Fools Part 1 - The Mocker

"I pity the fool!" - Mr. T

Psalm 1:1 - Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

Glad to be getting back to lessons after a few crazy weeks.  We finished our Pursue study, spent the next Wednesday night hearing about Kerissa's mission trip to Haiti, had a game night the next Wednesday, and then spent our time together with the STOMP gang last week praying for Acquire the Fire.  Back to ZG!

We began a whole new study tonight.  We started by showing the kids a bowl of assorted candies and asking the kids what they are.  Are they all the same?  What is different about them?  What is each kind of candy?  Basically, even though everything in the bowl is a piece of candy, they are all different.  Just like not all candy is the same kind of candy, not all foolish people or fools are the same kind of fools.  We explained to the kids that we are starting a four-week unit study on the different types of fools found in the Bible.  There are the mockers, the rebels, the godless, and the simple.  Tonight we focused on the mockers.  Like the candy illustration, fools, although they are different, are still all fools.

Webster's definition of the word mocker is to treat with contempt or ridicule.  A mocking fool makes fun of God and the things of God.  They do not respect God or love what is good.  They don't walk in the way of the wise or obey God or do what is right.  Mockers are proud and have no respect for God or the things of God.  We talked about times we've been mocked or ridiculed for things and how it makes us feel.    

We placed a "crown" on one of the youth's heads then and gave him a cue card to read.  His role was that of Pharaoh and, upon being told by Moses and Aaron to let God's people go (Exodus 5:1b), he responded, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey Him and let Israel go?  I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2b)

Pharaoh was proud and had no fear of God.  To show how proud, we read off the ten plagues God inflicted on Pharaoh and the Egyptians with our "Pharaoh" repeating his cue card after each and every one.  Pharaoh refused to recognize the greatness of God and saw only that he was the king of Egypt.  Even after the tenth plague, when he finally relented and told the Israelites they could go free, Pharaoh did not respect God and chased the people of God until finally the armies of Pharaoh were swallowed up in the Red Sea.  To the END, Pharaoh's attitude was, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey Him?"

Next we crowned another youth King Nebuchadnezzar.  He was another fool from the Bible who had no respect for God and was proud of himself.  Walking on the roof of his palace and looking at the city of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30)

Nebuchadnezzar did not give God credit for being the giver of all good things.  Instead, he took the credit for Babylon's greatness and power.  As a result, God took Nebuchadnezzar's good mind away and he lived and acted like an animal for seven years (Daniel 4:31-33), until God gave him back his sanity.  Only then did Nebuchadnezzar recognize the greatness of God (Daniel 4:34-35).  Nebuchadnezzar was a fool, but he did not remain one.

Third, we gave one of the kids a sword and he became one of the Roman guards who mocked Jesus after he was arrested.  He read Luke 22:64b where the guard mocks Jesus and challenges Him to prophesy who is hitting him.  The guards didn't respect Jesus.  And He knew who was hitting Him.  He knows ALL things....including every word before it is said.  Not only did Jesus know who hit Him, but he knew what was planned for every day of each of those guards' lives.

Finally, we gave another youth the role of playing the thief on the cross next to Jesus.  As he hung there, he mocked Jesus saying, "Aren't you the Christ?  Save yourself and us!"  He wasn't asking Jesus for help!  He was making fun of Jesus.

All of these men were mocking fools.  By God's grace, Nebuchadnezzar realized his foolishness, but many men continue in their foolishness and die fools.  And to show examples of some people they may know who mocked or continue to mock God, we showed the following two YouTubes:

Barack Obama Mocks Jesus
The Consequences of Mocking God

We ended by encouraging the kids not to "walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers".  It's very easy to just go along with the flow, follow the crowd, succumb to peer pressure when it comes to mocking.  We can be tempted to mock friends, mock people we don't even know, and yes, mock God...when we don't respect Him or obey His teachings.  DON'T BE A FOOL!!

ATF 2013!!!!

It was awesome.  And more was learned than I could possibly post here.  If you missed the testimonies shared this morning by everyone who attended, listen here.  Just click on the ATF Sharing file.  Here are some pics!!