Have you ever wondered if the Bible could be explained in a way that’s funny, relatable, and, well… by a sheep? Welcome to Mutton Jeff’s Sheep-Eye View of the Bible, a series where Pastor Dale Critchley and his mischievous sheep puppet, Mutton Jeff, tackle Bible stories with humor, humility, and heart. This is more than just fun for kids—each episode is packed with insights that anyone can appreciate.

Who is Mutton Jeff?
Mutton Jeff is a cheeky sheep puppet who isn’t afraid to ask tough questions or challenge Pastor Dale’s perspectives. This series explores biblical concepts and famous Bible stories, answering questions in a way that resonates with all ages. Mutton Jeff brings a fresh, honest take on faith, forgiveness, and trusting God’s plan.

What to Expect in Each Episode
Each episode tackles a relatable, often humorous, scenario, with Mutton Jeff navigating a classic Bible story or concept. Pastor Dale steps in to offer wisdom, helping Jeff (and viewers!) find meaningful life lessons. Highlights include:

• Trusting God’s Promises
  Mutton Jeff often questions why he can’t always have what he wants—like more pie! But Pastor Dale reminds him of Abraham’s journey and the unbreakable promises of God, teaching kids and adults alike about faith and patience.
• Learning to Forgive
  Struggling with forgiveness after a family dispute over a slice of pie, Jeff learns from Pastor Dale about Jacob and Esau’s challenges and Jesus’ gift of forgiveness.
• Discovering the Power of Prayer
  In each episode, prayer is central, teaching that connecting with God is a powerful tool, especially when life feels tough.

The Story Behind the Series
This series was originally part of weekly Sunday school lessons that families could continue at home. Each video is a reminder that God’s love, humor, and grace can reach everyone—even through the words of a puppet.

Watch and Share
You can watch every episode of Mutton Jeff’s Sheep-Eye View of the Bible below. Whether you’re looking for a family Bible study tool, a Sunday school resource, or a way to add humor to your spiritual life, these videos are perfect for all ages.

If you find joy in these videos, please like, comment, and share to let us know you’d love more of Mutton Jeff. Who knew a sheep could teach us so much?

Many Christians struggle with evangelism, feeling unsure, awkward, or fearful of coming off as too pushy. But sharing faith doesn’t have to feel forced or uncomfortable. In the Natural Outreach Workshop, I break down common mistakes Christians make when sharing the Gospel and provide practical steps for effective, natural outreach that fosters genuine relationships.

Common Evangelism Mistakes
Most outreach efforts fall short because they rely on formulaic approaches that don’t resonate with today’s audience. Many Christians feel they have to convince others or pressure them, often leading to uncomfortable conversations that do more harm than good. Instead, learning to simply live out your faith authentically and build trust can make a world of difference.

Building Real Relationships
People respond to love, respect, and understanding, not to feeling like a “project.” Genuine outreach begins with friendship and compassion, allowing others to see how God’s love transforms lives. This workshop walks you through how to build real relationships that make others curious about the hope you have in Christ.

5 Key Sessions to Transform Your Approach
The Natural Outreach Workshop originally launched as one in-depth session but is now split into five focused sessions to help you understand and apply each concept.

• Session 1: Discovering your “why” behind sharing the Gospel
• Session 2: What NOT to do – avoiding the common pitfalls
• Session 3: Preparing yourself spiritually and emotionally
• Session 4: How to invite others without pressure
• Session 5: Reflecting on your journey to strengthen your outreach

Check out the playlist embedded below and explore each session to see how you can transform your approach to sharing the Gospel with confidence and compassion. If you’re ready to make an impact for Christ, this workshop will give you the tools to do it naturally and effectively.

Handouts

I was looking for a hymn that merges the themes of prayer and the Lord’s Supper for our Postures of Prayer series but found nothing that fully encompassed both. So, I wrote one: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God.” This hymn brings together the power of Christ’s presence in prayer and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, tying them to God’s historic acts of salvation. By blending these themes, the hymn reflects on the redemption Christ offers through His body and blood.

The Journey Behind the Hymn

Writing this hymn was driven by the desire to express two central elements of Christian life: the intimate conversation with God in prayer and the deep, unifying act of receiving Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

Key Themes

1. Prayer: The opening lines reflect Christ’s humility and His presence in our prayers. As we pray, we invite Him into our lives, seeking forgiveness, love, and peace.
2. The Lord’s Supper: The hymn brings us to the night of Jesus’ betrayal, connecting His last meal with His followers to the ongoing celebration of the Eucharist. Through His body and blood, we are united with Him in grace.
3. Passover Connection: Reflecting on the Old Testament Passover, the hymn illustrates how God spared His people and how Christ, our Passover Lamb, protects us today.

This hymn was written not only as a reflection of my personal faith but also as a tool for worship. It combines prayer and the Lord’s Supper in a way that I hope will resonate with others.

If you’re interested in including this hymn in your worship service, feel free to use it—it’s licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Confession & Absolution based on the readings for Epiphany 5A: Psalm 112:1-9; Isaiah 58:3-9a; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12; Matthew 5:13-20

P      Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we call on God to forgive our sin.

C      Lord, You have chosen this fast: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke, to share our bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into our house, to clothe the naked when we see him, and not to ignore our own flesh and blood, yet we so often have been tasteless salt. Therefore, because Jesus broke the chains of wickedness and set us free on the cross, forgive us and set us free.

