Newsletter 42
Newsletter 42 from Maurice Sweetsur
Contents.
Story - DOG / GOD.
Story - Message in a bottle.
T.T. 29 - Memory verses on cardboard discs.
Play - Zacchaeus.
T.T. 30 - Teaching Bible stories as real history.
A success 'funny'
DOG / GOD
Preparation. Write the word "DOG" (in capitals) on the board.
Story. I want to tell you a story about a dog who lived with his young master in the city of Pompeii about 2,000 years ago. Pompeii was located in what we now call Italy, right next to a volcano called Vesuvius. One day Vesuvius erupted violently. Millions of tons of molten lava came out of the volcano, slid down it's banks, and completely buried the city of Pompeii. Some of the inhabitants were probably quick enough to escape, but many more were too slow and were buried by the lava.
Pompeii remained buried and practically forgotten about for centuries, but then about 100 years some archaeologists began to
examine the buried city. Among their discoveries were the remains of a young boy and a dog, lying together. What was really interesting was that the dog was wearing a bronze collar with an inscription on it. Excitedly the archaeologists took the collar back to the laboratory, cleaned it up, and managed to read the inscription. It said "This is a very special dog, because he has saved his master from fire, drowning and thieves."
"Do you think that dog could have escaped that lava from the volcano when it erupted?" Yes, I think it could have because dogs have four legs and can run fast. But it didn't. It stayed right next to it's master. When the lava approached, I think the dog may have thought "I am not leaving my master. Whatever happens I will always stay next to him, as I always have done in the past."
That dog was very FAITHFUL. Most dogs are faithful to their masters - they will stay with them in good times and bad. A second characteristic of dogs is that they are FRIENDLY. It is easy to make friends with a dog. You only have to speak nicely to them, and they will probably run up to you , wagging their tails, and try and give you a lick! A third characteristic of dogs is that they are LOVING. Unlike some humans, dogs will never hold a grudge. Even if you mistreat them (which of course you shouldn't) they will still want to be your friend.
"Now I am going to write the word 'DOG' down again, but this time I am going to write it backwards - G O D. That's right 'DOG' spelt backwards is 'GOD'. And just as dogs are faithful, friendly and loving, so is God. These are three of his main characteristics.
Faithful. Our God is a faithful God. He has promised that He will never leave us or abandon us. Even if we do wrong, even if we ignore or disobey Him, He will stay with us because He is faithful.
Friendly. Many people wonder what life is all about. They don't know where they came from, they don't know why they are here on planet earth, and they don't know where they will go when they die. A man once got on a bus, sat next to another passenger and, wanting to be friendly, asked "Where have you come from? Where did you get on this bus?" The passenger replied "I don't know." The man thought "That's very strange", but undaunted he asked "What are you doing here on this bus?" The passenger replied "I don't know." The man tried a third time "Where are you going. What is your destination?" The passenger again replied "I don't know." At this point the man concluded that the passenger was completely crazy - and he was probably right. An amusing story. But many people are like that passenger. We are all on a journey through life, but many passengers have no idea where they came from, why they are here, or where they are going! The answer to these questions is, of course, that we came from God - He created us. Secondly, we are here to be God's FRIENDS - He made us for Himself, so that we could enjoy Him, and He could enjoy us, both now and forever. Thirdly, if we are trusting in Jesus, we are on our way to heaven- that is our final destination and true home.
Loving. God is a loving God. He loves us, not because we are lovable, but because He can't help Himself - because GOD IS LOVE! And God showed His love for us by sending His Son to die for us. I have a son, but I wouldn't give him up to die for you, or anyone. But that's what God did. That's how much He loves each one of you.
Message in a bottle.
An American minister once thought up a very unusual way of sending a message. Firstly he thought, if he was going to send a message in this novel way, what was the very most important message he could send? It didn't take him long to decide. Then the minister, with the help of some friends, made thousands of copies of this message, went down to the beach, put each copy of the message in bottles, and threw them into the ocean.
That certainly wasn't a very efficient way of sending a message as most of the bottles would have been broken up by waves or rocks, or simply lost at sea. However, after a short time, the minister began receiving replies from people who had found his message. They were so intrigued by it that they wrote to the minister to ask for more information. Altogether the minister received over 1,400 replies, from people in many different countries, all eager to find out more about this wonderful message.
What do you think the message was that the minister sent out? It really is the most important message of all, and is taken from the Bible, John, chapter 3 verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not die, but have eternal life.
That is the best and most important message this world has ever received because it talks about a wonderful person, a wonderful fact, and a wonderful gift.
A wonderful person. That's God's Son, Jesus. And there is nobody more wonderful than Him. He gave up his life for us all.
A wonderful fact. God loves you. And there is nothing you could ever do to stop Him loving you, because God Is Love.
