Sermon: Youth Sunday Meditation

“Making a Difference”
Youth Sunday Reflection
by the Children and Youth of PACC
Sunday, June 10, 2018

Numbers 27:1-11
Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph, a member of the Manassite clans. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said, ‘Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.’

 Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying; you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father’s brothers and pass the inheritance of their father on to them. You shall also say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. It shall be for the Israelites a statute and ordinance, as the Lord commanded Moses.’

 

Psalm 133
How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity! 
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes. 
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life for evermore.

The five sisters in today’s scripture reading decided to speak out against the unfair laws of inheritance.  They were brave. Moses listened and God spoke, and the laws were changed so the sisters could inherit their father’s land.  In Sunday school we’ve been talking about what we would do if we could change a rule or make a new rule. These are some of the ways we would use our voices, and after the service you can come take a closer look at our rules hanging behind the communion table.

If we could change a rule, or make a new rule, we would:

Have equal pay among employees. Everyone should be paid the same for the same job!

Respect other’s opinions.  You don’t have to agree with them, but be respectful!  Respect what people say.

Respect our flag.

Respect other cultures.

Don’t treat people differently because of their religion.

There should be equality between the people.  Everyone should be treated equally.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

 

We would:

Be kind and nice to other people.

Not be mean to littler kids.

Not hit.  Be nice.

Share flowers.

Listen to your grown ups….sometimes.

There would be no hurting animals for no reason.

Cats ( and other animals)  should be people’s best friend.

We would:

Not use guns in school.

Guns should only be sold after they check the person’s record, or they should only be sold to the Army.

We would have no more bad drugs.

We would take care of flowers like we take care of ourselves.

We wouldn’t cut down trees.

The Declaration of Independence would say: We hold these truths to be self evident that all people are created equal… instead of all men are created equal.

Thank you for the people who have worked for justice in the past, God.  Thank you for encouraging us in our journey to make the world a better place.  Help us be a blessing to those who will follow. Amen.