Testing Times

TESTING

Mooster:  Hello everyone! Enjoying this lovely weather? It’s so nice outside! But you know, I haven’t seen Moe for a couple of days. I wonder where he is. Moe! Hey MOE! Are you home? Come on out here! The kids are all waiting!

Monkey Moe: Okay okay. I’m here. But I can’t stay to visit for very long. I’m chained to my desk.

Mooster:  What? Who chained you up? Where’s your parents? Should I get the police?

Monkey Moe: I don’t mean literally chained. It’s a figure of speech. I’m stuck at my desk because we have testing coming up at school and I have to be ready for it.

Mooster: Ohhhhhhhh that kind of chained. I get it. Well why do you have so much studying to do? Don’t you remember what you’ve been learning at school this year?

Moe: I do get a little distracted you know. Have you seen that cute monkey in the third row with the cool banana yellow glasses? I think she likes me…..

Mooster: Moe, you do not need a girlfriend. I bet your biggest problem is too many video games and not enough studying.

Moe: Woah, dude….how did you know that? Do you have a camera in my bedroom? Oh hey, now that’s creepy…not to mention illegal. If you are watching me and putting pictures of my snoring on facebook, I’m gonna get you!

Mooster: You snore?  

Moe: A little.  

Mooster:  That’s okay, but I don’t have a camera in your room, so relax.

Moe: Oh. Okay, well that’s good.  

Mooster: So how do you think you will do on the tests?

Moe: Lousy. I need to have another whole semester just to study.

Mooster: Why don’t you get a tutor?

Monkey Moe: A two-door what? I don’t have a driver’s license.

Mooster:  Not a two-door anything. I said, “Tutor.”

Monkey Moe: Oh. Well first of all I don’t think my teacher wants me tooting a horn in class and secondly I don’t see how that would help me remember anything….

Mooster: MOE! T-U-T-O-R. Tutor. That’s a person who helps you study and learn things.

Monkey Moe: But that’s what my teacher has been doing all semester.

Mooster: Right, but this is someone who comes to your house, or you go to theirs, and they help you learn the stuff you didn’t learn in class.

Moe: Oh. What’s a tutor look like?

Mooster: Just a regular person. Do you know Booker T?

Moe: Oh, that tall blonde kid who always has his nose stuck in a book?

Mooster: That’s right! I see him right over there. Let me call him over here. Booker! Booker T! Can you come over here?

Booker T: Hey Mooster! How are you? Who’s your little furry friend?

Mooster: Booker T, I’d like you to meet Moe. Moe, this is Booker T. He’s a tutor!

Monkey Moe: How can you be a teacher? You’re just a kid, too!

Booker T: Well, that’s true, I am, but I really like to learn and study, and I remember stuff. God has really blessed me with being able to understand things. So I help other people now!

Monkey Moe: Wow – that’s cool. Do you think you could help me?

Booker: I’m sure I can. What subject do you need help in?

Monkey Moe:  Math.

Mooster: Oh that’s the only one you are having trouble with? That should be easy for Booker to

Moe: and spelling

Booker:  Well I’m good at both so ---

Moe: And history

Booker:  Okay, well I might need two nights a week with you then --  

Moe: And English

Booker: Or three nights….three is good…

Moe: And science

Mooster: Moe, is there anything you DON’T need help in?

Moe: Oh sure, Mooster! Sheesh. You’d think I didn’t pay any attention in school A T  ALLLL. For your information, I happen to be doing reallllllly well in finger painting and recess.

Mooster: That’s a relief.

Booker: Uh…that’s great, Moe, because I’m not really very good at finger painting.

Moe: Anyway, Booker, here’s what I really want to know: Why do we have to have tests anyway? I mean, I’m glad you can help me, Booker, but can you tell us why tests are important?

Booker: Moe, tests are important because it helps us see where we need to learn more. Sometimes we might think we know alllll about a subject, but then when we take a test, we see we are wrong. That might not seem important now, but it will later.

Moe: How so?

Mooster: I think I know – let’s say that you are in nursing school and you think you know all about how to stop someone from bleeding. But then you take a test and find out you don’t. It’s a good thing you found out while you are learning on paper. Figuring that out when you are trying to save someone’s life would be too late.

Booker: Exactly! Also, we need to remember that we have testings our whole life. Just because you finish school doesn’t mean you will be done being tested.

Moe: You’re kidding! I thought once school was over, I was done with tests!

Mooster: – Nope. God has tests for us our whole life. Do you remember the story of Abraham and Isaac in the Bible?  

Moe: Oh yea….God wanted to see if Abraham would trust Him or not. So God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on an altar.

Mooster: That’s right. And Abraham showed great faith by telling his servants, “See that mountain over there? My son and I are going up to offer a sacrifice and WE will come back to you.” Abraham trusted God that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead.

Booker:  I’ve often thought that God was using that test more for Abraham than himself. God knows everything, so He knew in advance what Abraham would do. But Abraham didn’t know until he was in that position. Then, once God had provided the ram, Abraham knew that he was right to trust God – his faith had been tested and proven!

                                               

Moe:  So what you are saying is that testing in life can be a good thing?

Mooster: Yes, Moe. God uses tests to show us that He is faithful and that He can carry us through when no one else can.

Booker: There are stories all throughout history of people surviving incredibly horrible situations. Life and death stuff. But God proved to be sufficient for those people who trusted in Him.

Moe: Well, I guess my faith is going to be tested in a couple weeks, along with a lot of other things. Do you think God will help me pass all my tests, Mooster?

Mooster: Moe, God will help you remember what you have worked hard to study and learn. But He’s under no obligation if you aren’t trying. Booker T here is willing to help you. If you put forth the effort to learn, God will help you do your best.

Moe: Sounds fair to me. I will try really hard, Booker. When can we start?

Booker: I’m free right now – why don’t we go meet at the library? We can get a lot done there and it will be very quiet. No video games to distract you!

