Sermon
Are You On Target?
Theme
Our goal is to live a life that is pleasing to God
Object
A toy bow and arrow set
Scripture
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5: 9-10
Activities + Resources
As you can see, I have my bow and arrow with me this morning. I was watching TV the other day and I saw some archery events on the sports channel. I think I can do as well as they did. I am a pretty good shot. Just watch this! (shoot an arrow harmlessly off into an open area)
Hey, how about that! I am pretty good with this bow and arrow! How many of you thought that was a good shot? Well, actually, we can't tell whether that was a good shot or not, because I wasn't aiming at anything. What I need is this. (Hold up a target) The only way to know if I made a good shot is to have a target. If I hit the target, we will know it is a good shot. In an archery contest, the one who hits the target most often and hits the bull's-eye most often wins the gold medal.
A lot of people go through life without any goals or targets. They just wander aimlessly through life. How can they tell if they are successful unless they have a goal or target? The Bible tells us that we need to have a goal. It even tells us what that goal should be. It says that our goal should be to live a life that is pleasing to God. If we are successful and hit the target, the Bible says that we will receive a reward in heaven.
If you don't have a target to shoot at in your life, I hope that you will decide today to choose pleasing God to be your target.
Lord, sometimes we wander aimlessly through life without any goals or targets. Today, we choose pleasing You to be our goal. Help us to achieve that goal. Amen.
