Puppets: In Times of Sickness

Mooster: Ahh Ahh Ahhh = CHOoooooooo! Oh ugh…

Moe: Wow, Mooster – that was sooommmme sneeze! Do you have a cold?

Mooster: Yed, apparendly so.  I wode up wid a snuffy node.

Moe: Ohhhh. Isn’t that going to make it hard for you to teach the Bible lesson today?

Mooster: Ahh ahh ahh chooooooo…..probably.

Moe: So what are we going to do?

Mooster: You can teach it.

Moe: Me? What story can I teach?

Mooster: Moe, you’ve heard soo many Bible stories. Surely you remember at leads one?

Moe: Well…I can try. How about the story of Moses and ark?

Mooster: Modes wadn on da ark!

Moe: Oh, yeah. Maybe I should do the one about David and Goliath? Remember how David took up a stone and threw it in the water and all the water stood back and let the Philistines pass through on dry ground when they were running from Naomi? She was really mad because her sons had died and so she was riding her camel back to the Israel army to curse them when the camel spoke and said, “go back to Eden!”

Mooster: Ahh Ahhh Ahhhhh chooooooooooooo!  Oh Moe, you hab dem all mixed up! No, no, no. None of dat was right.  Do you know a story from the New Testament?

Moe: Uh, bless you. Let’s see. The New Testament. Let me think. Yep, yep – I know some good stories from the New Testament! And they go right along with you, too, because they involve sick people!

Mooster: Ob boy. Danks. Oday. Let’s hear whad you know.

Moe: Okay. This story is recorded in Mark and in Luke. One day, Jesus was walking through town. Suddenly, a synagogue ruler came running up to him. The ruler’s name was Jairus and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, begging Jesus to come to his house and lay hands on his daughter, because she was so sick he was afraid she would die.

Mooster: Dat’s right – and Jesus started going wid him to his house.

Moe: Yep! Jesus was going to heal the girl. Well in the meantime, there was a woman in the crowd, and she had been sick for 12 years! The Bible says in Mark chapter 5 that she had been to all the doctors and tried all the remedies, but she was still sick. In fact, she was worse!

Mooster: Dat’s a long time to be sick. I hope I get better sooner dan dat!  Aah ahhh ahhhhh choooooooooo!

Moe: Yeah, me too, or else there will be no Kleenex left in Greenville!

Mooster: Very fuddy! Ged on wid da story.

Moe: Right! So this lady says to herself, “If I can only touch the hem of His garment…I just need to touch His clothing, and I know I can be healed! Jesus is my only hope…I’ve just gotten sicker and sicker over the years.”

Mooster: So did she get close enub to touch His clodn?

Moe: Huh? Oh! Clothing! You are hard to understand, Mooster! Yes, she sure did touch just the tiniest part of His clothing! And it was hard for her, too, because there were so many people crowding around Jesus.

Mooster: So wud happened? 

Moe: Well, as soon as she touched His garment, she felt herself be immediately healed. At the same time, Jesus knew immediately that she had touched Him.

Mooster: Isn’t that incredible – so mady peeble and dill He knew who touched Him.

Moe: Yeah, His disciples thought that was strange, too. He said, “Who touched me?” And His disciples were like, you gotta be kidding me..all these people bumping against us in the crowd and You are asking who touched You?”

Mooster: Yed, but hers wad a touch of fade.

Moe: “Fade?” Oh! You said “faith” – a touch of faith! Yes, that’s right. So Jesus looked around at all the people who were near Him and His eyes fell on the woman, who was afraid and trembling because she knew she’d been healed and now Jesus was looking at her. But she fell down before Jesus and told Him why she had touched His clothes.

Mooster: Ad wad did Jesus tell her?

Moe: That’s our memory verse for today: Luke 8:48, “And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”

Mooster: Dat’s a dood verse. It will help us remember da story. So whad happened next?

Moe: Well, while all this was going on, some people from Jairus’s house came running up to Jairus and told him awful news! They said, “Master Jairus – your daughter just died! You don’t need to have Jesus come to the house now. It’s too late.”

Mooster: What did Jesus say?

Moe: He told Jairus, “Be not afraid, only believe.”

Mooster: And then …ahh ahh, ahhh choooooooo!  What happened?

Moe: Bless you! Jesus said for everyone else to go about their business. He continued on to Jairus’s house with just Jairus, Peter, James, and John.  When they arrived, they heard all the people crying and mourning over the death of the child.

Mooster: And Jesus said…..

Moe: He told them, “Why are you making all this ruckus? The damsel is not dead, but sleeps.”

Mooster: Did they believe Him?

Moe: No, the Bible says the people laughed Him to scorn. So He sent them all out of the house, and then he took the child’s mother and Jairus and His disciples, and entered the room where the girl was lying on the bed.

Mooster: I love this next part!  Ah ahhhh chooooo!

Moe:  Bless you! Jesus took the girl by the hand and told the girl to rise. And immediately she rose up and walked, and everyone in the room was amazed! Then he told her parents to feed her.

Mooster: You did a dood job, Moe! You got the whole dory right!

Moe: Thanks, Mooster. That was kind of fun, too! And, I even have a moral for the story.

Mooster: Oh ya, wad’s dat?

Moe: That even when we are sick, like YOU, God sees us. He knows if we don’t feel well. We can ask God to heal us, and we can have other people pray for us. Sometimes God allows us to remain ill for a while, or even for a long time. But other times, He chooses to heal us right away. It’s important that we have faith, just like Jesus told Jairus. And in the middle of our faith, we need to remember that God has it all in control. And we have to accept God’s will in our lives.

Mooster: Very good, Moe! I know dat for right now, id is God’s plan for me to be sick. I dod know why, but I know He has a plan.

Moe: That’s right! Thanks for letting me teach the story today, Mooster! Maybe next time I can tell the kids about the time Samson marched around the wall 40 times and it fell into a million pieces!

Mooster: Uh….dat’s otay. I dink next time I should be all bedder. Besides, you seem to do bedder wid stories from the New Tedamen.

Moe: Oh. Okay. Well just let me know! Bye everybody!

Mooster: Okay – bye boys and girls!