Dad's children's sermon: Don't stand when you can sit

I'm going to sit down for the children's sermon today. I might get tired of standing and forget some of the things I wanted to tell you.

When I was reading the scripture this week, I started to think about baseball. Does that ever happen to you - you're supposed to think about one thing, but you begin to think about something else? It happens to me a lot. I thought about Satchel Paige, who was a great baseball pitcher [show picture].

When Satchel Paige was in his prime, professional baseball was segregated. That meant that only white people could play in the major leagues, and Satchel Paige was black. This reminds me of what Martin Luther King said (you probably heard about Martin Luther King last week, when we celebrated his birthday). He said that he had a dream of all people living and working and playing together. It's too bad that Satchel Paige could not play in the majors until he was old in baseball years. It's too bad not just for him, but for all baseball fans that few people got to see him when he was at his best.

Satchel Paige wasn't just a pitcher. He was also a philosopher. One thing he said was "Don't stand when you can sit. Don't sit when you can lie down." Satchel believed in being comfortable.

Which brings me back to this week's scripture. Jesus went to the Temple in Nazareth where he grew up. He read from a scroll. And then he sat down. And the people gave him one of these [a wide-eyed, open-mouth stare]. I think it's the only time in the Bible that the term "slack-jawed" is used.

Imagine this. We are having our church service, and it's time for the sermon. And someone like me - well, let's say me - someone you've known all your life and you know is not a preacher - goes up to the pulpit. And instead of standing, I sit down so I can talk for a long time. Everybody would think, "There goes lunch".

Do you know what Jesus had to say that was so important? He told them, "You have been waiting hundreds of years for the Messiah - since the time of Isaiah and before. Well, the wait is over. The Messiah is here. I am the Messiah. Today, you have seen the Messiah." And that was the beginning of Jesus' ministry.