16. I will give you rest

(Matt 11:28)

 

Characters: Mr and Mrs Teddy, Rude Dolly, Noddy

Props: White board (blackboard) with text.

Here is a verse from the Bible – some words of Jesus in Matt 11:28:

“Come to me (says Jesus) all you who are worried and have problems, and I will give you rest.”

But what does it mean? We understand being worried and having problems, but ‘I will give you rest’? Surely Jesus doesn’t want us having naps all the time! Let us see what the toys can teach us.

I’d like you to meet Mr Teddy. I reckon Mr Teddy is about 39 years old. That is very old for a bear. You can see that one of his eyes has been replaced, and a lot of his fur has been loved off. But Mr Teddy has problem. Now that he is getting old, he is worried that no-one will be there to look after him. I wonder what Jesus would say to Mr Teddy?


“Come to me, you who are worried ... and I will give you rest. You don’t have to worry Mr Teddy. I have been your friend and looked after you all these years, and I’m not going to stop now. Just trust in me!


Now, this is Mrs Teddy. And Mrs Teddy has a problem too! It is strange that all the toys seem to have a problem today! You see, it is Mr Teddy’s birthday next weekend, and Mrs Teddy wants him to have a nice party. But she is worrying about whether she will have the food ready in time, and whether there will be enough, and ... . I wonder what Jesus would say to Mrs Teddy?


Yes, that’s right: “Come to me, you who are worried ... and I will give you rest. You don’t have to worry Mrs Teddy.” In fact, some kind ladies from the church have already made a large birthday cake for Mr Teddy. And they are going to make sausage rolls, and doughnuts and ice cream! It is going to be a wonderful party, and Mrs Teddy has no need to worry at all.


Now, who have we here? Oh, cover your eyes! It is Rude Dolly, and she has hardly any clothes on! Now guess what? Yes, Rude Dolly has a problem. She has been invited to Mr Teddy’s party, and she has nothing to wear. Well, that’s not quite true, but she wants to have a specially nice dress to wear, because she is very fond of Mr Teddy, and wants to look her best. Of course, this is really only a little problem, but Jesus is concerned about our little problems. I wonder what Jesus would say to Rude Dolly


Yes, that’s right: “Come to me, you who are worried ... and I will give you rest. Rude Dolly, you don’t have to worry.” In fact Rude Dolly doesn’t know it, but Aunt Matilda has made her a lovely new dress, and it is already in the post. It will arrive in plenty of time for Mr Teddy’s party.


Now here is the last of the toys. This is Noddy. Noddy has a bit of a problem. Do you know what it is? Yes, it is his neck; it is not strong enough to hold his head up straight. He has a bad case of neckus brokenus. Now Noddy has also been invited to Mr Teddy’s party, but unfortunately he won’t be able to go, because he will be in hospital. He is naturally rather worried about this – he has never been to hospital before. I wonder what Jesus would say to Noddy?


You’ve got it! “Come to me, you who are worried ... and I will give you rest. This won’t be a pleasant time, Noddy. But I can see that in a couple of weeks you are going to be out of hospital, and your neck is going to be completely fixed. Trust me in this difficult time. I will give you strength.”

So now, in this coming week, you may well have a problem, or be worried. I wonder what Jesus wants to say to you?