Free files for youth pastors:

29 – Numbers 21 – Serpents (mp3)

29 – Numbers 21 – Serpents (ppt)

29 – Numbers 21 – Serpents (fillout sheet)

(Hint for youth pastors: I love to have “memory makers” during our services.  So we called a local pet store, and asked them to bring in some snakes for this.  We had the pet store owner hold the big, 4 foot python up on stage behind me while I talked about this scene from Scripture, and 2 of my youth [with parental permission] held 2 other little corn snakes in the back.  I spoke with all my youth leaders to get their ideas before I went ahead with this.  Our assessment was to keep the snakes very contained, very controlled, and more so behind everything.  But after the service we allowed the students to come in in small groups to pet, hold, and get pictures with the snakes.  They loved it.  It was a huge hit!)

“Snake!” That’s all I could muster from my mouth when I saw what had slithered off the bank. Some friends and I were fishing in a creek. We had walked upstream quite a ways to find the perfect spot. We stopped at a spot with short banks that led up to high walls. When I casted over towards the bank, I thought that I had hooked a stick. But when the stick started side-winding across the top of the water, I screamed, “Snake!” and we all started high-stepping through the three foot high creek to get to a spot to where we could get out of the water. Because the snake was on the other end of my line, I kept pressing my reel’s release button to let out more line so that I wouldn’t be just dragging the snake behind me. Finally, after finding a good spot to get out, I jumped up on the bank, took one step, and snapped my buddy’s pole I was borrowing. That was a day I’ll never forget, but Israel had an even more unforgettable day with snakes. Continue reading →