Message – Easter VII – Children’s Sunday, May 16, 2021

Views from the Pews       

“What a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This week I share with you from a Book entitled “Gospel Sermons for Children:”

Jesus prays for us

God certainly loves to have us come to his house as we have this morning.  Here we have an opportunity to hear God’s Word, sing songs and talk to God about many different things.  What do we call it when we talk to God?  (prayer).  That’s right, we call talking to God prayer.  God is our very best friend and as our very best friend, he wants us to talk to him often.  As we pray in Jesus’ name, we can thank God for his many blessings, ask him to forgive us our sins, and pray for others who may have special needs or problems.  It’s so nice to know that we can talk to our loving God any time and that he will always hear us.

One very special blessing we have as members of God’s family is knowing that there are people who pray for us.  When we are sick they pray that we will get better.  When we travel they pray that we will have a safe trip.  When something good happens in our lives, they thank God for blessing us.  Do you know some people who pray for you? (parents, Godparents, grandparents, friends,  to name a few).  Their prayers for us show that God’s love is active in their lives.  Do you pray for some people too, especialy when you go to bed at night? (probably family members and friends?)

In our Gospel for today we heard about Jesus talking to his heavenly Father in prayer.  Jesus prayed not only for himself but also for his friends, the disciples.  He asked his heavenly Father to watch over them, especially after he returned to heaven.  How wonderful it must have been for the disciples to know that Jesus loved them so much that he took time to pray for them.

I have wonderful news for all of you this morning! Jesus, who is very much alive and now with his Father in heaven, is still praying for his disciples, his followers.  Who are Jesus’ followers today?  Yes you and I and all  who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are his disciples.  Jesus prays for us. He asks God to forgive us our sins and to keep us strong in our faith. 

What a wonderful friend we have in Jesus Christ.  Not only did he live, die and rise again for our salvation, but every day he prays to his Father in heaven on our behalf.  So pray for others, my young friends, just as Jesus prays for each one of you.