Hello everyone, this is Aunt Frenita.
Today's story is called,
"You did it for me."
The memory verse is from Matthew 25:40.
It says,
"Whatever you did for the
least of these brothers of mine,
you did it for Me."
The message is,
"Taking care of those in need
is like taking care of Jesus."
Dad wheeled the lawnmower out of the garage.
"Go get the rake and the broom,"
He called to Matt.
"What's up?" Matt asked.
"Why are you taking the lawnmower away?"
"I just found out that Mr Hoyt is
going into the hospital for surgery.
So let's go over and mow his lawn.
That will be one less thing for Mrs Hoyt
to worry about while her husband is recovering."
Dad said.
What do you think?
Is that something Jesus would do?
Jesus sat on the soft green grass of the hillside.
The breeze ruffled His hair,
and he smiled as a butterfly danced through the air.
It swooped close to His knees,
and then sailed away.
The disciples shifted to more
comfortable positions on the grass.
It had been a wonderful day.
Jesus had taught them many things,
and they never got tired of listening to Him.
They watched Jesus sitting quietly.
They knew He had more stories to tell.
They waited.
Jesus took a deep breath.
He had something very important to say.
He wanted to say it just right,
so the disciples would always remember it.
"When the Son of Man comes as King,
with all of the angels,"
Jesus began.
"He will sit upon the royal throne.
All the people of the world will stand before Him.
Then He will separate them into two groups.
Just as the shepherd separates his goats from his sheep."
The disciples nodded.
They knew very well
how shepherds separated their animals.
They had seen it many times.
The King will put the righteous people
on His right side,"
Jesus went on.
"The righteous people are His sheep.
He will put the unrighteous people,
the goats, on his left side.
And then the King will turn and smile
to say those on His right hand.
He will say to them,
"When I was hungry, you fed me.
When I was thirsty, you gave me a cool drink.
You invited me into your home
when I was a stranger.
You gave me clothes when I needed them.
When I was sick,
you took care of me.
You visited me in prison.
And now, I want to thank you,
and give you the Kingdom that has been prepared for you
since the Creation of the world.""
Jesus stopped for a minute.
The disciples leaned forward.
Everyone was listening.
He went on.
"The righteous people will look wonderingly at the King and ask,
"When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty?
When did you invite you into our homes?
When did we give you clothes or visit you in prison?"
And," Jesus said,
"The King will answer them.
"Whenever you did one of those things
for the least important person,
you were doing it for Me.
Because you did those kind things for my brothers,
and my sisters, you did them for Me."
Then the King will look sadly
at the people on his left side."
Jesus continued.
""You didn't feed Me when I was hungry,"
He will say.
"You didn't give Me anything to drink when I was thirsty.
You did not invite Me into your home
or visit Me when I was sick in prison."
And the people on the King's left side will shout!
"When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty?
Or sick, or in prison and not help you?"
The King will answer them,
"When you refuse to help My brothers and sisters,
you were refusing to help Me!""
Jesus stopped.
He so much wanted His disciples to understand what He was saying.
He wanted them to learn to love each other,
the way He loved each one of them.
And He wants us to learn that, too.
www.gracelink.net
Close captions by Bernice Leong.