Sermon
Grab a Corner of the Blanket
Theme
Doing our part to bring others to Jesus.
Object
A blanket. (If a full-sized blanket is used, you might need to fold it in half to make a pallet.)
Scripture
Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Mark 2:3-5
Activities + Resources
This morning I have a blanket. I am going to spread the blanket out on the floor and ask "Johnny" to lie down on the blanket. Next I will ask a child to stand at each of the four corners of the blanket. (Choose children to take their positions as described.)
Our friend "Johnny" has broken his leg and we need to get him to the doctor. If I were to ask the children who are standing at the corners of the blanket to grab a corner of the blanket and carry "Johnny" out the door, down the street and into the doctor's office, that would be pretty difficult, wouldn't it? Do you think you could do it? Would you be willing to try?
Well, let us suppose that you can do it, but when you get to the doctor's office, there are so many people waiting to get in to see the doctor, that you can't even get up to the door, much less get into the office. Then you notice that the doctor's office has some stairs that lead up to the roof. If you could carry "Johnny" up to the roof, perhaps you could make a hole in the roof and lower him down into the doctor's office. Do you think you could do it? Would you be willing to try?
Did you know that this is almost exactly what happened when a group of men wanted to take a friend to Jesus? The Bible tells us that four men were carrying a paralyzed man to Jesus. They knew that if they could just get him to Jesus that Jesus could heal him, but they couldn't get to where Jesus was because of the large crowd. The four men carried their friend up to the roof and made an opening in the roof. Then they lowered the man down through the roof to where Jesus was. When Jesus saw how much faith these four men had, he not only healed the paralyzed man, he even forgave him of all his sins.
You and I have friends who need to come to Jesus. It may not be easy, but if each of us will do our part, together we can succeed. We may meet obstacles, but we must never give up. We must hold on to our corner of the blanket and carry on until we bring them to Jesus.
Dear Jesus, we all have friends who need your healing and your forgiveness. May we be faithful to grab a corner of the blanket and bring them to you. Amen.
