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Lesson 23: A Life of Thankful Worship (Colossians 3:16-17)

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May 8, 2016

That profound thinker, Charlie Brown, asks his friend, Linus, “Do you ever think much about the future?” Linus replies, “Oh, yes, all the time.” “What do you think you’d like to be when you grow up?” Charlie asks. Linus thinks a moment and replies, “Outrageously happy!” (You’re a Winner, Charlie Brown, Charles Schulz [Fawcett Crest Books])

There are basically two ways to try to gain happiness. The first is to try to arrange your circumstances so that you will be content. You try to get a fulfilling job, a satisfying marriage and family life, and enough money to be comfortable. The problem is, none of these things are secure. You can lose your job, there isn’t a trouble-free marriage or family on earth, and the good things in life can be changed instantly by uncontrollable factors, such as war, fire, natural disasters, disease, or death.

The other way to seek happiness is to seek it in the Lord. If you’re happy in God you’ve got lasting happiness. You may go through tremendous trials and be deprived even of life itself. But through it all you’ve got abiding joy in the Lord. The apostles knew that kind of happiness in God. When they were warned not to preach any more in the name of Jesus and then were flogged, they went on their way, “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). Paul and Silas had the same joy. When they were unjustly beaten without a trial and thrown into jail, at midnight they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God (Acts 16:25). Paul would later write to the church in Philippi, where that incident happened, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).

George Muller, who by faith and prayer supported thousands of orphans, experienced the same solid joy in the Lord. Roger Steer subtitled his biography of him, “Delighted in God” (George Muller: Delighted in God [Shaw]). Muller practiced and taught that the first business of every day is to seek to be truly at rest and happy in God (A. T. Pierson, George Muller of Bristol [Revell], p. 257).

Are you happy in God? I’m sure that we all can use some pointers in how to grow in that area! In Colossians 3:16-17, Paul describes a life that is happy in God. It’s a life of thankful worship:

The Lord’s people should be marked by thankful worship engaging the whole person in all of life.

Verse 16 describes the church gathering, where we are to teach and admonish one another through the Word and singing, thankfully praising God. Verse 17 extends it to all of life: Everything we do should be done thankfully in the name of the Lord Jesus. Thankful worship should be the aroma that surrounds every Christian, so that, as was said of Mary’s anointing of Jesus, “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3).

What do we mean by worship? William Temple’s well-known definition (widely cited on the Internet) is probably the most eloquent: “For to worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.” John MacArthur, in his excellent study of worship, The Ultimate Priority ([Moody Press], p. 127), defines worship as “our innermost being responding with praise for all that God is, through our attitudes, actions, thoughts, and words, based on the truth of God as He has revealed Himself.” Or more succinctly he says (p. 147), “Worship is all that we are, reacting rightly to all that He is.”

Whenever people in the Bible encountered God or His ways, worship was their spontaneous response. They immediately sensed His majesty and at the same time realized their own frailty and sinfulness. Worship was the result. So the key to worship is not to focus on worship, but to focus on God. When my mind, emotions, and will are properly related to God, I will be thankfully worshiping Him for His majesty, glory, and abundant goodness. Our text reveals four things about thankful worship:

1. Thankful worship engages the mind with the word of Christ.

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you ….” “The word of Christ” refers to Christ’s teaching and the teaching about Him, which means, the whole Bible. All of Scripture points toward Him (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46). The phrase, “the word of Christ,” occurs only here in the Bible. Paul uses it because he is emphasizing the supremacy of Jesus Christ to a church plagued with false teachers who denied Christ His rightful place. The Scriptures are the word of Christ in that they speak to us about Christ and they direct us to Christ as Savior and Lord.

Paul says that we should let the word of Christ richly dwell within us. Richly implies the fullness and completeness of God’s Word for all of life. When you come to the Bible, you come to an inexhaustible treasure. It’s like the universe—the further astronomers peer into space, the more they are overwhelmed with the fact that they cannot get to the end of it. There are billions of galaxies each containing billions of stars. The more you dig into the Bible, the more you discover how little of it you understand and how much of it there is to understand.

To let the word of Christ richly dwell in us also implies that we need an abundant supply of God’s Word. Gorge yourself on the Word! In modern slang, “Pig out on the Word!” While eating too much rich food will damage your health, the more spiritually rich food you eat, the healthier you become. If our physical weight were determined by how much of God’s Word we fed on each week, would we be a skinny church or a fat church?

Dwell implies living in the Scriptures so that the Scriptures live in you. I may visit your home and you give me a tour through all the rooms. But I don’t live there. To live there means that it’s the place I keep coming back to each day. I’m comfortable there. I’m familiar with my home. It’s where I go for refuge and rest. All that’s implied in the concept of dwelling in a home should be true of my dwelling in the word of Christ and the Word dwelling in me.

“In you” means that Paul isn’t talking here only about each of us having personal Bible study. He’s talking about the word of Christ dwelling richly in the church (“you” is plural). We are to teach and admonish one another. To do this, our individual intake of the Word should spill over so that whether on Sundays or during the week, the word of Christ permeates the life of the church.

Scholars debate how to punctuate verse 16 (the original text did not have punctuation). You can punctuate it so that the sense is that we use the word of Christ to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, making the rest of the sentence, “singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (NIV, ESV). Or, the sense may be that as the word of Christ richly dwells in us, we teach and admonish one another through our singing (NASB). Grammatically it’s difficult to decide, but practically, there is truth in each view.

We teach and admonish one another both through the Word and through doctrinally sound songs. That’s one reason I think we should sing some of the great hymns of the faith. They teach solid biblical truth. “Teach” refers to communicating doctrine or biblical precepts; “admonish” means to give correction or warning. “Wisdom” refers to skill in applying God’s truth in specific situations. So whether it’s from the pulpit, in a home fellowship, a small group Bible study, or in a private conversation, whether through speaking or through singing, the word of Christ must be at home in us so that we are wisely applying it, both personally and with others.

This means that biblical truth is essential for worship. The goal of theology should be doxology, or worship. Jesus told the woman at the well that God is seeking those who worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). You cannot worship God in truth unless you know who He is as revealed in His Word. If you worship a god who is loving, but he overlooks sin, you’re not worshiping the true God, but rather an idol you made up, because the God of the Bible is loving and holy. True worship rests on knowing God truly as revealed in His Word. Without God’s revealed truth, all the emotion in the world is misdirected and futile. Thankful worship begins by engaging our minds with the word of Christ.

2. Thankful worship engages the mind and emotions in joyful singing to Christ.

“With songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Obviously I view preaching the Word as important or I wouldn’t spend as many hours each week preparing the sermon as I do! But singing is not the filler that allows late-comers to arrive before we get down to the main reason for coming—the sermon. I hope that my sermons lead you to worship as you realize more deeply who God is and all the blessings He has freely given to us. But singing also ought to focus our minds and hearts on God and His gracious salvation, so that we respond with love, devotion, gratitude, and reverence.

While the word of Christ enables us to worship God in truth, singing allows us to worship Him in spirit. While to worship rightly we must know God as revealed in His Word of truth, if that truth doesn’t move our hearts, something is wrong. Singing is one way to express our love for God and gratitude for what He’s done for us in Christ. It’s no accident that the longest book in the Bible is a song book and God called its main author a man after His heart. Throughout history, whenever the hearts of God’s people have been right before Him, there has been joyful singing and the writing of new songs of praise.

Singing is to be done “with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” “With thankfulness” is literally, “in the grace” (or “in His grace”; the Greek definite article may mean “His”). So it may mean that the songs we sing should make us mindful of God’s grace to us in Christ. Of course, when we think of God’s abundant grace, it causes us to be thankful.

Also, singing is to be done “in your hearts.” God always looks on our hearts, not on our outward performance. Clearly, our hearts are not right before God if we half-heartedly mumble through a song while we think about other things. When we sing, we should put aside distractions, think about the words, and offer up our songs exuberantly in praise to our God.

While I’m not a charismatic and I think that our charismatic brethren sometimes err on the side of being too heavy on emotions and too light on doctrine, I will say that when I’ve worshiped with them, I’ve always appreciated the fact that they are not apathetic about worship. I grew up in a traditional Bible church where everyone read their bulletins and looked out the window while we mumbled through a couple of hymns before the sermon. The song leader often would try to pump up everyone to sing louder. Visitors never would have gotten the impression that we were serious about praising God.

But the first time I went to a charismatic church, I was impressed with the fact that these brothers and sisters weren’t messing around with worship! They were really into it! Everyone was engaged. Some had their eyes closed and their hands lifted up in praise to God. I got the feeling that we were meeting with God and offering praises to Him. The worship leaders weren’t performing. They were bringing us into the presence of the Lord.

Second Samuel 6 tells the story of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. He was dancing before the Lord with all his might. But his wife Michal looked out the window, saw David’s exuberant worship, and was embarrassed. She thought that his enthusiasm was undignified for a king and she rebuked him when he came into the house. But David defended his actions, which he described as celebrating before the Lord (2 Sam. 6:14, 21). Significantly, the Lord sided with David, not with Michal, and caused her to be barren for the rest of her life. God wants our worship to be with thankfulness from the heart.

But also, as with David, our worship should be to God. We aren’t to be worship-centered; we’re to be God-centered. He’s our audience in worship. We sing to Him. Even if the focus of a song is to teach and admonish one another, the best way to do it is to remember that we’re not just singing to one another—God is present! When we sing, we sing to Him. Do you do that? Do you sing thankfully from your heart to God? If your heart is cold, confess it and turn your focus to the Lord through the words of the songs.

What kinds of songs should we sing? The terms Paul uses are difficult to distinguish. “Psalms” probably refers to the psalms of the Hebrew Scriptures set to accompaniment. “Hymns” are hymns of praise to God. “Spiritual songs” is a generic term referring to any type of song, but qualified by the word “spiritual.” The different terms imply that we are free to sing a wide variety of songs according to the mood and subject.

As you know, many churches are divided by “worship wars.” Many offer contemporary services for those who prefer the newer songs and styles, and “traditional” services for those who prefer the old hymns sung to piano or organ accompaniment. I believe that we need some of both and that we should not divide the congregation along those lines.

There are many great newer songs, such as “In Christ Alone,” and “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” Also some of the older hymns are being set to modern tunes or arrangements. In my opinion, we shouldn’t repeat the same words over and over to build up emotions. If we’re thinking about the words, a few repetitions should be enough to drive home the truth. I don’t need to repeat that our God is an awesome God ten times to get the point!

But we also need some of the older great hymns of the faith which not only teach us about the greatness of God and of our salvation; they also connect us to our Christian heritage. Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” reminds us both of solid truth and of the Reformation that recovered that truth. During the revival of the 18th century, the Wesley’s taught theology to illiterate blue collar laborers through their hymns. Think on the truth in hymns like, “And Can it Be?” I love the final stanza,

No condemnation now I dread: Jesus and all in Him is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine;
Bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!

If you don’t own one, buy a good hymnal and learn some of the great hymns of the faith (you can listen to many of the tunes online). Sing in your private times of worship and then join in with all your heart when you gather with the Lord’s people. Thankful worship engages the mind with the word of Christ and the emotions in joyful song to Christ.

3. Thankful worship engages the will in submission to Christ.

The idea of submission to the lordship of Christ permeates these verses, but it is explicit in two places: “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus”; and, “giving thanks.”

“The name of the Lord Jesus” refers primarily to His supreme authority. His name “is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). To do something in the name of the Lord Jesus is to do it under His sovereign authority. Implicit in a life of thankful worship is that we do everything in submission to His rightful lordship.

Sometimes Christians ask, “Can I do such-and-such an activity?” Verse 17 is your answer. It’s a succinct summary of Christian living. It applies across the board to every thought, word, and deed. Ask yourself, “Can I do this in submission to Jesus Christ?” If you’re not sure or if it would dishonor Him, then don’t do it. If you’re sure that you can do it in submission to the Lord in line with His Word, then do it joyfully and thankfully!

The second place where the idea of submission to Christ is explicit is in the words, “giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” To thank God, especially when difficult things happen, means that I must submit to His sovereign dealings with me. I’m acknowledging that all my circumstances are under His control and in harmony with His love. Like Job, I can worship Him even though I may not understand what He’s doing if I submit my heart to say, “Thank you, Lord! I trust Your sovereign, loving dealings with me.”

The opposite of thankfulness is grumbling. Israel in the wilderness grumbled repeatedly and because of it, God kept a whole generation out of the promised land. Grumbling impugns the character of God. It implies either, “God isn’t good,” or, “He isn’t sovereign over my problem.” I confess, I’m prone to grumbling. But one thing that has helped me fight it is to read a Psalm each morning, to meditate on it, and make it my prayer. For example, Psalm 5:11-12 exhorts,

But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.

You just can’t read those verses very many times without shouting, “Thank You, Lord!” Finally,

4. Thankful worship extends to all of life.

“Whatever you do in word or deed ….” This extends thankful worship beyond Sunday to every day of the week. There’s no sacred-secular division for Christians. All of life is to be a sacred experience of living gratefully under the lordship of Jesus Christ. That’s not to say that we do not need to gather on the Lord’s Day for worship and teaching. We do. But it is to say that in every aspect of life we can reflect the joy of salvation as we speak and act in the name of Christ.

This means having the word of Christ percolating through your mind and having songs and hymns of praise bubbling to the surface as you go about your day. It means living thankfully under the lordship of Christ while you’re at work or playing with your kids or unstopping a clogged toilet or fixing dinner.

Conclusion

Dr. John Hannah, one of my seminary church history professors, told a story I’ve never forgotten. He and his wife were moving to Dallas to begin his first year of seminary. They had stuffed all their earthly belongings into an old Volkswagen. As they drove along a deserted highway, something malfunctioned and the car caught on fire. They pulled to the side of the road, jumped out, watched helplessly as everything they owned, except for the clothes on their backs, went up in smoke.

What would you do at a time like that? It would be easy to get angry with God. “Lord, I’m going to seminary to prepare for serving You! It’s not like we were heading for Las Vegas to sin or something! And it wasn’t as if we were living in luxury. We only had these few things and no extra cash to replace them. Why did You allow this to happen?” That would be a normal reaction.

What John and his wife, Carolyn, did was to kneel down on that highway next to that gutted car—and sing the doxology! They were happy in God. You can be happy in God if you’ll learn to thankfully worship Him with your whole being in all of life.

Application Questions

  1. What has helped you most in getting into the Word? What has been most difficult about it?
  2. Is the excuse, “I’m just not an emotional person,” a valid reason for not being intense about worship?
  3. Are we really supposed to thank God for trials (See James 1:2-4)? How can we do it honestly if we don’t feel it?
  4. Is it sin to feel down at times? Must I always be joyously thankful? Is this even possible?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2016, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Worship (Personal)

Bible Learning Games And Activities

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ZONK

Bible Story ZONK:“ZONK” is a nonsense word that can be pronounced the same in any language. It has no real meaning. The original source of this game is unknown to this writer.

ZONK is played using a set of cards, die cuts (cut outs) of a similar design or any similar material where the one side of the playing pieces are identical. For example, if you are using die cut designs, you can use die cuts of leaves (but they all need to be identical) or of an ark, rainbow, heart, etc.

A giant set of playing cards or even a regular size deck of playing cards can also be used or use the CBS4Kids Bible Storying Game Card Pack of 60 story symbols. Use post it notes and on the opposite side of the story symbol print and attach “point” numbers in the 100’s - 1000’s. Attach the cards symbol side down with rolled tape to a whiteboard or bulletin board or on a large table.

Divide your group into two teams. In turn, a player from each team can select up to three cards, return them over one at a time and must state the story the symbol represents. When children name the story correctly they receive the points on the card for their team and that card is removed from play. They can only continue up to three cards at a turn if they name the symbol correctly. If incorrect, the turn stops and that symbol card is turned back over. The game continues until all cards are removed from play.

If you are using playing cards the face cards become the ZONK cards and the Joker cards can be used for SUPER ZONK.

