Finding the Way Back to Mayberry

Episode #30, “Barney Gets His Man”

Introduction:
Barney accidentally captures bank robber Eddie Brooke while issuing him a ticket for littering. As Brooke is driven away, he vows revenge. Barney becomes a local hero and starts to feel like a big shot, until he learns that Brooke has escaped and was last seen heading toward Mayberry.

Lesson Points:
Bribery—Eddie Brooke and Barney (Exodus 23:8, Deuteronomy 16:19)

Revenge—Eddie Brooke (Leviticus 19:18, Romans 12:17-19)

Pride, Arrogance and Conceit—Barney (1 Samuel 2:3, Proverbs 8:13, Galatians 5:25-26)

Fear and Cowardice—Barney (Joshua 7:5, Job 18:11, Proverbs 29:25, Isaiah 35:4)

Worry—Thelma Lou (Luke 12:25)

Friendship—Andy (Ecclesiastes 4:9, John 15:12-13)

Discussion:
1. Proverbs 27:2 says: “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” But didn’t other people bragging on Barney and patting him on the back cause his inflated ego?

2. When Barney hears about Brooke’s escape, he has a fundamental shift in thinking. Have you ever experienced a similar paradigm shift?

3. Have you ever been paralyzed by fear (e.g., of failure, rejection, making a decision, speaking in public, death, disease, heights, confined spaces, spiders, snakes)?

4. Barney uses the term “bread and butter.” What does this expression mean? See what Isaiah 2:6 says about superstitions.

Final Thought:
Barney: “You see Thelma Lou, this is what we call the deadly game. I’m in it for keeps.”