A wonderful gift. Eternal life! And there is absolutely nothing that can compare with that.
Teaching tip 29 - Memory verses on cardboard discs.
In Newsletter 25, I shared a number of ways in which I teach memory verses (Teaching tip 13). Here is another simple, but popular, method.
Cut out a number of cardboard discs - about 20 cm. in diameter is ideal. Write your memory verse on the discs - one or two words per circle.
Without prior warning, get out your discs, and quickly "skim' them towards the children. State "This is our memory verse. Everyone who has caught a disc, come out to the front and arrange the verse in the right order as quickly as you can. I will time you to see how long it takes you to get it in the right order."
After you have explained the verse, and got the children to repeat it, you can get the children holding the discs to turn them over - one or two at a time - while the class keep reciting the verse until they can do it with no words visible.
Play - Zacchaeus.
In Newsletter 29 I shared a few ideas for teaching on the story of Zacchaeus (Teaching tip 17). Here is a fun play to complement your teaching.
Characters. Zaccheus, Jesus, Crowd (of about three), Tree (child standing on chair holding a branch).
Narrator. Jesus had come to town and Zacchaeus wanted to see him.
Zacchaeus. "Let me see Jesus."
Crowd. "Go away you nasty little man." (pushing Zacchaeus away).
Narrator. Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus, so he ran ahead and climbed up a sychamore tree to get a good view. But when Jesus reached the tree, Zacchaeus got a shock.
Jesus. "Zacchaeus, come down from that tree"
Zaccheus. (Climbing down). "Yes Master, what do you want?".
Jesus. "I want to come to your house for tea."
Narrator. The crowd could hardly believe this.
Crowd. "Doesn't Jesus know that Zacchaeus is a tax collector and a cheat?"
Narrator. But Jesus doesn't make mistakes. Zacchaeus was the man he had chosen. Jesus probably knew all about him, but he also knew what he could become if he allowed God to changed him. And after they came back from their meal Zacchaeus showed he had changed by saying - - - -
Zacchaeus. "I will give half my money to the poor, and everyone I have cheated, I will pay them back four times as much."
Teaching tip 30 -Teaching Bible stories as real history
In a survey, children were asked who they believed, their Sunday school teacher, or their primary school teacher. Eighty percent chose their primary school teacher. Why? They said that their primary school teacher taught them facts, whereas their Sunday school teacher only told them stories. The children think this because that is how the Bible is taught in many churches; as ethereal stories, disconnected from the real world. Nice stories perhaps, with a moral message - but not describing things that really happened in space and time.
A youth minister at an Australian church is quoted as saying :-
"I used to beat my head against a wall wondering why we lost all our young people at about age 16. In the last few years I've realised that age 16 is when they teach evolution in depth in science. Chatting with some of the students I have also discovered that some of the teachers actually identify the Christian students and make a special point of explaining the differences and difficulties in reconciling Genesis and the "facts" of evolution. It's no wonder we lost them. I come near to tears just thinking about it."
Is it any coincidence that church attendance in the western world has declined dramatically since the teaching of evolution in the schools became widespread, increasingly so since the 1960's?
When teaching a Bible story, I always emphasize to the children that, as it comes from the Bible, it is a true story - it really happened! And for older children, I give them an idea of when and where it happened. I put it in context, showing how it fits into God's overall plan of redemption. Some teachers say "Evolution is not an issue. The children believe my stories." It may be true that evolution is not an issue for most primary aged children, but it will become one when they are older. As Bible teachers we need to prepare them for this future conflict. At the very least, they need to go away from our classes knowing that "teacher" believed that the Bible story he/she told really happened.
When we consider "the beginnings", what it all eventually comes down to is this : "Who are we going to believe?" God - who was there in the beginning, knows everything, is never wrong and cannot lie - or people - who weren't there in the beginning, only know a tiny fraction of all there is to be known, are often wrong, and sometimes lie?
"Scripture answers three basic questions to which the evolutionary theory has no answer whatsoever. These questions concern the origin of matter, the origin of life and the origin of man as a religious being." R.B. Kuiper.
Puppet Scripts
Have you checked out "Puppet Resources" ( www.puppetresources.com ). They now have over 1,100 free scripts on file - covering every Bible subject you could think of. I have used many of them myself. And if you have written any scripts yourself, why not share them with others through this resource? One of my scripts - What is Easter all about? - is viewed on this site around 100 times per day in the few weeks prior to Easter - although I have no means of knowing how many times the play is then actually performed.
A success 'funny'
There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.
An angel hears his plea and appears to him, "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you."
The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.
The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.
Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase Peter says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"
But the man explains to him that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough,. Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through."
Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, "You brought pavement?!!!"