For using other blank cards or die cuts, you will need about 40 plain cards and 8-10 ZONK type cards with the word ZONK written on the back. All cards must look the same on the side facing those playing the game.

The cards are all placed on a bulletin board, whiteboard or other flat surface. If cards are laminated or have a glossy surface you can attach cards will a small section of rolled masking or other tape.

Next you need a set of questions for the game. Bible question can be drawn from basic Bible knowledge or from last week’s Bible lesson or at combination of questions from the last month or quarter, etc.

If you are playing the game with a mixed age group, make a list of questions in categories, i.e... questions for kindergarten – first grade (ages 5-7, different questions for grades 2-5 (ages 8-10) and then other questions for grades 5&6 (ages 11-12) You will need at least 10 questions for each grouping.

Next you form teams. For all the same age or grade this is easiest just divide your group. For mixed age groups, make sure you assign an equal number from each age bracket to each team.

To Play the Game:

  1. A player for one team is called on. You ask that player the Bible question. (No helping from their team) If they get the question correct they go to the ZONK board. Then they can begin removing and turning over cards to expose the point value. Whatever point value they turn over, their team gets those points. They may (or may not) decide to continue turning over cards and can turn over as many as they want for their turn. Their team can call out and help them decide what to do. As long as they continue getting point cards their team gets the points, BUT…. if they turn over a ZONK card their team looses all those points in that round. Those cards are removed from the playing field. The player can decide to stop whenever they want. If they stop before turning over before a ZONK card they get to keep those points.
  2. The next team player is called on and the game is repeated. That player, if answering correctly, gets to play in the same way.
  3. If a team player gets the question wrong, the opposing team gets one chance to answer the question, and if correct, they get the extra turn.
  4. If you elect to play SUPER ZONK with a deck of cards and leave the Joker cards in the playing field, if a team player, in turning over cards, turns over a Joker card – their team looses all points up to that level in the game and must begin over collecting points. Since there are only two Joker cards in each deck this decreases the chances of turning over the Joker card.
  5. At the end of the game each team totals points and the winner is declared.

Some beginning Bible game questions:

Grades 1 / 2

  1. Who climbed a tree to see Jesus?
  2. Who was born in the city of Bethlehem?
  3. Who was thrown into a den of lions?
  4. Who took his family and animals and birds and other living things and went into a boat called an ark?
  5. Who ran away from God and took a boat in the opposite direction and was swallowed by a giant fish?
  6. What was the name of the boy whose father made him a coat of many colors?
  7. What showed the wise men the way to find Jesus?
  8. Who came to visit Jesus when he was born and bought him gifts?
  9. What do you call a man who takes care of sheep?
  10. What is the name of Jesus’ mother?
  11. Who is God’s only son?
  12. Where is Jesus today?
  13. What did God put in the sky to remind us He would never destroy the earth again with a floor and rain?
  14. Name three things God created when he created the world

Grades 3 / 4

  1. What were the names of the first two children of Adam and Eve?
  2. What Old Testament person lost his strength because of a haircut?
  3. Who did Jesus raise from the dead who had been buried several days?
  4. What kind of animal talked to a prophet in then Old Testament?
  5. Who walked on the water with Jesus?
  6. What was the name of the boy who had a coat with many colors whose brothers sold him to slave traders?
  7. Who tempted Jesus on the mountain to disobey God?
  8. Name 5 of the 10 Commandments
  9. What was the name of the sea that God dived so the Israelites could leave Egypt and walk across on dry ground?
  10. What Pharisee came to Jesus at night to ask him about being “born again”?
  11. When God wrote the 10 Commandments He did not have paper. On what did God write the 10 Commandments?
  12. How many sons did Noah have who helped him build the ark?
  13. What did the boy give to the Disciples to help feed lunch to 5 thousand people?
  14. Who asked God to make the sun stand still so his army could win a battle?

Grades 5 / 6

  1. How many books are in the Bible?
  2. How many books in the Old Testament?
  3. How many books in the New Testament?
  4. What books make up the “Gospels”?
  5. What book of the Old Testament contains the 10 Commandments?
  6. What book of the Bible describes the Fruit of the Spirit?
  7. Who wrote the first 5 books of the Old Testament?
  8. What is the last book of the Old Testament?
  9. Which books of the Bible make up the “Pentateuch?
  10. Who wrote the book of Revelation?
  11. What book of the Old Testament states “wise sayings”?
  12. How many did Jesus feed with five loaves of bread and two fish?
  13. What is the last book of the New Testament?
  14. Who did God tell to take his son and sacrifice him on a mountain altar?
  15. What was the name of the king who tried to kill David?

Related Topics: Children, Children's Training Resources, Parent Resources

Bible Teaching Ideas: The Ten Commandments And Ten Fingers

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Start with your hands together in prayer. This reminds us that God heard the prayers of the Hebrew people when they were in slavery in Egypt and freed them (Exodus 3:7, 20:2). The commandments are a way for us to show our gratitude for God’s love in our lives.

1. “I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me.” Hold up one index finger for the number one. We worship one God.

2. “You shall not worship idols.” (Idols, false gods, are not only things like statues, but also anything we place our ultimate trust and allegiance in, for example money or possessions.) Hold up two fingers. Should we worship more than one God? No, two is too many! One of them must be an idol, and we should not worship it!

3. “You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain.” Use three fingers which stand for the three persons of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ” Be careful how you use the name of God. God wants us to use His name in loving, caring ways, as we pray and as we talk about Him, not in swearing or in anger.”

4. “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.” Hold up four fingers; fold your thumb under to let it rest. The thumb has the right idea. It’s the Sabbath, and the thumb is following the commandment to take a day of rest.

5. “Honor your father and your mother.” Hold up all five fingers on one hand as if you are taking a pledge, to honor your parents.

6. “You shall not kill.” Pretend the index finger on your second hand is a gun, shooting at the first five fingers. God’s sixth commandment teaches us not to do what has become too commonplace in our society.

7. “You shall not commit adultery.” Hold one hand out flat. The five fingers and hand becomes the floor of the church. Two fingers on the other hand are the man and the woman to be married, standing in the church, making promises to each other. This commandment calls for couples to keep the marriage promises they make.

8. “You shall not steal.” Hold up four fingers on each hand, for the eighth commandment. If you stretch out your fingers slightly, these become the prison bars, which hold someone who has been arrested for stealing.

9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Hold up all five fingers on one hand and four on the other. Fold you second thumb under and turn your hand around, so the thumb is hiding. It is secretly going around telling the other fours fingers on that hand, lies and rumors about the five fingers on the other hand. It is “bearing false witness,” as it talks behind people’s backs, spreading gossip, criticizing others without talking directly to the people involved.

10. “Do not covet what belongs to your neighbor.” Hold out your hands, palms up, and wiggle all ten fingers to show that they’ve got the “gimmies.” (Give to me) Your fingers are saying, “Gimmie what belongs to you.”

Related Topics: Children, Children's Training Resources, Parent Resources

Ideas For Teaching Bible Knowledge

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Books Of The Bible

  • Put the names of Bible books on index cards. Children put cards in order. A table game can be made of this. Each child, in turn, selects a card from a face down pack and places each book card in chorological order. One point for each correct placement. The cards are realigned on the table as cards are added. When a card is placed in error the player looses the point and the next player can capture that point. If the next player is wrong, each player in turn attempts to place the card until it is in the correct order. Game requires a game moderator with knowledge of the correct order or a listing of the correct order. This game can be played with all Bible books, or just Old Testament or New Testament.
  • Blocks of wood with names of Bible books written on the spine and one side. Players or team selects a Bible book block from a stack and place it correctly in a chorological line.
  • Blocks of wood or Bible book cards. On signal players or team place book blocks or book cards in correct chronological order. First player or team to line up books correctly wins.

Bible Divisions – It can be helpful for children to being learning some of the basic Bible book divisions and section names. The books of the law (Pentateuch), the Minor Prophets, the Major Prophets, the books of Poetry the books of history, the Gospels, Acts-the history of the Church, Paul’s’ letters, Hebrews and general letters and Revelation, the book of prophecy.

Bible Features – Unless children are provided with a solid Bible teaching curriculum that includes a comprehensive scope and sequence of basic Bible knowledge skills, they can miss out on acquiring knowledge of basic Bible features. Make sure that somewhere during the teaching years in children’s ministry that children learn the following special Bible features:

  • The Ten Commandments
  • The Beatitudes
  • The Armor of God
  • Heaven
  • The Fruit of The Spirit
  • The 23rd Psalm
  • The Lord’s Prayer
  • Hebrews 11 – The Faith chapter
  • The Tabernacle and how it relates to the coming Christ
  • Names of God
  • The Parables
  • The Miracles of Jesus
  • Spiritual gifts
  • Prophecy concerning Jesus passages

Bible Facts With A Deck Of Cards

  • The Ace reminds us that there is only one God.
  • The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments
  • The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.
  • The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
  • The Five is for the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified.
  • The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.
  • The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation.
  • The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth.
  • The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him.
  • The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.
  • The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.
  • The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
  • The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.
  • There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year.
  • The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
  • Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.

When you want to thank God, I just pull out a deck of cards and be reminded of all that we have to be thankful for.

Ideas For Teaching Worship

Teaching children to worship is not just sitting and listening, but is activity thinking about God, appreciating God for who he is, thanking God for what he has done, giving back to God, and praising God though song and other expression. Children need guidance to learn how to worship God. Consider some of the following worship encouragement ideas:

  • Help children recognize, understand and accept God’s gift of Salvation, as an act of faith, not based on works don works.
  • Encourage children to discover the importance of corporate worship. Structure experiences where children both contribute to and receive from others through corporate worship.
  • Instruct children how to worship when they are alone. Use selected Psalms to help children discover expressions of worship.
  • Help children discover the greatness of God through all of His creation.
  • Teach children and encourage children to worship through prayer.
  • Make full use of musical expeir4ences to enable children to worship God through voice and instruments. Use God’s Word as examples of how people worshipped God through music and song.
  • Teach children that part of worship is giving to God both materially (offerings) and through Christian service.
  • Have children write original Psalms and songs of worship

Ideas For Teaching Stewardship - Giving

This is one of the often-neglected areas of children’s ministry teaching. While many churches “take offerings” regularly, we seldom help children to develop a sense of personal responsibility about giving to God. Stewardship is not only giving to God financially, but it is also honoring Him with our time and our talents as well.

  • Make offering time a regular part of the children’s programs
  • Encourage parents of young children to give them small tasks to do at home where they will get “paid” nominal amounts. Then, guide the parents in taking the money children earn through the week, placing those coins or dollars on the table and help children to see what part of what they have earned should be given in the offering and that the rest is for them to spend or save
  • Provide children with information on where their offerings are used
  • Develop special stewardship projects that the children can give toward. Consider developing some stewardship projects that involve other children
  • Develop special containers for special projects. Decorated coffee cans can be used, small jars, cardboard box banks.

Ideas For Teaching Church / Doctrine

It is not uncommon that children’s ministry leaders so heavily emphasis other areas of ministry program components such as Salvation, Bible memory, Bible knowledge, missions projects and stewardship that basic doctrine is avoided as a dry and uninteresting topic. However, Basic Bible doctrine is very important to the children’s ministry teaching program. Children need to be instructed and need to learn basic doctrine. Doctrine is what we believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, Heaven, Satan, angels and events regarding Christ’s eventual return. This is basic doctrine. Planning a purposeful teaching of doctrine can be accomplished not only through direct teaching, but can be incorporated into music, games and a variety of other activities. In developing a plan for teaching doctrine, following are some of the highlights in the area of doctrine that should be considered. Do keep in mind that every denomination or church may have specific doctrine distinctives that they will also want to have taught to the children.

  • Plan at time for the pastor to visit the children’s program. Have an interview time to ask the pastor about how he became a pastor, what he typically does during the week, how he develops a sermon, etc.
  • Include in the regular teaching program lessons on the history of the church (appropriate to the age / grade level)
  • Make sure that children are instructed at appropriate ages about the sacraments of the church or other special worship features
  • Have church leaders such a elders, deacons and deaconesses as special guests to a class and teach the children about their church leadership roles and responsibilities
  • Plan times to take children into the sanctuary and teach them about special features of the sanctuary.
  • Teach children the history of worship of God’s people. Teach children about the Israelite tabernacle and temple and the meaning of the tabernacle/temple furnishings.

Ideas For Teaching Global Awareness

International Worker Prayer Tree – An artificial tree can be used to place the photo cards of international workers (missionaries). Children can take a card home for the week and prayer for that missionary and family and then bring the card back the following week and exchange it for another missionary card off the tree.

Cross Cultural Meal – Correspond with one of the church’s international workers or families and enlist their assistance in putting together a meal that would represent their country. Plan an international ministry meal and use this time to also teach the children about the work of the worker being highlighted.

Children’s Games In Other Countries – Children love to play games. Do some research and determine what type of game the children play in countries that are being highlighted. Plan a time to have children play those games or play games from countries around the world.

Learn A New Language – Children love to learn new and different things. Determine a missionary or country you want the children to learn about. You can find some beginning language phrases through the Internet, bookstore or library. Teach children five or ten words or phrases over a few weeks. This can be the beginning of some exciting learning adventures for children.


Ideas For Teaching Bible Memory

Rev. Daryl Dale of Spiritual Formation Ministries conducted research and demonstrated that in spite of valiant effort on the part of children’s ministry teachers and leaders, that few children retain more than 5 or 6 Bible verses by memory into adolescent years. Further, most adults fare no better than this record and most of the verses they know by memory were learned as a child.

If children are given fewer verses to learn each year and in his Bible memory verse program includes regular ongoing review of previous verses learned, by the time a child completes 6th grade he or she will have committed 56 verses to memory for life.

This system begins at age 4 with only four verses, appropriate to children that age, with only four more added during age 5 or kindergarten. Each quarter all previous quarter verses are reviewed as well ads the new verse for the quarter added. From first through 6th grade children are then only given eight additional verses each year, always with review of previous verses learned.

By sixth grade children in this Bible memory program have fully master memorization of 56 verses.

It is suggested that verses are selected which support and reinforce the 12 areas of spiritual development for children; Bible knowledge, worship, Salvation, missions, church life, devotional life, prayer, Christian service, outreach, missions, Bible memory, stewardship.

When teaching memory verses to children, be sure to select verses that have the desired meaning to teach the intended biblical principle or truth. For unsaved children, use verses that clearly explain God’s Plan of Salvation and then use the Bible memory activity to teach this to the children as they learn the verse.

Bible Memorization Activities:

Walk the Verse: Make a template of a large footprint out of construction paper then make several copies. Write one word of the verse on each footprint and place these in a circle. Use a small piece of rolled masking tape to stick the footprint to the floor or carpet. Have the children “walk the verse” repeating each word as they walk the Bible verse circle.

Bible Memory In Color: Call on children to say the verse by an article of clothing color. Example, “Someone who is wearing anything with red can say the verse.”

Bible Verse Scramble: Place the words of the verse on various construction paper rectangles. Place these face down. On signal, have the player or players turn all cards over and put the verse in the correct order.

Clothesline Bible Verse Scramble: Place each word of the verse on a piece of index stock paper cut to the shape of clothing articles. String a closes line or have two children hold the clothesline and using spring clothespins, attach the verse in scrambled order on the line. On the signal have the player or team unscramble the verse.

All In a Line Bible Verse Scramble: Have the number of children stand in a line, as there are words in the verse. Give each child one card to hold that has one word of the verse printed on with the words facing towards them On signal have the children turn the cards around and have the player or team move the cards to put the verse in the correct order.

Sound Effects Bible Verse: Have children developed a sound effect for each word in the verse. Use drums, tambourines, whistles, a small horn, etc. Have children play one sound effect for each word. Prerecorded sound effects can also be used that might include crashing sounds, thunder, etc.