Mooster: Now you’re talking!

Moe: Okay, I’ll be right over there.

Mooster: I have a verse that might help you, Moe. It’s Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” 

Moe: That sounds like what I need. If God and Booker don’t help me, I’m in trouble!

Mooster: Well, Moe, just ask your friends to pray for you, too. Kids, remember, God is interested in all the parts of our lives. He’s even interested in how you are doing in school. I know there is end of the year testing coming up for lots of you. Don’t be afraid of tests. God uses them to strengthen us and show us our weaknesses. If we don’t take tests, we won’t know what we need to work on. Just remember to study and pray and ask God to be your ever-present help.

Moe: Thanks, Mooster! Thanks Booker T!

Mooster and Booker T : You’re welcome, Moe.

ALL: Bye kids!!!

Spring Growth

Spring Growth

Mooster:  Howdy Howdy Howdy! How’s every little thing with you folks tonight?

Monkey Moe: Oh hi! Mooster!  I’m doing great, thanks for asking. What are all those seed catalogs doing back here in the tree house? Need something for the bottom of the birdcage?

Mooster:  What? Oh – NO Moe. I ordered those! I’m gonna have a garden this year!

Monkey Moe: You plant the catalogs and you get vegetables?

Mooster: No of course not, Monkey Moe. The catalogs have pictures of all the different seeds that are available for sale.

Moe: Why do you want to grow seeds? I thought you wanted vegetables.

Mooster: I do want vegetables. You have to plant seeds in order to grow vegetables. Don’t you know anything about gardening? Haven’t your folks ever planted a garden?

Moe: Dude. I’m a monkey. We live in trees…swinging from branch to branch, munching on bananas. Our family goes to Wal-mart. If I want vegetables I order onions and pepperoni on my pizza. No, we do not have any gardening experience.

Mooster: Moe, you do know that pepperoni is a meat and not a vegetable, right?

Moe: Oh…I thought pepperonis were little pepper thingies.

Mooster:  What did you think the meat was?

Moe: I can’t tell what they put on the pizza. By the time I get done ordering my super-cheesy sausage pizza with onions, pepperonis, olives, Canadian bacon, and sliced bananas, I can’t tell what’s what. The bananas get kinda brown and sorta confuse the identification process. But hey – it all tastes good going down so who cares what it looks like, right?

Mooster: Ewwww. Anyway, if you want, I’ll be happy to have you help me with my garden this year, Moe!

  

Moe: Oh. Um. That’s swell of you to offer, but….um…doesn’t gardening involve dirt?

Mooster: That’s right. Lots and lots of it!

Monkey Moe: I might get dirty.

Mooster:  That’s very likely. Wear some overalls.

Monkey Moe: Overalls! Overalls!! Cute little adorable me in blue jean overalls? Who do you think I look like, Farmer Brown? I can’t wear overalls.

Mooster: Well, you can just help plant. You don’t’ have to prepare the soil.

Monkey Moe: Oh that sounds better. What do you do to plant a garden? Just open the seed packets and throw them around the garden?

Mooster: Uh no. First of all, I will have to go out to my garden and plow up all the dirt from last year’s garden. It gets kinda hard and crusty. But once I drive over it a lot with my tractor, it makes the dirt all nice and soft and crumbly.

Moe: And then you throw the seeds in it?

Mooster: No. Then I rake out all the clumps and the pieces of grass or weeds so that I have just nice soft dirt.

Moe: Then you toss the seeds all over it?

Mooster: No. Then I make rows! I use my rake or my hoe and depending on if I’m planting squash or beans I either make little hills or little troughs to place the seeds in. And we don’t THROW the seed all over the garden. You make a nice straight row and plant the seeds according to the directions on the package. Some seeds get planted close together and others get planted far apart. When I am done, I mark the row with string and poles and write the name of what I planted in that row so I’ll know when the seeds start sprouting.

Monkey Moe: Won’t you recognize them as plants? Won’t that be the only thing that comes up in the row? 

Mooster: That would be nice, but oh no! Weeds come up all over the garden. You can’t really keep them out. Some people use plastic to keep out weeds, others use mulch. Some of those things help, but you can’t keep out all the weeds. When Adam sinned in the garden, God told Adam part of the curse was going to be having to fight weeds and thistles when he tried to grow food.

Moe: What? We are still getting weeds from Adam’s sin?

Mooster: You can bet your best rake that’s right!

Moe: Wow. So you have to pull weeds then, huh?

Mooster: Yep, and water it every few days and make sure the bugs aren’t eating them.

Moe: What happens if you see bugs?

Mooster: Well, I make up some soap concoctions that bugs don’t like, but it won’t make animals and children sick.

Moe: Oh – that’s a good idea.

Mooster: You know, gardening is a lot like growing as a Christian. Once you get saved, God expects you to grow, grow, grow!

Moe: Oh – you mean grow spiritually?

Mooster: That’s right.

Moe: Oh that’s good….for a moment I was afraid you meant physically and I don’t want to be any bigger. I’m too adorable just the way I am. One doesn’t want to mess with perfection, you know.

Mooster: Riiiiiigght. ANY way. God wants us to grow closer and closer to Him and to be more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ.

Moe: Oh oh oh – I know a way we can grow! By reading our Bibles!

Mooster: That’s right, Moe! Can you think of another one?

Moe: Um…..Oh – yeah! We can replace the bad things in our lives with good things! Like sometimes when people get saved, they used to listen to bad music, and once they get saved, they start listening to good music!

Mooster: Excellent!

Moe: And – going to church helps us grow, too. It’s where we learn a lot about the Bible and what God has told us in His Word.

Mooster: That’s right! Sunday School and all the church services – they are important in helping Christians grow. Hey Mr. Songleader!

Songleader: Yes?

Mooster: Can you help us sing about growing?

Songleader: Sure – SONG
Read your Bible

pray every day,

pray every day,

pray every day.

