ISSUE
67 Welcome! Check out our ideas! Pull it out! & Pass it around!
The
Adventure
Begins!
When I started work with Scripture Union back in 2004, I was given two books: one on the history of Scripture Union in New Zealand, and the other was a copy of ‘The Adventure Begins: a practical guide to exploring the Bible with Under-12’s’ by Terry Clutterham. This book has proven to be one of the best resources on my bookshelf. To my dismay it is now out of print. Published in 1996, this book is as relevant now as it was all those many moons ago. If you can find it in a second hand book shop I encourage you to buy it, or if you are based in Auckland feel free to come and borrow a copy from me. This book works from the premise that God meets us in the pages of the Bible. Clutterham has this to say: “When we realise that God is on every page of the Bible, our adventure begins. We have something vital to discover about him in every part of his word. When our children realise this too, together we become a team of explorers. Delving into the Bible with children will mean living adventurously. Not only shall we attempt thinking, attitudes and activities that we have never tried before, but our children themselves will be giving us as much as we give them: perhaps they will bring us fresh insights and thrilling new ways of getting ‘under the skin’ of the Bible.” In this edition of the WAY2GO mag I want to give you a couple of great ideas from the book, just in case you can’t find yourself a copy. Let the adventure begin!
___ Annette Osborne SUNZ Children and Families Consultant
Around I have used this activity countless times with children, and it works well with adults and family groups too! It is a great way to explore a passage from the Bible, and open up good conversations. You may like to use all or some of these questions depending on the time you have available, but it is great to be able to give this activity plenty of time so that the group has time to discuss and dig deep. Good things take time. Alternatively, spread the activity out over two sessions. You will need: - Print outs of the Bible passage. Ten verses is probably the ideal length, and make sure the font isn’t too small. You could copy-and-paste the text from an online Bible site such as www.biblegateway.com - Have wide margins, so there is space to ‘scribble around’, or glue your A4 sheet into the middle of a larger piece of paper. - Divide the children up into small groups, with a leader. - Give each small group the Bible passage and some coloured felt tip pens.
- Make sure each group has a Bible as well. Instructions: 1. Circle everything Jesus did (If not using a Gospel story, circle what God is doing). 2. In the margin beside each action, draw a think bubble and write inside it (or draw a face to show) how the people in the story must have been feeling at the time. 3. Underline any words, sentences or ideas that you don’t really understand and put a question mark against them. 4. Does this story remind you of any other stories in the Bible? Write or draw these stories in the spaces. 5. If there’s a song that this story reminds you of, write its title and draw some notes around it. You can finish this activity by sharing your responses. You might like to discuss some of the questions asked. You might like to sing one of the songs.
Reading for
READING’S SAKE “So mum, can I read the Bible in the morning when I wake up - like a book?’ ‘Of course!’ ‘It’s just that I’ve found out that it’s actually a really great book to just read and enjoy.” Hilary Hague’s editorial uses this quote above. It arose from a daily practice we have developed on our SUPAkidz children’s camps. A few years back we discussed how to help children to see the Bible not simply as an instruction manual for living, or a text book to study, but as a living and exciting story. How could we help them to enter into the story and be caught up in it like they might any other story? We introduced a daily practice into our programme, one that we have found enormously beneficial for the campers and us as leaders too! Terry Clutterham calls it the ‘Snuggle-up Value’. We want our children to read the Bible for reading’s sake, in the same way they might enjoy a good story at bedtime with their family. Here’s what we do: 1. Make sure everyone is comfortable. Comfort is important for enjoying a good story. You might like to
provide cushions, or sit under a tree, or invite the children to lie down and close their eyes.
2. Choose a book of the Bible to read from. The gospels are a good place
to start from.
4. Tell the children that we are going to read from the Bible and listen to it as a story. We will read it without asking questions about it. 5. Start reading from chapter one, verse one. At the end of your time, stop reading and put a bookmark in the Bible and close it.
3. Set aside ten minutes at least. Just listen. If you have any questions that pop into your mind as you are listening, hold onto them and ask them later. 6. You may like to finish your time with a short prayer, thanking God for speaking to us through these words in the Bible.
Resist the temptation to question or study the passage. Simply let the story be. Trust that God speaks directly through the words of scripture, without explanation. We have seen this happen time and time again on our camps. Why not encourage your families to do this as a daily practice, or set aside one day of the week to do this?
A Prayer “Lord, we pray that our children will rush to hear and respond to your word, not because they are forced to but because they want to. Please help them to be sure that, whichever part of the Bible we are exploring together, the words hold what you, Lord, want our children to know. These words won’t turn out to be lies but truth by which they can safely live their whole lives. So, Lord, help us to handle your word with children in such a way that they will long to be drawn into it often and be so engrossed in and shaped by thoughts that are your thoughts, that they never grow out of your word but are always growing into it. May they be like ‘trees by a stream’ that display your glory throughout their lives.” Terry Clutterham
Ready, Set, Go! Making disciples for Christ in all nations in the world of sport and play. Scripture Union internationally is part of a network of organisations involved in sports ministry. If you are interested in resources for using sport and play to connect with church and community, then this website is a great place to start! It is packed full of resources that are free to download and use. www.readysetgo.ec/en
Scripture Union wants to work with your church to create opportunities for children and young people to discover and follow Jesus, grow as leaders, and influence the world. Contact us and let us know how we can help you.
SCRIPTURE UNION IN NEW ZEALAND
PO Box 760, Wellington 6140 way2go@sunz.org.nz 0508 423 836 sunz.org.nz