Ideas For Teaching Christian Service

Pick Up Team: Have children take on a regular, weekly responsibility of checking the sanctuary after each weekend worship service and picking up any left over church bulletins or other papers. This can help children feel they have a needed role in the church and also will help the church custodial staff.

Card Care Club: Encourage children to regularly make and send or give cards to people that are ill, shut in or who need encouragement. A card from a child can have a major impact on an adult. Get a list of people needing contact from the pastor. Consider extending this project to people in the community that might not be attending church. A “We Care” card club can be an effective tool to connect with people in the community.

Community Projects: Consider community helping projects at public parks or other public locations. According to the location in the country seasonal projects might include raking leaves, removing snow, picking up litter, etc. Let the local newspaper know about your project

Community Puppet Programs: Prerecorded puppet skits and programs are some of the easiest projects to do. Put together a kid’s puppet team practices some easy programs and offered these activities to area nursing homes or community activities

Clown Ministry: Children, with good instruction, can do effective and quality clown ministry. There are a number of good resource books on how to develop a clown ministry. Put together a children’s clown group, training them in the basics of clown ministry, and let them provide Christian service for the community. Children can learn easy tricks, juggling, how to tie balloon animals, etc.


Ideas For Teaching Prayer

Christmas Prayer Tree- After the Christmas season keep watch for a small tabletop artificial tree or used a leaf free small tree from your area. Use this tree to have children attach index cards with specific prayer requests along with their name. Ask adults in the church to take a prayer card form the tree and pray for that child and their need during the upcoming week.

Praying Children – Children can have a vital role in the congregational worship experience by occasionally offering the congregational prayer. Children can write out their prayer under adult guidance, or possibly even with the pastor’s assistance and a child can be selected to read/pray their prayer during a worship service. It is important that children are taught the appropriate things to pray for when leading a congregational in prayer. The pastor can help teach children through this project about prayer.

Prayer Reminder Bookmarks – Children can be provided with weekly bookmark reminders of just one or two things to pray about during the upcoming week. Such prayer reminders can help children structure a regular prayer time.

Components of Prayer – Child Evangelism Fellowship has developed a basic prayer system in conjunction with using the thumb and fingers of your hand as a prayer object reminder. The thumb is used to remember to pray for person closest, such as family members. The index fingers for those who point us to God (our minister and church leaders, parents, etc.) The middle finger / the “tall” finger reminds us to pray for people in authority. This can be our government leaders, church leaders, schoolteachers, etc. The ring finger is often considering the weak fingers it is the most difficult finger to lift when a person’s hand is placed on a flat surface. This finger reminds us to pray for people who are weak or sick. The small finger is a reminder to pray for us, always putting you last.

Talk to God Reminder Card: Give children a prayer time assignment of one specific thing to talk to God about between sessions. They also need something physical to take home as a reminder to talk to God. Sometimes a card with the prayer item written and they put a mark on the card each time they talk to God about that prayer need and bring their cards with them to the next session.

Things Made by People Cannot Answer Prayer: Another idea is to have the children paint a prayer stone. You teach them the story of the Golden Calf, and about idols and how some people even today pray to stones (idols made from stone) and things made by people. Just take a regular stone and have children color decorate it. Then you teach them and use verses to remind them that the Living God is NOT made from stone of things that man has made. He is the Living God that made us and who we worship and talk to. Praying to that stone would be useless as it is just a stone and cannot answer prayer.

Prayer Models

Matthew 6:9-13 / Luke 11:2

The Lord’s Prayer

Genesis 18:22-23

Abraham for Sodom

II Samuel 7:18-19

David / Temple

I Kings 3:5-14

Solomon for wisdom

Daniel 9:15-19

Daniel prays

Matthew 6: 9-13

Lord’s Prayer

Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul prays for Ephesians

Written prayers – Have younger children write out prayers for the church worship service and read it.

Prayer Reminders

Prayer wheel

Paper prayer chains

Prayer tree

Prayer table tent

Prayer picture chart

Prayer puzzle

Prayer scrolls

Prayer bracelets

Prayer pictures / photos

Prayer mural

Pocket chart prayer time

Prayers

  • Liturgy responses – Psalm 136
  • Benediction prayers
  • Psalm 19:14
  • Numbers 6:24-26
  • Genesis 31:49
  • II Corinthians 13:14
  • Hebrews 13:20,21
  • Jude 24,25

Prayer Activities

Prayer charades – Have children in teams draw stick figure pictures and team will have 3 minutes to guess the Bible story or scene

  • Luke 23:33-34 Jesus on the cross
  • Acts 9:1-9 Saul on the Damascus road
  • Jonah 1:11-2:1 Jonah thrown overboard
  • Acts 7:54-60 Stephen being stoned
  • Exodus 32:30-35 Moses with the golden calf
  • I Samuel 1:9-167 Hannah praying
  • Acts 16:25-31 Paula and Silas in jail
  • Daniel 67”7-13 Daniel defying the king’s orders
  • Luke 22:39-46 Jesus in the garden
  • I Kings 18:30-38 Elijah before the Baal prophets

Prayer rhymes or poems

Prayer post cards or greeting cards

Prayer theme mobiles i.e. thanksgiving, petition, etc.

Prayed crossword puzzles

Prayer thank-you booklets

Pass it on prayer with a group – each one says one part

Answered prayer chart

People to pray for prayer wheel with spinner

Match a prayer from the Bible game (Prayer with person who prayed it)

Silent prayer as needs are stated

Weekly prayer calendars

Prayer clock – time to pray for certain things during the day

Lord’s Prayer color candles

  • Our father White
  • Who is in heaven Blue
  • Holy is your name Green
  • Your Kingdom come Purple
  • Your will be done in earth as in heaven Brown
  • Give us this day Yellow (bread)
  • Forgive us our sins against others Silver - coins to pay debt
  • Lead us not into sin Black
  • Deliver us from evil Red - Jesus’ sacrifice for us
  • Your is the Kingdom Gold
  • Glory forever Orange

Creative Ways To Encourage Children To Pray

Adopt-A-Leader: I Timothy 2:1-4. Encourage children to adopt one church leader that they can faithfully pray for and have the children send a card to that person to let them know they are being prayed for regularly. This can be once a week or more often.

10 Most Wanted: Have children make a list of 10 people they would most like to come to know Jesus as Savior. Have them regularly payer for that listing.

Prayer Closet: Develop a special area in a child’s room or in class where photos of people that children want to pray for can be displayed. This can become their “prayer closet”

Prayer Heroes: Provide children with biographies and pictures of present day Christian heroes have the faith and biblical heroes (Hebrews 11). Use Ephesians 6:10-18 and develop a knight’s amour costume to encourage children about the qualities of a hero in God’s army.

Five-Finger Hand Prayer Reminder: Have children trace their hand on card stock, cut out the hand and label each finger and the thumb with the following items to remember to pray for:

Thumb-Those closest, family members. Pointer finger – those that point us to Christ. Tall Finger – Those in authority, government and church. Ring Finger- Those that are weak and sick. Little finger- for ourselves – we put ourselves last and before others.

Prayer Tree: Place a real tree, a cut tree of just branches, or make a large wall display of a branched tree cut out from paper. Make leaves out paper and place the names of things and people to pray for on the leaves. Each week have the children take one leaf home to pray for that person or item through the week.

Puzzle Prayer: Make an outline of the child’s community, country or world on paper. Cut the picture intro sections and make a large puzzle. Have children each take a puzzle piece and then find a person with a matching puzzle piece and form prayer partners to pray for specific needs. (Make sure your total pieces are just sufficient for the number of children in the class) When you are finished praying have the children put their pieces together to see the community they have prayed for.

Prayer Journal: Establish prayer stations in the classroom or in the home. At each prayer station and list one or two people or things to pray for. Have children go from station to station and pray for the person of prayer request listed. Children can place their name at that station to show they have prayer for that item.

Praying Children – Children can participate in congregational worship by occasionally offering the congregational prayer. Children can write out their prayer under adult guidance, or possibly even with the pastor’s assistance, and read/pray their prayer during a worship service.

Prayer Calendar: Have children develop a 2-month (8 session) plan for teaching children about prayer and using a variety of prayer ideas. Week 1 has been done for you as an example.

Ideas For International Games

INTRODUCTION: Games are a great way to get to know about other cultures. Introduce your kids to these cultures and talk about them. Make sure that you explain the game, rules, and the reason why you are playing the games. Make it fun, interesting but informative. Challenge your kids to reach others from different nationalities for Christ right now.

Cultural Games

Continents – Big, Big World - Draw continents big enough for groups to stand in. Use chalk on the sidewalk or driveway. Use a big plastic clothe for inside. To play the game tell the children wearing blue to stand on a certain continent. Improvise by asking those who had chips for supper stand on the continents, etc. Or you can children to stand on the continent where a certain missionary is working.

Africa – Stick Race - A double section 2’ ½ “ PVC piping can be used for this game and this makes it easy to travel with for international missions teams. Use two sections per player with a cap on either end of the 2’ PVC pipe section and a ½” cap on each section as well to make 4’ sections.

Everyone playing needs one 4-foot PVC pipe or stick in his or her left hand. Kids stand in a circle about 8 feet apart with one end of stick on the floor. The hold the pipe or stick upright with one finger on top of the pipe or stick. At a given signal the kids move to the right but let go of their stick. The kids move to the next spot in the circle as the game is played and need to catch the next stick before it falls. If the stick falls then the player who did not catch it is out along with the stick. The last one remaining is the winner. This can be done as play-offs with several teams and after the first round the winners of each first round playing all pay for the run-off.

African Mancala Game from recycled egg cartons RULES:

Materials:

  • Cardboard egg carton (dozen size)
  • 2 Tuna cans; washed, rinsed, and dry
  • Craft paints
  • Paintbrush
  • 48 marbles, tiny rocks, beads, beans, etc.

Making the game:

  • Paint the egg carton in the color desired. Let dry.
  • Paint the tuna cans on the outside. Let dry. (If you paint the inside, the paint will chip off as you play the game.)
  • Paint designs on the side of the egg carton and tuna cans if you wish. Let dry.
  • Play your game with a friend or family member.

Object: 2 players compete against each other to collect as many marbles as they can before one of the players clears his side of the egg carton of all its marbles.

Setting up the game: Place the egg carton between the 2 players, lengthwise. The cups closest to you is your side of the board. The Mancala (tuna can) to your right is yours. Place 4 marbles in each of the cups. Choose a player to go first.

Playing the game: The first player picks up all the marbles in one of his cups. The player then starts to the first cup to the right and starts dropping one marble in each. If he reaches the end of his side, he is to drop one marble in his Mancala, then continue around to the other side of the board. He is not, however, to drop a marble in his opponent's Mancala.

If the player places his last marble in his own Mancala, the player gets to play again. Example: If you start the game, a good play may be to choose the cup that is located 4th from the right. You would pick up 4 marbles, dropping one in each cup and ending in your Mancala. This gives you an extra turn.

If the player drops his last marble on his side of the board in an empty cup, he captures all the marbles in his opponent's bin directly across from that bin. All captured marbles, plus the capturing marble, gets put in the player's Mancala.

Players are not allowed to touch marbles in order to count them. If you touch your marbles, you are to play that cup.

Winning the game: The game ends when one player runs out of marbles on his side of the egg carton. When the game ends, the other player gets to take all his stones from his side of the egg carton and place in his own Mancala. Strategy sets in by determining whether it is wiser to go out, or play longer, depending on how many stones are in the opposing player’s cups.

Mongolia - A “SHAGAI” GAME (Can use doggie biscuits for this game) - Mongolian children have favorite games they like to play, just like we do! Because many Mongolians live in the countryside far away from cities, they sometimes play games using “shagai,” which are the cleaned anklebones of sheep. This is one of their favorites. It is somewhat like our game of marbles.

Materials: Divide a number of small dog bone treats into four equal groups. The bones will be the “shagies.” Use paint or ink markers to make each group a different color. The colored bones will represent “sheep”, “goat”, “camel”, or “horse.” (Some small dog treats already come in colors; check local pet or grocery stores)

Instructions: Four children (or teams) each select one bone (dog biscuit) of a different kind of animal to be used as their “shooter.” Have the children scatter the remaining shagies on the ground in a bordered playing area (about 4 feet square). The bones will be the “targets.” Each of the four teams takes turns shooting (flicking) a shag with his finger from outside the border, trying to hit a shagi of the same animal. If they are successful, the shagi is removed and counted as a point for their team. Whichever team ends with the most shagis wins the game.

Russia – Russian Line Tag - Place 5’ of masking tape on the floor. One player is “it”. The rest of the kids are divided into two lines 10’ from the kid who is it. The kid at the end of the line listens for it to say, “Last one runs”. Then the kid at the end of the line runs forward joining hands with the other kid who ran forward before “it” tags one of them. The kid tagged becomes “it”.

Britain or Australia – Force ball - Divide group into two teams. Place masking tape at least 3 yards apart. Each team lines up behind the tape with legs apart toes touching toes of the kid beside them. Using their hands the kids try to hit the ball between the legs of the opposing team to score a point. Players cannot move their feet. The team with the most points wins.

Japan – Crab Race - Two teams of equal number lines up facing the goal. Leader determines the goal. Each player takes a turn leaning backward on all fours to look like a crab. Each player moves to the goal and back like a crab. First team to have all players to the goal and back wins.

Amazonia Rain Forest – The Wolf (a version of tag) - This game is played with 10 to 12 players. On one side of the room use masking tape to mark off a safe house for the sheep. On the other side of the room mark off a safe house for the wolf. The area between is the pasture. One player is the wolf and the rest are the lambs. Lambs move around the pasture area and call out to the wolf “Are you ready Wolf?” The wolf answers “I’m getting ready” or “Here I come!” If he answers “Here I come?” Then the wolf comes into the pasture and the lambs must run back to their home for safety. Tagged lambs go to the wolf’s house. Keep playing until only one lamb is left and then that lamb becomes the wolf and play begins again.

Australia – Aboriginal People - About 10 players stand in a circle around 3 stacked cans. One player throws a large soft ball to knock the cans over. When the cans are knocked over the players run as far as they can away from the circle. The thrower must stack the cans again and then yells “STOP!” The players must freeze. The thrower then tries to hit the nearest player below the waist. The player hit becomes the thrower. However, if the player is not hit then thrower must throw again.

India – Kim’s Game - Rudyard Kipling was an English author who wrote many books and poems about India. In his book entitled “Kim” he talks about a game to train boys in their memory to be sent out on spy missions. Place about 15 articles (regarding missions if possible) on a cloth. Divide the group into 2 or 3 teams. Or it can be done individually. Show them the articles and then cover them. Have the kids write down what they saw. See how many articles they can remember. The team or individual with the most written is the winner.

Ideas For World Awareness Games

Overseas Relay - On two paper plates glue a picture of a Bible. Divide group into two teams. Using masking tape mark a start and then further away a finish line. At the finish line place a globe or world map. The players take the paper plate to the globe or map and put their finger on a country and call out the name. Then say Mark 16:15. They return to the next player who does the same but must point on the map or global to another country. Countries cannot be repeated. The second time round have the players walk backwards. Point out that sometimes there are hindrances to taking the Gospel to other countries.

World Map - World floor puzzle maps are available in most specialty toy stores or on line. Use the floor puzzle map to help children become aware of the different continents, regions and countries of the world.

Two such maps can be used for team seemly contests. The maps can also be linked to supported and/or know international workers serving in various countries.

Game options:

  • Place the names of international workers (missionaries) on the backs of the puzzle pieces with stick on notes in the country puzzle section where they serve. Have children or teams guess the workers name and match it with the country of ministry
  • Link multiple puzzle pieces of the same region with international workers and use the puzzle sections as a prayer activity. Children can pray for workers in the country of the sections they are holding and then add to the floor puzzle assembly.

