The Bible Comes Alive! Storytelling for Pre-schoolers

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1 The Bible Comes Alive! Storytelling for Pre-schoolers By: Bev Olfert Introduction What if telling the Bible story could capture the hearts and imaginations of preschoolers? What if those little ones saw Jesus as the hero, not only of the Bible, but of their stories, too? What if the stories we told weren t just good advice; they were Good News for all people even for threeyear old s! Sometimes preschool ministry feels like using a without the lid! Outline -The URGENCY of sharing the Good News with pre-schoolers -The JOY of sharing the Good News with pre-schoolers -The TOOLS for making the Good News come alive to pre-schoolers -An EXAMPLE (Live presentation putting these ideas into practice) URGENCY Watch 4/14 Window The disciples looked down but Jesus down. What gets into a child s heart is almost impossible to uproot when they become an adult. Children s hearts are the perfect soil to plant the gospel because: 1. Children know they must rely on others for 2. And they expect to be The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. -Tim Keller To accept the gospel, you must see both your of Him and your to Him. In 100 years from now all that will matter in a child s life is their with Jesus Christ.

2 JOY By the time Jesus has finished his Bible lesson to the woman at the well He forgot his own hunger and thirst, because the gospel is! The Bible is primarily good not good! If the Bible is primarily good news it means that as messengers : 1. Our job is to declare that the battle is won 2. Our job is to facilitate worship/ a yearning to love the king 3. Our job is to use every story to point to Jesus 4. Our job is to go deeper into the Good News each week TOOLS 1. them into learning 2. Teach them the of learning Are your eyes watching me? Are your ears listening to me? Is your voice quiet? Is your body still? 3. Re-write your lesson to sound like

3 4. Re-write the big and repeat it a lot! 5. Create a lasting of the big idea! 6. Use uh-oh to signal that a has just happened. 7. a word to emphasize it! 8. Ask yes or no (Especially- Did God still love them? ) 9. Add hand where possible. 10. Incorporate the words of a you sang into your lesson. 11. Try the Godly Play method of storytelling! It might work for you! 12. Try using the 3-person method of storytelling. That s what I do! Resources Books: The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd Jones Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, by Sally Lloyd Jones Digital Downloads: Tim Keller Sermons at Tim Keller Sermon Archive To learn more about the implications of understanding that the Bible is Good News and how this affects all our ministries: Watch Gospel Centered Ministry video Tim Keller

4 EXAMPLES: Daniel and the Scary Sleepover (Using the 3 Person Storytelling Method) Re-write lesson to sound like you! Write it like you are speaking out loud! Songs: Tie phrases of a song into the lesson! Wherever Whatever (Amber Sky Records) Stop and Go (Yancy, Amber Sky Records) God made me, God sees me, God loves me, He is in control! (KidSpring Children s Ministry) Transition from singing to story: Sing: Chorus of Be Still song by Hillsong Kids. Then say: Are your eyes watching me? Are your ears listening to me? Is your voice quiet? Is your body still? Not wiggling? Then you are ready to hear my story. Re-write big idea to make it meaningful and repeat it a lot! Introduce Big Idea: Use the Uh-oh cue! Create lasting image of the big idea! Today we re going to learn that talking to God is like talking to your very, very, very best friend! He is really listening. And he really, really cares! Have helper So let s hear today s story! come on as other people Bible Story: Our story starts with God s family. Let s pretend that I am part of God s family. And my name is Daniel. (put on costume) And there were lots of other people in God s family too. Hannah, can you be some other people in God s family? Uh-oh! God s family had a big problem. Most of them wanted to follow idols (Show idol picture) instead of the 1 true God! But there were some who still followed God, like Daniel (become Daniel, and prays) Daniel loved God so much. And he loved talking to God. He prayed in the morning. He prayed at lunchtime. And he prayed in the evening. And when he prayed, God was always there listening. (Len as God comes up behind me with his hand on my shoulder) Because when we pray, God is right there. Can we see him? No! But is really right there! Praying to God was like talking to our very, very, very best friend! Get kids to use hand actions for the word pray

5 Ask yes or no questions! Tie in song lyrics here But most of God s family (Hannah) didn t want to talk to God. They prayed to their idols instead (show picture of idol). Can idols love you? Can idols help you? No because idols are not real!!! Oh-oh- enemies were coming? Could the idols stop the enemies? No! Could God stop the enemies? Yes! But God wanted them to learn that idols are not real! So he let the enemies came and the enemies broke their houses (hand motion) and chained up the people (cross arms like in chains). Even the people who loved and followed the 1 true God were chained. The enemies made God s family walk, and walk, and walk and walk (walk around perimeter of kids) until they were very far from home. Did Daniel stop loving God when this bad thing happened? No! Because Daniel knew that wherever I go, and whatever I do, God s with me and God s with you. (Len stands beside Daniel) And Daniel kept praying to God 3 times a day! (Len right there) In the morning, at lunchtime, and at bedtime. Repeat a word to emphasize its size Kids do hand actions again! Uh-oh cue! Now when Daniel talked to God something amazing happened. Daniel s heart became like God s heart. Daniel loved the things God loved. Daniel wanted to do the things God wanted to do. Because you want to do what makes your best friend happy. So Daniel always tried to do what was right! The king of the land -Hannah can you become the king of the land- heard about Daniel, and how he tried to do everything right. And the King was so amazed at how wise God made him, that he made Daniel his most important helper! But one day the King made a new rule. (Give Hannah a scroll of paper) Hear ye! Hear ye! Everyone in my kingdom must not pray to anyone but me or else I will put them in a den with hungry lions. What???? He s going to put them into a den of hungry lions? Should Daniel stop praying??? But what if they put him in a lion s den with scary lions? (act really scared) Well, Daniel knew that you should only pray to the 1 true God. So he kept praying to the 1 true God, his best friend. (Len comes close) Uh-oh. The king heard that Daniel had broken his rule. And even though he liked Daniel he had to throw him into a very, very, very scary place, into the lion s den! Let s pretend that Daniel is jumping into a big hole in the ground full of hungry lions! Used these same words later to make a Jesus Connection! Best question ever! Ask every week! Did God still love Daniel even though this bad thing happened? Yes! God sent his angel into the lion s den with Daniel. Because wherever I go, go, go and whatever I do,do,do, God s with me, me, me, and he s with you! Song And the angel of the Lord went into the lion s den and he shut all the lion s mouths! connection In the morning, the king said, Daniel, did our God save you?

