It was a dark and stormy night.  Uncle Floyd is doing his annual cleaning of the large portrait of Martin Luther.  Martin Luther is the man who reformed the church about 500 years ago. That means that he saw some things that the church had wrong and he worked hard to make the church better.  Today is Reformation Sunday and we are called Lutherans because of the work that Martin Luther did in the church way back then.

Uncle Floyd is here really late on Saturday night, the night before Reformation Sunday.  Sometimes, being alone in a big building can be kind of scary.  The howling wind is blowing the tree branches up against the windows and the lightening flashes send shadowy figures down the hallway.  In fact, Uncle Floyd just heard a kind of bumping sound somewhere . . . inside . . . the building!  He turned his head to listen better, but there was only silence.  So Uncle Floyd got back to cleaning the portrait.

As he washed old Martin Luther’s face, Uncle Floyd thought about how Martin Luther knew how important truth is, especially in the church! 

It was then that Uncle Floyd heard another sound, this one closer.  It was another bumping sound.  He’s sure that he is alone in the building, yet there is that sound.  The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he got goose bumps on his skin.

“I reckon I had better check out that noise.” Uncle Floyd whispered to himself.  His heart skipped a beat or two as he quietly got down from the box.

There was a loud breathing sound coming from just behind the portrait of Martin Luther.  (breathing sound)

Suddenly, without warning, out from behind the portrait jumped . . .  Darth Tater!!!!!    Uncle Floyd gave a loud holler and nearly had a heart attack.  Then he saw that it was only Mrs. Potato Head in her Halloween costume!!!

After she stopped laughing she asked “Did I frighten you?”

“I reckon you can’t scare me!” boasted Uncle Floyd, which was a lie of course, because she really HAD scared him. 

I wonder why we lie sometimes.  I know it happens with the best of us.  It even happens with Uncle Floyd.  Sometimes they are just “little” lies and sometimes they are “whoppers.”  But all the same, lies are not a good thing. 

Knowing this, that lies are not a good thing, Uncle Floyd was a bit ashamed of himself.  And so, before the lie grew bigger, which lies DO you know, they grow, Uncle Floyd got serious and looked at Mrs. Potato Head.

“Actually, I reckon you DID scare me.” he said with his head down a bit.

Mrs. Potato Head, in her Darth Tater costume, climbed up on the box so that she was the same height as Uncle Floyd.  Then she did a really nice thing.  She gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. 

And THEN . . . Uncle Floyd gave her a kiss on the top of her head!  You see, the truth is Uncle Floyd and Mrs. Potato Head really like each other.

However, that truth is another story.  For this morning’s lesson, the most important truth is believing that God has sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to save us from our lies!                                               THE END

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