Children’s Message

Lent 4B Numbers 21:2-9   “Snakes”

Sunday march 18, 2012, St Petri

Kids, I would like to tell you the story of these special things you see at lent near the big cross. They were made by Mrs Harris with helpers.

What can you see?

Snakes – one attacking – one being frightened off………

This at work in our church sanctuary comes from our OT word that we just heard in Numbers 21.

God’s people were living and travelling through the very hot, dusty and dry desert with Moses and Aaron leading them.

God had freed the from slavery in Egypt and was leading them through these hard times to the land he promised way before to Abraham.

Now and again it got really hard. Really hot, really dry, little water and not much food – besides manna and little birds called quail. And they had been eating them for ages. They were sick of manna and quail burgers!!

So, they sometimes doubted God was really with them. They actually started to believe that God had forgotten them or that he was actually trying to hurt them.

I guess we can feel like that at times. We can feel like God has forgotten our name and who we are – especially when something hurtful happens at school or home.

We can maybe even feel like God is against us – out to get us or trying to make us suffer – that he is a bit mean.

It can be easy to doubt God’s love and turn our backs on him.

That is hurtful to God. He created us and has given us all we know and all we are. He has made us OK in his sight by forgiving us our wrongs and not being nasty to us as we often deserve, but loving us all the way through.

God’s people forgot all that God had done and all he is and they got angry at him and Moses and Aaron.

God is holy and just and fair and he has to deal with our wrong and do something about it when we turn our back on him.

On this particular day he sent snakes to his people – poisonous ones!!  They bit the people. The people were scared! Many of them died from snake bight – or actually they died because they turned their back on the God who had saved them and loved them.

Moses cried out to God to stop his judgement and bring healing and life back to the people. He said “we have sinned against you, Lord. Forgive us again”.

And God did. He told Moses to make a big high post in the shape of a snake and tell the people to keep their eyes on that big pole/snake and as they did they would be healed and protected from snakes and from God’s judgement of wrong.

See how Jesus is like that big high pole? On the high post (the cross) we look at him and say, “Forgive me, Jesus, when id out your love and turn my back to you.” and from his cross he says. “I forgive you”

So, I guess we need to do what Moses told his people to do – Keep looking at this cross and asking Jesus to be with us and forgiven e us over and over again so we grow up strong and sure in his love.

Amen.