hold up the flashcards one at a time helping the children learn to say the word)

The first card is Spanish. The Spanish word for hello is HOLA (oh-la). Can you say that with me? (Say it together.)

The word for hello in Italian is CIAO (tchow). Let's say it together. An interesting thing about that word is that it is used for both hello and goodbye!

To greet someone in Japan, you might say, konnichiwa. (kon-nee-chee-wah) Say it with me, konnichiwa.

People in Hawaii also use the same word for hello and goodbye. You may know that word, it is Aloha. (ah-lo-ha) Let's all say it together.

Some places in Africa they speak Swahili. They may greet you by saying, "Jambo." (jahm-bo) Say it with me. "Jambo."

Now, let's talk about a story from the Bible. This story is about a time when everyone spoke the same language. The story is called the Tower of Babel. Have you ever heard of the Tower of Babel? It's an interesting story about how God made people speak different languages.

A long time ago, everyone in the world spoke the same language. They could understand each other easily. They decided to build a big tower, called the Tower of Babel. They wanted to build it so high that it would reach the sky. They wanted to be famous and show how great they were.

But God knew that this was not a good idea. He knew that if the people built the Tower of Babel, they would become too proud and forget about Him. So, God decided to do something to stop them from building the tower.

God made the people start speaking different languages. Suddenly, they could not understand each other anymore. It was very confusing! They could not work together to build the Tower of Babel any longer.

Because they could not understand each other, the people started to move away from each other. They went to different parts of the world and formed their own groups. This is how we got so many different languages and cultures.

The story of the Tower of Babel teaches us some important lessons. One lesson is that we should not be too proud or think we are better than others. God wants us to be humble and remember that He is the one who gives us our talents and abilities.

Another lesson is that we should work together and help each other. When the people were building the Tower of Babel, they were only thinking about themselves. They were not thinking about how they could help others or serve God.

God wants us to work together as a team. He wants us to use our talents and abilities to help others and to serve Him. When we do this, we can accomplish great things for God's kingdom.

So, the next time you meet someone who speaks a different language, remember the story of the Tower of Babel. Remember that God made us all different, but He wants us to work together and serve Him.

Now, let's play a game to help us remember the story of the Tower of Babel. We will pretend to build a tower using blocks or other objects. But, we will have to work together and communicate without speaking the same language. This will help us understand how the people felt when they could not understand each other.

(Divide the children into groups and give each group some blocks or other objects to build with. Assign each group a different "language" by giving them a list of words or phrases they can use to communicate. For example, one group might use animal sounds, while another group might use colors or numbers. The children will have to work together to build their tower using only their assigned "language."

After the game, talk with the children about how it felt to try to communicate without speaking the same language. Ask them what they learned from the game and how it relates to the story of the Tower of Babel. Encourage them to think about how they can work together and serve God, even when it is challenging or difficult.)

Let's pray and ask God to help us be humble and work together. Dear God, thank you for the story of the Tower of Babel. Help us to learn from it and to be humble. Help us to work together and use our talents to serve you. In Jesus' name, Amen.