Epiphany 4 C: God's Messengers

There is an updated 2022 version of this post with more resources - see my archive at left

Bible Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 4:21-30 Theme: God's Messengers. Kids: Flat or ....? Tell the story of the Jeremiah reading using a balloon - first he was flat: too young, no confidence, didn't have the words etc; then when God reassured him he was like an inflated balloon: full of life and energy, confident. Film clip: Cocoon Cocoon is a film about the elderly who are treated like the living dead but who discover they still have lives to live and something to offer. There are plenty of scenes which relate to the psalmist who is an old man who still knows he has something to say and a way to say it. Drama: Home Town Sermon Found in Present on Earth by Wild Goose Resource Group, Wild Goose Publications, 2002, ISBN 0901557642, page 189 (pictured in an earlier blog) Quote: Unknown "I intend to stay alive for the whole of my life." Quote: By a British Politician "When we assumed office four years ago we stood on the edge of the precipice. Since then, we have taken a giant leap forward". As quoted by Prime Minister Tony Blair during a White House Toast on 5th February 1998. Quote: Martin Luther King Jnr. "When I speak of love, I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response, I am speaking of that force which is ... the supreme unifying principle of life". Story: Seeing Things from God's Perspective Index No 1629-1631 in Bible Illustrator for Windows 1.0d, Parson's Technology Inc., 1990 Discussion and/or Questions to Ponder: What encouragement is there is this/these readings for us? What warning is there in this/these readings for us? What is God asking you to do and what excuses are you using? Discussion Questions for the Jeremiah reading: What are Jeremiah's two excuses for not being God's messenger? What is God's response to these excuses? Response Activity: Ask all the ministers present to stand up - should, of course, be everyone!