World Conflict - Divide the group into 3 teams. Name the teams Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. Draw 3 circles on the floor for each team to stand in. In the center of the room place a big globe ball. Call out the name of two teams. It is up to the team to bring the globe back to their circle without the globe carrier being tagged between the shoulder and the elbow. If the carrier is tagged then the tagger gets 25 points for his team and the tagger then tries to take the ball back to his circle with his team helping him. Talk to the players about the difficulties trying to get the globe and taking it back to their circle. There are difficulties today trying to reach these groups of people with the Gospel because of obstacles.

Steps Ahead - All the players line up at one end of the room behind the line marked with masking tape. Make up questions regarding missions, missionaries and Bible verses. Divide questions into two parts. When players answer questions in the first part correctly they can take 3 shoe long steps. In the second part when players answer questions correctly they can take 3 as big as you can steps. First one to reach to finish line is the winner. Players will learn more about missions and it gives the leader knowledge about what they do not know.

Related Topics: Children, Children's Curriculum, Children's Training Resources, Parent Resources

Bible Storying Series - Teaching The Story Of God Chronologically

Related Media

Part 1: Bible Storying

As Jesus gathered His followers on the hill before He ascended into Heaven, He gave specific last instructions. This is what He said:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19, 20

Bible storying is a way of learning the story of God in a chronological sequence so that the complete story of God is understood from the very youngest child to the adult. CBS4Kids has developed this chronological approach using 60 basic stories of the Bible and story-based lessons to help listeners and learners gain a solid overview of the story of God.

The world is a unique culture. Many people are primarily oral learners since 80% of the world population is are either illiterate or prefer learning by the oral approach. Also, reading skills for most children do not formulate until age six or older. Preschool children, especially, learn the story of God through what they are told and this information is reflected against what they know, or their worldview, up to that point.

As people of all ages learn that story it is important that the story is told in a chronology or sequence so that they can understand the connections from one biblical event to the next. That chronology, or pattern, defines God and the evolvement of man’s relationship to God through the years. To understand how all those events are chronologically connected, enables children as well as adults to better understand the reasons and meaning for the Gospel and understand the importance of knowing and having a personal relationship with God.

Children, who depend on oral learning at younger ages, are not able to process the story of God in the same way as adults. Nevertheless, the chronology of the story is important as even at a child’s level of understanding it enables them to have a beginning base for understanding who God is and how God wants to relate to them as well as providing a base of learning for future processing and reasoning.

Teaching the story of God is a building block process, each story revealing more and more of God, His nature, His love and His invitation for all people, young and old, to know Him and His Son as Savior of the world.

Spiritual Formation of Children - In any society we know that people often have a worldview or world viewpoint that conflicts with a biblical worldview. The “world” (parents, siblings, friends, extended family, parent(s) may advocate or model life values or principles that conflict with biblical teaching. Without knowledge of God’s principles or standards the child may come to the story encounter with worldview concepts that are inaccurate. In order to teach a biblical worldview, we must know the conflicts, misinformation or non-biblical thinking processes, which are teaching obstacles we will face.

It is essential that we ask ourselves these questions in teaching children the story of God:

  • What is the background of the group we are teaching? What is their worldview and level of life experiences?
  • What is the ability and level of understanding of the learners in our group?
  • What is the ability level of the child to process the story information?
  • What is the ability and maturity level of the child to apply the life principle of the story?
  • What questions can be asked that are appropriate to the listeners level of understanding and life experiences that will enlist thinking and processing commensurate to their abilities to learn?
  • What is the church involvement, cultural or family background of the audience and how does that background impact their ability to understand the biblical principles of the story?

Part 2: Getting Started In Bible Storying!

Intentional Bible storytelling: Telling Bible stories should be approached prayerfully, thoughtfully and with intention, seeking God’s lead to select and tell stories that will meet the spiritual, emotional and mental needs of His people. Know your audience. Know their culture, their background, their family, friends, their living conditions, their education, their life experiences, and then select stories to meet them where they are. This was Jesus – meeting people every day where they were, taking them by the hand and heart and walking with them along the road to discover God though stories.

Being intentional about storytelling: If you could only select 5 chronologically selected stories from the Bible to teach unchurched people about God, what 5 stories would you select and why would you select each one? How would the stories you selected link to each other? Take time to write out your thoughts on this.

Knowing And Telling The Story Of God

We drastically underestimate our ability to memorize, especially in an age when so much information is readily available at our fingertips via the internet, personal electronic devices or even our cell phones. It is no longer necessary to remember lists as we can recall just about any information that we would desire and that information can also be recorded with ease.

But God’s Word reminds us of a truth that has stood the test of time for over 3000 years, “In my heart I store up your words that I might not sin against you.” You cannot store up information if you cannot remember it and recall it, plain and simple.

God intended and intends for us to KNOW His Word, the Bible. We become familiar with the Word of God but we can also store up, and “hide in our hearts” the Word of God by memorizing key verses. And that is exactly why God said “Hide my words in your heart…” Why? He answers that again, “so that you will not sin” or fall into disobedience.

If the passage is somewhat long for full memorization, such as Genesis 1-2:1, consider encouraging and challenging children, youth or adults to tag team tell the passage or story. Each person on the team can just take 2-3 verses and commit those to memory and then present the story exactly the same way – tag teaming the presentation. Even this approach gives an added dramatic touch in presenting of the Scripture and enables many to be included in the presenting.

For young children a tag team can tell the passage or story while puppets act out the story in pantomime, or others can act out the story in pantomime as it is told. Another technique is to present the passage with shadow puppetry, easily constructed with white sheeting material, a background floodlight and silhouette figures and props cut from stock card and glued on thin dowel sticks available from the craft section of a craft or home supply stores.

Older elementary age children, teens and adults can interpret the scripture passage or story using music and stick drama. For information on this technique go to www.saltandlightmin.org

There is no end to the value and excitement of presenting the Word of God in vibrant presentation that makes God’s word truly come alive for the listener.

Bible Storytelling: The key to effective teaching with this approach is to empower others to tell the Bible story rather than teaching the Bible story. In each storytelling session the teacher introduces the story with one of the varieties of storytelling approaches that are offered or using direct telling or reading from Scripture or other storytelling method and then guiding children in retelling the same story. Telling methods can include pantomime, puppetry, chants, rap, music-telling, shadow drama and many other techniques.

Part 3: Bible “Storying”

Everyone needs to know The Story: Everyone not only needs to know the stories of the Bible; they need to know the Story of the Bible. While the Bible contains many stories, there is the larger story of God that is told from Genesis to Revelation and continues being told today for children as well as adults to fully understand what the Bible is telling us about God and they need to understand how each story is important in the total story of God. It is important that that learners understand the “big picture” of the Bible, or the overall story of God that begins in Genesis and has continued up through today.

The uniqueness of the chronological storying approach lies in the method of teaching, reviewing and adding core Bible stories so that learner gains a solid knowledge and foundation on which other stories are later added.

The key of retelling stories: It is important to remember that in this system of teaching, stories are not just told once, but are continually retold with opportunities for the learners to retell stories using any one of several varieties of telling methods each time a story is retold. This approach keeps the stories fresh and captivating as they are told. As people of all ages are taught and given opportunity themselves to retell stories, they are gaining the skills to become tellers themselves of God’s story. This approach is doing exactly what Jesus commanded, “Go and make disciples, teaching them…”

Sample Bible Storying Teaching:

Theme: The Story Of God

Daily Bible story-lessons: This Bible storytelling approach is unique. Each session there is a Bible story lesson, each session only 20 minutes. This takes into account attention span of children and is planned intentionally to keep the daily program moving along. During the Bible story lesson, a story is introduced (5 minutes) and then children, in break out groups, take the story and retell it using one of a variety of storytelling techniques. An alternative is to challenge children to tag team memorize the story passage and present the story as a memorized biblical story presentation. This can be accompanied by pantomime, puppet pantomime or shadow puppetry.

The essential direction is to keep the stories in a chronological sequence so children are always gaining a better knowledge of the big picture of the Bible and the ever-unfolding story of God.

Bible Storytelling

The Storyteller: Every person has a unique way of telling stories and no one method of story presentation is necessarily better. Kids can be great storytellers too. Every day kids, teens and adults tell stories. Everyone is a storyteller. We tell stories about what happened to us in school that day, we tell others stories about our friends and about our parents and maybe even how mean our older brother or sister have been to us. See, we all tell stories and sometimes these stories are funny and sometimes serious.

Each person needs to learn how to develop their natural and unique abilities in telling. If you are new to telling stories you need to learn how to tell so that everyone can learn from those stories. This storytelling workshop with tips, ideas and activities can help you quickly learn as you prepare for telling Bible stories.

Activity: Learning how to make faces that help to tell stories – In break out pairs or by yourself in front of a mirror, have fun with this “Mask of Expression” activity. If in pairs partners should face each other. Place both hands over your face and eyes.

In a group exercise have the leader (if by yourself in front of a mirror) state or think of an expression and emotion such as fear, anger, surprise, happiness, etc. Behind your hands make that expression but keep your hands in place. On the leader’s signal or if by yourself, quickly remove your hands and demonstrate that expression / emotion to your partner or yourself Repeat this for several expressions / emotions.

In storytelling we must communicate the emotions and expressions of the characters in the story. This is done by movement, gestures and facial expression. A good teller needs to develop the freedom and use of expression while telling.

Part 4: Bible Storytelling- Telling “The” Story Of God

For effective group learning of Bible stories, when the story is first introduced; the story can be told in at least two different ways with a break-out follow up discussion time after the telling. The following storytelling techniques can be used to make the telling time an exciting and memorable story learning experience.

First telling: The teller just tells the story with expression. Make sure you know the story. Tell the story without notes. Begin with your Bible in your hand, stating the story title and where in the Bible it is found. Lay your Bible aside and tell the story. When you have completed the story, pick up your Bible and say “That is the story of ___________” and close your Bible

Next telling: This is an important step as this begins to release those hearing the story to feel comfortable participating in a telling experience. In the safety of the large group where everyone is talking at once, and where participants in workshops are in pairs, this exercise reduces inhibitions as there is no pressure. The noise of everyone telling at once helps to break many storytelling barriers and fears.

Have all the members of the workshop break into pairs or 3-5 in a small group. Give them 4-5 minutes where the each in the group or pairs tells the story. Say to the group, “Now, I want you to pair with another person right where you are or gather in groups of 4 or 5 and when I say “Go” tell this same story I just told you to each other and try not to miss any of the story details. Take your time and everyone tells the story.”

Final telling: This is where Bible storying is a fun and exciting time. Now is the time to use any of the following telling ideas and put this into action. Use one of the following telling ideas and try to have all members of each group participate in the telling.

The Storyteller: Every person has a unique way of telling stories and no one method of story presentation is necessarily better. Every day child, teens and adults tell stories. Everyone is a storyteller. We tell stories about what happened to us in any given day or from past experiences, we tell others stories about our friends and about our family, from where we work or form places we have been. We all tell stories and sometimes these stories are funny and sometimes serious.

Each person needs to learn how to develop their natural and unique abilities in telling. If you are new to telling stories you need to learn how to tell so that everyone can learn from those stories.

Preparing The Story

When you are preparing a story to tell others your need to plan and prepare a good beginning. This is what we call the “Hook.” This gets others interested in your story and makes them wonder what is coming next.

Here are a few “hook” ideas that you can use when telling a story or giving others a hint about your story. These hooks can also help those who hear your stories remember them long after you have told the story:

*A piece of cloth- Jesus took a small towel and used that when He washed His disciple’s feet. That small towel can be a reminder of how Jesus served others.

*Rain stick – You can purchase rain sticks that are made from hollow cactus plants and dried beans or rice are placed inside and sealed. When you turn them up and down the seeds fall inside the stick and it sounds like rain. How about the story of Noah? How about using this in telling the story of Jesus in the boat with His disciples?

*A cup – At the Last Supper Jesus had a cup that He passed to the disciples. You can use a clay cup like this or a mug when you tell this story.

*Musical instrument – David played a small harp when King Saul was depressed. Many musical instruments can be used in telling a story that will help the story be remembered.

*Seeds - The parable of The Sower and Seed – As you tell the story hand out seeds or beans

*Brief mime skit – You can team tell and your team members act out the story as you tell it.

*A piece of rope- If you hold a piece of rope that relates to a story, it will keep others interested. What stories could you tell using a rope?

*An illusion – there are some illusions that will hook others into your story. What about an illusion where something “disappears”? What story could you tell and use this for a “hook”?

*A song – Many songs describe Bible stories. Teach a song before you tell or after you tell.

*A candle – Jesus taught about lamps under bushels or baskets, about lamps and many other illustrations. Use a candle for a story “hook”.

*A question – When you start a story, think of a question that will get the listener interested in your story. What question could you ask before you tell the story of Noah?

*A hat – sometimes an interesting hat you wear when you tell stories remind those who hear you that a story is coming when you put on your hat.

*Pantomime - it can be a lot of fun to tell your story in sections with a group acting out the story between sections.

*Visuals- There are many items where a visual will relate to a story that you can show or hold in your hand when you tell. What stories can you tell with these visuals? Rock, leaf, stone, knife, a bird in a cage, ribbons in 12 different colors, a small loaf of bread, a rubber fish, a picture of a donkey?

*A chant – in this workshop you will learn some chants that you can have others say while you tell a story.

Part 5: Presenting The Story:

When you are telling do not be afraid to move around. For example, if you are telling the story of the Good Samaritan, it opens by stating, “There was a man traveling from ……” When you tell this part, turn sideways to your audience and take a few steps to demonstrate the man walking.

Make sure you look at your audience when you are telling. Break your audience into three imaginary sections; left, center and right. As you tell, look at all three sections, looking back and forth so that everyone feels you are telling to them.

  • Develop the story in several parts where you can have emphasis pauses. Most stories have natural sections or “acts”
  • Describe the major sections of the story of Noah
  • Describe the major sections of the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man that his friends brought to Jesus who was teaching in a house,
  • Make sure you know the story point(s) or purpose(s).
  • What does God want us to learn from the story of Moses being found in the river, Joseph being sold to travelers going to Egypt, Jesus in the storm with His disciples?
  • Be able to “see” the characters and the setting in your story and help your audience to “see” the characters and setting as well by your actions, gestures and animated descriptions. Close your eyes and describe what a Bible story character that your leader names. What kind of clothes are they wearing, what is their hair like? How old are they?
  • Plan your story ending – will you finish your story? If you are just telling the story to a friend do you just say, “That’s the end of the story?” or are there some questions you could ask to see if they discover the main lesson of the story?

Story Ending Ideas – Here are some good tips when telling a story.

Leader:

  • Pick up your Bible and close it as you say “And that is the story of __________”
  • At the end of the story, simply say, “And that is the end of the story.”
  • When the story has ended, step back, step aside, sit down, stand up, etc. Make a major change in your position while you were telling the story.

Post Story Learning: Before the story session prepare at least 10 solid discussion starters or questions to get discussion going with your group. If you are telling in a large group, if possible, break up your group into smaller units with leaders and have the leaders and kid’s sit down and explore the story.

In developing questions here is a list of the types of questions and discussion starters you can develop and add your own additional questions:

  • Who were the characters in the story?
  • What do we know about the people groups of the story? The Israelites, the Egyptians, Canaanites, etc
  • What does the story tell us about each of these persons?
  • Where did this story take place? What do we know about this location?
  • What do we know or can we imagine about the story setting?
  • What does each character in the story do and why do you think the character acted in that way?
  • What choices did each character in the story have?
  • What do you think is the history or background of each character in the story?
  • What choices did the characters in the story make?
  • What happened as a result of the character choice decisions?
  • What information does the story tell about each person in the story?
  • What do you think happened to the characters after this story account?
  • Did anything surprise you about this story?
  • What happened before this story took place that might tell us more about the story itself?
  • How did the story character handle the problem or situation?
  • Do you know anyone who is like any characters in the story?
  • Are there any characters in the story that remind you about yourself? Which one and how?
  • What is one thing God is trying to teach through this story?
  • Did anyone have their life changed in this story? Who and what happened?
  • Did God change something He had planned or said He was going to do during this story? If so, what changed?
  • Was there a miracle in this story?
  • What did God teach you through this story?

