children’s programme for ages 4-6, 7-10

Children’s programme forages 4-6, 7-10CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

BIBLE SUNDAY 2011 : CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME FOR AGES 4–6, 7–10These ideas provide a ‘pick’n’mix’ menu for children’s activities on Bible Sunday. Approximate timings have been given to help you plan your session. There is a fundraising idea included here, which would involve the whole church family. It also requires preparation and publi-cising in the week(s) leading up to Bible Sunday.

EZRA LIFTS THE BIBLE HIGH (FOR AGES 4–6, 7–10)5–8 minutes for the story-telling version; 15–20 minutes for a rehearsed improvisation.

Read this story twice. The first time, ignore the stage directions in italic and simply read the story to get the plot. Then allocate parts and read the story again while the children act it out. Or, if your group enjoy acting, they could improvise the whole scene. Split them into ‘priest party’ and ‘crowd party’, and get the crowd to work on stillness, listening poses, expressing sadness and crying before practising their ‘hallelujah’ timing. While the crowd are practising, get the priests to process and work on what Ezra might say. Use the stage directions in the story to help Nehemiah work out his part. Then put the two halves together. You might perform this to the whole congregation.

(Begin with a seated crowd.)

Long ago, the people of Israel were slaves in the empire of Babylon. For many, many years they lived in the land of Babylon until at last they were allowed to return home to Judah and to the great city of Jerusalem.

But while they had lived so far away from home they had forgotten many things, and missed many things. They had been homesick for their own place and heartsick for their own way of life.

Now they were home again. And now it was time to remember that they were God’s people. It was time to remember that God had given them his holy Law. It was time to hear God’s Word again and be his faithful people.

Bible Sunday 2011 : Children’s programme for ages 4–6, 7–10 Page 2

So Nehemiah (the governor) and Ezra (God’s priest) got together and chose a meeting place. They chose a place by a city gate called the Water Gate – a busy place where lots of people came and went. And in the square by the city gate Ezra and Nehemiah set up a stage, so that whoever was on the stage could be seen by all the gathered people.

(Ezra’s helpers come in, one carrying a chair, the other a Bible. Ezra and Nehemiah follow them in.)

Then Ezra the priest and his helpers walked through the crowd carrying God’s holy book. Everyone stared as slowly Ezra climbed the steps up onto the stage.

(Ezra’s helper places the chair in front of the crowd, Ezra stands on the chair, and the second helper hands him the Bible. Helpers and Nehemiah stand behind Ezra’s chair and watch.)

God had chosen them to be his special people and this book was full of messages from him. It was so special, and it was one of the things they had missed the most while they were in Babylon.

Ezra lifted the book high so that everyone could see it, and the whole crowd held their breath.

(Ezra lifts the book high, then opens it as if to read.)

Now, after so long, God’s people were going to hear the stories of the Bible again.

Reading those stories to the people of Israel was like pouring cool water on to hot, dry earth. Ezra and his helpers read the stories and the crowd just soaked them up and

wanted more. They were so thirsty for God’s Word.

And Ezra and his helpers didn’t just read those stories. They made them come alive. If anything in the stories seemed very strange or hard to understand, Ezra and his helpers explained so that everyone knew what the stories were about.

When they heard the stories and understood them, they knew that these were the special stories about God’s love for his people. It had been so long since they had heard God’s stories that it made them all realise how much they had missed being close to God through the stories of the Bible. It made them all remember just how God wanted them to live their lives – and now, listening to Ezra, they realised that they had all disappointed God. For a long time now they had not been true to God’s ways.

Thinking about that made them feel really sad. So one by one the whole crowd began to cry.

A woman at the front began to dab her eyes, a man in a black hat began to sniffle, and a tall man with a big bushy beard blew his nose (very loudly) into a big white hanky.

(Act out each of the above.)

Soon everybody was crying. Children howled, women sobbed and men had tears rolling down their cheeks.

Ezra was amazed. His helpers were amazed. Even the governor, Nehemiah, was amazed.

