Children's Message

Sermon

Have you ever heard the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” What do you think that means? (Take a couple answers.) Exactly. It means what someone else might not see as important, we might find it to be the best thing ever. Like my sibling/spouse/friend hates eating [insert food] but I love it. Their trash, but my treasure.

Let’s try some examples and see if you would put them in the trash or treasure bucket. (Give kids a moment after each item to decide if it is trash or treasure.)

Broccoli
Gold trophy
A good book
TV
Old candy wrapper
Rose bush
Teddy bear

Ah! We agree on some but not all, some of our trash is actually our friend’s treasure and vice versa.

In today’s Scripture, Paul is telling his friends, the Philippians, that those things we think are treasures, the trophies, the TV, even the broccoli, can all be rubbish if they don’t help us love our neighbor. He’s telling us that we shouldn’t brag about the cool stuff we have or the amazing things we’ve done in the past. Instead, we keep looking forward to how we can help one another.

Let’s think about what that might mean for some of the things we labelled treasures. If we said the TV was a treasure, how could we use it to love our neighbor? (Take a few answers.) Maybe we use the TV to learn about different cultures or we invite our friends over for a movie night. That would be loving our neighbor, right?

How about the teddy bear? (Take a few answers.) Great ideas. Maybe we let our brother or sister borrow it when they’re sad, or it inspires us to donate our old toys for kids in need.

Paul says that the most important thing, above all the treasure, is how we love our neighbor. The people here with us in church, the people down the street, the people who need help. Do you think you can love your neighbor this week? I think you can!

Prayer

Loving God, show us our neighbor this week. Inspire our creativity so that we can turn our treasures into ways of loving your people here on earth. Amen.

Wonder Questions

I wonder who needs a little extra love or help this week?
I wonder what you think is trash but someone else might think is treasure?
I wonder how you can use your treasure to love your neighbor?

Church Activities

Treasure Hunt: Make a list of 5-10 symbols commonly found in churches, like a cross, dove, or fish then go on a treasure hunt around the church to find them. Make sure to limit your list to symbols easily found in the spaces available at the time of the hunt. Consider printing a visual list for kids who cannot read.
Sorting Game: Print off pictures of everyday objects, like a lamp, a croissant, a bed, etc. then have kids sort these into piles for “trash” and “treasure.” Which ones do they agree on? Which ones feel like they’re a middle category, not trash but not quite treasure either? Is there any object that could be both?

Family Activities

Recycled Art: One way we can care for our neighbor is by keeping our environment clean. Consider cleaning up the sidewalks in your neighborhood, a local park, or underserved area. Take it one step further by turning this trash into treasure by making art out of some of the pieces you cleaned up!
Donations: Involve the kids in a toy/clothes clean out then pack it all up to donate. Find an organization in your area that helps get these in the hands of underprivileged kids.