In leading a story discussion, if someone draws an erroneous conclusion or makes a story statement error, instead of pointing out their error ask a further question that will reveal the error. For example, if a learner states “When Jesus was in the boat crossing the lake with His disciples, Jesus was talking to Peter when a storm started….” Ask the question “What does the Bible say that Jesus was doing when they were crossing the lake?’ and see if someone else makes the correction. It is important to keep the story facts straight.

Story Reminder: Consider using a multi-sensory approach whenever possible considering presentation ideas that relate to:

Hear – See – Smell – Touch – Movement

Part 6: Techniques For Storytelling

Storytelling Idea 1 – Chants: The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37

Teller: Tell the story of the Good Samaritan. At each time one of the story characters comes to the traveler on the side of the road; have the audience repeat the chant, each time saying the chant. In the story of the Good Samaritan each time the chant is repeated in a weaker and weaker voice response. Teach your audience the chant and motions before you begin telling.

Examples of Audience Chants

The Good Samaritan

Help me! Help me! Help me please!
(raise both hands up and down)

I’ve been beaten and robbed by a bunch of thieves
(beat chest alternating fists)

They took my money (pretend to pull at pockets) and they took my clothes, (pretend to tear away shirt from center of chest with hands)

The Sower and The Seeds

Seeds in my pocket, (hands to pockets) seeds in the air (hand scattering seed)

Seeds on the ground (point to ground)

Seeds everywhere. (sweep hand side to side)

Give the seeds some water (pretend to pour water) and give the seeds some sun,(point to sky)

Teller: Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with your entire mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But the expert wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.

Now by chance a priest was going down that road, (Audience CHANT) but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side.

So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, (Audience CHANT) He too passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, (Audience CHANT) …. and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.

Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’

Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So, Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Storytelling Idea 2 – Character Phrases: Story Example: David And Goliath – I Samuel 17

Divide the audience into three sections. Give the following instructions:

Team 1:When you hear me say “David” Team 1 says” He was young but brave” (and place hand over heart)

Team 2:When you hear me say “Goliath” Team 2 says, “He was a fearless warrior” (and make a fist in the air)

Team 3:When you hear me say “Philistine” Team 3 stand up and shouts, “We fear no one.”

Teller:(Begin telling the story…)

The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. Saul and the Israelites came together on a hill on the other side and prepared their troops ready for battle.

Goliath, a giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open.

Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, “Pick your best fighter and pit him against me.”

When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine challenge, they were terrified.

David went to the Israelite camp to bring his brothers food. When he arrived and heard the Goliath challenge, he stepped out and asked, “Why are you afraid of this Philistine?”

Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, put them in his bag and with his sling he approached Goliath and the Philistines.

Goliath saw David come down the hill to the battleground and he called out, “Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?”

“Come on,” called Goliath, “I will deliver you up to the buzzards.”

David answered, “You come after me with a sword, but I come in the name of the living God. The battle belongs to God.

Goliath started coming. The Philistines yelled. David took off for the front lines running toward Goliath. He reached into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, put it in his sling, let it go and hit him square in the middle of his forehead and he crashed to the ground, dead.

And that is how David won the battle over the Philistines – with a sling and stone.

Storytelling Idea 3 – “Freeze” Frame: Parable - The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37

Select players. Develop the story into sections and develop a scene for each section. Pre-train the players of each scene. Have a curtain on a pole that is raised from the floor between each” freeze” scene. An easy freeze frame curtain can be made using ¾” PVC pipe cut in two or three 3’-4’ sections put together (just pressed together so later you can disassemble the pole for transporting) with PVC couplings and using PVC end caps on the pipe at both ends. Assemble the PVC pipe pole then slide the PVC pole through a sheet with the end of the larger sheet hem opened or use a sleeved curtain.

Have two people raise the curtain between scenes as players form each scene. If a curtain is not possible, have the audience close their eyes between scenes as players reset themselves.

The teller tells the story in sections. After each section the curtain is lowered to reveal the scene for only 5 seconds and the players are FROZEN in place - they do not move during the scene.

The curtain is raised and the players get ready for the next scene after the segment is told.

Parable of The Good Samaritan:

The scripture passage section one is read:

Scene 1: 3-4 Players. (The curtain is lowered) Traveler is lying on the floor in “freeze frame” holding his hands up to protect him from the attack and blows of the thieves. The traveler’s expression (slightly turned to the audience) is of great fear and distress. Thieves might have fists raised or a foot in kicking position, etc., with expression of rage and anger. The “thieves” players are in “freeze fame” in the mode of attack on the traveler. (The curtain is raised)

The scripture passage section two is read:

Scene 2: A priest and the traveler player are needed. (The curtain is lowered) Traveler is now lying on the platform with one arm raised in request for help. Priest in “frozen” walking action has passed by the traveler lying on the road. The priest might have scripture rolls in one arm, looking away from the traveler in disgust and the other hand dismissing the injured traveler in a “go away” type of gesture. (The curtain is raised)

The scripture passage section three is read:

Scene 3: Traveler and Levite. (The curtain is lowered) The traveler is in the same position. This time the Levite has walked by with book in hand, also looking away with hand dismissing the traveler’s request for help. (The curtain is raised)

The scripture passage section four is read:

Scene 4: Traveler and Samaritan (Samaritan in tattered clothing) (The curtain is lowered) The Samaritan is kneeling down and attempting to assist the injured traveler to his feet. (The curtain is raised)

The scripture passage section five is read:

Scene 5: Traveler, Samaritan and Innkeeper:(The curtain is lowered) The Samaritan is handing the injured traveler to the care of the innkeeper. (The curtain is raised)

Storytelling Idea 4 – Pantomime: Luke 8:4-15 - The Sower And The Seed

Characters needed (9): Sower, path seed, 2 birds, rock seed, thorn seed, 2 chokers, good soil seed (plus all other players who become the hundredfold grains)

  • Scene 1:Freeze frame – One player
  • Sower sowing seed
  • Scene 2:Freeze frame – Three players
  • Path seed and birds devouring
  • Scene 3:Freeze frame – One player
  • Rock seed that grows some then withers
  • Scene 4:Freeze frame – Three players
  • Thorn seed that grows then gets choked by weeds
  • Scene 5:Freeze frame – One plus all other players
  • Good seed and hundredfold production (all players have hands raised)

Teller:

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one town after another, He spoke to them in a parable:

Scene 1: A sower went out to sow his seed.

Scene 2: And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds devoured it.

Scene 3: Other seed fell on rock, and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture.

Scene 4: Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with it and choked it.

Scene 5: But other seed fell on good soil and grew, and it produced a hundred times as much grain. (End of freeze frame presentation – curtain held up in place during final story telling)

Teller: As He said this, He called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”

Then his disciples asked Him what this parable meant.

He said, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.

“Now the parable means this:

The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away.

As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.

Note: The Good Samaritan parable can be told as a modern-day story using the role of a pastor, elder, or Sunday school teacher, homeless person, etc.

Storytelling Idea 5 – Exaggerated Story Motion And Expression: Mark 4:35-41 – Jesus And His Disciples In A Storm

Select 6 people from the workshop or 6 children from the group and assign them these characters; Jesus, 6 disciples – Arrange 6 chairs in a boat seat configuration in the center or front of the room. One chair, two behind, two behind, one chair. Now, tell the story in sections and instruct the players to pantomime the story as you tell it and use EXAGGERATED EXPRESSIONS AND MOVEMENT IN SLOWER OR FASTER MOTION AS THEY ACT OUT THE SCENES.

Teller: On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake. (Pause)

So, after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as He was, in the boat, and other boats were with Him. (Pause)

Now a great windstorm developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. (Pause)

But He was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. (Pause)

They woke him up and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” (Pause)

So, He got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!” (Pause)

Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. (Pause)

And He said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” (Pause)

They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey Him!”

Teller: And that is the end of the story of Jesus and His disciples crossing the lake in a storm.

Storytelling Idea 6 – Story Surround: Creation – Genesis 1

This presentation works best in settings of 100 people or less if microphones are not available for all participants or, in larger settings hand-held microphones are required.

Select a story or parable with character speaking or conversation parts or where conversations can be developed. See the Prodigal Son script on the following pages as an example.

Place the characters in the audience in various locations and provide each with script cards to follow.

As the story is presented the narrator can be on the platform and begins the story. When the individual character lines are spoken, the characters in the audience just stand and present that segment of the script from their audience location. Characters do not need to memorize their scripts word for word, they can be familiar with their script section and tell their part and just “act it out”.

Storytelling Idea 7 – Clothes On A Pole: The Prodigal Son – Luke 15: 11-32

In this presentation a clothing item (Inexpensive T Shirts in different colors work well) to represent each story character is put on a pole or rope. The players stand behind their clothing item and read or tell their story part.

Materials:

Clothesline or pole: 4 shirts, one with smudges and dirt

Props: section of newspaper

Narrator:

There was a man who had two sons. One day the younger son came to his father ….

Son 1: Hey dad, I’ve been thinking. I don’t want to wait until you die to get my inheritance.

Father: Hmmmmm…. I am not so sure that is a good idea.

Son 1: How about if you give me my part now. I’d like to make my own way in life

Father: I think it would be better if you would wait until you are older

Son 1: Oh, come on, why should I wait when I could use the money now.

Narrator: Well, the father loved his son so much it just clouded his good sense so he wrote out a check for half of all that he had saved for his two sons and gave his younger son his share. The younger son thanked his father

(father hands son check or money)

Son 1: Wow! Thanks dad…see ya’

Narrator: The son packed his backpack and took off. He arrived in a far away location and instead of building a life for himself and investing his inheritance he began to spend everything he had on wild living. He went to Casinos and spent money; he went to bars and attended wild parties.

Soon all his money was gone. He needed work and was hungry. A farmer gave him a job feeding pigs. The food he gave the pigs even began to look good to him.

Finally, he said to himself

Son 1: What have I done? I have spent all my money and am here living in a barn and feeding slop to pigs. My father’s hired help live better than I do.

I am going back to my father and ask him to forgive me. Maybe he will give me a job with his farm workers and at least I can have a warm place to sleep and food.

Narrator: So, the son went back to his home. While he was coming to his father’s farm one of the farm workers saw him coming and went and told his farther his son was coming down the road.

Father: Quick. get some clean clothes and get my special ring. Get some food out of the freezer and start the oven. My son who was dead is alive again. Let’s have a party

Narrator: When the older brother hears the noise from the party he came into the home and everyone having a great celebration. One of the farm workers told him about his brother coming home and his father having a big party for him. The older son was so mad he would not even attend the party.

His father found out his older son was outside and went out and said to him

Father: Come on in, your brother has come home and we are celebrating.

Son 2: I have been faithful to you all these years, working for you every day. You never had a party for me. But after my brother squandered all you gave him you throw this big party.

Father: Son, everything I have will one day be yours. But we had to celebrate because I thought your brother was gone forever, but he is alive. He was lost and now he is found.

Storytelling Idea 8 – Carpenter’s Ruler: The Wise And Foolish Men – Matthew 7:24

A carpenter’s wood folding ruler can be an exciting and fun way to illustrate a Bible story such as the parable of the house built on a rock

Using a carpenter’s folding wood ruler, there is a center of the ruler where the point of the fold is up. Separate the ruler in half at the bottom center and you will have the roof design which is an inverted “V.”

Then fold down all remaining sections together on each side to form the sides of the house with the roof on top. Tell the story of the house built on the rock. Keep the house design in tact as you fish that section of the house weather the storm

Next take the two outer single sections of the ruler and fold each down as you tell about the foolish man who built his house on the sand. This becomes a two-story house.

As you fish that section of the parable how the house fell down when the storms came, just pull the sections in your hand out straight to form a horizontal line to show the house had fallen.

Next tell the interpretation of the parable as you fold up the ruler.

Many designs can be made with a carpenter’s rule for telling stories. You can make a design of a donkey or other animals, the door frame and window frame of a home for the paralyzed man as well as the mat the friends careered him on (rectangle), the steps going up to the roof, etc.

You can make a tree shape with a folding ruler, a cross, and a box shape for the Ark of the Covenant, a Noah’s ark shape, a gate, etc. Play with the ruler and be creative.

Storytelling Idea 9 – Play Parachute: Disciples In The Storm – Mark 4:35-41

A colorful play parachute can be purchase don line or in children’s toy stores. This can effectively be sued for telling stories.

For this story also have 5-6 or a few more tennis balls. Have the children hold the parachute in a circle and after you being the story you will place the tennis balls in the center. As you tell the story use the following actions reminding the players that you cannot let the tennis balls fall out or fly out of the parachute. An option is to have the participants walk in a circle slowly as you tell.

Story section 1: One day Jesus tells His disciples to get into the boat to cross to the other side of the lake. (Pout the tennis balls in the center)

Story section 2:As they were rowing across the seas were calm and it was a beautiful day. Jesus went to sleep in a pillow (Gently let the parachute go up and down only a few inches)

Story section 3:Soon the winds began to blow and the weaves began to get rough (Now move the parachute up and down more strongly being careful not to let the tennis balls pop out)

Story section 4:The storm got even worse and the waves crashed over the boat and the winds blew stronger and the boat began to break apart. Jesus slept right on through the storm. (Now have the parachute go up and down even more again being careful the tennis balls do not pop out)

Story section 5:The disciples thought they were all going to drown and they all cried out to Jesus, “Jesus, wake up and save us, we are all going to die.” (Keep the parachute going up and down)

Story section 6:Jesus woke up, stood up ands said to the storm, “Peace” and immediately the storm stopped. (Hold the parachute tight so that all movement stops)

Jesus said to the disciples, “Why do you have such little faith?”

The disciples said to one another, ‘He really is the Son of God. Even the winds and waves obey Him.”

Storytelling Idea 10 – Cloth Or Plastic Table Covering Sections: The Israelites Cross The Red Sea- Exodus 14:15-31

For this telling method you will need two sections of either cloth or a plastic table covering, about 9’ long and at least 3’ wide. Use light weight blue cloth or you can cut a blue plastic table covering in half lengthwise.

Use four people as the cloth holders, one at each end of the two sections as the story is told. Select one audience member to be Pharaoh and one to be Moses.

Begin telling the story of the Israelites escape from Egypt. You can add as much background as you want.

If you have a reasonable size group in your audience rot work with (50 or less) divined the remaining audience members into two groups; the Israelites and the Egyptians with Pharaoh leading the one and Moses leading the other.

As you tell the storey have the cloth holders hold the split section side by side at waist height. You new have a 6’ wide by 9’ long cloth or plastic covering frame.

Tell the story and as you tell have the Israelite group move around the room and come to the “Sea” which is at one end of the cloth. When it comes time for them to cross, have the holders step aside so the group can pass through.

Keep telling and have Pharaoh and his army follow and have them enter but not exit the cloth sections. Then finish the story where the sea closes up on Pharaoh and his army and that group can all fall to the floor as if destroyed.

Storytelling Idea 11 – Audience Response: Creation – Genesis 1

Divide the audience into sections. For this example, two sections are used. As you tell the story, when you tell or read “God said,” pause and have one half assigned to say “Listen up!”

When you finish each day with “The …. was the (first) (second) day, etc., and “God said” Have the other half say “It was good!”

Storytelling Idea 12 - Shadow Story Telling: The Nativity – Luke 2: 1-20

This is an easy technique and gives great visual presentation of any Bible story with little preparation and few props. Make a “freeze” frame curtain as described in the previous story example. For this curtain it is not gathered but needs to be stretched across the poll fully extended. You will need two sections of cloth. A 2’ length by about 9’ wide white sheeting section for the top and a 5’ wide by 9’ dark or opaque section for the lower half. The white sheeting on top becomes the “screen” for the shadow storytelling.