Read your Bible

pray every day

and you’ll grow, grow, grow.

And you’ll grow, grow, grow,

and you’ll grow, grow, grow.

Read your Bible

pray every day

and you’ll grow, grow, grow.                                      

                                               

Mooster:  Thanks Mr. Songleader! That’s a great song for today’s lesson.

Moe: Is there a Bible verse too, Mooster?

Mooster: There is, Moe. Did you know that you can’t grow certain things at certain times of the year?

Moe: Oh, yeah – like if it gets cold or something. Because if it frosts or snows, it will kill the plants.

Mooster: Yep. There are times and seasons. And did you know that God placed the stars in the heavens to help people know about the seasons? Farmers know just when to plant things and when not to plant things. Scripture even talks about times and seasons. The Bible verse today is from Ecclesiastes 3, verse 2. “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”

Moe: Why does it talk about dying in the same verse as planting?

Mooster: Because in order for a seed to sprout and grown a new plant, it has to die. People have to bury the seed in the dirt. As the old seed shell lays there, it looks dead. But something miraculous is happening. Pretty soon, a green sprout will pop out of the seed and a little plant will make its way to the surface. A new life will begin!

Moe: Hey – that’s kind of like when Jesus was buried in the tomb. It looked like He was dead, but really He was just waiting and He arose from the grave alive!

Mooster: True – and that’s the picture that baptism shows, too. When someone is baptized after they have been saved, they are showing that they believe in the death and burial of Christ, by being placed under the water.

Moe: And then they show the resurrection of Christ by coming up out of the water!

Mooster: That’s right. And then the pastor usually says something about being raised to walk in newness of life. That’s the new life that you get when you are saved.

Moe: And just like the little seed, we are to sprout and grow and bring forth fruit for Jesus.

Mooster: That’s exactly right, Moe. Boys and girls, it’s important that we try and walk in a way that we grow closer and closer to Christ. Make sure you tell other people about Jesus – you want to be a good farmer for Christ, and bring in lots of good fruit!

Moe: Thanks for the story! Bye everyone!

Mooster: Bye!

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Questions to go along with the story:

1. How did Moe first think Mooster was going to use the catalogs? For the birdcage

2. What was his second guess? Planting the catalogs to get plants

3. Is pepperoni a mea or a vegetable? Meat

4. Can you grow good vegetables just by tossing the seeds around the garden? No

5. What was the first thing Mooster did? Use the tractor to plow up the dirt

6. Mooster planted his seeds in nice neat what? Rows

7. Why did he label the rows? To know what was planted

8. What was going to grow up with the plants? Weeds

9. Why do we have weeds? From when Adam sinned in the garden

10. How is gardening like a Christian? God wants us to grow, just like the plants

11. Name one way you can grow? Read your Bible, songs, going to church, praying

12. What did God give farmers to know the seasons? Stars

The Creator Rose Again

The Creator Rose Again

Mooster: Woot! Woot! Woot! Oh yeah … I’m all excited!! One of my favorite holidays is almost here!! Monkey Moe!!! Come on out here!

Moe: (Be right there! 45, 46, 47, 48!)  [pops head through curtain] Here I am, Mooster!

Mooster: What were you counting?

Moe: Colored eggs! You know what holiday is this Sunday!!

Mooster: Yes, I do – I’m all excited, too. I –

Moe: Right – mom insists I get a new pair of pants and a nice shirt and a brand new bow tie. I agreed if I could get one in banana yellow. She wants me to look nice. I like getting new clothes. You should see the pretty new dresses my sisters got! Woooeeee! They look really cute…even if they are my sisters.

Mooster: Well I’m glad you think they look nice, but that’s not -

Moe: Plus, Mom always buys me this humongous Easter basket! I can’t wait to see this years!

Mooster: Oh, that’s nice but -

Moe: Yellow peeps – love those things! Chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies, a hundred and twelve varieties of chocolate eggs, jelly beans, -

Mooster: Moe –

Moe: The little toys, all that funny Easter grass, the solid chocolate bunny….I love biting off the ears first, then the tail!

Mooster: Moe -

Moe: And then the best part - the Easter egg hunt! I was just counting up all the colored eggs. I have four dozen of them! Blues and greens and yellows and purples and pinks…I’m so ready for this holiday! Plus, there are going to be plastic prize eggs. If I find one of those I might find a nickel or a dime!

Mooster: Breathe, Moe! Let’s talk about the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Moe:  Oh, okay. Well, I’ve found that the best place to buy the malted milk egg balls is CVS, especially after the Holiday. They get really cheap then and they still taste great! But I want to know, how come no one makes banana flavored eggs? Bananas are a great Easter color – yellow!

Mooster: Moe, I’m not talking about the eggs or the clothes or the candy or the chocolate.

Moe: Huh? You said you wanted to talk about the real reason we celebrate Easter. Oh – are you worried there won’t be enough eggs for the Easter egg hunt? Don’t worry – I told you, I have 4 dozen!

Mooster: No, Moe, it’s not about the egg hunt.

Moe: Ohhhhh…..I get it. You want to talk about the Easter bunny!

Mooster: No, Moe, the real reason for celebrating Easter has nothing to do with candy or the Easter bunny. Don’t you know why we have this holiday?

Moe: Um…to celebrate springtime?

Mooster: No.

Moe: To get a few days off school? Spring break?

Mooster: No.

Moe: Oh…you’re not talking about spring cleaning, are you? I hate when my mom wants to do that. EVERYthing has to come out of the closets and we get all dirty and dusty and I have to wear a hairnet to protect my cute hair and all those dust balls start chasing me all over the tree house.

Mooster: No, Moe, not spring cleaning either. Can’t you think of any OTHER reasons to celebrate Easter?

Moe: Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…OH! I think I know. To celebrate new life? You know, this is the time of year when all the new baby animals are born.

Mooster: You are getting warmer, Moe. It is a celebration of life. Can you think of Whose life, specifically?

