Added on 13 Oct 2009
Aim
Sometimes God sends a kind person to help us out
Welcome
Good morning, it’s good to be back again. I wonder if you can remember what we talked about last month?
Well today we are going to use the theme of kindness and as usual we will try and demonstrate this with a bible story, but see if you can recognise who is being kind?
Narrator: The story today is found in the book of 2 Kings chapter 4, it’s all about a woman whose husband had died and left her with some debts to be paid. She had two sons with her and now they might have to go and work as slaves until all the bills had been paid. She finds the prophet Elisha and says:
Woman: Elisha, my husband your servant is dead, and now the ceditor is coming to take both my sons to be his slaves. What can I do?
Elisha: Tell me what do you have in the house?
Woman: Well I don’t have anything in the house except a jar of oil.
Elisha: Then go and borrow jars and pots from everywhere from all of your neighbours, they must be empty jars and gather as many as you can. Then you must shut the door and fill them all up.
Woman: Sons you will have to go and ask our neighbours for their empty pots just as the prophet said and bring them back quickly.
(Sons to collect containers from the children)
Woman: now we have collected all our neighbours’ pots lets fill them.
Narrator: and that is what she and her sons did until every pot had been filled and then the oil stopped flowing from the widow’s jar. She then sold all the oil and she was able to pay all her debts and the sons remained with their mother.
Reflection
As we go about our daily routines we never know what may happen next do we? This lady had suddenly lost her husband and now she almost lost her sons.
God knows what we need even before we ask him to help us, and often he will send different people into our lives to help us at certain times. However he sees a kind and willing heart far more than a proud heart like someone who never wants to ask for help.
Elisha knew from God what the woman needed to do to be able to pay off her debts and so told her to fill as many jars of oil as she possibly could. It was important that she obeyed Elisha otherwise the oil would have run out and she would still be in debt.
Elisha’s kindness was an act of selflessness and at just the right time in that woman’s life. Sometimes God sends a kind person to help us out, it could be someone we don’t know that well.
Song
Brother sister let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you
Prayer Children if you want to join in the prayer say Amen at the end.
Thank you Lord that you have shown us acts of kindness in the bible. Help us not to be too proud and seek the help of others when we are in need. Help us to realise that we all need a friend, someone to listen, someone to show us kindness. But most of all to know Lord that you will always listen and that you will always help us when we most need you. Amen