Main Objective: What does it mean for us that Jesus became a human? Our Savior left His throne and came to Earth to live as a human. He humbled himself and came to serve others, and ultimately to die a criminal’s death for our redemption. This message focuses on the “roles” Christ took on as human, and how we should strive to follow after Him by living as He did, with humility and selfless service. We can encourage children to put others first and live in a way that imitates Jesus.
Law/Gospel Theme: Philippians 2 reminds us of the sacrifices Jesus made for our sake. He emptied Himself and came to Earth as a human, in order for us to be free from sin and death. We can rejoice knowing that the work He has done covers our wrongs and makes us new. We should also praise the name of Jesus, recognizing the amazing things He still does in our lives, and living in a way that honors and worships Him.
Act Like a Servant! Children’s Message on the Humility of Jesus   Â
Optional Materials: Costumes of some sort, representing roles in a story or play, or a uniform or work outfit.
Don’t miss the full Sunday School Lesson on Philippians 2:1-11, the related children’s sermon object lesson, and the preschool Bible lesson on humility.
Bible Passage: Philippians 2:5-11
Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students.
Greet the children and wear some sort of costume or uniform, affecting a role or job that could be taken on…this script follows the acting theme, but you could just as easily choose to do the same sort of message with a career role instead.
Hello, children of God!
You might notice I’m a little dressed up here. I’m just preparing for my acting career! I am going to take on a role on the stage…have you ever seen a play or a movie? Have you ever been in a play? Now usually, when you’re hoping to take part in a performance, you want a good part, right? If desired, suit up in fun costume to demonstrate the roles as you describe them. For instance, would you rather be the lead role, looking awesome and rescuing people as a hero? Or….would you rather be the lowly sidekick or animal? Unless you’re painfully shy, chances are you’d prefer a good part. Not many people would choose the humble lower role if given the option. And when you’re preparing for the role, what do you need to do? You memorize lines, learn where to stand and how to act, and you sort of “become” that character for the time you’re on stage.
Did you know that Jesus took on a role when He came to Earth? Well, He wasn’t just acting, though. He truly became a human in every way. He was still God, too, though, which is somewhat confusing because that’s the way the Trinity is…but anyway, Jesus set aside His power and privileges as God so that He could become a man. He took the humble, lowly role. He took on the part of a regular person, needing to eat and sleep and go to the bathroom. Not only did He become completely human, He also came to serve, and not to be served. Jesus didn’t live in a palace or have a lot of bodyguards or fancy robes. He set an example in humility, helping and healing people and even washing the feet of His friends! Ultimately, He died on the cross, suffering a shameful, painful, criminal’s death. This, of course, was to pay the price for our sins and grant us eternity in Heaven someday!
Jesus did that for us, and He wants us to act like Him. Of course, we know we are not Jesus. We will never be perfect like He was, because we are sinful. But we can imitate Him and take on that “role” somewhat when we follow His example of humility. This means putting other people before ourselves. It means not always fighting for the first spot in line or the best of things that we might think we “deserve.” It means doing things for other people, loving and serving them instead of expecting others to do things for us. We can try to act like Jesus when we get to know Him better through His word and prayer.
We can also give thanks and praise to God for sending Jesus to live on Earth as a human. We can rejoice in the work He did for us on the cross, and take hope in the fact that His presence is with us always. His name is above every other name. He emptied Himself and sacrificed, and we can be grateful for that every day!
Why don’t we pray now and thank God for Jesus?
Prayer:
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for sending Jesus
To come to Earth as a human.
Help us to be humble like He was
And put others before ourselves.
Thank you for forgiveness and grace.
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses/story to Reference:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:5-11