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Children's Sermon
Easter 5
May 18, 2003
Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:25-31
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
*****
I want to tell you a story about a boy named Garmel. Now, Garmel and his parents went to see Grandma and Grandpa. When they came back home, Garmel's father opened the trunk of the car and said, "What is this?"
"It's a stick off of Grandma's cherry tree," said Garmel. "I'm going to grow cherries."
"If you want more cherries, Garmel, we will have to go back to Grandma's house and pick them," said his mother.
"No, I want my own cherries in my own room. I'm going to put my cherry tree stick in water and have my own cherries," said Garmel.
"See," said Garmel after he had put the stick in a glass of water by his bed, "this is my own cherry tree. It has leaves and everything. Here is where the cherry will grow."
And he pointed right where the leaf grew out of the stick.
The next morning, Garmel said, "My cherry tree is still tired. The leaves are resting."
The leaves were all folded up and hanging down.
The next morning, Garmel said, "I think my cherry tree needs dirt in the glass. It doesn't have anything to eat. The leaves are getting all stiff."
So, he put dirt in the glass with the water.
The next morning he came to breakfast with the stick in his hand. "Look," he said, "all the leaves fell off my cherry tree. I'm not going to get any cherries."
"I'm sorry," said his mother.
"That wasn't a cherry tree in the first place," said his father. "That was just a branch from a cherry tree. It can't grow anything after you break it off."
That night when they were getting ready to say prayers, Garmel said, "I don't want to say prayers. I want to watch TV. Why do I have to go to bed early so we can say prayers?"
"Remember your cherry tree, the one you brought home from Grandma and Grandpa's?" said his mother.
"It wasn't a cherry tree. It was just a stick," said Garmel.
“ It was a cherry tree before the wind broke it off. It would have had cherries on it if it had stayed on the tree," said his mother.
It wasn't a cherry tree. It was just a stick," said Garmel.
"If we break off saying prayers to God, our leaves dry up and fall off," said his mother.
"I don't have any leaves," said Garmel. "I'm not a tree."
"No," said his father, "but you have good thoughts and you do good things. You know why?
"Why?" said Garmel.
"Because you are connected to God," said his father. "When we talk to God we are connected to God like a branch connected to a tree. Do you want to be connected to God or connected to the TV?"
Garmel had to think about that.
Then they said a prayer: "Dear God help us stay connected to you so we can think good things and do good things. Amen."
Roland McGregor, Pastor
Asbury United Methodist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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