Resource suggesting ways to engage with the treasure within the Bible
Introduction
Youth and children’s worker for the Society of Friends, Chris Nickolay, draws to a close our series of material for The Year of the Bible.
The Bible is a very big book, full of all sorts of a special kind of magic. How can we help children and young people get to know even a little bit of it, so that it touches their lives and they can feel its value, comfort and gifts?
I don’t think that we can be the hammer and that children are the nail. If we just try to convince children and young people that what we think is true, then the hidden treasure that each of us, of almost any age, can find in the Bible, will stay buried. And that’s a shame. So, if possible, lay aside any need that you have for children or young people to have the same thoughts and feelings as you, or to agree with you. Instead, get alongside them – be like a travelling partner on a journey.
In his book Into the Silent Land, Martin Laird (Optical Society of America) talks about discovering something deep and vast in ourselves. He calls it ‘God’s cloak’. If you were wrapped in God’s cloak, what would it feel like? This is a question to start your children’s session with!
You might ask what this has to do with how you use the Bible with children or young people. All these grand thoughts are fine for adults, but can children really discern or experience meaning for themselves? Well, children already have the skill to listen, to feel with their hearts. We simply offer them a means to feel their way into ‘God’s cloak’.
Resources and links
Journaling for kids
Journal ideas
Journal stimulus
Nancy Sweetland, God’s Quiet Things, Lion Hudson ISBN 978-074594-889-8;
Etan Boritzer, What is God? Firefly Books, ISBN 978-092066-888-7;
Wynn McGregor, The Way of the Child: Helping Children Experience God, Upper Room Books, ISBN 978-083589-824-9.
Gather
Begin with a celebration – offer a birthday cake, candles and, if possible, presents of Bibles for children and young people. You might ask for donations from older members of the congregation towards purchasing special Bibles for each child, as a memento of this year.
Open the Word
With very young children
Jesus and the children
Mark 10.13
- Welcome everybody as they arrive and settle on a rug or around a table. Begin the session with a time of quiet. Then say something like, ‘We are going to have a little story from the big book – the Bible.’ Speak with confidence and with a hint of thrill.
- Place a Bible with care on to a colourful cloth. Begin the story.
"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a man called Jesus. He was close to God and God was close to him. One day Jesus was busy helping grown-ups. They wanted to talk with him about some problems they had. Lots of mums and dads wanted to bring their children, just like you, to see Jesus because he was special. They wanted Jesus to say special words like prayers to their children, and gently put his hands on their heads. Jesus had some friends and helpers called disciples. They got cross with the mums and dads and told them to go away. Jesus saw this and got very angry. He told the disciples to let the children come to him. He said that children know more about God, are closer to God than grown-ups. He said the disciples had to learn this by being kinder to children and listening to them. The disciples were shocked and a bit frightened, so did as they were told. The children came forward; the mums and dads smiled. Jesus gently touched the children and said quiet prayers with them."
- After the story discuss:
How do you think the children felt?
How do you think the mums and dads felt?
How do you think Jesus’ helpers, the disciples, felt?
Would you like to have been there?
With children
You might look at Luke 2.41-52, about Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and the Temple. This is available in a wide range of Children’s Bibles, and is particularly good in the Lion Storytellers Bible.
Once you have read the story, allow time for the children to ponder what they have heard, then discuss how the different characters in the account might have felt.
With young people
You might look at Micah 6.8, ‘And what does God require of you? To act justly…’
Ask the young people what they think it means to ‘act justly and walk humbly’. How might they live this out?
Once everyone has had time to reflect on the story, offer your group ways of making a response to what they have heard.
Respond to the Word
Create personal journals or special books about God and ‘me’
You will need : the simplest way for each child to have a journal is to buy spiral-bound notebooks. These can be decorated and named in a session, using a combination of: postcards; photos; newspapers and magazines; paints; pens and pencils; ribbons; flowers; tissue; fabric; PVA glue; sequins and leaves.
- Beforehand, set out an array of age-appropriate art materials on tables or on cloths, with cushions around them on the floor.
For the youngest children, prepare a tray or two of sand with simple figures in each tray, and provide other play figures and play bricks.
Starting points for journal pages
A first page could include:
my name is, I live in, my hair is, I live with, I go to ____ school, my best friend is...
Titles or headings for other pages could include: I liked the story about…because…,
and children could include some of the following statements that they could complete for their own journal:
I am peaceful when…
I pray when…
My prayer looks like…
I listen to a small quiet voice in me when…
Love is…
I can hear God when…
I love…
Today I…
If I had one day when I could do anything at all, I would…
If I could invent a rule that people had to obey, it would be…
- Read the story from Luke 2.41-52 as suggested above, then invite children and young people to write, draw, paint, colour or collage their responses in their notebooks.
- Be calm and relaxed about the activity. It is not about getting ‘something right’, or a measure of individual success – engage in the activity alongside the children and young people, if you can.
For an example of a journal page, see The Way of the Child, Wynn McGregor (for details, see Resources).
When to use the journals
- Use the journals each time you gather. You might have whole sessions working on them, or a time at the end for children to quietly explore, consider and record their thoughts, feelings, ideas and responses.
- Initially use them for a few consecutive weeks. Children like the security that routine can give them – although it mustn’t become a chore. Have quiet and stillness when the journals are being used.
- Have a special place such as a high shelf in the room where the journals are placed or retrieved from each time they are used. Keeping them in a special place marks them out as important. They are also private.
Conclusion
The Bible is an amazing source for our work with children and young people. Encourage your group to discover the wealth of excitement to be found within the pages, and through your enthusiasm, help instill a sense of awe-filled appreciation of all it has to offer. This will be a sound investment in their futures.
You are welcome to reproduce this article within your church or organisation.
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You can find out more about the Year of the Bible on the website www.2011trust.org.
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Year of the Bible 2011 material