On January 6th, after celebrating Christmas with the Iguanodon family Woolly Mammoth returned to the English port of Felixstowe where he hoped to encourage the multitudes to follow Christ. He had announced his sermon of course at his arrival on the 23rd of December, but upon moving the date up at the suggestion of Iguanodon, he had more time to promote it ahead of the date and therefore had a reasonable expectation of a much larger crowd than what he had for his Christmas sermon. He had been encouraging everyone to come throughout the holidays; to anyone who entered The Old North Woods; he knew Ignanodon would be there; Iguanodon had promised him he'd tell anyone he saw on the Crystal Palace dinosaur island to come. Spinosaurus had indeed agreed to stay behind when Stegosaurus Claus returned to Brazil; he spent some time in the Old North Wood, and some time at the Crystal Palace as he patiently awaited the sermon.
When the day arrived, Woolly Mammoth was pleased to see even more mammals than before; and he looked over the crowd eagerly seeking dinosaurs or megafauna among them. He saw who he expected to see, but most of the attendees were mammals. Ultimately, he was happy to see anyone arrive. He had firm faith that anyone who hears has the potential to be saved, and this was good enough for him.
So, he began his sermon on 1st Corinthians 15:58.
"Welcome, brothers and sisters, friends and family, mammal, megafauna and dinosaur alike. Here I bring you by the grace and mercy of God almighty, Some background for you on the origin of the sermon I preach today. 1st Corinthians on the whole is an epistle attributed to St. Paul of Tarsus, with some assistance from Sosthenes, circa 53 ~ 54 A.D. The epistle was addressed, as may seem obvious, to the Church in Corinth. It was written during the three year period that Saint Paul lived in Ephesus, and he was writing to address issues he had heard about taking place in that Church which concerned him deeply. It was meant to advise members of that Church how they should conduct themselves. It was not entirely a message of chastisement, for he also answered questions the Corinthians had asked of him, and clarified parts of Church law for them. Although canonically listed as the first, it is actually the 4th of such letters written to the Corinthians; evidence for this is revealed by St. Paul himself, referenced in Chapter 5 verse 9, while an additional letter and a third now lost, referenced in 2nd Corinthians, So we know of at least 4 throughout history. Yet today we focus on part of the canonical first. I encourage you to be strong in your faith, as St. Paul encouraged the Corinthians. Build upon the joy which we have experienced in the Christmas season and waver not upon the course that leads the way to Christ and life eternal.
As the verse reads, I tell you : "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." "Verily, be ye steadfast, stand ye like a rock, unmovable and certain in your faith, faith abounding, to attend with exuberance your work for the Lord Jesus Christ. For your labor is not in vain !! Indeed there is no time to become extinct when you work for the Lord. Praise your Master and give your all to work for the Kingdom. You will be rewarded in Heaven your good deeds speak to the aspirations of the heart. We have victory over extinction in our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Saint Paul tells us. Flesh and blood may not inherit the Kingdom of God. Nor fur, nor scale, nor claw. neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep but we shall be changed !!
You will be surprised if I tell you this, having experienced meteors and comets, but behold, I tell you the truth .... we shall be saved ... for hark !! Hear the trumpet !!! The Last Trumpet shall sound, and there will be no extinction ever more. When we are changed with grace we will ascend to the Lord, the grace we have earned in working for The Kingdom. You will not need to wait for the mammals to find you and dig you out of the earth; you shall not remain unlabeled in a box waiting to be named and reassembled. It will happen .... In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet !! The trumpet shall sound, and the extinct will be raised incorruptible. And we shall be changed.
In this state no longer shall we fear extinction, nor predator or any foe. There will be abundance in this heavenly land for all who seek the blessings of the Lord Jesus and work for The Kingdom. Verily, my brothers and sisters, I say onto thee ....... For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
We must shed this mortal life, without fear of loss, our life here is only a pale mirror of what awaits the faithful. So again I say it as Saint Paul wrote to those of Corinth be steadfast and unmoveable. And this way, I guarantee you, we will defeat extinction with the grace of the Lord. When we embrace that gift, the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, never will we have to fear extinction. Not by predator, not by tar pit, not by meteor or comet. We shall be victorious warriors of Christ !! So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Can you imagine this ? It is not impossible, I tell you. I tell you all we can live forever in the Light of Christ and never fear extinction again. For when we, the weak mortals embrace the Love of Jesus and put on incorruption, we shall be invincible ..... nothing can harm the warrior of God who believes in the Blood of Christ.
As is written, let it be spoken, that extinction is swallowed up in victory and the faithful shall be one with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We must find our way through the narrow path with all its brambles to the Love of each other. in kinship, in fellowship, we seek our way out of the darkness, knowing the full truth with all Glory to Jesus the Christ is ours for the asking. With humility and supplication we give Thanks to The Lord God for the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. Let us go together, brothers and sisters, and we will be together in that eternal land of peace where death is unknown. I entreat you to follow me ... follow me, let us all stomp to Glory everlasting ! Amen !!"