At chest height behind the fabric curtain you can use a low-cost clip-on light with a 60-watt bulb other type of flood light. This is fixed in back behind the “puppeteers” so the light shines on the cloth.

For any Bible story go on line and search for silhouette figures or draw and cut out outlines on stock card of the story figures needed, i.e., Jesus, man, woman, tree, boat, animals, etc. Makes sure you use drawings that give a good outline view of the figure as only the silhouette will be seen for the telling.

Attached these silhouette outlines to thin craft dowel sticks available in the craft section at Wal-Mart or other craft stores. These sticks are thin and about 12- 18” long. You can also use wooden kitchen skewers. Use tape to attach them to the sticks.

Select volunteers to be the story puppeteers. As the story is told the appropriate silhouette figures come up from the back or move in from the sides of the curtain in the white section, to the center and “act out” the story as it is told. The silhouette figures must be held close to the white sheeting. The Light in the back will show a dark shadow on the creating for the audience.

Storytelling Idea 13 – Low-Cost Puppets

For any Bible story puppets can be easily be made and at a low cost by using materials from a dollar store. Locate and purchase any kind of utensil that has a longer handle; spatula, large spoon, ladle, dusting brush, toilet brush, backscratcher, plastic flute, etc. Look with Bible storytelling eyes and be creative. These stores usually have a craft section where you can get plastic eyes that can be glued or taped onto items. Also obtain yarn or chenille craft wires that come in a variety of colors.

Take the plastic eyes and look at they item to mentally see where the face is located. Glue on the eyes. You can add a button nose, and then use the chenille wires in groups of 6-10, twist them together tightly in the center, then spread out the wires or twist and curve them to make crazy hair. Attach a section to the top of the items. Yarn can be used into the same way to make hair, a mustache, or beard.

You can make a family of puppets or a variety of characters. Using the freeze frame curtain the puppets can be used to tell or act out any Bible story.

Storytelling Idea 14 - Storytelling In Living Scripture And Worship Song

There is a never-ending need for children and youth to be included in the corporate worship experience. The challenge is often” how” children and youth can be involved in a meaningful way. Here is an idea where they can be more than observers by having an active and meaningful part of worship.

In most worship services there is a time of Scripture reading or a Scripture passage that is read as part of the message. This idea can help bring Scripture to life and include older elementary age children, youth, adults, or a combination of all ages in an active part of worship presentation. This concept can also be used to illustrate a worship song in “living picture” form. If not in conjunction with the Scripture passage or worship music for a specific worship service, this idea can be incorporated into worship as a related segment of the worship experience.

Jesus used the immediate world around him to illustrate scriptural principles of living. The parables are an excellent example of Jesus using a story to emphasize the scriptural lesson. In addition, Jesus included every day items to illustrate Bible truth. Birds of the air, seeds, trees, wind and water, clouds and flowers, foxes and sheep were all used to visually teach spiritual truth.

With this visual worship idea participants are given the opportunity to both experience worship and be an active part of the worship experience. In addition, this worship form can expand opportunities for children and youth as well as adults to minister to the congregation.

Many scripture passages describe a story segment. The parables are the best known, but there are many accounts in the Bible that bring to mind visual images and lend themselves to this easy drama form. Those images of Bible accounts can be presented to the congregation through what some call “living pictures” and others call “freeze frames.” There are other names of these vignettes or drama scenes.

Many worship songs have words that describe scenes and other visual imagery that can also be incorporated in this worship concept. Older elementary children, teens, adults or a combination of all ages can be used as players in developing this drama presentation as part of scripture presentations and the total worship experience.

First, take the parable, scripture passage or worship song to be used in the planned worship program. Determine if the worship segment lends itself to visual scenes or images that can be portrayed or acted out. Next, determine how many players will be needed to present that passage, parable, or song in multiple scenes. Not every section of the selected passage or song needs to be presented. Usually, 5-8 scenes will suffice. This technique can also be used in seasonal drama presentations or cantatas and eliminate the need for long memorization of scripts or the development of elaborate platform scenes or stage acting skills. If desired, different players can be used for each scene to increase the opportunity for people to be involved.

Once the scenes are determined and the number of players needed and recruited, those involved in the presentation are assigned the parts for each scene planned by the person directing the drama, i.e., worship leader, pastor, etc.

The drama presentation can be made from the platform or from a stage off to the side of the sanctuary in a well-lighted area or spotlighted area.

Players can be dressed in regular clothing, all in black, in costume or in an item of costume such as a hat, cane, crown, shawl, etc.

E-Z Stage Curtain: From you local Home Depot or similar building supply store, obtain an 8’ – 10’ length of 3/4” PVC pipe along with about 6 collar connectors (if you need to have a portable stage curtain) and two end cap pieces. If you need to present your drama in an area where materials need to be transported, and if required, take the pipe and cut it into sections. Even if you are traveling by plane to a location this stage can be made to fit into whatever case you are traveling with. I have used one small wheeled carry-on suitcase (for the airline) for training seminars where this drama technique was demonstrated and where I made my curtain bar out of 4 pieces, each only about 20” long to fit into my resource’s suitcase.

Curtain material. Wal-Mart (is there any other place for cheap cloth off their $1.00 a yard rack?) I found some great curtain material and just made up a plain dark color curtain with a 4” sewn sleeve across the top. First hem the curtain on all sides then fold over one end to make the 4” sleeve and sew. Use the material lengthwise and you can make the curtain 6’ in vertical height which is perfect for most presentations (You need a little more than 6’ panel lengths to have sufficient for the hem.)

The final curtain can be 8’ wide when gathered by making several panels. Most material is 60” wide, so you may need three panels. You will need the bar to be at least 8’ - 8’.6” long when it is assembled. If longer than 7’-8’, the ¾” PVC tends to bend. If you want, add a corresponding color fringe to the curtain or other decoration.

If in your home church, you may not need to cut the bar in lengths. If traveling, once you are on site, assemble the bar with the couplings (do not glue them- you can actually wrap the fittings with one strip of masking tape if you fear they will come apart) put the end cap on both end pieces and slip the bar through the curtain panel sleeves.

Using the Curtain: The curtain is just raised from and lowered to the floor between scenes. To begin, lower the curtain down to the platform or stage floor in font of the area where the players will present the “freeze frame” scenes.

As the story or parable is told, the players (in regular clothing, dressed in black or in costume or costume items) are behind the lowered or raised curtain (the presentation can begin either way). Two “extra” drama assistants are needed on either side to raise and lower the curtain during the presentation. The players get set in place for each scene. Where that scene occurs in the story the side assistants lower the curtain revealing the scene. The “living picture” or “freeze frame” scene is portrayed, the curtain is raised, players change positions to the next scene, the curtain is lowered, scene is revealed, the curtain is raised, etc, and etc.

One Time Rehearsal: The total scripture drama is read or the worship song is played for the players and the determined number of scenes is reviewed. Assigned players are set in place on the platform to act out each designated scene in “frozen” position. For the Good Samaritan parable, scene one might include one player as the traveler, and 2-3 “thieves” players. As each scene is set, the drama director encourages each player to present their part in well-defined or exaggerated “frozen” gestures and facial expressions for the part they are playing in that scene.

Part 7: Storytelling For Missions

As with all mission’s projects, there is the opportunity to raise funds. Below is a fun project which will not only bring about successful fund raising but also will give the children the opportunity to see how God uses their talents to bring this to a successful conclusion.

Advance Planning:

  • Announce in advance that before and after church, there will be a Storytelling for Missions in the church lobby, narthex or vestibule on a designated date.
  • Make up a display for the mission’s project with handout information.
  • Prepare elevated decorated boxes or small platforms for the storytellers
  • Select several capable children to be tellers. Assign different stories from the CBS4kids stories to learn for telling. (www.cbs4kids.org) Have children work with parents or a responsible adult to memorize and dramatize each story.
  • Prior to the Storytelling Day have each practice telling the story to the Children’s Pastor or leader.
  • Find a willing person to prepare a flier explaining: mission plan, purpose, date, needs
  • Plan with pastor(s) date, time and ask for their promotion of event on church website, newsletter, SS classes and from pulpit or platform.
  • Seek parental volunteers to assist in collecting of donations, handing out fliers, helping actors

Day Of Event

  • On the day of the event performers may choose to come appropriately costumed
  • Set up platform for performers
  • Set up table(s) decorated with a donation basket or decorated box clearly marked “Storytelling for Missions”.
  • Have fliers available for congregants to pick up
  • Set a time for performances
  • Involve the congregation by:
  • Having a congregant select a card which names a person or event in biblical history
  • Have a storyteller or tellers tell that Bible story
  • You can have the child tell the story first person in costume as if they were the person (Example: Noah tells his story)
  • Extension idea: Ask the pastor for permission to include one of the children as a “worship presenter” on the day as part of the worship service when the mission’s project is highlighted

Interactive Storytelling:

Including the children is important because:

  • Offers children a way to demonstrate story skills
  • Teaches spiritual truths through drama
  • Reinforces principle that we must provide for the work of the ministry
  • Inclusion of children reinforces the truth of 2 Tim 2:2 “And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.”
  • Elevates the value of children in telling The Story of God as commanded by Moses
  • Deut 6:7-9 “and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.”
  • So that this promise comes true: Ps 78:4 “We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done.”
  • A side benefit is that it is a fun way to raise funds for a missionary or mission’s project.

Related Topics: Children, Children's Curriculum, Children's Training Resources, Parent Resources, Teaching the Bible

1. The Search FOR the Savior: The Search Of The Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12)

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“The Search Of The Wise Men”

Following an exhilarating performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall, celebrated classical cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, went home, slept, and awoke the next day, exhausted and rushed. He called for a cab to take him to a hotel on the other side of Manhattan and placed his cello (handcrafted in Vienna in 1733 and valued at $2.5 million) in the trunk of the taxi. When he reached his destination, he paid the driver but forgot to take his cello out of the trunk. After the cab had disappeared, Yo-Yo Ma realized what he had done and began a desperate search for the missing instrument. Fortunately, he had kept the receipt with the cabby’s ID number. Before the day ended the taxi was located in a garage in Queens with the priceless cello still in the trunk. Mr. Ma’s smile could not be contained as he spoke to reporters. But of far more importance than the search for a musical instrument is the search for a matchless Saviour (“The Search for a Priceless Possession” the Chicago Tribune, 10-17-99, cited by Greg Assimakoupoulos).

Many people searched for Jesus Christ from the time of his birth to the time of his death. Some searched for him to serve him, others for what they could get out of him. Some searched for him out of genuine interest, others out of idle curiosity. Some who searched for him were rich, others poor. Some were Jews, others Gentiles. Some were religious, others heathen. Some searched for him because they cared for him, others because they hated him.

The title of this message is: “The Search for the Saviour,” specifically, “The Search of the Wise Men” (Matt. 2:1-12). In this text, the overall message is that wise people search for Jesus until they find him and worship him.

First, notice that …

I. Wise People Ask Pointed Questions About Jesus (2:1-2)

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?’” (1-2a). The text doesn’t tell us anything about these “wise men”, who they were or where they came from (except that they came from the east). So, let’s try to answer some of those questions.

1. Who Were These Wise Men (Magi)?

The term magi is used both negatively and positively. Negatively, it describes one who works magic, spiritism, divination. Positively, it describes one who seeks and possesses supernatural knowledge or ability. Simon Magus was one who used magic (Acts 8:9, 11). But Daniel was one who possessed supernatural knowledge and was made the “chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Dan. 2:48) after he successfully interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

So, what sort of magi were these men in our passage? Could it be that men associated with spiritism or even the occult would have been among the first to seek, find, and worship the Messiah? Hardly! No, these men were probably political and religious advisers to the king, or philosophers and scientists, who undoubtedly made a study of the skies - through astronomy, that is, not astrology. These were “wise men” in the same sense that Moses was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22). They were men of learning and obviously deeply religious. So, we have a bit of an understanding of who these men were but ...

2. Where Did They Come From?

Wise men “from the east” (2:1) came to Jerusalem. Some scholars think that they were Median priests from Persia, who conducted sacrificial rituals and had magical abilities to interpret dreams and special signs. Some think that they were astrologers from Mesopotamia. Others think that they were three kings from Persia, Sabha, and Sheba. But, there’s strong evidence that they were, in fact, from Arabia (this research adapted from “Were the Magi from Persia or Arabia?” Bib-Sac. 156, Oct-Dec., 1999, 423:442).

First, there’s the evidence from geography. The term “the east” refers to the Arabian desert, east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. And it was “in the east” where the men saw the star - i.e. in their land to the east of Jerusalem.

Second, there’s the strong evidence of close Arab-Jewish relations at that time. Jews from either the captivity in Babylon or from Israel were settlers in Arabia. There were many Jews in Arabia before the rise of Islam. On several occasions the Arab tribes of the Nabateans assisted Antipas, father of Herod the Great, in military conflicts. In fact, Herod the Great’s mother was of Nabatean descent. Thus, by the time of Jesus’ birth, Arab-Jewish relations were very close culturally, socially, and religiously. This, of course, gave the Arabians access to the Jewish Scriptures and, as a result, the messianic hope was common among them.

Thirdly, there is evidence that the gifts of the magi were natural products of Arabia. Arabia was known for its supremacy in the spice trade, especially for frankincense and myrrh. A South Arabian tribe (Sabaeans) dominated the incense trade for centuries. Heroditus records that “the whole of Arabia exhales a most delicious fragrance.” According to Josephus, the incense used in the temple was from the Arabian desert. Also, the gold of Arabia was much sought after for its purity and abundance and is recorded in many biblical references (E.g. 1 Kings 10:10; Ps. 72:15; Isa. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22; 38:13).

This is compelling evidence that the wise men came from Saudi Arabia. But of more importance than that ...

3. Why Did They Come?

The text says they came asking the question, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (12:2a). Why would Gentiles want to find “the King of the Jews?” Because they had come “to worship Him” (12:2b). We could understand it if they were searching for a Persian or Arabian king, but to worship the King of the Jews?

The answer to this question may be another reason why these men probably came from Arabia. God historically used the wealth and strength of Arabia (the East) and Egypt (the West) for the protection and development of his servants. Notice these patterns in Scripture. Where did Abraham dismiss the sons of his concubines? To the East, to Arabia in order to protect his seed (Gen. 25:5-6). Who bought Joseph from his brothers when they threatened his life? Arabian traders. Where did they take him? To Egypt. When Moses’ life was threatened the first time as a baby (Ex. 1), where was he protected for 40 years? In Egypt. When Moses’ life was threatened the second time (Ex. 2), where was he protected for 40 years? In the Arabian desert. Where did Mary, Joseph, and Jesus flee for protection from Herod’s wrath? To Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15). Where did the apostle Paul go to learn the truth of God when he was converted? To the Arabian desert (Gal. 1:17).

And now, these magi from Arabia were called from the East to Israel “to worship Him”, the long-awaited Seed, the Messiah. And they brought with them the wealth of Arabia - gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Frankincense was a sacred oil, incense for religious rituals and for medicinal purposes. Myrrh was also sacred oil, incense for religious rituals, and it was also used for medicinal purposes and embalming. These costly substances would probably have provided the means for Joseph’s poor family to travel where? To Egypt, for protection from Herod’s wrath against the new-born King.

So they came to worship him but…

4. How Did They Know?

This is perhaps the biggest question of all. “For we saw his star when it rose (in the east) and have come to worship him” (12:2b). Was this a temporary star? Was it a coincidental confluence of planets or a meteor? No! This was a special star for a special purpose. This was “his star”.

How did they know it was “his star”? Not by astronomy or any natural learning. They probably knew Balaam’s prophecy: “A star shall come out of Jacob” (Num. 24:17). But how would they link that to this star? Most likely, they knew by direct revelation from God, the same way they knew not to return to Herod.

