Open the Word
Ways of presenting the Bible passage to children and young people
For children
Really? for younger children
Tell the story using play figures and a large box for the tent.
The Bible tells us that long ago there was a man called Abraham. One day he was sitting by his tent when suddenly three visitors appeared. He ran over to them, and asked them to stay with him for a while. He invited them to have something to eat, and they said yes.
Abraham had a wife called Sarah. She was in the tent. Abraham ran over to her and asked her to make some special cakes for the visitors. He then ran to find some meat to eat.
When it was all ready, Abraham gave the food to the visitors and stood with them while they ate it.
Then one of the visitors said to Abraham, ‘Where is Sarah?’ Abraham pointed to Sarah. ‘She’s there, in the tent,’ he said. The visitor said, ‘In a few months, Sarah is going to have a baby boy.’
Our reporter in Mamre for older children
You will need a newsreader (N ), a reporter (R ), Abraham (A ), servant (SE ), and Sarah (S ).
| N |
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the …o’clock (insert appropriate time) news. Exciting news is coming from our reporter in Mamre, so let’s go over live to (name) . |
| R |
Thank you (name) . You join us here where an extraordinary story is beginning to unfold. It concerns Sarah, the wife of Abraham, but let’s hear first from Abraham himself. Abraham, can you tell us exactly what happened? |
| A |
Certainly. I was sitting by my tent in the middle of the day when I suddenly saw three strangers standing there. I ran over to offer them hospitality, some water to wash their feet and something to eat. They accepted, and then I ran to the tent to ask Sarah… |
| R |
(interrupting) Thank you, Abraham. Let’s hear from Sarah what happened next. |
| S |
Abraham came rushing in and asked me to make some special cakes for the visitors. I had to go and get the expensive flour out of the store. |
| R |
And then what happened? |
| A |
I ran and found a calf that was ready to be killed and eaten, and gave it to the servant to cook. By the time it was ready, it was getting late! |
| SE |
Yes, I can vouch for that — I spent a long time preparing it. |
| R |
So, let’s talk now about the visitors. After you had eaten — I understand they revealed some very strange information. |
| A |
Yes, they told Sarah that in a few months she would have a baby. |
| R |
And what was Sarah’s reaction? After all, she’s a bit old to be having a baby now. |
| A |
She laughed. |
| R |
So there you have it (name of newsreader) . Sarah has been told she will be pregnant soon; perhaps we will return to this strange story in a few months’ time. This is (name of reporter) reporting live from Mamre. |
For young people
You said what??
Invite the group to read verses 9 and 10. Divide them into pairs to produce a short scene to continue the conversation started in these verses. What might Abraham and Sarah have said to each other? Give the pairs five minutes to practise their sketches and then let them perform for the rest of the group if they wish.
They looked so…
Use a whiteboard or flipchart and invite the young people to show how Abraham might have felt at different points in the story. Read the story, stopping after verses 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. At each point, invite the young people to draw a simple face with the expression that best represents how Abraham may have felt.
Honour
Invite the young people to read through today’s Bible passage and make a list of all the words that are to do with honour and status. Where do we hear those words today? Are they words we use in everyday life? To whom do we give honour and status?
Status
Abraham refers to himself as a servant — he puts his full resources into meeting the needs of his very important visitors. Invite the young people to come up with ideas of how they might serve people around them — start by thinking about how they might serve each other or others in the church.
Get on with it
Sarah is far from the star of today’s story, yet she plays an essential role in the events of these verses. Abraham is the one who appreciates the situation and decides on how to respond, but it is Sarah and the servant who do a lot of the actual work to make preparations. Talk with the young people about the ways in which we can help others and serve God without being in the limelight.