[forwarded by Nancy Gale]
Contents.
Story - DOG / GOD.
Story - Message in a bottle.
T.T. 29 - Memory verses on cardboard discs.
Play - Zacchaeus.
T.T. 30 - Teaching Bible stories as real history.
A success 'funny'
DOG / GOD
Preparation. Write the word "DOG" (in capitals) on the board.
Story. I want to tell you a story about a dog who lived with his young master in the city of Pompeii about 2,000 years ago. Pompeii was located in what we now call Italy, right next to a volcano called Vesuvius. One day Vesuvius erupted violently. Millions of tons of molten lava came out of the volcano, slid down it's banks, and completely buried the city of Pompeii. Some of the inhabitants were probably quick enough to escape, but many more were too slow and were buried by the lava.
Pompeii remained buried and practically forgotten about for centuries, but then about 100 years some archaeologists began to
examine the buried city. Among their discoveries were the remains of a young boy and a dog, lying together. What was really interesting was that the dog was wearing a bronze collar with an inscription on it. Excitedly the archaeologists took the collar back to the laboratory, cleaned it up, and managed to read the inscription. It said "This is a very special dog, because he has saved his master from fire, drowning and thieves."
"Do you think that dog could have escaped that lava from the volcano when it erupted?" Yes, I think it could have because dogs have four legs and can run fast. But it didn't. It stayed right next to it's master. When the lava approached, I think the dog may have thought "I am not leaving my master. Whatever happens I will always stay next to him, as I always have done in the past."
That dog was very FAITHFUL. Most dogs are faithful to their masters - they will stay with them in good times and bad. A second characteristic of dogs is that they are FRIENDLY. It is easy to make friends with a dog. You only have to speak nicely to them, and they will probably run up to you , wagging their tails, and try and give you a lick! A third characteristic of dogs is that they are LOVING. Unlike some humans, dogs will never hold a grudge. Even if you mistreat them (which of course you shouldn't) they will still want to be your friend.
"Now I am going to write the word 'DOG' down again, but this time I am going to write it backwards - G O D. That's right 'DOG' spelt backwards is 'GOD'. And just as dogs are faithful, friendly and loving, so is God. These are three of his main characteristics.
Faithful. Our God is a faithful God. He has promised that He will never leave us or abandon us. Even if we do wrong, even if we ignore or disobey Him, He will stay with us because He is faithful.
Friendly. Many people wonder what life is all about. They don't know where they came from, they don't know why they are here on planet earth, and they don't know where they will go when they die. A man once got on a bus, sat next to another passenger and, wanting to be friendly, asked "Where have you come from? Where did you get on this bus?" The passenger replied "I don't know." The man thought "That's very strange", but undaunted he asked "What are you doing here on this bus?" The passenger replied "I don't know." The man tried a third time "Where are you going. What is your destination?" The passenger again replied "I don't know." At this point the man concluded that the passenger was completely crazy - and he was probably right. An amusing story. But many people are like that passenger. We are all on a journey through life, but many passengers have no idea where they came from, why they are here, or where they are going! The answer to these questions is, of course, that we came from God - He created us. Secondly, we are here to be God's FRIENDS - He made us for Himself, so that we could enjoy Him, and He could enjoy us, both now and forever. Thirdly, if we are trusting in Jesus, we are on our way to heaven- that is our final destination and true home.
Loving. God is a loving God. He loves us, not because we are lovable, but because He can't help Himself - because GOD IS LOVE! And God showed His love for us by sending His Son to die for us. I have a son, but I wouldn't give him up to die for you, or anyone. But that's what God did. That's how much He loves each one of you.
Message in a bottle.
An American minister once thought up a very unusual way of sending a message. Firstly he thought, if he was going to send a message in this novel way, what was the very most important message he could send? It didn't take him long to decide. Then the minister, with the help of some friends, made thousands of copies of this message, went down to the beach, put each copy of the message in bottles, and threw them into the ocean.
That certainly wasn't a very efficient way of sending a message as most of the bottles would have been broken up by waves or rocks, or simply lost at sea. However, after a short time, the minister began receiving replies from people who had found his message. They were so intrigued by it that they wrote to the minister to ask for more information. Altogether the minister received over 1,400 replies, from people in many different countries, all eager to find out more about this wonderful message.
What do you think the message was that the minister sent out? It really is the most important message of all, and is taken from the Bible, John, chapter 3 verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not die, but have eternal life.
That is the best and most important message this world has ever received because it talks about a wonderful person, a wonderful fact, and a wonderful gift.
A wonderful person. That's God's Son, Jesus. And there is nobody more wonderful than Him. He gave up his life for us all.
A wonderful fact. God loves you. And there is nothing you could ever do to stop Him loving you, because God Is Love.