(Nehemiah steps forward and tries to calm the crowd – raises his arms, puts his finger to his lips in a shushing action, wags a finger, puts his hands on his hips, etc.)


‘Goodness, me!’ said Nehemiah. ‘Why on earth are you crying on such a wonderful day? Yes, there are things we should be sorry for, but today isn’t a day for tears. Today you have heard the stories of the Bible – stories that tell you how much God loves you. Today’s a day to celebrate! Celebrate the gift of the Bible. Celebrate being able to understand God’s love through its stories. Stop crying this minute and go and have a party!’

SO THEY DID!

(Everyone shouts ‘Hallelujah!’ You may need to count or conduct them in for this.)

EXPLORE THE STORY (FOR AGES 7–10)5–10 minutes

The Bible is a present from God to us. Why do you think God gave it to us?

The Bible is full of messages from God and stories about how God loves us. How does it make you feel to think that God wants us to know how much he loves us?

The Bible helps us to learn how we should treat other people. Why do you think this matters to God?

Can you think of reasons why not having the Bible was such a great loss to God’s people?

Why is it important that everyone should be able to read or listen to the Bible?

SPIN-AROUND FACES (FOR AGES 4–6)5–10 minutes

Make this simple prop to use with a version of the Ezra story for younger children (below). Everyone could make one before reading the story, or after it as a preparation for reading it again.

• Take two circles of thin card and draw a happy face on one and a sad face on the other.

• Now make a stick from stiff card (or use a lolly stick) and attach the faces so that you have a small lollipop sign – sad on one side, happy on the other.

EZRA LIFTS THE BIBLE HIGH (FOR AGES 4–6) 5 minutes

An alternative version of the story for younger children. Use the spin-around face (instructions above) as part of your telling.

God’s people were living in another country.

Far, far away from their homes.

It was a very sad time.

Then one day a good thing happened: God’s people were going home!

They were so happy!


Once they were home again, God’s people wanted things to be the same as they’d been before they went away. They wanted to be good people, because God’s people should be good people, shouldn’t they?

Yes. God’s people wanted to be good. They wanted to do things God’s way. That would make God happy. And if God was happy, they’d be happy too.

But there was a problem. A big problem. While they’d been away, they’d forgotten about God’s way.

And that made them sad … very sad.

Now the person in charge of the country was Nehemiah. That’s a good name, isn’t it? I’ll say it again – Nehemiah. And Nehemiah was clever. He knew what God’s people needed. They needed the Bible.

The Bible was full of messages from God. The Bible was full of good stuff. Full of God stuff. Oh yes, what the people needed was the Bible. And somebody to read it to them. That would make them really happy.

So Nehemiah asked his friend Ezra to read the Bible to the people. And Ezra said, ‘Yes.’ That made Nehemiah happy. And Ezra loved reading the Bible, so it made Ezra happy too. Things were going really well.

‘I’ll build you a big platform,’ said Nehemiah. ‘A huge stage – so you can stand up high in the market place and everyone will be able to see you. And everyone will be able to hear you. It’ll be great!’

And that’s what Nehemiah did. He built a big platform, a huge stage. And Ezra climbed up high and began to read the Bible to all God’s people. They were so happy! Everyone was so happy!

But then a really strange thing happened. One by one, all these happy people began to cry. They suddenly felt so sad.

They sniffled, and they snuffled, and they sobbed. Big wet tears rolled down their faces. They cried, and they cried, and they cried. It was awful.

‘Whatever is the matter with you all?’ said Nehemiah.

‘We’re thinking how much we’ve missed our Bible,’ they said. ‘And listening to God’s Word now has made us see that we’ve not been close enough to him for ages. We’ve not been listening to God properly. And we’ve not been living our lives the way he wants us to. We’ve been awful … and knowing that makes us really, really sad!’

Well, Nehemiah looked at Ezra and Ezra looked at Nehemiah. It was all true. God’s people had forgotten how they were supposed to live. But today just wasn’t a day for crying.