Moe: Um…can I have a hint?

Mooster: Do you remember how the past few weeks we’ve been talking about God in the various roles He plays?

Moe: Oh yes – we talked about God as the Wise Creator and how He made everything so He got to make all the rules, too. Our verse was Romans 14:12 “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Mooster: Right. And we talked about how He was Holy and Righteous and always made the right decisions. He has the authority to hand out rewards or punishments. The Lord is the Perfect Judge. Our memory verse was Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

Moe: Oh – and last week we learned how the part of God we call Father was in the place of a judge and the part of God we call the Son, or Jesus, stepped down from the place of judgment and was willing to pay the fine for the accused person.

Mooster: That’s right, Moe. God the Son was willing to take the punishment and pay for the sins of all the people in the whole world, so that we could all have an opportunity to go to heaven.  Last week we learned that the Lord is the only Savior. No other gods that man may make can help us. Some people worship Buddha or Mohammed or the trees or the sun. But none of those are real gods. They are false gods. There is only one real and true God – the God of the Bible.

Moe: Yep – and all we have to do to get to heaven is believe that Jesus died for us and ask Him to forgive us of our sins and save us!

Mooster: That’s right, Moe. But does our salvation end at the death of Jesus?

Moe: Well, He did die on the cross.

Mooster: Yes He did, and it was a horrible death. Then they took His body off the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But there’s more to the story.

Moe: Oh, yeah, Jesus rose again! I remember that. He’s alive right now and sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Mooster: Exactly, Moe. The story of the resurrection is what we celebrate on Easter. Jesus did not stay dead. He was crucified and laid in a tomb. Then on the third day, Sunday morning, He rose from the dead!

Moe:  Oh yeah, I remember now. I always wondered…how could Jesus raise Himself from the dead? I mean…He was dead, wasn’t He?

Mooster: Yes, Moe, Jesus really did die for us on the Cross. But because He is the Creator, and He made all the rules, He is also the only One Who could make a way for us to still be saved. And because is all powerful, death had no way to hold Him in the grave. Remember – Jesus was 100% God and 100% human, both at the same time.

Moe: That’s hard to understand.  

Mooster: Well, it is, but we can believe it by faith because that’s what the Bible says.

Moe: Okay so then what happened?

Mooster: Well, on Sunday morning, some of the women who were followers of Jesus went to the tomb, in order to finish preparing His body for burial. Back then, they would wrap the bodies in oils and spices and pieces of linen material.

Moe:  And when they got to the tomb?

Mooster: The Bible tells us in Luke 24 that the women came to the tomb and saw two men in shining garments.

Moe: Were those men angels?

Mooster: Yes, Moe.

Moe: What did the angels tell the women?

Mooster: They said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!”

Moe: So the body of Jesus wasn’t there anymore?

Mooster:  Nope. The Bible says that Peter ran into the tomb to see for himself. When he looked inside, all he saw were the graveclothes, lying as if someone had just left them there!

Moe: Wow! That’s amazing!

Mooster: It sure is. And that’s why we celebrate Easter – to celebrate the day Jesus Christ rose up from the grave. He is alive today!

Moe: If Jesus hadn’t been able to rise again, we wouldn’t have any hope, either, would we?

Mooster: The Bible says that Christ is the firstborn from the dead. That means that those of us who trust Him for our salvation will one day also be free from death. The Bible says that for those who die knowing Jesus as Savior, when they stop breathing here on earth, they are immediately in the presence of God in heaven!

Moe:  That’s so cool. That’s way cooler than candy or bunnies or egg hunts. I see why you are excited to celebrate Easter, Mooster!

Mooster: Did you know that early Christians would even greet each other with the greeting: “He is risen!” And the other person would respond, “He is risen, indeed!”

Moe: Do you have a memory verse?

Mooster: Yes. It’s actually the end part of Luke 24 and verse 5 and the beginning part of verse 6. It’s from the part where the angel is speaking to the women who came to the tomb. They said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen..”

Moe: Those are awesome words. I’m going to try and memorize that!

Mooster: Boys and girls, you may have lots of ways of celebrating Easter. Sometimes families get together for a big Sunday dinner or for egg hunts. Sometimes you might get baskets full of toys or candy. And egg hunts can be fun any time of the year! But however you celebrate Easter this year, please remember to stop and thank Jesus for His wonderful work on the Cross of Calvary. Thank Him for dying for your sins. Thank Him that He was victorious over death and hell and the grave. Celebrate that Jesus Christ rose from the grave and that He is alive forevermore, and that because of what He has done, you can live forever with Him in heaven. He is risen!

Moe: He is risen indeed!

The Creator Will Judge

The Creator Judges

Mooster: Good evening boys and girls! Y’all enjoying this sun shiny weather we’ve been having? It’s so pretty! Makes me want to sing. Hey – I wonder if I could get Monkey Moe out here to sing with me? Help me call for him! MOE!!! Moe! Come on out here, Moe!

Moe: (I can hear from here. You go on with your talking…I’ll just listen from back here! )

Mooster: What? Moe – I can’t have a conversation with you when you are hiding back in the tree house. Come out here! Besides, the girls and boys want to see you!

Moe: (I can’t. I’m hiding. )

Mooster: You playing hide’n seek?

Moe: (Not that kind of hiding.)

Mooster: Why are you hiding?

Moe: (Because I am in big trouble! The principal is looking for me.)

Mooster: Moe! The principal? What in the world did you do?

Moe: (Mooster…can you see him out there? If not, I’ll come out and talk with you.)

Mooster: Nope. No principal out here!

Moe:  {Slowly pokes his head through, looking all around} well…I guess the coast is clear…

Mooster: So what in the world did you do?

Moe: Okay, so you know how I have this absolutely horrible time remembering dates and times and people and all that other history stuff?

Mooster: Yes, you’ve mentioned that before. I think you said you were getting a D in history last semester and your mom told you that you had to bring it up to at least a C or you were going to lose all your computer and video games for 6 months.

