Matthew 11:2-11, NIRV

2 John the Baptist was in prison. When he heard about the actions of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him. 3 They asked Jesus, “Are you the one who is supposed to come? Or should we look for someone else?”

4 Jesus replied, “Go back to John. Report to him what you hear and see. 5 Blind people receive sight. Disabled people walk. Those who have skin diseases are made ‘clean.’ Deaf people hear. Those who are dead are raised to life. And the good news is preached to those who are poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not give up their faith because of me.”

7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John. He said, “What did you go out into the desert to see? Tall grass waving in the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No. People who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 He is the one written about in Scripture. It says,

“ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you.
He will prepare your way for you.’ (Malachi 3:1)

11 What I’m about to tell you is true. No one more important than John the Baptist has ever been born. But the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is more important than he is.

Board Game:

Box of Lies

Message:

Did you have a chance to play Qwirkle this past week with your family? More importantly, did you discuss John the Baptist and his call to prepare a way for the Lord? What did you do to help your family prepare for this Advent season? (Allow children to respond.)

Have you ever had someone tell a lie to you? (Allow children to answer.) When someone tells a lie, or perhaps even if you tell a lie, it isn’t fun, is it? Have you ever played a game called Box of Lies? In that game, you put something in a box, and the other person doesn’t know what’s inside. You can choose to tell the truth about it, or you can make up a silly story, and the other person has to guess if you’re telling the truth or not. This is a game of bluffing. That sounds a little better than lying, doesn’t it? (Box of Lies is a bluffing game of hilarious objects, based on the Box of Lies game played on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.)

On a player’s turn, the player secretly opens one of the mystery boxes and looks at the card inside. The player then describes the strange object on the card to an opponent—and the player can either lie about the object or tell the truth, depending on whether the player flipped the Truth or Lie tile.

The challenge is for the players to convince others that they are telling the truth when they are lying, or to convince the other players that they are lying when they are actually telling the truth. Players who trick their opponents will win the round. If you don’t trick the other player, that means that the opponent wins.

This is a silly game that involves keeping a straight face while either lying or telling the truth. It should be hard to tell a lie without laughing or letting your actions give away the secret. Do you think you would be good at this game? (Allow children to respond.)

The game wouldn’t be fun if we told the truth every time. But if we lied all the time, that wouldn’t make the game fun either. When we put trust in another player to tell us the truth, we may discover that the player has tricked us and was lying to us, and we could start to wonder, “What’s really true?”

Now, sometimes in life, we also wonder, “What’s really true?”

In today’s Bible story, John the Baptist was in prison, and he heard about the things Jesus was doing. John wanted to know: “Is Jesus really the one we’ve been waiting for?” So, he sent his friends to ask Jesus.

Do you know what Jesus said? He didn’t say, “Yes, I’m the one.” Instead, he said, “Look at what’s happening! People who couldn’t see can see; people who couldn’t walk are walking, and good news is being shared with the poor.” Jesus demonstrated the truth through his actions, not just by his words.

That’s kind of like opening the box in this board game. Instead of wondering what’s inside, you get to see it with your own eyes!

During Advent, we sometimes wonder and wait. We ask, “Is Jesus really with us?” And the answer is: Yes! We see Jesus in the love we share, in kindness given, in joy that grows in our hearts. Jesus’ truth is not hidden; it shows up in what he does and in what we do when we live with his love.

Jesus is always with us, and God will never let us down. God watches over people —even those people others may have forgotten, including prisoners who are away from their families, the poor and lonely, and people with disabilities. Our lesson from the scripture today is that we can absolutely trust God in all things. And that’s the truth!

This week, I invite you to play a game of Box of Lies with someone else in your family. As you do, and even while you laugh and become silly with the rules of the game, remember the words of Jesus to John the Baptist, “Blessed is anyone who does not give up their faith because of me.”

Prayer:

We praise you, God, because you are faithful forever. We rejoice in the ways you show your love to each of us. Let us trust in you in all things. Amen.