So wise people ask pointed questions about Jesus. And…

II. Wise People Follow The Signs That Lead To Jesus (2:3-10)

A search is much easier if there are signposts…

1. Their Signpost Was The “Star”

It doesn’t seem that the star lit their entire journey. If it had, then why did they rejoice greatly when they saw it again after leaving Jerusalem? So, it must have disappeared during their stay in Jerusalem. But even though it seems that it didn’t light their entire journey, it certainly induced them to come in the first place and it gave them a fix on the general direction to travel. Evidently, they had learned how to navigate by the stars.

Incidentally, since the Middle Ages, camel caravans have navigated north from the fabled city of Timbuktu, in Mali, West Africa, to Taudenni in search of salt - the gold of the Sahara desert. Still today, the Tuareg nomads of Niger trek in huge camel trains through the Sahara carrying loads of salt from the salt mines of Taudenni. Salt is still made into blocks for transportation, reminiscent of the fate of Lot’s wife. My wife and I have seen a documentary of these camel trains. They walk for days and days through the wasteland of the Sahara, guided by the stars, until they reach small villages on the edge of Niger or Burkina Faso (where I have been privileged to teach pastors over the last 10 or so years), where they sell a huge block of salt for $5 if they can find a buyer.

And so, these wise men, navigating by the stars, headed for Jerusalem. After all, where else would the Messiah be born than in the capital city of the Jews? Their journey to Jerusalem probably took four months or more. It wasn’t a matter of getting in a car for a few hours. Travel was hard, long, dangerous, tiring, and expensive. So, as they approached the city, you can imagine their excitement as …

2. The Star Led Their Search To Jerusalem

All the way there they must have talked about what they expected. I think they expected to find festivities. Perhaps streets closed for parades, people lining the streets, flags flying, shops and schools closed for a national holiday, roads jammed with crowds wanting to enter the city, special editions of the Jerusalem Post on every corner, hot air balloon rides and free popsicles and popcorn for the kids. I think they expected special services in the synagogue with special cantatas from the choir. But instead they arrived in Jerusalem to find just an ordinary day The women were probably buying their groceries in the street markets. The kids were in school, the banks were open, the mail was being delivered – everything was going on as usual.

And I can just imagine what they might have done. One of them might have asked one of the women on the street: “Can you tell me where the King of the Jews has been born?” only to receive a cold stare in return. Another might have gone up to one of the city policemen: “We heard that the Messiah has been born. Can you tell me where He is?” only to receive the rude reply: “You’re strangers around here aren’t you? If I were you, with your accent, I would keep quiet about that kind of thing.” I can see them going in frustration perhaps to the mayor of Jerusalem, who knows nothing. Finally…

3. Their Search In Jerusalem Led To Herod’s Palace (2:3-10)

When they arrive at the steps of the palace of King Herod, I think the butler wasn’t very friendly, but they talk him into letting them see Herod. After all they are important, high ranking officials visiting from a far country. Surely Herod would know where the king of the Jews was born. But instead we see that Herod is troubled. When Herod the king heard this (i.e. what they were searching for), he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (2:3). I can understand Herod being troubled, because if what they were inquiring about was true, this might mean an end to his dynasty. If this wase true, he might lose the loyalty of the Judean people

But why was “all Jerusalem troubled with him? Wasn’t this what they had been looking for all these years? Jerusalem wasn’t troubled because of any sympathy for Herod or because they didn’t want the Messiah to come. Probably Jerusalem was troubled because when Herod wasn’t happy, nobody was happy; because they knew that inquiries like the magi’s would result in more cruelty as this murderous king hung on to power.

So, Herod consults his own wise men. “…assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born” (2:4). He didn’t know the answer to the magi’s question, but surely “the chief priests and scribes” of Jerusalem would know. And indeed they did know that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem according to the prophecy of Micah 5:2 (2:5-6). But they didn’t know when it would happen and they didn’t know who the Messiah would be.

As a result, Herod devises a shrewd plan to uncover the perceived threat to his kingdom. It is a two-pronged plan – we’ll call them plan “A” and “B”.

Plan “A” was designed to determine the age of the child.Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared” (2:7). This was a clever trick to determine the time when the child was born. Because if he could find out when the star appeared, then Herod would know how old the child was. And once he knew how old the child was, Herod could get rid of him through mass murder by killing all the children born around the time the star appeared.

But there was also another plan. Plan “B” was designed to determine the location of the child. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him’” (2:8). This is the second part of Herod’s devious plan. Plan “A” would uncover the age of the child, but how much better if he could find out the exact location of the child.

But unwittingly, Herod was an instrument of God. His own wise men gave the magi the clue from the Word of God as to where the Messiah should be born. What more could they ask for? So they respond to it in belief. Thus, their search in Jerusalem led to Herod’s palace and…

4. Their Search At Herod’s Palace Led To Bethlehem (2:9-10)

“After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them…” (2:9a). It’s as though God said: “I’ll give you my sign again - the star.” “And the star they had seen… went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young child was” (2:9b). Now they had double confirmation - the sure Word of God (Mal. 5:2) and the sure sign of God.

This was no ordinary star, you see. Its first appearance gave them general directions to Jerusalem and now its second appearance led them to the exact place where Jesus was. No wonder that When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (2:10). The star was like an old trusted friend that they hadn’t seen for a while but now appeared again. Their search was successful. Any doubt they may have had in Jerusalem was banished. Revelation has resulted in discovery. God had revealed the truth of the Messiah’s birth to them in their own country and their months of search have now come to fruition. Everyone likes to be successful in what they set out to do - the wise men were no different.

First, wise people ask pointed questions about Jesus. Second, wise people follow the signs that lead to Jesus. And…

III. Wise People Search For Jesus Until They Find Him (2:11-12)

I don’t know what they expected to see when they arrived in Bethlehem. Would he be a young prince arrayed in costly robes? Would royalty be lying in a gold lined bassinette? Would the King of the Jews be waited on by royal nurses? Would there be a line of people waiting to pay their respects? How would they prove who they were so that they would they be allowed in? But look …

1. What They Found (2:11a)

“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother” (2:11a). Was it a shock to them when they entered the house? Did it take them by surprise to discover his lowly birth, his isolation, his ordinary parents, just the child and his mother? Did they wonder if this was all a hoax when they saw no royal surroundings?

Something tells me that it was no shock. It seems to me that they were prepared for what they found. They already knew the indifference and ignorance in Jerusalem. If Herod hadn’t come to pay his respects, why would anyone else? If the news was so unknown, the circumstances must indeed be strange. I think they were prepared for what they found and their preparation is shown in…

2. How They Responded (2:11b-12)

They entered the house and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh (2:11b-c). Adoration follows discovery. True worship involves these two components – discovery and adoration. This is why they had come.

True worship is to “fall down” before him. It is to recognize his superior position by taking an inferior position, to prostrate ourselves in humility before him.

And true worship is to bring to him our very best - to surrender to him our very costliest possessions. The wise men brought the very best gifts they could, gifts fit for a King – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

By the way, the myrrh and frankincense were probably of greater monetary value than gold at that time. Though they probably didn’t realize the symbolism of their gifts, for us, however, “gold” represents the wealth and splendour of royalty; “frankincense” (the incense used by the priests in temple worship) symbolizes divine worship; and “myrrh” (that fragrant gum used to embalm the dead) foreshadowed Jesus’ death and burial.

They had done what they came to do – find the One who was born King of the Jews and to worship him. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way” (2:12).Herod might be able to deceive the people of Jerusalem, but not these wise men for they were instructed by God himself.

Final Remarks

This, then, is “The Search for the Saviour”, specifically, “The Search of the Wise Men.” This search by the wise men is a search of contrasts…

1. The Search For The Saviour Is A Contrast Of People

a) There is the contrast of the kings: Herod the Great vs. Jesus, the King of the Jews. Both were kings over a kingdom – but what a difference! Herod, a powerful murderer, ruled his kingdom through fear but he died and disappeared from the face of the earth. Jesus came to be our King, not through power and fear, but love and kindness, lowliness and gentleness. He died a sacrificial death on the cross and rose again. And He’s coming back, the all-powerful King, to rule the world.

b) There is the contrast of the people: Jews of Jerusalem vs. Gentiles of Arabia. The wise Gentiles from the east were eager to find new hope and salvation in the Messiah. They rejoiced at his birth and worshipped him. The foolish Jews were careless and apathetic, unconcerned that the very hope of all the ages had come and they ignored him. As J.C. Ryle puts it, “It isn’t always those who have most religious privileges who give Christ most honour.” As Jesus said, “the first shall be last and the last first” (Matt. 20:16).

c) The contrast of the wise men: Herod’s wise men vs. the magi. Herod’s wise men were the chief priests and scribes in Jerusalem. They were in the right place, had the right answers, knew the Scriptures since birth, but rejected their power and truth. The magi were men from the wrong country, far away from the centre of God’s dealings. Though their upbringing would not have included training in the Holy Scriptures, they recognized and bowed to their authority and message. Again, J. C. Ryle says: “There may be knowledge of the Scripture in the head, but no grace in the heart.” So, don’t put your confidence in your head knowledge.

d) There is the contrast of circumstances: Jesus’ poverty vs. the wise men’s riches. Jesus was born in a stable with nothing, only swaddling clothes. His parents were ordinary people with no wealth or fame. The wise men came with the richest resources of their land - gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Here is a forerunner of the scene at the cross. At the cradle, the wise men found Jesus as a helpless baby - they witnessed no miracles, heard no teaching; they saw no evidence of outward deity, power, or riches, and yet they said: “We have come to worship him.” At the cross, the thief saw Jesus dying - he witnessed no miracles, heard no teaching; he saw no outward evidence of deity, power, or riches, and yet he said: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk. 23:42).

The search for the Saviour is a contrast of people. And…

2. The Search For The Saviour Is A Contrast Of Motives

A king asks questions about him but fears what may transpire. Religious people can answer questions about him but they have no interest in a relationship with him. Disloyal followers betray him with a kiss, but loyal followers weep over his grave.

Wise men, you see, still worship him. At the cradle, there were wise men from the east with its mystery. They searched for him, found him, and worshipped him. Just before the cross, there were wise men from the west with its culture and progress, Greeks who said: “We wish to see Jesus” (Jn. 12:21), but we don’t read of any interest in worshipping him.

The search for the Saviour is a contrast of people, a contrast of motives, and …

3. The Search For The Saviour Is A Contrast Of Responses

Some people search for God when they are in trouble but they don’t want God in their lives. As Proverbs 1:27-30 says: “When distress and anguish come ... then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.”

Some people search for God because they hate their sin and need a Saviour. And surely the message of our text is that wise people search for the Saviour until they find and worship him. The word of God says: “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me” (Prov. 8:17). “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7).

Well, I don’t know why you are here today or where you are in your spiritual search. Perhaps you’re curious but with no genuine interest in finding the Saviour. Perhaps you’re here because it’s the thing to do at Christmas. Or, perhaps you’re a genuine seeker for the Saviour. Perhaps in a certain sense, you have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. If so, the promise and exhortation is that wise people search for Jesus until they find and worship him.

Related Topics: Christmas

2. The Search FOR the Savior: The Search of the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20)

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When you search for something it’s easier if you have a clue to guide you. Treasure hunts are based on signs. If you follow them, you find what you’re looking for.

The wise men searched for the Saviour by following the star and the Word of God, and they found him. But they weren’t the only ones to search for him. The shepherds also searched for the Saviour.

This sermon is part of our series: “Christmas Searches: The Search for the Savior.” And the title for this sermon is: “The Search of the Shepherds” (Lk. 2:8-20).

The angel had told the shepherds of the birth of a Saviour in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord. But what good would the news be if they could not find him, for to not find him is to not know him. His birth is the start. To find him is the challenge. And to know him is the goal.

How then could they find him? They knew that he was born, and they knew when he was born (today), and they knew where he was born (in Bethlehem). But where exactly in Bethlehem was he born? It was census time and the town was full of strangers, so much so that there were no vacancies in the inn. So, how could they hope to find him? What they needed was a sign!

What we learn from this passage today is that “God provides a sign for all who search for the Saviour.” First notice…

I. The Situation Of The Announcement (2:8-9)

8 “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.”

Shepherds were the lowest echelon of that society. Perhaps we might think of them as “homeless people”, street people, despised people of society. People who smelled badly and dressed in worn out, dirty clothes, whose habits were not attuned to a sophisticated society. Here they were, just doing their lowly job, “keeping watch over their flocks by night.” No one knew who they were or where they were. Frankly, nobody cared. But to them was made the greatest announcement the world has ever heard.

Jesus’ birth was not announced to rich men, but to poor shepherds; not to wise men, but to uneducated shepherds; not in the capital city by The Jerusalem Daily Post, but in the country somewhere outside the insignificant town of Bethlehem; not by the king, but by an angel; not to the highest government officials in their ivory towers, but to the lowest of society on a lonely hillside; not to famous or prominent people, but to unknown, unnamed shepherds; not at noonday to the entire city, but at nighttime to a few shepherds.

There was no fanfare in the city, but there were fireworks in the countryside. There were no lights in the city, but “the glory of the Lord shone” in the dark countryside. No special editions of newspapers in the city, but “good news of great joy” in the countryside. No singing in the city, but a “heavenly host praised God” in the countryside.

Doesn’t this remind you of what the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians?

18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:1:18-21)

Well, no wonder the shepherds were “filled with great fear”! The brightness of the Lord’s “glory” that broke through the darkness of that Judean night terrified them. The word “glory” means the weight or significance or excellence of something or someone that generates a response of awe and wonder. The shepherds’ response to this supernatural occurrence was “great fear.”

A number of years ago, our family went to Banff, a tourist town in the Canadian Rockies, to attend a relative’s wedding. After the wedding, some of us stayed around for a few days’ vacation. One day, everyone wanted to go skiing. After all, that was the big attraction in that area. To not ski at Banff would be like going to Vail, Colorado, and not skiing. That’s just what you do when you go to Banff. The trouble was that neither I nor my daughter had skied before. So we decided to rent the equipment and take a lesson before venturing up a ski lift on our own. When we arrived at the pro shop, we were told that all the ski lessons had been booked for that day and had already left. So, we said, “Ok. We’ll just rent the equipment anyway and go up on our own.” The man looked at us with one of those “can’t-believe-what-I-just-heard looks.” He said, “I don’t recommend that, sir.” I said to my daughter, “Well, what do you want to do?” She replied, “We didn’t come all this way to not ski.” So, I said to the man, “No problem, we’ll rent the equipment and go up on our own.”

So that’s what we did. Once we started up the side of the mountain in the ski lift I knew we were in trouble as the base of the mountain slid from view. Not only that, but when the ski lift stopped and we thought we were at the top, we actually had to get out and enter another one! We reached the top and upon getting out, I promptly fell flat on my back. There I was staring straight up into a beautiful cloudless blue sky at the top of Sunshine Mountain. Almost immediately I saw a little old lady looking down at me and she said: “Would you like me to give you a quick lesson before I take my last run for the day?” So that’s what she did. She showed my daughter and me how to snow plough in order to slow down, and how to crisscross sideways across the mountain in order to control your speed etc. And then, as quickly as she came, she was gone. I’m convinced to this day that she was an angel.

But then we were on our own. And as we started down the ski slope, I realized just how scary this was. The bottom of the ski slope seemed like miles away, the slope was so steep, and there were trees on either side. My heart almost beat out of my chest. So with trembling knees we proceeded very slowly down until after 40 minutes we reached the bottom, where we joined my wife and her friend who were sitting waiting for us. Evidently, our faces were white with fear and exhaustion. But after about 15 minutes of resting, my daughter said, “We didn’t come here just to take one run. Let’s do it again!” The second time, we made it down in 20 minutes. A great improvement.

All that to say, that skiing down Sunshine Mountain at that time was without doubt the scariest experience of my life. The shepherds also were “filled with great fear” when the glory of the Lord shone around them. You see, fear is the natural response to divinity – it’s startling, unsettling.

So, Jesus’ birth was announced to ordinary people in an ordinary place, to the “whosoevers” of the gospel, to the “least of these” as Jesus described them. God’s good news is declared to ordinary people in the most ordinary circumstances.

