2 Samuel 12:1-7, NIRV

12 The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. When Nathan came to him, he said, “Two men lived in the same town. One was rich. The other was poor. ²The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle. ³But all the poor man had was one little female lamb. He had bought it. He raised it. It grew up with him and his children. It shared his food. It drank from his cup. It even slept in his arms. It was just like a daughter to him.

⁴“One day a traveler came to the rich man. The rich man wanted to prepare a meal for him. But he didn’t want to kill one of his own sheep or cattle. Instead, he took the little female lamb that belonged to the poor man. Then the rich man cooked it for the traveler who had come to him.”

⁵David was very angry with the rich man. He said to Nathan, “The man who did this must die! And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. ⁶The man must pay back four times as much as that lamb was worth. How could he do such a thing? And he wasn’t even sorry he had done it.”

⁷Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I anointed you king over Israel. I saved you from Saul.’

Definition:

Worship – to give honor, hope, praise, and glory to God

Message:

Have you ever done something very wrong? Did you get caught? Were you punished? Please don’t tell me what it was but tell me how you felt afterward. (Allow children to answer. Be careful of confessions.) King David had done something very, very wrong. He made sure a good man named Uriah was killed in battle so that he could marry Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba.

God sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan told David a story about a rich man who stole a precious little lamb from a poor man. David could see that the rich man had done something wrong and selfish, but Nathan helped David see that he had acted badly as the rich man had done in the story.

The word in our definition of worship that I want to focus on today is “honor.” Remember our definition of worship – to give honor, hope, praise, and glory to God.

Honor means to show respect. When we worship God, we offer God our respect. When we do something wrong, we are disrespectful. When we do something wrong, we feel horrible inside. David did something wrong, and Nathan was pointing out the mistakes that David had made.

Often, it is easier for us to see the mistakes someone else makes than to see our own wrongdoings. God sent many prophets to show the people of Israel the wrong and selfish things they had done. When you read the prophet’s words in scripture, ask yourself whether you, too, need help to see what you have done wrong. I could certainly use a prophet in my life to point out when I am wrong in my decisions or actions. I also need to be reminded of our definition of worship, remember the word “honor,” and admit my mistakes to others and to God. A part of worship is giving God the respect and honor that God truly deserves. That certainly is worthy of worship!