P      When you call, the LORD will answer; when you cry out, He will say, “Here I am.” What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived — God has prepared these things for those who love him. Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God that you know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The righteous one will be remembered forever.

C      Amen. Hallelujah! His righteousness endures forever!

Here’s a playlist of my sermons, classes, and other video teaching.

When I was at Shepherd of the Ridge, I grouped sermons by series if you’re looking for something in particular.

Also, this channel has the recordings of the CrossFeed Religious News video podcast among other things I’ve recorded.

And my current sermon audio:

Subscribe to Pastor Dale’s Sermons

[sermons image_size=”sermon_medium” order=”DESC” ]

As our world responds to the COVID-19 outbreak by staying home, many churches are scrambling to keep the Body of Christ connected. At Saint James in West St Paul, thanks to some expertise among some of our staff, a passionate commitment to the Gospel, an a deep desire to bring the love of Christ to our entire congregation and beyond, we’ve quickly developed a collection of methods to bring church to the church.

Services

Since we’re not meeting live, there’s no reason to livestream the services, so we record them in advance and release them on our YouTube channel on the day of the service, recording multiple services on the same day but scheduling their releases for the correct Sunday and Wednesday (Lent services). We also embedded the service playlist on the front page of our website for easy access.

We also mail out DVDs of services to shut-ins, cable access channels, and nursing homes, and we’re working on using Dropbox for the cable access channels and nursing homes to avoid contamination.

Bible Classes

Because we have Google’s G Suite (free for nonprofits), we can use Google Meet for Bible classes. The leader speaks on his phone or laptop, and participants can either click a link to join in or call a phone number, thus allowing people to listen and ask questions live. Using a handheld recorder, the leader also records the class for those who listen on the website or subscribe to the podcast.

Youth Group

We’re using a combination of Google Hangouts & Google Meet for youth group. They tend to prefer Hangouts, since they already have it installed on their phones, but Meet is a decent option, too. It’s easy to have discussions, and for our first session, we played a combination of Charades and Pictionary. You can find plenty of word games online, or you can find a shared game like Kahoot. You can also use Google Jamboard for whiteboard games like Hangman.

Sunday School

Our teachers are sending lessons to the students’ families via email: the Bible reference and a summary and discussions questions for families to use with their kids, along with craft and other activity suggestions. They’re also calling each family every week to see how everyone’s handling the situation, reporting to pastors or elders if care is needed.

Committee Meetings

Each of our current groups uses whatever works for them. I’ve used Zoom (which has a free option, but the paid option is currently free during this situation) and Google Hangouts/Meet, but there’s no shortage of options. Workplace from Facebook is also currently free. Again, Google Meet has the phone-in option for offline members. We’re also looking into GoToWebinar for congregational voters’ meetings.

Ministering to Offline Members

I’ve already mentioned some offline strategies, especially conference calling via Meet. We’ve also implemented a call-in option (using our phone system) with a recorded service (like a voicemail message, but only an OGM) so people can call and listen to the most recent service at their convenience.

We also have a group of volunteer “phone angels” who are calling everyone (specifically offline people, but hopefully eventually checking in with everyone), weekly when possible, to see how they’re doing, making sure they can access services and classes, and offering to pray with them.

We also offer a weekly update via our website and share all new content to our Facebook page, along with our emailed and printed (sent with DVDs) Daily Prayers, which includes a Bible reading based on the pericopes and an accompanying prayer.

I created these images for a sermon on religious freedom based on Isaiah 58:3-9, the idea that religion is as much serving our neighbor as attending services, and that no law can stop us from doing that. I ended up going a different route with the visuals, but I submit these images for anyone else’s use for sermons about the Body of Christ saying, “I’d like to help, but my hands are tied.”

Confession & Absolution based on the readings for Epiphany 2A: Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42a

P          Our
vindication is with the Lord, and our reward is with our God. Therefore, we
confess our sin to Him.

C          Lord, You formed us from the womb to
be Your servants, but we daily disobey and turn from You in our thoughts and
thoughtlessness, our words and our silence, our actions and inaction. For the
sake of Jesus, forgive and restore us as we eagerly wait for the revelation of
our Lord Jesus Christ.

P          Here is the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He is the Son of God, a light
for the nations, to be the Lord’s salvation to the ends of the earth. He will
also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with
his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of
Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C          Amen.

A collection of candle and flame-related images for a sermon based on Isaiah 42:1-7 with a nod to the Epistle lesson, Romans 6:1-11. He restored us when we were united with Him in His death.

Based on the readings for Epiphany 1C (The Baptism of our Lord): Psalm 29, Isaiah 42:1-9, Romans 6:1-11, Matthew 3:13-17

P          The LORD
gives his people strength; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Therefore,
we confess our sin to God that He may give us strength and peace.

C          Lord, You called us for a righteous
purpose and held us by Your hand, but we continue in sin so that grace may
multiply. We give Your glory to others and Your praise to idols. Open our blind
eyes, bring us from the dungeon and from sitting in darkness in the prison
house.

P          Consider
yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, or are you unaware
that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering
wick. The Lord’s Servant, Jesus Christ, brought justice to the nations, and if
we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly
also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was
crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so
that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed
from sin. Having fulfilled all righteousness, the Lord says of you, “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” Therefore, as a called and ordained
servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C          Amen. Ascribe to the LORD, you
heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD
the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness!