August 26 – “Things that matter”

We had a very fun kids sermon time at church yesterday.  Youngsters Gavin and Ian were there with their grandparents Jim and Laura while their Daddy is in the hospital having his gall bladder removed.  They were joined by Sean, one of our regulars.  And they were all “on” for the occasion.  Actually the youngest, Gavin, was kind of reluctant to join the others at first, so Grandpa Jim came with him.  We played a game called Forced Choice with them.  I asked the question, “If you had to choose one or the other of these two things, which would it be?”  They then had to move to one side or the other of a strip of masking tape I put down on the floor. 

The first choice was between a Nestle’s Crunch Bar and a Tootsie Roll.  I couldn’t imagine anyone NOT choosing the Crunch Bar, except maybe Chris or Mike Bell, but neither of them was in the building.  I had the adults raise their hands, though, and did have some takers for each.  Little Gavin, though, was having trouble deciding.  He just couldn’t choose.  The next choice was a football or a baseball.  Again, I was sure baseball would win hands down.  I think baseball did get a majority of votes, too.  But Gavin just couldn’t choose.  Trying a different tactic, I put up on our screen pictures of two of the Disney princesses, Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  Ian knew immediately who they each were, but frowned at the thought of actually choosing one of them.  Yuck.  What real boy would choose a “princess” for anything?  Sean apparently was having similar thoughts, but he dealt with them a bit more creatively.  He somehow managed to balance on his toes right on top of the tiny little masking tape line right in the middle.  Way to avoid choosing, Sean.  Oh, and Gavin … couldn’t choose. 

The final picture was the climax of the whole thing, upon which the point would be made.  I put up a picture I found on the internet of Jesus having an arm wrestling match with Satan.  The adult teaching was an introduction to the Biblical ideas of resurrection, so my point here was that if we choose Jesus, we get to experience resurrection with him.  The picture came onto the screen, and I pointed out that one was Jesus and the other was Satan.  Before anyone else could move or say anything, Gavin screamed, “I pick Jesus!”  Attaboy, Gavin.  Save your responses for the things that really matter.

John 5:24 says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

Father, help me learn to be quick to respond to the things that matter.  Amen.