‘This isn’t a day for being sad,’ said Nehemiah. ‘This is a day for dancing. And singing. A day for being the happiest people in all the world. You’re home from Babylon and today you have your Bible back! And your Bible is just bursting with good stuff. Your Bible is just bursting with God stuff! So stop being sad this minute! Be happy! In fact, what you should do is have a great big party.’

And do you know what?

That’s exactly what the people of God did. They were so happy to have their Bible back that they had a GREAT … BIG … PARTY!


PRAYERS (FOR AGES 4–6)5 minutes

First ask everyone to draw a picture of themselves on a small (A5/A6) piece of paper.

Sit in a circle around a table with the Bible on it, or on the floor with the Bible on a cushion or cloth in the centre. Explain that they are going to put their pictures near the Bible as part of the prayer. (They can have them back later!)

Say, ‘The Bible is very special. It’s a present that God has given to us all. It’s full of wonderful stories and messages about God’s love. Now we’re going to say thank you to God for the gift of the Bible. So, say after me…’ (Now read out the following prayer line by line so that the children can repeat each line after you.)

Dear God,Thank you for loving us.Thank you for our families.Thank you for our friends.

Dear God,Thank you for our lovely world.Teach us to take care of it.

Dear God,Thank you for toys and games,For songs and stories.

Dear God,Thank you for our Bible.(Now, as part of the prayer, put the pictures on the table around the Bible.)We all thank you for our Bible.Through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

PRAYERS TO DECORATE (FOR AGES 7–10)10 minutes

Print out individual sections of this prayer for the children to illustrate/decorate.

Then pray each section and pin them up on the wall.

Loving God,We can get to know you through the stories in the Bible.Thank you for wanting us to know you.


Thank you for wanting to know us.

Loving God,You show your love for us through the gift of the Bible.Help us to understand your messages to us.

Loving God,You care for us all.Teach us to care for each other.

Loving God,You speak to us through the stories of the Bible.Help us to understand what you want us to do,And fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we do it.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE STATUE GAME (ALL AGES)5–8 minutes

Use the sections of the Ezra story for the children to mime to.

• The people of God were digging the fields a long way from home.

• The people of God walked miles and miles. They were so tired!

• The people of God were homesick and sad.

• The people of God came home. They were so happy!

• The people of God met in the market place.

• The people of God listened to Ezra read the Bible.

• The people of God realised how they hadn’t listened to God properly and how they had disappointed him.

• The people of God had a party.

Get the group to mime each point in the story, then say, ‘Freeze!’ Let one half of the group look at the statues in the other half.

LIFT THE BIBLE HIGH! (ALL AGES)15 minutes

Use three sturdy cardboard boxes– one large, one medium and one small – to stack up into a step-pyramid. Cover the boxes with lining paper (like wrapping a parcel), then decorate the pyramid with patterns or with pictures telling the story of Ezra and Nehemiah. (Draw and colour the designs and then stick them on the covered boxes.) You could have sad faces on the bottom box to show the people of God far from home; a long line of people winding round the middle box to show their


journey back home; smiling faces on the top box to show how happy they were to be home. You could decorate the borders and edges of the box with bright colours or stick-on jewels. Put a Bible on the very top.

CELEBRATE! (ALL AGES)Nehemiah told everyone to have a party to celebrate the gift of scripture. There are lots of ways you can do the same.

Make bunting from coloured paper. Cut out triangular flags and put a letter on each one to spell out ‘Holy Bible’, ’Celebrate the Bible’, ’The joy of the Lord is your strength’, etc. Or you could put a word on each flag to spell out a Bible verse. Decorate your church with the bunting. 10 minutes.

Make a collage or draw a big picture of a table set for a party. On the tablecloth have ‘The Bible is a Gift from God – Celebrate!’ in coloured letters. Write Bible verses on the cupcake cases/cake frills. 15 minutes.

Decorate real cupcakes with writing icing. Draw hearts to stand for God’s love, and books to stand for the gift of the Bible. 5–10 minutes.

