Rhetorical Questions in Church

Very seldom is there an unexpected belly laugh from an entire congregation. At least the pastor knows everyone is paying attention.

Today both the scripture and the sermon were on the boat ride Jesus took with Simon Peter. Poor Simon hadn't been able to catch any fish all day, and James and John in their boat hadn't done any better. Jesus had been preaching on the shore and then went out in the boat. He told Simon to lower his nets and they caught so many fish the boat nearly sank.

As he spoke of this, the pastor paused and looked at everyone. "But Jesus wasn't really trying to catch fish, was he?" he asked us. "What was he hoping to catch?"

A little girl's voice piped up loud enough for everyone to hear, "Lobster?"

I love it when kids that small are really listening and feel free to engage in the the greater conversation. We couldn't help but laugh, since it was really funny. Still, I hope her parents had the sense to really talk to her about the story when she got home. I hope she continues to add her voice to the service. We all loved it, but none more than me.