Puppets: Nuthin' Much

Nuthin’ Much

Mooster: Good evening everyone! Are you enjoying your summer break? Us too! We love to have you come visit us. Have you seen Moe? Can you help me call for him? Moe! Moe!!

Moe: Here I am. {long sigh…} Not that it matters, though.

Mooster: Uh-oh. Now what?

Moe: Oh, I don’t know. Do you ever just feel like you aren’t very important? Like what you do doesn’t matter?

Mooster: I’m guessing everyone feels that way from time to time, Moe. I’ve felt like that in the past. Why do you ask?

Moe: Well, I was just thinking. I want to serve God, but I’m not famous. There are lots of famous preachers like Billy Graham, Billy Sunday, and D.L. Moody. They held meetings and thousands and thousands of people came to hear them. But I’m not a famous preacher…

Mooster: Well, Moe, not everyone –

Moe: AND I’m not a famous athlete. Some athletes are really good and they make a big name for themselves and if they are a Christian, people want to listen to them and hear what they have to say. All I ever did athletically was to win a few rounds of bananaball in the Jungle Olympics last year. I’m not a famous athlete…..

Mooster: But that’s not –

Moe: And I’m not a famous doctor or anything. We learned about Clara Barton in school. She founded the American Red Cross and helped so many soldiers during the Civil War. I can’t stand the sight of blood. If I get a splinter I’m about to pass out. I can’t be famous in medicine.

Mooster: Well, I don’t like blood either, but -

Moe: AND I’m not a famous t.v. star. Have you seen some of the end times movies? Have you seen movies like Fireproof and Courageous? Those are great movies with good Gospel messages. People can find Christ watching some of those movies. But I’m not a movie producer and I’m not a famous actor. Even though I am incredibly adorable.

Mooster: MOE! Stop talking for a minute, will you? Who cares what you are not? You should be thankful for what you ARE, and for how God made you! He made you to fulfill specific goals in life, just like He made all those other people you are talking about to fulfill goals.

Moe: Yeah right. Name me some ordinary folks who did great things for God.

Mooster: Okay – How about Jonah, the prophet? The Bible isn’t filled with stories of his life, like it is with David or Solomon. We only get one story about him. He’s just a simple prophet who was called to go preach to Ninevah. He didn’t want to go, and he tried running away, but eventually God got him in Ninevah. He preached and the whole city was saved!

Moe: That was a long time ago.

Mooster: Okay, how about Susanna Wesley? She was the last of her parent’s children – number 25 out of 25!

Moe: Wow – they had more than the Duggars!

Mooster: So far, anyway. But Susanna married Samuel Wesley and they had 19 children, many of whom never lived to adulthood. She had a really hard life in many ways. Her husband was gone often, two of their homes burned down, and so many other hardships. However, she had such a godly influence on her kids that two of her sons grew up to be famous preachers: John and Charles Wesley. Many, many people were saved under their preaching.

Moe: Hmmmm. Anybody else?

Mooster: There’s lots of folks, Moe! How about Fanny Crosby? She was blinded as a baby, yet she grew up to write over 8,000 hymns, many of which we still sing in our hymnals! George Washington wasn’t born famous, but he trusted God and prayed and served Him and God made him the first president of the United States of America! Moe – most of the famous people in history were not born to fabulously wealthy parents or famous athletes or movie stars. They worked hard and trusted God. God blesses those who follow Him.

Moe: Who else?

Mooster: Okay – here’s one: Have you heard of Hudson Taylor?

Moe: Hmmmm. I think so.

Mooster: Well, Hudson Taylor came to know Jesus Christ as Savior when he was 17 and he felt called to go to China as a missionary.

Moe: Hey – I love Chinese food. Is Hudson Taylor the man who brought Chinese restaurants to America?

Mooster: No, Moe! Now stop being silly and listen. Hudson Taylor labored in China for years and years, serving under difficult circumstances. Several of his children died, either at birth or later in childhood. His first wife died there. So much heartache – yet he continued to serve Christ. The end result was that over the years since then, many hundreds of thousands of people came to know Christ.

Moe: Oh wow--that’s amazing! So then, if God doesn’t need be to be famous or rich, what’s the key to being used by God?

Mooster: We have to be willing. We have to want to let God use us!

Moe: Oh. That’s all? Well how do I do that?

Mooster: Do you ever feel like someone is nudging you to talk about your faith in Christ to someone? 

Moe: Oh sure. Just the other day I was standing in line to buy some bananagum when a little kid asked me if he could have a piece. After I paid for it, I kind of thought maybe I should share a piece of gum with him and talk to him….but I was scared, so I didn’t.

Mooster: Well, sometimes it is scary to talk to people we don’t know. But, that was an opportunity God was giving you to talk to that child about Jesus.

Moe: It was? Oh man…I blew it.

Mooster: So now you will know for the next time, though!

Moe: Yeah, if that ever happens again, I’ll give him a piece of gum and talk to him.

Mooster: There are other things, too. Sometimes if we are visiting someone who is sick, we can sing for them.

Moe: Oh yeah – we could sing Bible songs for them. That gives them Bible verses and helps cheer them up at the same time, right?

Mooster: That’s right! Sometimes we can sing for people in nursing homes and hospitals. Other people around us can hear us singing, and that opens the door for them to hear the Bible and the Gospel, too.  Just showing people that you love them and care about them can open the door to tell them about Jesus.  

Moe: Hey – what about writing letters to our family and friends who don’t live close by? Oh wait….Can I use email instead? I don’t write too many letters. And I hate licking the envelopes…the gum sticks to my fur.  

Mooster: Yes, you can write emails to people. You can even text about your faith when you are texting to your friends at school.

Moe: Oh, that’s a great idea! I didn’t think of that. You know I can text 100 words per minute? I can use my fingers AND my toes!

  

Mooster: How talented of you.

Moe: So, what you are saying then, is that God can use us, no matter what our position in life?

Mooster: That’s right.

Moe: Well what about children? Can God use children too?

Mooster: He sure can! There was a little girl in the OT who was a slave to a soldier’s wife. The soldier was a very high ranking commander and he contracted a bad disease. It was going to kill him. But the little slave girl told her mistress about the prophet of God in Israel and how God could heal the master. To make a long story short, her master found the prophet and the prophet told the man how he could get rid of the disease, and after he obeyed, God healed him! Then he proclaimed everywhere that there was a true and living God in Israel!

Moe: Oh wow – and it all started because of a little slave girl? That’s amazing!

Mooster: Yep – boys and girls, God can use each one of us. It doesn’t matter if we are famous or rich or beautiful or talented --- or none of those things. God doesn’t look at the outward appearance. He looks way down deep inside of us and looks at our hearts! If our hearts are right with Him, He can use us for His purposes. Would you like God to use you? Yep – me too.

Moe: This week, let’s all try and see if we can listen for God to call us and use us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mooster: Great idea, Moe – bye everyone!!!

Moe: Bye!!