Monday, September 9, 2013

September 9 – “Unexpected creativity”

The kid’s sermon at church yesterday had everyone laughing hysterically.  I didn’t think it would be that big of a hit, to be honest.  It was designed to introduce John 5, where Jesus calls witnesses to defend himself against charges of working on the Sabbath.  I wanted to show them how hard it was to get people to agree on things, even when everybody saw or heard the same thing to begin with.

I started out by asking a question.  It was a random question.  The answer really didn’t matter.  I just wanted to get a few possibles and then have them choose which one they wanted to agree on.  The first question was, “Why is the letter “U” the happiest letter?”  Now the proper answer was supposed to be “Because it is in the middle of FUN.”  Ha Ha, right?  Well, I was surprised to start off with by the first answer.  Someone called out, “Because it looks like a smiley face.”  Not a bad answer, actually.  That’s pretty creative.  I did want to allow the creative juices to flow, so to speak, so I asked if there were any other possible answers.  And when you allow for creativity, you have to accept the consequences.  One of our new little guys was obviously in deep thought.  And suddenly something occurred to him.  I was confident that he had come up with the answer of the day.  I was right, but it was just not what I expected.  I called on him and, as a hush descended on the crowd, he spoke: “Are dinosaurs extinct?”  What?  Where did that come from?  Apparently everybody in the room was thinking the same thing.  After about a three count, most everyone burst out in laughter, with a smattering of applause.  It was all I could do not to join in, but I was determined to respect the young man’s honest query.  With my best show of appreciation for his interest, I managed to squeeze out, “Pretty much, yes.”  And the tone was set for the rest of the sermon. 

They made it through, “In storyland, who fell off a wall?” with some help from Mrs. Rita, and all agreed that it was Humpty Dumpty.  When we moved into the Bible questions, though, things got interesting.  Check out these responses:

“Who had the face of an angel: Jesus, Moses, or Stephen?”  Several chose Jesus, of course.  That’s the usual churchy answer, isn’t it?  There were a few for Moses, and even an adult or two wanted Stephen (the correct answer, by the way).  But one guy in the back of the room had another suggestion: “How about an extinct dinosaur?”  OK.

“Who ate locusts and wild honey: John, Paul, or Ringo?”  Be careful now, your response to that one may date you, as it did Matthew, who said, “Who is Ringo?”  A few other suggestions came out from the crowd: “What about George?”  and “An extinct dinosaur” were my personal favorites.

“Who got to ride in a chariot of fire: Elisha, Elijah, Eli?”  Elijah is the right answer there, but I did hear another dinosaur mention from the back of the room.

“Which of these are Bible characters?” drew some interesting responses.  Francis didn’t get any takers, so we started out good.  Socrates only got some snickers.  They hadn’t heard of that one yet.  Peter was good to go for everyone.  Aladdin caused some confusion.  Hey, he dresses kind of like a Bible guy in the movie, doesn’t he?  My favorite in this category, though, was Ham.  The kids hooted with laughter on that one.  William said, “That’s something I eat, not a person.”  In an effort to clarify, I suggested that maybe they had heard of Ham’s father.  But when I asked if anyone knew Ham’s father, the answers came fast and furious.  These are just the ones I was able to discern: “Pig,” “Bacon,” “Bacon and eggs,” and of course … “Extinct dinosaurs.” 

It’s not always easy to agree on everything, is it?  But then, that was the point.

The second part involved showing a picture and then removing it and seeing what you could remember.  The kids were amazing at that one.  They remembered details that I hadn’t noticed for the first time.  It did help with the transition to the final point, though:

“That’s why one of the most important times when someone is on trial in a courtroom is when the witness takes the stand to give his testimony about what he saw.  It’s important for him to tell the truth because someone’s life could depend on it.  Today we’re going to be talking about the testimony Jesus pointed to when he was challenged.  And he had some pretty good witnesses, the first two being John the Baptist and the miracles he performed.” 

In John 5:33-36 Jesus says, “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
     I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.”

Father, let me pray again what the kids prayed:  Jesus, help us to be truthful in everything we say so we can be good witnesses for you.  Amen.

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