Moe: RIGHT! Can you ImAGGGine how awful that would be?

Mooster: Terrible.

Moe: Exactly! So, you know, cute little adorable monkeys such as myself just have to be creative sometimes in how we try to obey the rules set down before us.

Mooster: Creative? Why can’t you just obey your mom’s rules? It’s not that hard. Plus your teacher AND your dad have offered to help you with your homework and memorizing your presidents and state capitals and stuff. What’s the problem?

Moe: Mooster. YOU are a moose. Not an adorable cute little monkey with a darling face and well-manicured tale. You couldn’t possibly understand. You have a bad hair day EVERY day and it doesn’t matter. I, on the other hand, must spend hours making myself so adorable. Cuteness is something that has to be maintained you know.

Mooster: Uh-huh. So what you are telling me is that you spend too much time making yourself cute and adorable and not enough time studying your history?

Moe: Something like that. I mean, what does it really matter if Washington crossed the Delaware or the Danube? They’re both rivers!

Mooster: Yeah but one’s here in America and one starts in Germany.

Moe: See? You have German ancestors, so it shouldn’t make a difference. And why should I care if Christopher Columbia sailed to America on the Nina, the Pinto Bean, or the Sand Paper? He got here and that’s what matters.

Mooster: Ohhhh brother! I can see why you are getting a D. So what happened TODAY Moe?

Moe: Well, my history teacher, Mr. Evil and Rude himself --

Mooster: WAIT – your teacher’s name is Evan Truitt, not Evil and Rude! You have a bad attitude about history.

Moe: Whatever! Anyway, he scheduled a test for yesterday at the very last minute! I had no chance to study for it.

Mooster: That can’t be right…your syllabus shows you when you have a test weeks in advance.

Moe: Whose side are you on, anyway?

Mooster: Nevermind, just tell me what happened.

Moe: (Moe launches off and says all the following as quickly as possible and doesn’t pause for sentences.)

          Well, the teacher said to get our pencils out and I raised my hand to go to the bathroom because I just had to get out of there and the teacher said yes but hurry and so I ran out of the classroom door and raced down the hallway toward the bathroom, trying to figure out what I was going to do because of course I couldn’t take the test because I didn’t have time to study and it would look terrible for me to flunk another test and while I was walking down the hallway I suddenly spied the fire alarm and I gave it a good tug and then all the noise started happening and children were lining up at their doors so I ran back to my classroom and snuck in line and marched out the door with my class and then we all ended up in the parking lot and waited for the fire department to come and make sure the building wasn’t on fire and by the time we were all allowed back in the building it was almost time for school to be over so I grabbed my books and ran home but I know they have surveillance cameras and so I know I was caught on camera and the principal is going to tell my parents and I’m in a huge amount of trouble and do you have any money that I could borrow because I’m thinking maybe Venezuela would be nice this time of year.

Mooster: Goodness sakes, Moe! You pulled the fire alarm at school? That’s against the rules! Of course the principal is going to want to talk to you. You have to answer for your actions. What you did was wrong!

Moe: But it got me out of the test!

Mooster: That’s right, and now you have even more trouble that you are in. Moe, the school has rules about things like that to protect everyone. What if a child got hurt because you pulled the alarm? What if every child pulled the alarm once in a while. No one would pay any attention to it when there really was a fire and someone could be hurt or killed. Rules are made to protect you, Moe, and the other kids, too.

Moe: But I’ll have to stand before the principal. And maybe even talk to a police officer!

Mooster: Very likely, Moe. There are consequences for your actions. It’s like if your dad was late to work and he was speeding. If he got pulled over and the policeman gave him a ticket, do you think the officer is going to NOT give him a ticket just because your dad says he’s late for work?

Moe: No…he’s not as cute and adorable as I am.

Mooster: MOE! That has nothing to do with it! And then what happens?

Moe: Dad would have to go to traffic court and stand before the judge.

Mooster: Right. And if the judge finds him guilty of speeding, he has to pay a fine. He is punished for breaking the law.

Moe: Yeah, and I’m gonna stand before principal Meyers and he’s going to make me talk to a police officer or the fire chief and I’m probably going to have to scrape gum off the school desks and sidewalks for a month. That’s what happened to Luey Leopard last year when he pulled the alarm….

Mooster: Well, Moe, you should have thought of that before you pulled the alarm.

Moe: But I’ll get eeewy gooey nasty already been chewed gum under my fingernails! YUCK!

Mooster: Again, you should have thought of the punishment before you did the crime.

Moe: {Sigh} I know you are right. But judges scare me and the principal is kind of like a judge to me.

Mooster: Moe, a judge isn’t a bad person. A judge just makes decisions based on the laws and issues punishments for things that people do wrong. Just like God – the Bible says that God is the perfect Judge. He holds us accountable to His laws. Remember we learned last week that God makes laws for us to live by? Well He also acts as Judge and has to issue punishments for when we’ve done wrong.

Moe:  That sounds scary, too.

Mooster: Well, when we do wrong, we can expect God to allow us to reap what we have sown. But God is a more righteous judge than any earthly judge. Did you know that sometimes people get accused of doing wrong things, when they really didn’t? Here on earth, it might be hard to prove your innocence. But God sees everything! He knows when we are at fault for something and when we are not. He knows when we are innocent of a crime and He will never punish us for something we did not do.

Moe: Oh yeah…and sometimes God lets people see when they make a mistake in judging someone. Last month, our gym teacher punished Mike McKowsky for stealing Bethy’s shoes, but Mike kept saying he didn’t do it. The gym teacher didn’t believe him because there was no one else around who could have done it. Then Bethy’s mom found the gym shoes under Bethy’s bed about two weeks later. Bethy had to go and apologize to Mike and so did the gym teacher.

