FAQ – Faithfully Asked Questions, a summer sermon series on questions asked by the children and adults of the church, week 2 of 7
Preached with the children June 20, 2021 for the 9:30am Worship
Hello little ones! Welcome back! Today we have three great questions you asked me and Caitlan. Let’s dive right in. The first one…
Question
Why do we stand up (off and on) at church to read or sing?
Ah! Well, we don’t HAVE to do that. There’s no command or requirement to stand up. You’ll notice, Caitlan or I or other worship leaders invite people to stand but we don’t make anyone to do it. It might go back to something that happened between Moses and God.
Scripture Exodus 3:2-5
2 … the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of a bush; Moses looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must go and look at this amazing sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that Moses had come to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And Mose said, “That’s me.” 5 Then God said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Response
When we choose to stand in church, it’s to give special attention to God, to say we want to hear God, and we are willing to show respect and give our attention to God whom we believe is present here among us and is trying to tell us things.
Okay, second question from one of you. And this one isn’t hard to answer, but it is hard to talk about. One of you asked…
Question
Why did they kill Jesus?
I’ve thought about this one to, ever since I was a kid. A few verses from Luke 19 might explain it…
Scripture Luke 19
41 As Jesus came near and saw the polis (or the city), he cried about it, 42 and said, “If you all, even yall, had just recognized on this day the things that make for peace!
45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there;
47 Every day he kept teaching... So the pastors, the lawyers, and the politicians kept looking for a way to kill him;
Response
Jesus didn’t like it when religious leaders used religion to get money from the people. Jesus also didn’t like it when politicians and lawyers used government to make money for themselves. So Jesus confronted them, and taught the people to expect justice, truth, generosity, cooperation, compassion, and peace from their religious and political leaders. That’s why the religious and political leaders used the police to arrest and kill Jesus, to keep their power and make money, instead of helping people.
When we don’t do religion or politics to benefit all God’s people, it’s like we are hurting Jesus all over again.
Okay, last question…
Question
Where was Jesus buried? (I think she wants to know the actual location of the tomb.)
In Luke it says this…
Scripture Luke 23:52-53
50 …there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council (that group of religious and political leaders that decided to kill Jesus), 51 Joseph had not agreed to their plan or actions. He was from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was hoping desperatley for the kingdom of God (that way of doing community that Jesus taught about). 52 So Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 He took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb one where no one else had ever been buried.
Response
On the sides of hills outside Jerusalem, they would dig into the rock to make a little room. Then, they would make a really big round rock and roll it over the entrance to the cave, like a big door. The hills around Jerusalem have lots of those little caves where families were buried together when each one died.
Near Jerusalem was one little cave, a new one, where no one else had ever been buried. And Joseph and others buried Jesus in a little cave like that somewhere near Jerusalem. That’s all we know about where he was buried.
Okay will you pray with me…