What is more precious than tradition?

Today's title is "What's More Important Than Tradition?" 

Do you all know what the word "tradition" means?

In the United States, it's traditional to have parties with family during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving is when we thank God for providing us with food and everything we need. During Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus, who came to this world to save us from our sins.

Do you have any traditions in your family? 

(You can ask if any interesting traditions exist in the children's families.)

Now, let's read today's passage first.

(Mark 7:20-23) He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

One day, Jesus' disciples gathered to have a meal. Some of the disciples were so hungry that they forgot to wash their hands before eating, so they ate with unwashed hands. When the Pharisees saw this, they were surprised!

"No, Jesus! Why do your disciples eat with unwashed hands?" they asked.

 Eating with unwashed hands was a big violation of Jewish law. They were supposed to wash their hands thoroughly before eating.

In addition, there were many complicated rules among the Jews. They thought that if they didn't follow these rules, they would be considered strange people who didn't respect their traditions.

For the Jews, keeping their traditions was very important. Imagine this: you're on your way to the church on Sunday to worship, but you meet a sick person on the way. What would you do?

Would you help the sick person, or would you ignore them and go to church to worship? 

(Children are likely to say they would help the sick person.)

However, the Jews were so strict about keeping their traditions that they wouldn't do anything if it meant breaking their traditions.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, "What defiles a person is not what goes into their body, but what comes out of their heart." The Pharisees were quick to criticize Jesus' disciples for not washing their hands, but they didn't examine their own hearts.

Jesus said that a person's heart is the dirtiest part.

 So, what does it mean for a person's heart to be dirty? Let's think about it together. (Wait for the children to answer and listen to their responses.)

That's right. Many of our thoughts can make our hearts dirty. 

 When we want to get someone else's toys instead of our own, it's called "greed."When greed enters our hearts, our hearts become dirty.

Do you like watching YouTube on your iPad? We have to be careful about the videos we watch. If we watch bad videos, bad thoughts can enter our hearts and make them dirty.

Also, getting angry and complaining can make our hearts dirty.

What other things can make our hearts dirty? (Listen to the children's thoughts.)

 So, how can we make our hearts clean? Will taking a shower make our hearts clean?

 (Listen to the children's thoughts.)

Our hearts can only be made clean by the blood of Jesus. Jesus already died on the cross more than 2,000 years ago to cleanse us from our sins. When we believe in Jesus, repent in front of Him, and ask for forgiveness, we can have clean hearts.

Let's all repent in front of Jesus and have clean hearts.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we have dirty hearts. But we thank you for cleansing our hearts with the blood of Jesus. Please help us always have clean hearts. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.