Sermon - 23 September 2007

Notes for an interactive children's sermon given for the Church of the Annunciation, Oradell, New Jersey, by the Reverend J. Barrington Bates, Rector, on Sunday, 23 September 2007 (Proper 20C - Luke 16:1-13).

Who knows what a scoundrel is? (mean, dishonest)

There are two scoundrels in today's gospel story: the manager and his master.
There are a lot of scoundrels in the world out there, right?
Can you think of any?
What does Jesus say about these scoundrels?
"Whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much."
What does that mean?
Jesus also says "whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much"
When we do some nice thing for someone - something small - it shows our faith in the goodness of God.
Which do you suppose Jesus wants for you - to be a scoundrel, or to be faithful?
Let's get Lily up here now, because we going to baptize her in a few minutes.That means we are going to make her a Christian, like you and me
Now we want her to be faithful, too, right?
So what do we want for Lily? What are our hopes for her?
We want her to be loving, nice, kind, smart, caring, sharing.
And that is what God wants for each and every one of us - not to be scoundrels, but to be faithful, realizing that we have a choice, and making the right choice.
The choice to be nice...The choice to be kind...The choice to be loving...The choice to be God's faithful representative in the world around us