Mooster: Yep – in that case, God saw that Mike was innocent and He chose to make his innocence known to others. Sometimes in our lives, it may be that only God knows when we are telling the truth, but we know God will always judge rightly. Part of Genesis 18:25 says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” God is the Judge of all the earth.

Moe: Well, I’m glad God is a perfect judge. I hope my principal can borrow some of that knowledge and be merciful to me.

Mooster: I hope so, too. Did you know that there are other kinds of judges, too? They don’t punish people – they reward people!

Moe: OH – you mean like in poetry or art contests? Ohh – and in pie eating contests and banana eating contests and gymnastics? My mom said I should try out for the tree swinging competition because I’m very talented in my tree swinging.

Mooster:  Yep – judges in contests decide who is the best and then they give them trophies or awards or money or some kind of prize. God will also be handing out rewards one day in heaven. He will be judging our works to see if they were done righteously or not.

Moe: Wow – how can we know if our works are right or not?

Mooster:  Well, if we are doing things for selfish reasons, they are not being done for the right reason. But if we do good works and we want to honor and glorify God, then they are done for the right reasons.

Moe: Wow…I have a lot to think about. I guess I better go home and tell my mom and dad what I did. I will just have to trust my principal to be a righteous judge.

Mooster: That’s a good idea, Moe. And I hope you learned some things – First, being cute and adorable isn’t as important as studying for your history test. Second, breaking the school laws by pulling the fire alarm when there is no fire is wrong and you will be punished.

Moe: Yep. I also learned that God is our Righteous Judge. He sees when we do bad AND when we do good, even if no one else does. And I learned that judges aren’t always a bad or scary thing. Sometimes judges hand out rewards! I’m going to try for that tree swinging competition. The next time I stand before any kind of judge, I want it to be for a reward, not a punishment!

  

Mooster: Hahahah – that’s a great idea, Moe. That makes a lot of sense. Boys and girls, remember that God made laws for us to live by. Because He created us and because He made the Ten Commandments, He has the right to be our Righteous Judge and we must all stand before Him one day. Some will be judged for their sins if they have never accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Their punishment will be eternity in the lake of fire. But for those who have Jesus as their Savior, God will be their Judge of their works, and they will be given rewards for things they have done for His honor and glory. Let’s all try to be doing things for which we will be rewarded this week, and not punished.

Bye!!!

The Creator Makes the Rules

The Creator Makes the Rules

Mooster: Hello everyone! Wasn’t it a beautiful day today! Spring is definitely on its way. Hey…what’s that thing? I wonder who made that. Hey MOE! Moe, come out here – I want to ask you something!

Moe:  (behind curtain)(I’m coming, I’m coming)

Mooster: Hurry it up there …

Moe: Okay – Hi everybody! What did you want to ask me, Mooster?

Mooster: Well, I notice there is a large…..something….sitting on the floor. What is that?

Moe: That? Oh! That’s my new super fantastic elastic bubble gum machine!

Mooster: Really.

Moe: Yep! You know, you place all your sugar and syrup and stuff in one end and a nice, big, juicy, fantastic piece of bubble gum comes out the other end. I got it for my birthday and I just got finished putting it together. Isn’t it great?! What do you think?

Mooster: Uhm……does it actually work?

Moe: Wellllll…no.

Mooster: Why not?

Moe:  I guess the manufacturer must have forgotten some parts.

Mooster: Uh-huh. You really think that’s the reason?

Moe: Has to be. I tried to add some of my own parts to it to see if that would fix it, but it didn’t seem to help much.

Mooster: Uh, Moe, did you follow the directions?

Moe: You mean the instruction booklet?

Mooster: Yes, Moe, the instruction booklet. Did you read it and do what it said?

Moe: Instructions are highly overrated. A cute, adorable, and HIGHLY intellectual monkey such as myself would not have to use “instruction booklets” if the manufacturer had simply created their product correctly.

Mooster: Moe, following the creator’s instructions has nothing to do with whether or not the user is cute, or adorable, or a monkey! And you can’t just go adding your own pieces to it, either. That’s not going to make it work any better.

Moe: Well, if you are so smart, what would you suggest?

Mooster: I would have read the instructions. I think you’ve ruined it now. It will never make bubblegum, unless you can disassemble it and put it back together the right way.

You know, your um, “creation” out there reminds me a lot of how people think of God and His instructions to us.

Moe: Really? How’s that?

Mooster: Do you remember in the Bible how God created everything?

Moe: Oh yes – God created the heavens and the earth! In six days, He made light and darkness, seas and land, trees and grass, fish, birds, animals, … a-DOR-able cute little monkeys like me…. and man!  And then on the 7^th day He rested. Guess He was pretty tired!

Mooster: Hahahah, no Moe, God wasn’t tired. He doesn’t get tired! But He was setting an example for us – that we should set aside one day a week to rest and worship Him. But otherwise, you got all the rest of that right! God created everything. And He gave Adam just one rule. Do you remember what that was?

 Moe: Yep – He said not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But then the snake deceived Eve and she gave the fruit to Adam and he ate it and sin was passed to all mankind!

Mooster: That’s right, Moe. Good job!  

Moe: But how does that remind you of my bubble gum machine disaster?

Mooster: Well, God created everything. If you make, or create, a new game for all your friends to play, you have to make rules too, right?

Moe: Well, yeah, or else there would be no way to enjoy the game!

Mooster: Exactly! God gave Adam just one rule, so that Adam could enjoy the garden.

Moe: Oh, I see where you are going. Adam didn’t obey that one rule, and he got kicked out of the garden. Then he and Eve couldn’t enjoy God’s garden of Eden anymore. I bet they missed eating all those yummy bananas, too.

Mooster: That’s right. And they also forfeited a lot of other things. And because Adam sinned against God by not obeying the rules of the garden, sinned was passed down to all of us. Now we are all born under the curse of Adam’s sin.

Moe: And we can’t work our way to heaven.

