"Clean Water, Dirty Water" - a Children's Sermon on Baptism

[Set up 2 jars of water - one clean & clear, one gray & dirty]

Now, kids---

When we're working, playing, or having fun outside all day, it's pretty easy to get dirty, isn't it?

Which parts of you get dirtiest when you're playing outside all day?

(hands, feet, knees, clothes, etc., ...)

Well, at the end of the day, what does mom or dad or someone say to you?

Before dinner -- "Go wash your hands!"
Before bed -- "Go take a bath!"
Or at least -- "Go wash those feet before you get into bed!"

Well, if you're going to wash your hands or take a bath, which kind of water would you like to (--hold up jar clean water/dirty water--) get clean in?

Sure..., the clean water!

Well, you know, our insides--our hearts, our minds, our souls--can get grimy too, living in the world every day--they get dirty by the things we do: What kinds of things might make our insides dirty and grimy--can anyone guess?

What about if we get mad at somebody who's bothered us, and tell them, "I hate you!" and we think of ways we'd like to get back at them--do you think that might make our insides kind of dirty?

...Or what if we told a lie to someone? Do you think that would make us dirty inside?

...Or what if we see someone calling a kid "stupid" or "ugly"--and then we start talking that way too, and start hurting other people's feelings and putting them down? Do you think that might make our insides dirty and grimy?

...(kids might suggest others)

You know when we do things like these, or when we do something we know is bad, just because everyone else is doing it, or when we think about and talk about how much better we are than someone else,...all these are ways we might get kind of grimy and dirty inside.

But, you know what else? There's a way of getting clean inside, just like getting clean outside. What do you think that is? Would you do it by listening to music on the radio where they're talking trash about someone, or about taking drugs or hurting people? Would you do it by watching TV shows and advertisements? Probably not....

One of the best ways I know of getting clean inside--in heart and soul and mind--is to hear about Jesus. Because Jesus always speaks the truth, even when he can get in trouble for it; and Jesus always loves people and works for their good, even if they have done something wrong; and Jesus always does the good and brave thing, even when the people around him are running away. Because Jesus is the Son of God.

So when people decide to follow Jesus, they get baptized. It's kind of like taking a bath--a symbolic bath: a small visible sign of something much bigger. And baptism is kind of a short, small bath that's a sign, a symbol of how Jesus cleans people inside, makes them all clean and fresh & new & beautiful inside....

OK? So trying to get yourself cleaned up inside by watching people kill each other on TV--or trying to get cleaned up by listening to music that talks about being nasty--is just like trying to wash your hands in dirty water. But hearing about Jesus, and hearing about what he did and what he said, is like washing your hands in clean water.

And when people get baptized, they're saying they want Jesus to make them clean inside--every day.

Now, we're going to have a meal later...would anybody like to wash their hands?