What Are you Loyal to?

Short Talk (SHT209) Who are you loyal to? © Jane Hulme 2020 Lectionary: SHORT TALK: “Who are you loyal to?” Aim of Short talk: Use of Short talk: Main themes: Biblical references: Year A – The 2nd Sunday after Trinity .................................................................................................................. I wonder what you immediately think of when I say the word, “loyal?” • One of the things I immediately think of is dogs. Dogs have a reputation of being incredibly loyal to their owners, • loving them wholeheartedly and being ready to do absolutely anything for them. The Mirror Newspaper reported that in Brazil, when a homeless man had to go to hospital in an ambulance, his dog ran after the ambulance as it drove away. The dog ran and ran, following the ambulance through the busy streets. Finally, the crew realized that the dog would give up his life before being separated from his master, so they stopped and allowed the dog to get in. Once at the hospital, the dog would not leave his master’s side. There is another story about a blind man called Rivera who had a golden retriever called Dorado. Rivera worked on the 71st floor of the world trade centre and Dorado used to lie under his desk. On the day that the hijacked planes hit the twin towers, Rivera knew that it would take him a long time to get out of the building, so he unclipped Dorado, ruffled his head and ordered him to go. He said that the heat and the noise were terrifying. The dog was swept down the stairs amongst a crowd of people, but then a few minutes later Rivera felt the dog nuzzling his legs. He had come back up the staircase and together with another man helped his master get down 70 flights of stairs, which took nearly an hour. Shortly after they reached the ground, the building collapsed. Rivera declares that he owes his life to his dog Dorado. There are many other wonderful stories about dog’s doing amazing things for their owners, • showing their loyalty to them, • even when it cost them their lives. © Jane Hulme 2020 To challenge people to be totally loyal to Jesus even when they are given a hard time for their faith. 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. Loyalty, Opposition, Jesus Matthew 10:24-39 2 We, as Christians have a master too. • His name is Jesus. • I wonder how loyal we are to our master. I wonder if we are loyal when the heat is turned up on our lives; • when other people make fun of us for being Christians, • or deliberately make our life difficult for being Christians, • or even when members of our own family give us a hard time for being Christians. When the heat turns up, are we tempted to turn away from Jesus and say that we don’t really know Him? • Are we tempted to say that we don’t really take our faith too seriously? Listen to what Jesus said to His disciples: “If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don’t belong to me.” (Matthew 10:32-33) It matters to Jesus whether we are loyal to Him or not. • If we are loyal to Him now, then when we stand before Him face to face one day, He will tell our Father in heaven that He knows us. Can I encourage you today to be loyal to Jesus our Master. © Jane Hulme 2020 3