Measuring Up
Children's Sermon
Prop: Measuring tape.
Before the talk, measure the height of a few of the children.
Kids, have you ever heard the saying, he just doesn't measure up? Do you have any idea what that means? (Listen for answers.) It sounds like this
might have something to do with how tall someone is, but it has nothing to do with the height of an individual. When someone doesn't measure up, that means he or she is not quite good enough.
There are many things in life that we are not able to measure up to, especially if we've never tried to do those things before. For example, (insert your own experience) the first time I ever tried to water ski, my bathing suit almost came completely off! It took a lot of practice before I could even stand up on the skis.
Today, I want to talk to you about measuring up to God. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned, and fall short of God's glory, his
perfection (Romans 3:23). Our problem is that we cannot get into heaven unless we are
perfect. No matter how hard we try, or how much we practice, we cannot measure up to God's glory and perfection!
God knows this. And do you know what God did for us? He came down out of heaven, in the form of a man, Jesus, and lived a perfect life. Only Jesus was able to measure up to God's standard of perfection! But he did more than that! The Bible says the things we do wrong, our sins, need to be punished.
The punishment for our sin is eternal death, that is separation from God (Romans 6:23). The great news is that Jesus took our punishment by dying in our place, and then rose from the dead to give us eternal life with God.
Boys and girls, wouldn't you like to measure up to God so that you can live with him forever? The Bible tells us that
EVERYONE who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (Romans 10:13). Let's pray, and if you haven't asked Jesus to come into your life to take away your
sin—so you can measure up—you can do so today.
PRAY: Dear Jesus, Please forgive me for sinning against you. Thank you for dying and taking my punishment. Please come into my life and help me to follow you. Thank you for making it possible for me to measure up to God.
Amen.
The next time you hear the phrase, He just doesn't measure up. Remember that no one apart from Jesus can ever measure up to God!
Copyright 2001 Sarah A. Keith
If you like this children's sermon, then you'll love It's in the Bag---52 Bible Talks for Children's Ministry.
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