25/9/11     Proper 21

Ezekiel chapter 18 verses 2-3

Theme: Puzzling Proverbs

Preparation

Have available some decaying fruit or vegetables, or some seriously out of date food such as jam growing mould (or photographs if none available).

Have some proverbs or country lore to display on the OHP / screen e.g. “ a stitch in time saves nine” or “ a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.  Also a copy of the sour grapes proverb (below). For the prayers you may like to follow the suggestion below for which you will need some scraps of paper, a match, and a fireproof wastepaper bin (or equivalent).

Introduction

Talk about how for hundreds of years people have passed down wise sayings called proverbs – children may have heard adults using them.  Have a look at your chosen proverbs together and puzzle out what they might mean – you may like to offer a house point / prize for anyone who can interpret them, or who knows another proverb.

The Message

Now show your decaying food – invite some children up to come and comment on your examples.  Ask what will happen to the person who eats the item.  Obviously it is very likely they will feel unwell, perhaps even have a serious stomach upset – something it is best not to test out!

Now ask what the children think if you tell them that if “Jenny” eats the bad food then “Eddie” will get ill – do they believe you?  This is an image for an old proverb which you will find in the Bible: “the parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth have been set on edge”.  Get your proverb puzzlers to work again – what does this proverb mean?  Basically it’s all about people who have done something wrong or stupid, and are suffering as a result, saying “it’s not my fault this has happened” – “it’s Mum’s fault”, “it’s his fault”, “I know it looks like it… but it really wasn’t me”!

In the Bible the prophet Ezekiel tells the people who use this excuse that God says it won’t work any more – they can’t go on blaming Mum and Dad when they themselves do things wrong – they have to take responsibility for their own actions.

Sometimes we act like the people Ezekiel was talking to – we make excuses about our behaviour and blame other people for something which was our fault.  If we stop and think for a moment we could probably remember when we have done something like that. 

Prayer suggestion

A device which is sometimes used in church services is to set fire to scraps of paper which represent things they are trying to let go or burn out of their life.  You may like to demonstrate this (safely) with a prayer such as the following:

Dear Lord,

We sometimes try to shift the blame onto other people when we have done something wrong.  Help us to take responsibility for our own actions.  Just like the fire burns up this paper, may we burn the bad things out of our lives and begin again, fresh and new.

Amen

also this week you could look at some of the other proverbs in the Bible: you can find some assemblies on Proverbs on-line at http://www.stapleford-centre.org/resources/wisdom-for-worship