And this, Woolly Mammoth's sermon ended, he looked about the crowd to see how large the crowd was, and he hoped many had remained til the end. He especially was hoping that the dinosaurs he saw in the crowd before his sermon began were still there. Again he saw Iguanodon and his family. Spinosaurus was still there, as Stegosaurus Claus had told him he would be. But he also saw a couple of dinosaurs that he had never seen before talking to Iguanodon and Spinosaurus, and he felt he must go immediately to them and introduce himself, pleased that he had helped to draw unknown souls to the Grace of God. Woolly Mammoth stomped right away to speak to the strangers.
"Hello, Iguanodon, and Spinosaurus !" He exclaimed as he approached
"Hello, Woolly Mammoth, you have given a fine sermon this morning. Thank you," said Iguanodon.
"Thank you, I hope you found it meaningful. I see Spinosaurus here; Thank you for remaining past your Christmas duties," said Woolly Mammoth to Spinosaurus.
"I am still on my good behavior Christmas rules," said Spinosaurus; "Stegosaurus Claus asked me to remain, for he told me it was important to you that I hear your sermon. All bets for good behavior are off once I return to my lake in South Africa. Just being honest. "
"God be with you," said Mammoth. "Now I see we have two new friends here among us, please introduce yourselves; I am pleased immensely that you have chosen to spend your Sunday morning listening to my sermon. I am on Crusade, and hope to bring the joy of Christ to the people of England."
One of the dinosaurs was a Hadrosaur; the other was from the Ankylosaur family. The Hadrosaur spoke up first. "I was just recently discovered in Japan; my name is Yamatosaurus. I am pleased to meet you. I was discovered in May, 2004 on Awaji Island, in the Kita-Ama Formation by a team of paleontologists, all but one native Japanese mammals. I just a little over 71 million years old. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, and want you to know I found your sermon to be quite moving and inspiring."
"I am very pleased, and hope you will come to hear more while you and I are here in England. What brings you to England from Japan?" asked Woolly Mammoth.
"I was just recently discovered, and after so many millions of years laying in the Earth unknown I decided it was a good time to take a tour of the World and see what was new."
"Congratulations on your discovery," said Woolly Mammoth. "And your friend, with you. My brother in Christ, are you also from Japan?"
"No, good Mammoth. I am named Stegouros. I was discovered in Patagonia, which is in Chile, about 3 years ago, in 2019. My name gives you the impression that I am somehow related to Stegosaurus, but as you can see, I am more closely a relative of Ankylosaurus. I lived about the same time as Yamatosaurus, 71 to 75 million years ago. I am not from Japan or England, but decided to see the World about the same time as Yamatosaurus for the same reasons. Curiosity and adventure. How exactly have things changed is a question I felt could not be answered remaining in my native land. I love my home, but I want to see the rest of the World after so many years. As recent discoveries, we decided to travel together and have arrived here in England just in time for your sermon. We have missed Stegosaurus Claus, which is unfortunate I would have liked to meet a Stegosaurus to discover our similarities. I gather that be both have dangerous looking, cool, spiky tails. But we were drawn in when we saw the Iguanodon family and Spinosaurus here."
"I am pleased to meet you both and am sure that you will meet Stegosaurus before too long. I pray you will come to more of my sermons in England, and you are both welcome to travel to South Africa and visit my Holy Pentecostal Church of the Pleistocene Revival. My groundskeeper Kentrosaurus is one of Stegosaurus' cousins. I am sure you will get along very well."
"I am pleased to keep my word and attend your sermon, Woolly Mammoth, " interjected Spinosaurus. "I must however now beg my leave as I must find something to eat that I haven't promised not to kill. It's my nature as a meat eater, and as you must know, a long trip from here back to South Africa. I would also like to take my leave before I am tempted to eat my new friends here."
"By all means, Spinosaurus, take your leave as you will. I appreciate your remaining for my sermon and also appreciate your honesty. Thank you for not eating any of us today. May the Grace of Lord Jesus be with you today and always. Have a safe journey back home, and I hope to see you there when my Crusade is over. "
"Thank you, Woolly Mammoth," said Spinosaurus, and he took his leave.
"I'd like to help him, but I am a plant eater and only know where the best plants to eat are," said Iguanodon.
"It is probably best to keep your distance until he can find and satiate his hunger. You don't want to be so helpful that you end up *being* dinner." observed Yamatosaurus.
Good point, my new Hadrosaur friend. Good point." agreed Iguanodon.
"Might I suggest we all go out to eat at the Old North Woods," suggested Mrs. Iguanodon. "We can also visit the Crystal Palace Island. My husband and I will be glad to show you the best of England, and we can have a good cup of Tea, as well, if you'd like."
"I agree this is a good plan," said Woolly Mammoth, smiling at the Iguanodon young, who had gathered at his feet.
"Let us go, and we shall get to know each other over a good meal," said Stegouros.
And with that, they all left the port of Felixstowe, Woolly Mammoth was finding it a bit odd that none of the Mammals spoke to him after gathering to hear him speak, but he was pleased to meet new Prehistoric friends, and spent a wonderful afternoon enjoying a meal and making their acquaintance. He could hardly wait to tell Kentrosaurus when he returned to the Church.