Decorate the edges of paper plates with Bible verses about God’s love for us and his gifts to us. Serve the cakes on these plates. 5–10 minutes.

HAVE A PROPER PARTY! (THE WHOLE CHURCH FAMILY)Celebrate just like Nehemiah said. But make it a party with a difference – sell tickets to your party to raise funds for Bible Society so that more people can read and hear the Bible. Maybe it could be an after-church party. If you throw the party on Bible Sunday itself, you will need to prepare in the weeks beforehand – and you’ll need to involve other church members in your organising efforts. Use the ideas given above as part of your party preparations. Here are some more ideas.

• Make invitation cards with cake designs or shaped like a cupcake. Invite people to come and have tea/coffee/squash and cakes. Have pre-printed details ready to cut and stick on to the cards. Colour and decorate them to hand out in church later. All ages, 10–15 minutes.

• Ask for donations of cupcakes and decorate them as part of your junior church activity just before the party. You could make cake frills with Bible verses too, and use the bunting to decorate the room.

• Do you want to link this with a celebration of the King James Bible? If so, you could use the ‘birthday’ ideas below, and perform the short interview script at the party. Older children. Rehearsal time depends on how polished you want the performance to be. For a lively reading, 30 minutes preparation time would be enough. For a learned performance you might need three or four half-hour rehearsals spread over a few weeks.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BIBLE (FOR AGES 7–10)The Bible is very old. Some parts of it are more than 2,500 years old, and it wasn’t written in English. It had to be translated into English so that we could read it and understand it. One translation – the King James Bible – is 400 years old this year. The King James Bible inspired lots of people to do God’s work. (See the ‘Think and talk about’ section after the Hanna and Fregenet story below.) The King James Bible is the most popular translation in the world.

• Make birthday cards or mini banners for the King James Bible. 10 minutes.

• Alternatively, make a large collage banner. Use a picture of the world, or maps of the continents, or faces of different races to show that the Bible is for everyone. Include the initials ‘KJB’ or the words ‘King James Bible’, and the number 400. Make it as colourful as you can. 15 minutes.

INTERVIEW WITH THE FAMOUS BIBLE (FOR AGES 7–10) Run through and performance, 10 minutes

Read the script through, then act it out. If you throw a Bible Party, you might perform this as the entertainment.

Script can be found on page 12.

TRUE STORY: HANNA AND FREGENET (FOR AGES 7–10) 5 minutes for the story, another 5–10 to think and talk about it

This is a true story for two voices (one reads the bold type, one reads the italic). The Bible is a great gift. God speaks to us through the stories of the Bible and its message is powerful. The Bible can change people’s lives. The Bible can change the world, a life at a time. When you hear the true story of Hanna and Fregenet it’s easy to understand why Ezra and Nehemiah wanted to give the Bible back to the people of God. The Bible can make our lives better by helping us connect with God.

My name is Hanna Teshone and I live in East Africa, in Ethiopia – one of the hottest countries in the world. When I was 12, something wonderful happened to me. God sent me a message.

My name is Fregenet Mengesha and I live in Ethiopia. When I was 12, something very sad happened to me. My mother died and my father was very ill.

When I was 12, God spoke to me. He spoke into my heart and told me he had a job for me to do. He spoke into my dreams and I imagined myself helping people in trouble. I dreamed of helping children.

When I was 12, my father was so ill that he couldn’t look after me any more. So my sister took me to the big city called Addis Ababa to find a new home for us.

When I was 12, my Bible was my best friend. It was full of the stories of Jesus and when I read the stories I knew that Jesus was my friend. When I needed to feel close to Jesus I could meet him in the Bible stories.


When I was 12, I had no friends. Only sadness.

I loved to read the Jesus stories and I wanted to be like him. So I read and I read and I read … and I knew that I had to do the things he did. ‘When I grow up,’ I said, ‘I’m going to do what Jesus said – I’m going to feed hungry people and make a home for lost people.’

I was lost. And I was hungry. Very hungry.

