Do You Measure Up?

Prop: Measuring tape.

Before the talk, measure the height of a few of the kids.

Kids, have you ever heard the saying, He just doesn’t ’measure up’? Do you have any idea what that means? (Listen for answers.) It sounds like this has something to do with how tall someone is, but it has nothing to do with the height of an individual. When someone doesn’t ’measure up’ that means he or she is not quite good enough. There are many things in life that we are not able to measure up to, especially if we’ve never tried to do those things before. For example, (insert your own experience) the first time I ever tried to water ski, my bathing suit almost came completely off! It took a lot of practice before I could even stand up on the skis.

Today I want to talk to you about ’measuring up’ to God. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned, and fall short of God’s glory, his perfection. (Romans 3:23) Our problem is that we cannot get into heaven unless we are perfect! The fact is that no matter how hard we try, or how much we practice, we cannot ’measure up’ to God’s glory and perfection! So, do you know what God did for us? He came down out of heaven, in the form of a man, the man Jesus, and lived a perfect life. Only Jesus was able to ’measure up’ to God’s standard of perfection! But he did more than that! The Bible tells us that when we sin, we must be punished and the punishment that we deserve is eternal death! (Romans 6:23) The great news is that Jesus took our punishment by dying in our place so that we can ’measure up’ to God. Isn’t that wonderful?

Boys and girls, wouldn’t you like to measure up to God so that you can live with him in heaven forever? The Bible tells us that EVERYONE who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. (Romans 10:13) Let’s pray, and if you haven’t asked Jesus to come into your life and take your sins away, do it today.

PRAY: "Dear Jesus, thank you for dying for me. Please come into my life and help me to follow you. Thank you for making it possible for me to measure up to God. Amen."

Kids, the next time you hear the phrase, "He just doesn’t measure up." Remember that no one apart from Jesus can ever measure up to God!

Copyright 2001 S.A. Keith

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