notre dame montreal

The Bible in 50 words - A talk for all age worship

Sermon preached by
The Reverend Dr Sam Cappleman
4 October 1999

The sermon on the Bible in 50 Words

  • God made, Adam bit
  • Noah arked, Abraham split
  • Jacob fooled, Joseph ruled
  • Bush talked, Moses baulked
  • Pharaoh plagued, people walked
  • Sea divided, tablets guided
  • Promises landed
  • Saul freaked, David peeked
  • Prophets warned, Jesus born
  • God walked, love talked
  • Anger crucified, hope died
  • Love rose, Spirit flamed
  • Word Spread, God remained

How many books in the Bible? O.T. = 39 N.T. = 27 Total = 66 (3 x 9 = 27). Therefore we may miss out a bit of detail. Write a poem or modern psalm at the same time… How does the Bible start? Who made the heavens and the earth, the plants and the animals, man and woman, Adam and Eve? God Made

But we know that Adam was disobedient. What did he do with the apple Eve gave him? Adam Bit

Men and women continued to be disobedient and not do what God wanted them to do so God sent a flood to wipe out all life. Who built an Ark because he was obedient and did as he was told? Noah Arked

Two of every kind of animal escaped with Noah and his family. One of his descendants was a man called Abraham. He left a place where they had been living (Ur of the Chaldeans) and set off to Canaan (the promised land). He never quite got there because he got stuck in a place called Haran. Abraham Split

One of Abraham's descendants was called Jacob, who often fooled around with people and circumstances to get his own way - he even got his own brother's (Isaac's) blessing and inheritance. Jacob Fooled

One of his descendant's was a young man with a coat of many colours who ended up ruling in Egypt during a famine. What was he called? Joseph Ruled

Things didn't go well for the Israelites when they moved into Egypt because of the famine. The ruler of the time, Pharaoh, made them work as slaves and God wanted to lead them out to freedom in the promised land (where Abraham never quite got to…). He chose a man called Moses. What hot way did God choose to speak to Moses to get his attention? Bush Talked

Did Moses want to do the job? (Wanted help from his brother Aaron) Moses Balked

What do we call the twelve things that happened to Pharaoh and the Egyptians? Pharaoh Plagued

So, what happened to the Israelite slaves? People Walked

But they had to cross the Red Sea with the Egyptian Army chasing after them? What happened? Sea Divided

They went into the desert wilderness and wandered for 40 years. What 10 things got written down on tablets of stone while they were in the desert? Tablets Guided And where did they finally end up - where did they travel to? Where had Abraham been heading? Promises Landed

When they get to the Promised Land, Israel, they want a King. Who was their first King? He was a bit mad at times? Saul Freaked

He was followed by one of the most famous Kings of Israel, David. He saw a woman called Bathsheba in the bath. David Peeked

Even though they had many other kings after David, even when the country got divided into two parts called Israel and Judah they still didn't do what God wanted them to do, even though it was best of them. What group of people, who have books of the Bible named after them, warned the Israelites and the Judeans what would happen, and even spoke about the birth of Jesus? Prophets Warned

They were still disobedient so who did God finally send? Jesus Born Through Jesus God walked on the earth… God walked

…and through Jesus Love talked loudly on the earth Love Talked

But was everybody, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Romans, happy about what Jesus said and did? What did they do about it? Anger Crucified

How did that make the disciples and the other followers of Jesus feel? Hopeless and Lost? Hope Died But what happened after 3 days? Love Rose

And a bit later what happened at Pentecost? Spirit Flamed

And then, right through the rest of the New Testament we hear how people couldn't stop talking about Jesus and what He'd done. Word Spread

And even now, as we go into the next century, we know that the word is still spreading and God, who in the beginning created the world, remains with us always. God Remained

So, even when things get difficult and complicated in life, like the Bible sometimes appears, we need to remember that God is still with us, and things may not be as complicated and difficult as they seem with Him around.

 

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