When I was 12, I dreamed that dream of helping. And when I grew up, I made it happen. God was in my life and with his help I made it happen. I opened a children’s home in Addis Ababa. A home for children who had no mums or dads to look after them. When I grew up and opened the doors of the children’s home, Fregenet Mengesha walked into my life.

When I was 12, I met the grown-up Hanna Teshone. She gave me a place to live in her children’s home.

I look after 230 children – not on my own, of course: 230 children is a lot! Far too many for one person to look after.

Hanna welcomed me and my sister. She gave us somewhere to live and enough to eat. And I go to school. I’m good at maths and science. Really good. When I grow up, I want do something exciting. Maybe I’ll help villages have electricity. Or maybe I’ll invent something really cool.

Jesus said I should look after the children, so I do.

When I first met Hanna, I was sad and lonely, but now my life is full of friends.

Jesus said I should let the children come to him. So I make sure they hear the Bible stories. Then they can meet Jesus in the stories, just like I did. And Jesus can be their friend.

I wasn’t sure about the Bible stories at first. And I didn’t see why I needed Jesus as a friend.

Everybody needs Jesus as a friend.

Well, I know that now. I learned that from listening to our Proclaimer.

That’s not a person – it’s a machine. It looks like a radio, but really it’s a kind of MP3 player with a big speaker. The chip inside it has the whole New Testament recorded on it.

I sat with my friends by the Proclaimer and together we listened to the Bible. And I learned that all life comes from God. God gave me my life and my life is in his hands.

The Bible is like a room full of people all telling you their stories. And all the stories help us to know God better.

And when you know God better, he comes into your heart and takes away your sadness. That’s what happened to me. Jesus has filled my heart with so much happiness that there’s no room for sadness any more.

Think and talk about (for ages 7–10) Jesus’ love for us and the things he said and did have inspired all sorts of people to do good things. What examples can you think of? (Some ideas might be the abolition of slavery, Florence Nightingale and her nurses, all kinds of charities, etc.) The Bible and the inspiration in its stories is one of the ways God has of pouring his love into the world. The Bible is a gateway for God’s love. No wonder


Nehemiah and Ezra were keen to reconnect the people of God with the Bible – they knew God would use the Bible to speak into the hearts of his people.

TRUE STORY: HANNA & FREGENET (A VERSION FOR AGES 4–6)10 minutes

This story happens in Africa and it begins with the Bible. (Put the Bible on your lap.)

And Hanna.

The Bible and Hanna.

When she was little, Hanna began to listen to the stories in the Bible. (Open the Bible.)

The stories are about God. About how God loves us.

And there are lots of Jesus stories in the Bible.

Stories about how Jesus did God’s special work of loving people.

Special stories about God’s special love.

When Hanna heard the stories, they filled her heart with love. (As you say these words, trace the path of the story from the page to your ear, to your heart.)

God’s message of love came out of the Bible and right into Hanna’s heart. (Move your finger from page to heart.)

Hanna felt that God was speaking to her.

‘Be like Jesus,’ God said. ‘Look after the little children,’ he said. ‘Take care of the lost and the lonely ones.’

So when Hanna grew up, that’s what she did. She did what her Bible had told her to do. She ran a home for children who had no mums and dads to look after them.

One day a very sad girl came to live in Hanna’s home. She had walked a long way from her dusty African village into the big African town. The girl was called Fregenet – and Fregenet was sad. Her mother had been very ill, and then she died. Now her father was ill too. So Fregenet and her big sister walked and walked until they came to the big town. They were tired. They were hungry. They were hot. They were thirsty. And they walked and they walked and they walked, until finally they arrived at Hanna’s.

And what did Hanna do? She opened the door and welcomed them in.

She ran them a hot bath and gave them clean towels. She found clean clothes for them and cooked them a lovely supper. It was wonderful.

Fregenet was happy to be in Hanna’s home. She had a nice place to sleep, and good things to eat. And there were other children there too, so she had lots of friends to play with.

‘My life was all bashed up and broken,’ said Fregenet, ‘but Hanna has mended it. Hanna has made everything better.’