6 Jesus rides in to save the day! Actions that stem out of thankfulness to our king that has saved us! And Daniel said, Yes!!! Then the king made a new rule (Hand scroll of paper again) that everyone should pray to the one true God, Daniel s God, Daniels best friend! (Hannah can leave) Did you know, that one day many years later, Jesus (Hand Len Jesus costume) went to a very, very, very scary place too. Did he go to a Lion s den? No, he went to a very scary cross. And he died. (Hold out hands in cross stance) He died so we could saved! Just like Daniel! That s how much God loves you! He sent his son to the most scary place to save you!!!! (Len can leave) So should we pray too? Yes! Because God wants to be our very, very, very best friend too! We can talk to him in the morning, and at lunch, and in the evening, and anytime. And when we pray he is right there, listening! Pray Remember Verse: My Lord, my God: Both hands, index fingers pointing to the sky There is nothing: Wave hands one over top the other in front of you Too hard for you to do: Make fist, and making building motion with hands Jeremiah 32:17: hands open, like a book Pray and dismiss kids. Repeat Big Idea one more time! Props: Table tipped over to hide behind to be the lion s den Daniel, other person, King, God and Jesus costume Scroll Idol picture 2 helpers (Hannah, and Len)

7 Creation Story (Told using the Godly Play Storytelling Method) (Lay out green mat with numbered creation pictures upside down in a circle around the mat) In the beginning of the world there was God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (place 3 wooden people with painted white bodies in center of mat) They loved each other perfectly. But one day they dreamed of making a family of people to share their love. But first they would make the 7 great gifts for the people! (Turn over number 1) And so, on the first day God gave us the gift of light. Light from a lightbulb, light in the sky, light in a candle, everything that is light. And God said, It is good (Bless it with your hands) (Turn over the number 2) On the second day God gave us the gift of water, water in a glass, water in a river, water in the ocean- everything that is water. And God said, It is good (Kids can start saying this with you) (Turn over number 3) On the third day God gave us the gift of the dry land and all the green growing things. And God said, It is good (Turn over number 4) On the fourth day God gave us the gift of day and night so that we could count our days. He made the sun to rule the day and the moon and stars to rule the night. And God said, It is good (Turn over number 5) On the fifth day God gave us the gift of all the creatures that fly in the sky and all the creatures that swim in the waters. And God said, It is good (Turn over number 6) On the sixth day God gave us the gift of all the creatures that walk on the earth. And then on the 6 th day God finally made his favorite thing of all- he made a family of people. And when God saw the people he had made he said, It is very good. And one day God made you and me and he said, It is VERY good! (Hold up hand to bless the children) (Turn over the number 7) And on the seventh day God thought It is finished. He had done everything that needed to be done for us. Nothing else needed to be done. And so on the seventh day he gave us the gift rest.

8 The Good Shepherd (Told using the Godly Play Storytelling Method) Once there was a person named Jesus who was so amazing that everyone wondered who he was. One day he told them I am the good shepherd and then he told them this story. Roll out the green underlay. This is the soft, green grass. Place the blue felt patch and say: This is the nice cool water. Place the dark brown felt pieces to create rocky areas and places of danger. These are the dark and dangerous places in our story. Build the sheepfold, place sheep inside. This is the sheepfold. The sheep are safe in here. Move the Good Shepherd next to the sheepfold. Touch each of the sheep as you say: The good shepherd loves his sheep, and knows each one by its name. Move the Good Shepherd to a space on the grass outside the sheepfold. Have sheep follow) The sheep know his voice and come when he calls. They follow him wherever he goes. Move the Good Shepherd and the sheep next to the water. Place the sheep around the water as if they were drinking. He takes them to the fresh green grass, He takes them by cool still water, Move shepherd ahead and later sheep follow. And when there are places of darkness and danger the good shepherd shows them the way through. Hide one sheep. The shepherd counts each of the sheep and knows if one is missing. Lead them all back into the sheepfold and then count each of them And if one of the sheep gets lost the good shepherd will look everywhere for it Have shepherd search in each place And when the good shepherd finds the lost sheep he will carry it on his back to the sheepfold. When all the sheep are safely in the sheepfold the good shepherd lies down in the gate to guard the sheep. And if a wolf comes a good shepherd protects the sheep even if he must give up his own life to save the sheep. Turn Shepherd upside down on the wolf