April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Good News for Kids
WHEN NO ONE'S WATCHING
When Jesus was ready to start teaching, John the Baptist reminded people to get ready, to show they were sorry for their sins by being baptized. "The one who's coming is much greater than I am," John said. "I don't even deserve to untie His shoes! And I'll just baptize you with water, but He can baptize with the Holy Spirit."
Christmas is coming, and kids all over the world are reminding themselves to do one thing: BE EXTRA GOOD. Lots of kids hear that Santa is watching them and get very nervous about being good so he'll bring them some presents!
In this week's Gospel (Mark 1:1-8), people were talking about another kind of readiness: getting ready for Jesus. Jesus had come to earth as a person, grown up and now was ready to start teaching people about God -- but they weren't all ready for Him! Lots of people were still so busy being bad that they wouldn't be able to listen to Jesus talk about being good.
John the Baptist warned those people to get ready for Jesus. Kids want to get ready for Christmas by being extra good. But like John the Baptist said, you shouldn't wait until the last minute to get ready.
Being ready, he taught us, is about being good year-round. You know that Christmas is really Jesus' birthday, so you're not just getting ready for Santa; you're getting ready for Jesus, too!
That doesn't mean arguing with your sister or playing in a room you're not supposed to be in until your parents remind you to be good. It doesn't mean being extra good to make up for all the times you didn't treat people well at all! It means trying to be a good person all the time -- even when Santa's not watching!
PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me be good, even when Santa's not coming soon! Amen.
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