Hanna smiled. ‘I did what my Bible told me to do,’ she said. ‘In the Bible Jesus looks after the lost and


the sad – so that’s what I try to do – and it makes me very happy.’

It made Fregenet happy too. She was very glad Hanna was looking after her.

Fregenet still lives with Hanna – and she goes to school. Not everyone in Africa can go to school. But Fregenet goes, and she’s clever. When she grows up she’d like to be a scientist.

This story began with the Bible. (Hold Bible up.) And it ends with the Bible too. Not a Bible that you read, but a Bible that you listen to.

Hanna gave Fregenet a Proclaimer, and it looks a bit like this. (Hold up a radio.) Inside the Proclaimer is a computer chip and on that computer chip there’s a recording of the whole New Testament. ‘Listen to this,’ Hanna said to Fregenet. ‘Listen to the Jesus stories. Listen to the stories and learn how much God loves you.’

And sure enough, these stories of God’s love travelled from the Bible right into Fregenet’s heart. (Move your finger from radio to ear to heart.) Now her heart is full of God’s love – and sooner or later, she’ll have to share it.

Will she be a famous scientist and invent something to make everyone’s life better?

Will she work to bring electric lights to lonely African villages?

What will she do? What will she do?

She’ll have to do something. Her heart is full of God’s love.

Sooner or later, she’ll have to share it…

Think and talk about (for ages 4–6) Make a large wall picture of the Proclaimer. In the centre have a radio or box shape and all around put large bubbles containing pictures of Bible stories, e.g. a picture of the sky with sun and stars; a picture of Jesus healing someone. Use pictures from the story of Ezra and Nehemiah – Ezra on his platform; Ezra opening the Bible; the people having a Bible party. As you draw together, talk about the story. How did the Bible change Hanna’s life? How did Hanna change Fregenet’s life?

These activities are written by Jan Dean. Jan is a widely published children’s poet, fiction writer, festival performer and frequent writer-in-schools.


Here we are today, at the home of the famous King James Bible. We’ve been given exclusive access to talk to this Bible. It’s a real privilege to be here today.

Can I just stop you there? I really don’t like that idea.

What idea?

That you have exclusive access. I’m a Bible. Bibles are the opposite of exclusive. They’re for everyone. Though it is a privilege to have a Bible – I wouldn’t argue with that.

Indeed. We are very privileged indeed to have this time with you.

It’s God who’s given you the privilege – when he decided to share all sorts of things with people through me. But he wants to share it with everyone. The whole world. Being a Bible is a big job.

A job you’ve done for a very long time.

Four hundred years. I’ve seen a lot of changes in the world in that time. A lot can happen in 400 years…

Good changes, or bad changes?

Well, both really. People have got better at curing diseases – that’s good. But they’ve made better weapons too, and fight bigger wars. That’s not so good.

Which changes have had the biggest impact on you?

Hmmm … interesting question. I suppose the first big change was when printing became cheaper. Nowadays, of course, you can download me on your PC, read me on your phone or hear me on a CD. You can read me or listen to me. That’s a big change.

What do you think you are actually for?

For? Why, I’m a hotline to God! God spoke into the hearts of his prophets and his faithful friends. He sent them wisdom and hopes and guidance, and they wrote it all down. From God’s heart to your mind – that’s what I’m all about!

And do you plan to carry on doing this job?

Absolutely! I may be 400 years old, but I’m not finished yet. I’d like the whole world to know what I have on my pages.

And on that happy thought we finish our interview today. Except for one last thing…(Helper presents KJB with a big card and everyone sings ‘Happy Birthday, Dear Bible…’)

Reporter 1

KJB

Reporter 2

KJB

Reporter 2

KJB

Reporter 1

KJB

Reporter 1

KJB

Reporter 2

KJB

Reporter 1

KJB

Reporter 1

KJB

Reporter 2

SCRIPT : INTERVIEW WITH THE FAMOUS BIBLE

children’s programme for ages 4-6, 7-10

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