Lent 4 John 3:14-15 “Snake Cross”

Talk:

Snakes. If you were to see a snake in the bush what would you do? You could either run away from it scared, you could grab something to try to kill it, or you could step back leave it alone and watch it slide and slither away peacefully. A lot of people are scared when they see a snake or they might even snap into survival mode and think they have to kill it but being calm and leaving it alone it the best thing to do. Snakes can be dangerous but they won’t harm you if they are left alone.

I think people are scared of snakes because we tend to think that they are all dangerous and poisonous creatures, that they are sinister animals. People have thought that for a long time. In Genesis, the first book of the bible, God made humans then Adam and Eve were tempted to eat from the tree by what sort of animal? A snake, a serpent. The snake became the ultimate badie, a symbol of everything evil in the world. There is another story about snakes in the Old Testament that we are going to hear in a moment in which they are again the badie in the story. In the book of Numbers, people are surrounded by snakes which are bitting them and killing them. God tells Moses to save the people by making a metal snake and putting it on a pole so they people can look up to it and be healed.

Jesus in the gospel reading today says just like Moses who put the snake on the pole to heal people, he must be lifted up on a cross so that the whole world would believe in him and be saved. So the snake curled around the cross has been used as a symbol for healing. It has even been used a symbol for doctors and medicine. For us healing comes from Jesus being curled up on the cross for us. By trusting in him and his death we are healed.  

 

Move:

X  Draw a picture of a snake curled around a cross or a pole. Put these pictures up in the church somewhere for the congregation to be reminded of Jesus who compared himself to the snake that Moses made.

Pray:

Lord God thank you that you created snakes, even though we are often sacred of them. Thank you that Jesus was lifted up on the cross like the snake Moses lifted up. Help us to look to Jesus for healing when we are bitten. Amen.

Bible Presentation

On Saturday night I was involved with my local pastor in an Intergenerational Lenten Service in which we presented Bibles to the Year 3 children and parents from Victory Lutheran College. Previously the school had the tradition to present the “Level 66” CEV Bibles to Year 3s in Junior Chapel at the start of the year. This year I changed things to make the most of the School-Church connection.

These Bibles are a gift from the Wodonga Lutheran Parish so I invited all the Year 3 families to come to St John’s and receive their Bibles in a family friendly intergenerational service. It was a great time of celebration with about 75 percent of the families turning up. We had a Faith Inkubators quiz on the Bible; I interviewed three people from different generations on their connection and experiences with the Bible. They were an elder member of the congregation who grew up as a child reading the Bible in German and memorising it in her local Lutheran School. A busy mother of 4 kids who happens to be a pastor’s wife, she shared some resources and tips on how she has tried to keep up a devotional life within her family. Then I got down on my knees to ask a Victory Year 3 student what their favourite Bible stories are and why.

The most significant part of the service for many people though, was the rite we used to present the Bibles. First the Year 3s were invited to the altar rail, then the head of the Junior School introduced why we were giving out the Bibles, I asked the kids to be responsible for bringing their Bibles to school and to learn and read them, then I asked the parents and the rest of the congregation whether they would support these children. 2 Timothy 3:16 was read, the parish pastor commended them and then the two Year 3 teachers helped us hand the Bibles out to the parents as the children’s names were read out. After this was done we got the Parents to take up the mantle of handing the Bibles to their children and saying together the words of Psalm 119:105; “My child, this is the Word of the Lord. May it be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path”.

It was a powerful way of presenting the bibles to the kids. Since that service I have been amazed how some of the kids, especially those who are book worms, have been getting into the Word. For follow up to this service I have given parents and kids the opportunity to attend 3 Bible Introduction sessions I am running at school. Changing the tradition of the school this way has proven to me once again how big an impact a public ritual like this can have for children and families. I pray that as we improve things  when we do it again next year, we would continue to change the culture of our school, our church, our families, so kids look forward to receiving and reading this precious gift from God.        

Lent 3 1 Corinthians 1:18 “Nail Cross”

Talk:
Here’s a cross you may or may not have seen before. It’s a nail cross. You see how the four ends of the cross are made from four separate nails, which are cut and then joined together in the middle. It’s pretty tricky isn’t it! Why do you think someone decided to use some nails to make a cross? That’s right; they did it because Jesus was nailed to the cross through his hands and feet. Jesus was crucified for us. He was put up and hung on the cross to die for us. That’s the important message we have as Christians, the “message of the cross”.

In the second bible reading today from 1 Corinthians; we are told that the message of the cross is wise and foolish. We might call it smart and stupid. How many of you have watched the ABC television show “Horrible Histories”? It’s a great show that presents some of the blood and guts and interesting facts of history. One of the segments on the show involves a skeleton person who comes out singing a song called “Stupid Deaths”. He interviews people from history and asks them how they died.

I want to ask you, if Jesus was on this television show “Horrible Histories” and we didn’t know anything about his life and he appeared before this Skeleton figure do you think we would say his death was a stupid death? (Probably yes) Jesus was dobbed in by one of his own friends. He had the chance to be freed but the people chose to free a criminal over him the innocent man. He was whipped and nailed to a cross, crucified. It is a horrible way to die, a stupid senseless death. But the message of the cross, the message of these nails is that for us Jesus’ death is not stupid but smart. The message of these nails, the message of the cross is that God uses the stupid things of life to make us smart to him and his love for us.  

Move:

X  Check out a “nail cross” from the display of crosses, a small one made from horse shoe nails or a bigger one made from railway spikes.

X  Point out the difference between a cross and a crucifix. A cross is empty while a crucifix is a cross with a body of Jesus on it. How many crosses can you see here on this table and how many crucifixes can you see in church today?

Pray:
Lord we when we try to be smart in so many ways, help us to see that your death for us on the cross is the smartest thing we can hold onto. Amen.