A wonderful gift. Eternal life! And there is absolutely nothing that can compare with that.
Teaching tip 29 - Memory verses on cardboard discs.
In Newsletter 25, I shared a number of ways in which I teach memory verses (Teaching tip 13). Here is another simple, but popular, method.
Cut out a number of cardboard discs - about 20 cm. in diameter is ideal. Write your memory verse on the discs - one or two words per circle.
Without prior warning, get out your discs, and quickly "skim' them towards the children. State "This is our memory verse. Everyone who has caught a disc, come out to the front and arrange the verse in the right order as quickly as you can. I will time you to see how long it takes you to get it in the right order."
After you have explained the verse, and got the children to repeat it, you can get the children holding the discs to turn them over - one or two at a time - while the class keep reciting the verse until they can do it with no words visible.
Play - Zacchaeus.
In Newsletter 29 I shared a few ideas for teaching on the story of Zacchaeus (Teaching tip 17). Here is a fun play to complement your teaching.
Characters. Zaccheus, Jesus, Crowd (of about three), Tree (child standing on chair holding a branch).
Narrator. Jesus had come to town and Zacchaeus wanted to see him.
Zacchaeus. "Let me see Jesus."
Crowd. "Go away you nasty little man." (pushing Zacchaeus away).
Narrator. Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus, so he ran ahead and climbed up a sychamore tree to get a good view. But when Jesus reached the tree, Zacchaeus got a shock.
Jesus. "Zacchaeus, come down from that tree"
Zaccheus. (Climbing down). "Yes Master, what do you want?".
Jesus. "I want to come to your house for tea."
Narrator. The crowd could hardly believe this.
Crowd. "Doesn't Jesus know that Zacchaeus is a tax collector and a cheat?"
Narrator. But Jesus doesn't make mistakes. Zacchaeus was the man he had chosen. Jesus probably knew all about him, but he also knew what he could become if he allowed God to changed him. And after they came back from their meal Zacchaeus showed he had changed by saying - - - -
Zacchaeus. "I will give half my money to the poor, and everyone I have cheated, I will pay them back four times as much."
Teaching tip 30 -Teaching Bible stories as real history
In a survey, children were asked who they believed, their Sunday school teacher, or their primary school teacher. Eighty percent chose their primary school teacher. Why? They said that their primary school teacher taught them facts, whereas their Sunday school teacher only told them stories. The children think this because that is how the Bible is taught in many churches; as ethereal stories, disconnected from the real world. Nice stories perhaps, with a moral message - but not describing things that really happened in space and time.
A youth minister at an Australian church is quoted as saying :-
"I used to beat my head against a wall wondering why we lost all our young people at about age 16. In the last few years I've realised that age 16 is when they teach evolution in depth in science. Chatting with some of the students I have also discovered that some of the teachers actually identify the Christian students and make a special point of explaining the differences and difficulties in reconciling Genesis and the "facts" of evolution. It's no wonder we lost them. I come near to tears just thinking about it."
Is it any coincidence that church attendance in the western world has declined dramatically since the teaching of evolution in the schools became widespread, increasingly so since the 1960's?
When teaching a Bible story, I always emphasize to the children that, as it comes from the Bible, it is a true story - it really happened! And for older children, I give them an idea of when and where it happened. I put it in context, showing how it fits into God's overall plan of redemption. Some teachers say "Evolution is not an issue. The children believe my stories." It may be true that evolution is not an issue for most primary aged children, but it will become one when they are older. As Bible teachers we need to prepare them for this future conflict. At the very least, they need to go away from our classes knowing that "teacher" believed that the Bible story he/she told really happened.
When we consider "the beginnings", what it all eventually comes down to is this : "Who are we going to believe?" God - who was there in the beginning, knows everything, is never wrong and cannot lie - or people - who weren't there in the beginning, only know a tiny fraction of all there is to be known, are often wrong, and sometimes lie?
"Scripture answers three basic questions to which the evolutionary theory has no answer whatsoever. These questions concern the origin of matter, the origin of life and the origin of man as a religious being." R.B. Kuiper.
Puppet Scripts
Have you checked out "Puppet Resources" ( www.puppetresources.com ). They now have over 1,100 free scripts on file - covering every Bible subject you could think of. I have used many of them myself. And if you have written any scripts yourself, why not share them with others through this resource? One of my scripts - What is Easter all about? - is viewed on this site around 100 times per day in the few weeks prior to Easter - although I have no means of knowing how many times the play is then actually performed.
A success 'funny'
There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.
An angel hears his plea and appears to him, "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you."
The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.
The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.
Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase Peter says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"
But the man explains to him that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough,. Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through."
Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, "You brought pavement?!!!"
[forwarded by Nancy Gale]
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 4:04 PM
