Hermit Crab Food Sermon

Each week, our preacher sends a canvas bag home with a child. The child puts something in the bag and the next Sunday, during children's time, the preacher pulls out the item and finds a lesson in it. The children LOVE to have the bag. Our children contemplate and debate for the entire week about what should go in the bag each time they have it.

Today was an interesting lesson. Preacher G gathered all of the children around him in the pulpit area and opened the bag. In it was a jar of hermit crab food. He laughed and asked the little girl if her parents laughed when she decided to put the crab food in the bag. (Some people like to try to "stump the preacher" with their items.) He took a minute to think by asking the girl about her hermit crabs - he seemed to be stalling a little. The stalling was worth the time. I think he ended up making a remarkable lesson out of the hermit crab food.

He took the lid off the jar and asked the kids to smell the food. They were all repulsed and we could hear kids making noises and talking about how "gross" it smelled. Then, Preacher G asked who wanted to taste the crab food. Of course that caused a huge ruckus! No one wanted to taste it and all the children acted thoroughly disgusted! So, Preacher G took it to the next level and asked the congregation if any of them would come taste it. No takers. He insisted that it was food - not people food - but food, so it probably wouldn't hurt them to try it. He reminded them that they really didn't KNOW how it tasted, so why not give it a try. The children were very vocal about refusing to try to the food.

Preacher G then brought out the point that we KNOW some things are bad before we even try them. That's the way it is in life, too. We don't need to try things that we KNOW are bad for us. Listen to your conscience, listen to the teachings of the Bible, listen to your parents, listen to your feelings and don't do things you know are bad for you just for the sake of trying it. Let's experience the good things in life and stay away from the things we know will hurt us. He also talked briefly about peer pressure. Don't give in just because people tell you it's OK or won't hurt you. I hope it soaked in. I hope the children truly heard the lesson. Preacher G certainly thought fast on his feet today!