Puppets: He Cares for You

He Cares For You

Mooster: Good evening everyone! Wow it’s really getting colllld outside, isn’t it? Do you think we’ll have snow this year? I’m guessing we will!

Moe: Hi Mooster!

Mooster: Oh hi, Moe! Are you staying warm?

Moe: Yep. I have all kinds of stuff to keep me warm when it’s cold outside. I have my scarf and when it gets colder I have my nice warm coat and I have my gloves and my banana boots – they’re bright yellow, just like a banana! – and I have battery–operated socks and I have –

Mooster: Wait wait wait – you have battery-operated socks?? What on earth for? How do they work?

Moe:  Mooster, you have seriously got to get yourself a pair of these socks. They are so awesome! You put in a couple of little batteries and there are little wires that run around the sock and they heat up and keep your toes warm!

Mooster: No kidding…what’ll they think of next?!

Moe: Yeah, just make sure you don’t step in a puddle with them…the result might be kind of shocking!

Mooster: So why do you need all that stuff to stay warm? Isn’t your treehouse kept warm by your furnace?

Moe: Yeah, but Mom’s a huge cheapskate and you know the furnace runs by burning up banana peels. Mom doesn’t want to run out of peels and she doesn’t want to have to buy more, so she keeps the thermostat set at like 68 degrees. It’s a regular ice box in there! Why I woke up yesterday and my eyeballs had frozen shut! I had to blow into my paws and cover my face just to thaw them out.

Mooster: Really, Moe. I think you are exaggerating just a little bit.

Moe: Not really – have you been in my house?

Mooster: Well not recently, but if I remember right, you folks keep your thermostat set at 70 in the summer time to keep cool.

Moe: Yeah, that’s right.

Mooster: Well Moe 68 is only two degrees different from 70.

Moe: Exactly! You can freeze water at 32 degrees but not at 34 … two degrees is a lot!

Mooster: Oh for Pete’s sake. Anyway, do you know any older people or families with children that aren’t staying warm?

Moe: Um, no I don’t think so…why?

Mooster: Well, during the winter, a lot of churches and other organizations open up their buildings at night for homeless people or people whose heat isn’t working so they have somewhere dry and warm to sleep.

Moe: That’s really nice, Mooster! It’s a way of the community helping to take care of one another, huh?

Mooster: That’s right. If you meet someone who isn’t able to stay warm this winter, make sure and find them some help. You can tell your mom about them and she’ll probably be able to help them get in contact with an organization where they can go to stay warm. Sometimes missions will even have soup kitchens opened to give people something warm to eat before giving them a place to sleep.

Moe: What’s a mission? I thought missions were all in Africa or Honduras or Vietnam or places like that. Are there missions here in Greenville?

Mooster: Well missionaries go and start missions in other countries, where they build a church and tell people about Jesus. But here in Greenville and other cities in the United States, we have mission houses, too, and they also tell people about Jesus. BUT they also do lots of neat things to help people who can’t take care of themselves or their families.

Moe: You mean if maybe someone got sick or lost their job and their home and they need help for a while?

Mooster: Yep. A mission is a large building where folks can go. They are usually run by Christians who want to help people get back to being able to care for themselves and their families, and while they are helping them, they tell them about Jesus. Missions will provide the homeless or elderly people with a hot meal and a safe place to sleep. Some of them help train people in a new job and help them find jobs.

Moe: That’s really awesome! But what about squirrels?

Mooster: What? What do you mean squirrels?

Moe: And bears? And fish? And birds? And coyotes? Who makes sure all the animals have a warm, dry place to sleep? Who gives them blankets and battery-operated socks? How do they stay warm in the winter?

Mooster: OH! Moe – you are so funny! God takes care of the animals, Mooster – you don’t have to worry about them. God made animals to be able to make their own little homes. Some bury deep in the ground, some find caves to sleep in, some make big nests in trees. The Bible says that God sees each sparrow – even if it falls to the ground. God sees it. The Bible also says that God loves us and cares for us, too. Even more than the animals!And the Bible says that God makes provisions for us.

Moe: What’s a provision? Is that another term for seeing things positively? I know I sometimes have a negative attitude about things, so would that be called antivision?

Mooster: What? Moe you are confusing me! No – provision means that God is providing for us. God provides food for the animals in the wild and He helps them make shelters for their families.

Moe:  Well why doesn’t God do that for people too?

Mooster: What do you mean? He does do that for us!

Moe: Well if someone is homeless and has to go live in a mission then God isn’t providing for them, is He?

Mooster: Moe, Who do you think spoke to the hearts of the people who started the mission or the soup kitchen or the place where people can get food and clothing? The Holy Spirit speaks to people and encourages them to reach out and help other people. When we help people who are in need, we are being the hands of Jesus – we are serving people in His place. We are showing that God cares for all of us!

Moe: You mean, it’s like we are doing what Jesus would be doing if He were right here with us?  

Mooster: That’s right!

Moe:  Oh that’s cool!

Mooster: The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes that whatever our hand finds to do, we should do it with all our might! So if we are going to serve God – we better do it right!

Moe: Does Jesus ever talk about helping people in need?

Mooster: He sure did! In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus is telling His disciples that when they provide clothing to the poor or visit the people in prison or help nurse the sick, that it’s just like if we were doing that for Jesus himself!

Moe: Oh wow – is that where our memory verse is?

Mooster: You guessed it! Matthew 25 verse 40: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Moe: Hey kids – this week, why don’t we all try to come up with ways we can help other people around us. Did you know that someone always has it worse than us? There may be someone you know who doesn’t have enough food to eat or a warm place to sleep. Be the hands of Jesus – serve Him by helping meet the needs of others. If you know someone in need, tell your parents or a teacher about it so they can get them the help they need.

Mooster: Excellent suggestion, Moe. Okay – bye kids! See you in a couple weeks!!!

Moe: Bye!