Safe Under His Wing

Short Talk (SHT142) Safe under His Wing © Jane Hulme 2019 Aim of Short talk: Use of Short talk: Main themes: Biblical references: Lectionary: People and Props: SHORT TALK: “Safe under His Wing” To show people that Jesus’ heart for them is for their wellbeing and safety, however they need to choose to come to Him and to stay close to Him. 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. Jesus, Saviour, Safety, Choice, Stubbornness Luke 13:31-35 Year C – The 2nd Sunday of Lent You will need 2 adult helpers (one of whom needs to be female) and 3 child helpers. You need to brief them all in advance.  Adult 1 (female) will be the Hen. Give them a large piece of material to hold that they will use as “wings” to cover over their “chicks.”  Adult 2 will be a fox.  Children 1-3 will be chickens. 2 of them will be obedient chickens and 1 of them will be a disobedient chicken. You will also need a chair at the front that one of the children can hide under. .................................................................................................................. Can I invite my 5 helpers to come and join me? (Your 2 adult and 3 children helpers join you)  Today we are going to learn something about the habits of chickens that will no doubt be familiar to those of you who live on farms or who keep them. N (name of Adult 1) will be our own home grown hen. (Adult 1 picks up the material and holds it behind her with both arms stretched out, to look like a large wing)  She has 3 chicks. (Gather the 3 children around Adult 1)  The big enemy of the chicks is the fox, who prowls around looking for something to destroy. (Adult 2 makes a threatening gesture towards the chicks and then moves out of sight) Each day as the chicks peck around the farmyard, picking up the grain, the mother hen watches over them. (The chicks move to 3 different places at a bit of a distance from the hen.) When she sees danger in the form of a bird of prey, or a cat or a fox (Enter Adult 2 who slowly creeps towards the chicks) she will call out to her chicks;  calling them to gather under her wing;  to come to the safe place. © Jane Hulme 2019 2 So mother hen let’s hear your distress call! (Adult 1 utters a chicken’s “distress call”)  Each chick now has to choose whether to run to its mother for protection or not. 2 of our chicks choose to respond to their mother and run to her. (2 of the children run to Adult 1 who brings her arms and the material around them, covering them completely so that they are hidden from sight)  However, 1 of our chicks thinks that they can save themselves. (1 of the children hides under the chair.) Sadly that chick isn’t safe.  Only its mother can protect it completely and so it gets carried off by the fox. (Fox comes and pulls the child from under the chair and takes them to the far side of the stage, holding them so that they cannot escape, but so that they can be seen) When the mother hen sees what happens to her 3rd chick, she is very sad.  She knows that she cannot run after every chick at the same time.  They have to choose to come to her.  If they do, they can be safe.  If they don’t, she can’t protect them. Now I wonder what hens and chicks have to do with following Jesus!  Well one day Jesus was looking at Jerusalem and this is what He said:  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (Luke 13:34) Jesus loved the people of Jerusalem with a tender and protective love.  He longed for them to know that if they came to Him, believed in His message and lived differently, then He could protect them from the terrible consequences of their sins, separation from God. Jesus’ heart was to call out to the people to come to Him,  but sadly, like our 3rd chick today who wasn’t willing to go to its mother for protection, many of the people were not willing to come to Jesus. They chose not to put their trust in Him, but to trust in what they had always trusted;  their temple; their leaders; themselves,  and as a result they suffered greatly. Jesus’ heart is the same for us today as it was all those years ago for the people of Jerusalem.  Jesus, like a mother hen, knows the dangers that we face. He knows that like the chicks face dangers from foxes and cats and birds of prey, we face dangers from getting involved in things that look good on the outside but which can damage us terribly. © Jane Hulme 2019 3 He knows that the greatest danger of all in this life is the danger of ignoring Father God and living a self-centred life.....the danger of sin,  so He calls out to each one of us. He calls us to come to Him,  to put our trust in Him and to live close to Him.  If we do that then we will be eternally safe and we will avoid the things in this life that could harm us. But each one of us has to choose to respond to Jesus’ voice, like the chicks.  I wonder which chick you will be like.  Will you be like the 2 chicks safe under the hen’s wings or like the chick caught by the dangerous fox. As you think about that, listen to these words from Psalm 91 verse 4 (Good News Version).  “He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you.” © Jane Hulme 2019 4