Mooster: That’s right, too, Moe! Just like you tried to “add” some of your own parts to the bubble gum machine, we can’t be adding our own rules to God’s rules. He said there was just one way to heaven – we have to be born again. But a lot of people try adding their own ideas in order to go to heaven. But that won’t work. They have to follow God’s way or they won’t get to heaven.

Moe: Hey, I just thought of another example!

Mooster: Really? What’s that?

Moe: Well, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments for the children of Israel to live by. He gave them so that the people could follow them and obey God.

Mooster: That’s right, Moe. Sometimes people think that God shouldn’t have given mankind those Ten Commandments. They say, “We should be allowed to do whatever we want. Who is God to tell us what to do?” They don’t understand that the Bible is our instruction book for life!

Moe:  But God has every right to tell people how they are to live. He created them! The Creator gets to make the rules.

Mooster: Yes, Moe…. just like the manufacturer gets to write the instructions for your bubble gum machine.

Moe: Yeah…I see that now. I guess even highly intellectual monkeys such as myself can make a mistake or two.

Mooster: Uh, yeah. And when you didn’t follow the instructions, you made a mess. When we forget God’s commandments, we have a mess!

Moe: That’s true. One of the commandments says that we should not steal. Can you imagine what life would be like if everyone stole things from everyone else? That would be terrible!

Mooster: True. How about the one that says we are not to kill? It’s horrible when we read in the papers of someone killing someone else. It’s so sad! Can you imagine if everyone just went around killing people?? That would be catastrophic! You wouldn’t be able to go anywhere or do anything for fear of your life!

  

Moe: And I would hate it if God hadn’t said that adults are not to commit adultery. Boys and girls – adultery is when a mom or a dad decides to have another man or woman and treat them like their husband or wife. That’s not right! I would hate for my mommy to just go and get another man instead of my daddy. And I would hate it if my daddy went and got another woman instead of my mommy. Imagine if that happened all the time with every family! No one would ever be happy.

Mooster:  See, that’s what people don’t understand. God gave us rules to live by because He loves us and He wants us to live in a safe, healthy environment. When we forsake, or turn away from the rules that He has made, life becomes chaos. That means there’s no order. No sense of right and wrong. And then people are sad.

Moe: Wow – that is so simple, Mooster!

Mooster: Well, it sounds simple, and God made it to be simple. But people make everything all complicated. They want to do things their own way, not God’s way.

Moe: Well, why didn’t God just MAKE everyone have to do things His way?

Mooster: Moe, God made us with a free will. That way we can choose to love and obey God … or not. God didn’t want a bunch of robots. If He had wanted robots, He would have created robots. He wanted people that would choose to love Him. And He understood that sadly, some people would never choose to love Him, and that they would spend eternity away from Him. But it’s their choice.

Moe:  But we still have to answer to God.

Mooster: Yes we do. The Bible says in Romans 14:12 “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” We will each have to stand before God one day. That’s one of His rules.

Moe: But if we have Christ as our Savior, Jesus will be standing with us, right?

Mooster: Yes, Moe, Jesus will be our advocate with the Father, if we have asked Him to save us and forgive us of our sins.

Moe: Well, I have learned a lot today. Do you think my gum machine has any chance at all?

Mooster: Do you still have the instructions?

Moe: Yes. I didn’t throw them away.

  

Mooster: Well, after church, let’s take that mess apart and read the instructions. We will see if we can still make it the way the manufacturer – the machines’ creator – wanted it put together. Maybe then it will work.

Moe: Okay, thanks, Mooster!

Mooster: Boys and girls, remember that God loves each one of us. He would never tell us to do things that would hurt us. All His words and instructions to us in the Bible are there for our own good. Following God’s rules doesn’t mean we’ll never have troubles or sorrows again in life, but it does mean we can have peace and joy and God’s blessing on our lives. Have a good week!

Moe: Bye!

Puppets - Revival

REVIVAL

Mooster:  (sings offstage) gimme that ol’ time revival, gimme that ol’ time revival, gimme that ol’ time revival, ‘cause it’s good enough for me) [pokes head out and says] HEY Boys and Girls!!! Isn’t this a wonderful day? Hey Moe! Moe come on out here! Moe!!!

Monkey Moe: (pokes his head out) Cough cough cough, sniffle, cough. Hiya Mooster! Iddn’t dis a gread day?

Mooster:  It sure is, Monkey Moe. I’ve been just singing away all day today. I have a song in my heart! But …. It kinda sounds like you have a cold in your head!

Monkey Moe: I do! Dat’s why I couddn’d be ad da rebible lads week.

Mooster: It’s called a re-viv-al, Moe, not a reBible.

Moe: I doe, I doe, bud I hab a told! I cad hep wad I sound like.

Mooster: Oh, I’m sorry, Moe. I sure did miss you at all the services last week. I knew you were sick. Lots of people have been out with colds and the flu and coughs and all kinds of stuff. You sure did miss some good preaching and the singing was great and people were blessed!

Moe: Yea, {cough, cough} I wish I coudda been here bud my mom said nod to spread my germs all over everywhere.

Mooster: Your mom is right, Moe! Germs from colds can make other people sick. That’s how you got sick. There’s so many kids at school with colds right now, you were bound to get some germs on you.

Moe: How do I ged germs on me? I don’t go looking for dem!

Mooster:  Well, germs are air born. See, every time we cough or ---

Moe: AH Ah AH AH – CHOOOOOsprtthzzzzz

Mooster: Sneeze….

Moe: Sorry.

Mooster: We spread germs around. You know that sneeze you just did? You just sprayed the entire front row with monkey spit germs.

Moe: Oh I did not!

Mooster: You sure did, Moe. A sneeze comes flying out of your mouth at over 30 miles per hour and can reach almost 20 feet! You can’t run fast enough to get away from the germs that come flying out of a person’s mouth at that speed. That’s why it’s so important to cover your mouth when you sneeze. Maybe next time the front row won’t get covered in Monkey Moe slobber.

