CHILDREN – 3rd Sunday of Lent B

OBJECTS: None

Have you ever been to a library? There’s a special rule for how we use our voices there, right? (What’s the rule? How do we speak in a library?)

That’s right – we use very quiet voices in the library because we don’t want to disturb anyone who might be reading.

Now things are different on the playground, aren’t they? There we can use our loudest voices – because playgrounds are places for having fun.

Sometimes the things that are fine to do in one place are just not appropriate in another.

In this week’s Gospel we hear a story about this problem. Jesus goes to the temple and when he gets there he finds that people are inside selling animals. They’ve turned the temple into a kind of store.

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SOURCE: Sermon Writer

OBJECT:  Picture of Temple Rock, and/or picture of your church

When Jesus lived on earth he went to the temple. The temple was a very holy place where people worshipped God. In the temple he “found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves” (2:14). He drove the people and the animals out of the temple.

Why do you think he did that? The Bible tells us that he said, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!” (2:16). He wanted the people to respect the temple as a place where God is honored.

Our church can be thought of in that way; as a place where God is honored. What are some of the ways we can show respect for our church? Yes, by keeping it clean. We respect the church by making sure it is not damaged in anyway. We respect the church by behaving in a way that pleases God.

In this Bible story Jesus also talked about his body being the temple of God. In the same way God’s Spirit lives in us and we can think of our bodies as temples that honor God. The ways we show respect for our church are the same ways each one of us can show respect for our bodies.

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OBJECT: None

Let’s start with a story from the Bible. Jesus went to the temple, a holy place where many people came to give gifts to God. When he arrived at the temple he found that people were not respecting this holy place. They were selling cattle, sheep, and doves and exchanging money. The temple had become like a huge marketplace.

Jesus drove the cattle and sheep out of the temple and stopped the people from exchanging money. He said, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!” (2:16).

Did you know that you are like a holy temple? A holy place is anyplace where God is. When you accept God’s love His Spirit becomes a part of who you are. God’s Spirit lives in you and your body is a holy place––a holy temple.

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SOURCE: Sermon Writer