Sermon
What Keeps Us Afloat?
Theme
What we have on the inside helps to keep us afloat. (This lesson is good for the summertime)
Object
A child’s inner tube (for swimming- a clear one works well)
Scripture
This was used with the 23rd Psalm, but others would certainly apply.
Are you having fun this summer? Have you been swimming yet? Do you need help swimming or can you stay on top of the water all by yourself? If we don’t know how to swim it can be scary to be in the water and it’s helpful to have someone there to keep us from sinking.
(Show the inner tube) Do you kids know what this is? This helps you float so you don’t go under the water….so you don’t get into trouble. Sometimes it can even save your life.
What’s inside of this plastic tube? Right….Air! Air is all around us, it doesn’t cost us anything, and it works really well inside this inner tube to keep you floating.
What would happen if I replaced the air in this inner tube with something else? Let’s think of something else that you like that would fit in this little hole. (examples could be Kool-Aid, sugar, sand, melted chocolate, etc.) What would happen if I did that? Right the inner tube would sink and wouldn’t work the way it’s suppose to. It wouldn’t be able to help us.
This inner tube is like our bodies and our minds…they work well when we fill them with some good things. Some of those good things are all around us and don’t really cost us anything.
One of those things is LOVE. When we are loved and cared for we live better. The love you get from your mom and dad helps you to grow well…helps keep you safe.
Another thing that’s good for our insides is LEARNING ABOUT GOD and HOW HE WANTS US TO LIVE. That helps us from sinking into trouble…helps us stay on top of the water.
A third thing that’s good for us is PRAYER. Prayer helps us to know that God is always there for us. He is ready to save us from all sorts of trouble. Prayer helps to keep us floating on top of the water.
So - when you go swimming again, and you see an inner tube, or a float of some sort, you can think about the things that are inside of you that help to keep you from sinking….Like, love, God and Prayer.
Dear God, We are so grateful that you are always available to us and want to live inside of us. We are grateful that your guidance can help us to stay out of trouble…you keep us from sinking. We will always try to remember your wisdom and know that it is there to keep us safe and happy. Amen
