Invisible Friends

Children’s Sermon

Michaelmas (transferred), 28 September 2025

Hey, guys. Thanks for coming up. Are you excited for October, the Long Halloween?

So I have a question for you: Did you ever have an imaginary friend?

I did. When I was little, I had an imaginary friend named Walter. Walter was a large purple whale. He drove a tiny little car, and he worked for the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company.

I used to talk to Walter as though he were a real person. In fact, my parents told me that one time I got very upset with my dentist because he had stepped on Walter’s tail, which I took to be quite rude of him. He should watch out for invisible whales.

I think that we have an instinct for friendship. Everybody does. That’s why we give dolls or stuffed animals to our children—because we all want a friend who’s always there, always listening, always understanding. It’s nice to feel like we’re never really alone.

But lately I’ve been wondering if maybe our imaginary friends aren’t really all that imaginary. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that there’s a purple whale driving around behind me in a little car. Let me know if you see one.

But the fact that we all know, when we’re little, that we have a friend who loves us, who understands us, who never leaves us—I think that’s right. I think kids are right.

We do have someone who always knows us, and loves us, and never leaves us. Obviously I’m going to say God, right? I’m a pastor. I want everyone to know that God is always with us, always loves us. That’s absolutely true.

But Jesus also says, in the Scriptures, that each of us has an angel; a friend who is always with us; who knows us better than we know ourselves; and who loves us for our whole life long. And as kids we already know that, don’t we? We already know that we have real friends whom we sometimes cannot see.

It isn’t that children are wrong, or just make stuff up. It’s that, as adults, we tend to forget. We forget that our invisible friends might just be the most real friends of all.

Anyway, Jesus loves you. And so do His angels. And because of that, we will never truly be alone.

Sound good? Okay. Let’s pray.