Smelly Sin

© Jane Hulme 2018 Short Talk (SHT117a) Smelly sin! Aim of Short talk: Use of Short talk: Main themes: Biblical references: Lectionary: Props: SHORT TALK: “Smelly sin!” To encourage people to be radical with getting rid of the sin in their lives. This is a short All Age talk picking out one issue from the Lectionary Gospel reading of the Sunday main service. The talk stands alone and assumes that the Gospel Bible reading may not yet have been read to the congregation. It could be used for example, for the whole congregation before the children go out to their age specific groups, leaving the adults with a full sermon later. Sin Mark 9.38-50 Year B – The 17th Sunday after Trinity You need an item of clothing, for example a jumper that you no longer need. Cover it with all sorts of “filth” to make it look and smell disgusting. Maybe even leave it in your dustbin for a few days to marinade! Then put it into a black sack ready to take into church. You also need a pair of rubber gloves for you to wear and maybe even a pair of tongs to hold the jumper with. .................................................................................................................. For many people getting rid of things isn’t easy. • How many of you find it hard to let go of things that you haven’t used for a few years? (Receive responses) Some of us may have a wardrobe full of clothes, many of which no longer fit but we find it hard to send any of them to the charity shop. • Others of us may have a collection of old magazines that date back to the last century, which one day we think we might read......and getting rid of them is unthinkable! • Others of us may have old books, records, garden tools, toys, china or something else that lies around our homes that we never use, but which we find hard to part with. I wonder how many of you would find it hard to get rid of what is in my dustbin sack. • It has been there for a week and is rather smelly and filthy. • I need to put on gloves to pull it out (Put on rubber gloves) and I think that I will also use tongs to hold it as it is truly disgusting. (Pull out the jumper from your black bin sack using tongs and hold it up before the congregation) This is an old jumper of mine......and it is covered with all sorts of horrible things like......... • I do apologise for the smell. © Jane Hulme 2018 2 I don’t think any of us here would want to keep this jumper do you – let alone wear it? Imagine if I put this jumper on today. • How many people do you think would want to come near me or have lunch with me? • No-one I think. I did the right thing didn’t I in getting rid of this jumper, and putting it into the dustbin? Now imagine for a moment that this filthy jumper represents the sin in our lives, • stuff like speaking dirty words, • having hateful thoughts, • telling filthy lies, • rebelling against what Father God says, • living a selfish and self-centred life. We may not be able to smell sin with our noses but it messes us up on the inside. • We can’t see it but Father God can and it stops us from drawing close to Him. Now we can’t throw sin into a dustbin like we can throw this filthy jumper but we need to get rid of it don’t we? • Even if we find it hard to get rid of other things in our lives, we all need to be really radical in getting rid of our sin. The way that we do that is by being honest with Jesus, • telling him where we mess up and asking Him to forgive us and to give us help to live differently. • Jesus called people to repent, to change. That doesn’t just mean being sorry for our sin – it means really trying to get rid of it. If you are wondering what Jesus thinks about sin listen to these words of Jesus: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body but have life forever.” (Mark 9:43 International Children’s Bible) • Jesus said the same about our feet and our eyes. Now Jesus isn’t saying that we need to literally cut off our hands or feet or eyes if we find that they are causing us to sin. • What Jesus is saying is that we need to deal with sin radically and seriously. • We need to get rid of it. So as you look at this filthy jumper, covered in all sorts of disgusting stuff, what smelly sin in your life needs to go? PAUSE • As I put this jumper back into the bin sack, in the silence of your heart ask Jesus to forgive you and to help you get rid of that sin. (Return jumper to bin sack and remove gloves) [You could move from here into a general prayer of confession] © Jane Hulme 2018 3