Monkey Moe: Oday oday, I will cover my mouth when I sneeze. So wad happened ad da rebible?

Mooster:  We had so many good messages! One preacher talked about confessing our sins and being specific when we name them. God already knows what we’ve done wrong. He’s just waiting on us to tell Him so He can forgive us. Did you know it brings glory to God if we confess our sins to Him? I never thought about that before.

Monkey Moe: Nope, I didn’t know dat. Whad else?

Mooster: One preacher told us what to do when we don’t know what to do.

Monkey Moe:  {Cough, cough, hack, cough.}  Huh? Iddn’t dat a liddle confusing?

Mooster: Not really – when we don’t know what to do, that’s when we need to pray and trust God. He’ll take care of the things we don’t have any control over.

Moe: Thad’s an exciding thod!

Mooster: It sure is. And guess what else? People around here have been getting blessed and getting their hearts right and drawing closer to God!

Monkey Moe: I know – I keep hearing people telling me how God has been helping dem. It’s really exciting to hear aboud id. Ah Ah Ah Chooo (sneezes face down) Hey Mooster – dat waz bedder, huh? I sneezed toward the floor.

Mooster: I noticed. Now I have to go wash my fur when we leave – you completely sprayed my feet in your saliva. Gross.

Monkey Moe: Well, ad leads da kids didn’t ged sprayed!

Mooster: Yeah, that’s comforting. You know what, Moe? Your cold reminds me of our revival.

Monkey Moe: Huh? How in da world cad a stuffy node monkey remind you of a rebible?

Mooster: Well, it’s like this. Revival starts with just one person. Probably just one kid at your school got a head cold and pretty soon with all his sneezing and coughing, he had infected a whole bunch of people. He spread his germs everywhere.

Monkey Moe: Well yea, I can see how dat could happen. But I don’t ged da connection.

Mooster: Well, spreading germs around, although gross, is a lot like spreading seeds around. Or spreading around bad news.

Moe: Oh! You mean like gossip? {cough, sniffle}I know dat stuff spreads fast! Like last week when Billy Barder stepped on Millie’s flowers and tried to blame his little sister and den he  –

Mooster: Yes, yes – you don’t have to repeat gossip to know what it is.

Moe: Bud Mooster, id’s nod gossip if everybody knows it!

Mooster: First of all, not everyone knows. Second, it’s not nice. If you are going to say something about someone that you wouldn’t want said about you, even if it isn’t really bad, then don’t repeat it. Gossip spreads – just like your cold germs. And once you start spreading gossip, there’s no getting it back. Some people will always believe it, even if it’s proven wrong.

Moe: Gossip spreads like my code? {sniff sniff}

Mooster: Yep. When you say something bad about someone, whoever you tell will tell someone else. And they’ll tell others. Just like when you sneeze, you spread hundreds and hundreds of tiny little pieces of spit all over everywhere if you don’t cover your mouth. Those little pieces of spit contain thousands of cold germs. Just imagine how many people you could make sick if you sneezed in a crowded room. The next week, all those people could be sick and they in turn would be making hundreds more people sick. Gossip is just like that. The bad stuff just keeps spreading and spreading.

Moe: Oday, oday. I ged id. I’ll try nod do repead addymore gossip. Do you hab addymore to tell us aboud rebibal stuff?

Mooster: Well, in the 1700’s there was the First Great Awakening. Great men of God like Jonathon Edwards and David Brainerd preached tremendous messages that God used to get hold of men’s hearts. In most revivals throughout history, people who attended the revival services had their hearts revived – fresh life poured in so they could in turn help others. They would then invite other people to the services and those people would get revived and so on.

Moe: Ohhhhh….I ged id. Jus’ like my germs keep spreading my code and spreading my code, revivals kept spreading God’s Word to odders and kept spreading God’s Word to odders.

Mooster: That’s exactly right! If Georgian Giraffe gets on fire for God and wants to serve Him, she’s going to tell others about it. Maybe Henrietta Hippo will hear and she’ll be drawn back to God, too. Then she could tell all her friends at the quilt shop and maybe some of them would be interested.

Moe: Yeah, {cough, cough} but not all the ladies at the quilt shop are saved.

Mooster: And that’s another good thing about revivals, Moe! When people get excited about the changes God is making in their lives, they often tell unsaved people about it too. Then the unsaved people start thinking and the Holy Spirit starts working and sometimes those folks get saved! It’s all from God’s people getting right and getting revived!

Moe: Hey Mooster! I know a Bible verse that goes along with today’s lesson!

Mooster: Really? That’s great, Moe! Tell us what it is.

Moe: Id’s Psalm 85:6 “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Mooster: That’s an excellent verse, Moe. Thanks!

Moe: You’re welcome. {cough, cough, cough}.

Mooster:  Kids – let’s remember several things this week. Let’s remember to cover our mouths when we cough or sneeze. Remember not to repeat or say bad things about other people. Gossip is bad. The Bible says God is not pleased with us when we spread gossip.

Moe: And da final ding to rebember is to have rebibal like a code!

Mooster: Well, yeah, kinda. What Moe means, boys and girls, is that we should be spreading the news of the Gospel to others. We should be happy to share what God is doing in our lives. Tell your friends how God has answered a prayer for you or has helped you do well on a test. Maybe you have prayed for someone who is sick to get well and God healed that person. You can rejoice in that! Annnnd – even when God doesn’t heal people, you can show others your faith is still in God because you know He has a purpose in times of sickness.

Moe: Yeah, I dink God had me hab a code so we could talk about how dings spread – like codes, germs, and gossip. But good things can be spread, too – like the Love of Jesus for each of us!

Mooster: Good point, Moe! Now I think it’s time to get you back home so you can have some hot banana  and cayenne tea before you go to bed. You need lots of rest to help you get better.

Moe: Oday, Mooster. Bye boys and girls!

Mooster: Bye!