That was the situation of the announcement of Jesus’ birth. Then there were…

II. The Signs From The Angels (2:10-14)

There were three signs for the searching shepherds…

1. The Sign of the Angelic Sermon (2:10-11)

10 “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

The shepherds’ fear was soon assuaged by God’s grace, which was extended to them through the angels. For the angel did not come to instill fear but to announce “good news of great joy for all people.” The angelic sermon was one of “good news.” Good news is characterized by “great joy,” therefore they need not “fear”. And it was declared to “all people,” specifically “to you,” the shepherds, who represent “all people.” In fact, the shepherds represent us.

The good news is that “unto you is born this day…a Saviour.” It’s a present reality not a future hope. He is born in the “city of David – that’s Bethlehem. You may wonder why Bethlehem is called the city of David. Well, Bethlehem has always been a place of great significance. Originally it was called Ephrata (Mic. 5:2); later it was called Ephrata-Bethlehem or simply Bethlehem. The first time Bethlehem is mentioned in the Bible is when Rachel, the wife of Jacob died there (Gen. 35:19-20; 48:7). It’s mentioned again when Ruth travelled to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi (Ruth 1:19, 22). And there Ruth eventually married Boaz and gave birth to Obed, who would become the grandfather of David. Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David and it was there Samuel anointed him as the future king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:1).

“Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ, the Lord.” The good news is that the Messiah, the Anointed One has come! The One who delivers us from our enemies has come! The One who rescues us from peril has come! The Royal One, the Davidic king has come! “The Lord,” the absolute sovereign, God himself, has come in flesh!

That was the sign of the angelic sermon. Then there was…

2. The Sign of the Earthly Stable (2:12)

12 “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

The wise men’s sign was a star: the shepherds’ sign is a stable. They wouldn’t have to search through every house, motel room, or campsite. Their search was for a stable, where they would find the Baby.

This is a most unusual sign isn’t it? A baby in a feeding trough? Could this be the confirmation of the angelic announcement? Who would look in a place like this for a new born baby? And especially one who was supposed to be the Messiah child! If the angel had not directed the shepherds and if the star had not guided the magi, then, neither would have searched for him nor found him.

If you were looking for a King, where would you look? Not in the best hotel, nor in an inn, and certainly not in a stable, but in a palace. In a good hotel you might find dignitaries. In an inn you might find tourists and visitors. In a stable you might find horses and cows. But you would never find a King there - especially the Saviour of the world!

If you did find a baby in a stable, what would you think? You might pity the baby or try to help its mother. You might report it to the Children’s Aid Society. Or, you might just pass by on the other side. If someone told you that the baby is the King of the Jews, the Saviour of the world, the Messiah, you might ignore them, scorn them, or, you might consider them a little daft. Probably you wouldn’t believe them.

The sign for the shepherds was a baby in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes. The sign was so unlikely that it had to be given by an angel or else it would have been dismissed out of hand. We would have expected pomp and glory fit for a King, but that is reserved for Jesus’ second coming, not his first coming. His first coming was in humility and isolation. If his birth had been glorious, the humble shepherds would not have come near. But in a stable, the poorest people on earth may come to him, alongside dignitaries from a far country.

In his best-selling book, “The Jesus I Never Knew,” Philip Yancey contrasts the humility that characterized Jesus’ birth to a visit from the Queen of England. Yancey was attending a performance of Handel’s Messiah in London. During the performance he looked toward the auditorium’s royal box where the queen and her family sat, and, he said, “I caught glimpses of the way rulers stride through the world – with bodyguards and a trumpet fanfare and a flourish of bright clothes and flashing jewelry. Queen Elizabeth II had recently visited the Unites States and reporters delighted in spelling out the logistics involved – her 4,000 pounds of luggage included two outfits for every occasion, a mourning outfit in case someone died, 40 pints of blood plasma, and white kid-leather toilet seat covers. She brought along her own hairdresser, 2 valets, and a host of other attendants. A brief visit of royalty to a foreign country can easily cost $20 million. In meek contrast, God’s visit to earth took place in an animal shelter with no attendant present and nowhere to lay the newborn king but a feeding trough. Indeed, the event that divided history, and even our calendars, into two parts may have had more animal than human witnesses. A mule could have stepped on him.”

The sign of his birth foretold the story of his life and death. The humble shepherds are given a sign of a humble Saviour. At his birth he was bound in the stable with swaddling clothes, at his death he was bound by nails to a cross, and in the tomb he was bound with grave clothes. At his birth he lay helpless in someone else’s manger and at his death he lay in someone else’s tomb. He was born with animals and died with robbers. He was born in a manger and died on a cross.

Humble as the sign was, we must take Christ as we find him. How do we find him here and what is the sign? The first sign is humility. We find him in a stable not a palace. Solomon built a temple for God but God came to earth in a stable, “made lower than the angels” (Heb. 2:9). The second sign is love. He left heaven’s glory and stooped down to earth because he loved us (Jn. 3:16).

There was the sign of the angelic sermon. The sign of the earthly stable. And…

3. The Sign of the Heavenly Song (2:13-14)

13 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”

An unusual sign is confirmed by an unusual occurrence. An angelic sermon is followed by an angelic song. A stable of humility is accompanied by a celestial harmony. An angel preached a great message to the shepherds and a heavenly host sings a great anthem to God. An inglorious sign is followed by a glorious song.

The stable and the song - one balances the other. The stable speaks of earthly poverty. The song speaks of heavenly riches. The stable speaks of humility below and the song speaks of glory on high. The stable presents a little helpless baby. The song presents a great and all-powerful God. In the stable the shepherds find him. In the song the angels glorify him. In the stable, the animals “low” a lullaby. In the song, the angels sing a sweet melody. The sign of the stable points the way to Christ. The song of the angels points to the glory of Christ. No angel ministered to Jesus at his death, but multitudes sang at his birth. The angelic multitude bears authoritative witness that the sign and the Saviour are true.

The choir sang: “Glory to God in the highest.” The heavens rejoice and praise God for salvation’s plan, that there is a remedy for sin, that there is “peace on earth among those with whom he is pleased.” The result of Jesus’ coming is that peace has been made possible between God and man (Col. 1:20). Those who know His peace are those who are the recipients of God’s favor, God’s grace. And the One who perfectly embodied all God’s favor was this Baby. He is the One in whom God is well pleased and all who follow him benefit from God’s good pleasure.

That was the meaning of Christmas to the angels. They sang not only of the One who was born but of the grace that had come.

The situation of the announcement is confirmed by the signs from the angels which initiated…

III. The Search By The Shepherds (2:15-20)

15 “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’”

1. The shepherds acted in faith (2:15-16). They gave no thought to who would watch over the sheep. For a shepherd to leave his sheep, especially at night, was unthinkable, irresponsible. All their livelihood may be wiped out by this single act. But nothing would stop them in their desire to find the Messiah. Nothing would stop them from acting in obedience and faith.

16 “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” They searched for a baby and found the whole family. What they saw was exactly what the angel had promised - a baby lying in a feeding trough. Their faith was honored. The angels’ testimony was true.

The shepherds acted in faith and…

2. Their search was successful (2:17-20). Their success was evident in the responses.

There was the response of the shepherds’ “testimony” (2:17). And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.” The sequence of faith is this: God’s Word prompted them to take action and their action gave rise to their testimony. They heard the Word from the angel and they acted in faith. They confirmed the sign and they testified to everyone about what the angel had said.

There was the response of the people’s “wonder” (2:18). “All who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” They were amazed at what they heard. But there’s no evidence that it affected their hearts or that it stirred them to action.

There was the response of Mary’s “reflection” (2:19). “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” She reflected on the events, attempting to understand them. She “treasured these things” because they were of inestimable value - they confirmed all that the angel had told her (Lk. 1:26-38). She “pondered them in her heart.” She reflected on everything that had happened.

There was the response of the shepherds’ “praise” (2:20). “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” What they had heard agreed with what they saw and they praised God just as the angels had.

Final Remarks

Remember our thesis: “God provides a sign for all who search for the Saviour.” So, what is our response and duty?

1. Our duty is to find Him, so that the news “unto you is born” culminates in the declaration “we have found the Messiah” (Jn. 1:41).

To find Christ is to bring glory to God, to acknowledge that we are sinners and that we need a Saviour, to respond in obedience to God, to bring honour to what God has done.

To find Christ is to have peace with God: (1) to have peace through his person (“He himself is our peace,” Eph. 2:14), (2) to have peace through his work (“He has made peace through the blood of his cross,” Col. 1:20), (3) to have peace through his justification (“Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom. 5:1).

To find Christ is to be well pleasing to God. God has declared: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” When we find and delight in Jesus Christ, we are well pleasing to God.

So, our duty is to find him. And…

2. Our duty is to worship Him, so that the song “Glory to God” culminates with adoration, “Worthy is the Lamb.” He has put a new song in our mouths even praise unto our God.

Related Topics: Christmas

3. The Search OF the Savior: Why Jesus Came, Part 1 (Luke 19:1-10)

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In this article, I am continuing my four part series on “Christmas Searches.” The first two sermons were titled “The Search for the Savior” - (1) “The Search of the Wise Men” (Matt. 2:1-12) and (2) “The Search of the Shepherds” (Luke 2:8-10). Now, in the next two sermons in this series, we move to “The Search of the Savior: Why Jesus Came” (Parts 1 and 2). The text for this sermon, “Why Jesus Came, Pt. 1” is Luke 19:1-10.

Our passage is the third of three episodes (vignettes) in a row: (1) The young ruler who was rich (Lk. 18:18-30); (2) The beggar who was blind (Lk. 18:35-43); and (3) The tax collector who was a thief (Lk. 19:1-10).

These three men paint a spiritual picture for us. The rich young ruler is proud of his religion and riches. But there is an emptiness that neither his religion nor his riches could satisfy. Specifically, he yearns for the possession of eternal life – the one possession that his money can’t buy. He sees in Jesus someone who can offer what he wants but, in the end, his riches are more important to him than eternal life. He decides to keep his possessions rather than follow Jesus. He chooses riches on earth over riches in heaven. As a result, Jesus teaches the crowd how extremely difficult it is “for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Lk. 18:24). To make his point Jesus resorts to hyperbole when he says that it’s about as hard for a rich person to enter heaven as it is for “a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (Lk. 18:25), because riches make people feel self-reliant and self-centered – they don’t think that they need God. Their riches have such a grip on their lives that they can’t give them up, not even for eternal life. In response, the people ask Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” (Lk. 18:26). And Jesus says: “The things that are impossible with men are possible with God” (Lk. 18:27).

The blind beggar, by contrast, is dirt poor and helpless, at the bottom of the social scale, a man with absolutely no power whatsoever and no social influence, other than being a nuisance perhaps. He believes that Jesus can give him back his sight and begs Jesus to “have mercy” (Lk. 18:38) on him. Nothing will keep him quiet. Recognizing his cry as an act of faith, Jesus heals him.

So, after the rich man and the poor, beggar man, we come to the thieving tax collector, Zacchaeus, in our passage (Lk. 19:1-10). Zacchaeus is an example of Jesus’ principle that “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Lk. 18:27). Indeed, the overall theme that Luke is emphasizing in these three portraits is that the purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world is to save lost people.

As a tax collector, Zacchaeus collected public taxes or tolls for the Roman Empire. Because of his position, he was a rich man, influential in society, powerful. He is rich precisely because “he was a chief tax collector” (19:2). He misused his power to collect from the people more taxes than they owed, keeping the difference for himself. Thus, he was a rich thief. Though he is powerful he is hated by the people, who were powerless to do anything about his mistreatment of them. That’s why tax collectors were the epitome of corruption in that day.

I think what Luke is trying to tell us in these three vignettes is that it doesn’t matter what your economic status is or your social standing or your religious zeal, everyone needs Jesus as Savior. The rich young ruler knew his spiritual need but wasn’t prepared to pay the price to obtain the solution. The poor, blind beggar knew his spiritual need and he had no economic barriers to hinder him pursuing and obtaining the solution. Though Zacchaeus, the thief, had no economic need, yet he seems to recognize his spiritual need. 3 He was seeking to see who Jesus was but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed into a sycamore tree to see him” (19:3-4). He is so earnest about seeing Jesus that he doesn’t care what others might think about this desperate act.

His desperate desire to see Jesus amidst the crowds reminds me of the time when my wife and lived in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. One time we went to Rideau Hall where the Governor General lives to try to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II. We expected to have to jostle through crowds of people to see her, but to our surprise, hardly anyone was there. And to our delight she drove by within a few feet of us. That was my first and only time to see her, despite having been born and raised in England.

Well, to his great surprise and delight, Zacchaeus not only got to see Jesus, but Jesus stopped and spoke to him. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ 6 So, he hurried down and received Jesus joyfully” (19:5-6).

No sooner had Jesus and Zacchaeus gone to Zacchaeus’ house together, than you can almost hear the murmur go through the crowd: “He’s gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” (19:7). In the people’s minds, tax collectors and prostitutes were quintessential sinners, the most despised people in society. Why would anyone go to be a guest with someone like that? In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were despised because of their misuse of power and their utter corruption. Zacchaeus was known as an unscrupulous tax collector, demanding more from the people than they owed to the government, extorting money from people so that he could enrich himself.

Zacchaeus’ activity was not unlike what we might experience today. Many of us here in Canada have received scam phone calls from people pretending to be Canada Revenue Agency, demanding payment for taxes we do not owe. In fact, I know someone who, through such fear and intimidation tactics, was cheated out of $6000. What a shock, then, to find that Zacchaeus not only knew their complaint against him but actually agreed with it.

The true sign of repentance is to change your way of life. “Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold’” (19:8). Zacchaeus spontaneously offers to make recompense to those from whom he had extorted money falsely. Here, then, are the evidences of genuine repentance…

1. Confession. Notice that Zacchaeus acknowledges Jesus as “Lord.” This man, who previously did not bow to anyone, now readily submits to Jesus’ lordship over him. This man, who previously did not take orders from anyone, now willingly obeys Jesus.

2. Humility. Zacchaeus now expresses concern for “the poor.” The lowest level of society with whom he did not previously associate, now becomes his priority. The very people whom he previously despised and defrauded, now become his concern. The same people who hold a special place in Jesus’ heart, now have a place in his heart. And he pledges half of his wealth to improve their plight.

3. Restitution. He will give back his ill-gotten gains. He will not live off the avails of sinful activity nor keep what rightfully belonged to others. Anything that he had taken fraudulently he would “restore fourfold.” Effectively, he imposes on himself a fine for his previous illicit behavior.

This was unheard of from tax collectors. They didn’t submit to anyone. They had no compassion for anyone. They didn’t give to anyone, they just took away. They didn’t confess wrong-doing because they considered themselves to be above the law and everyone else.

Now we come to verse 10 which is the centre of our attention in this sermon. In response to his confession and evidence of genuine repentance, Zacchaeus hears...

I. Jesus’ Glorious Declaration That The Son Of Man Has Come

“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham’” (19:9). Jesus gives the clear assurance of salvation. “Today!” There is no delay in Jesus’ granting forgiveness to this incorrigible sinner. Jesus did not tell Zacchaeus to do works of penance. He did not tell Zacchaeus that he would review his behavior after a certain length of time to see if he deserved salvation. No, Jesus said, “Today salvation has come this house.” Zacchaeus had already given clear and convincing proof that his heart had been changed, that his conscience had been reached, that genuine repentance had taken place.

You see, God looks right into our hearts. He knows those who are genuine seekers after him. He knows those who are genuinely repentant. He knows your heart. He sees your every action, hears every word, and knows every thought. So, when you turn to him in faith he grants instant salvation. That’s what happened to the thief on the cross. He didn’t have opportunity to do anything to earn salvation. But he called upon Jesus out of his utter need and recognition of his sinfulness, saying to the other thief, 40 Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ 43 And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”(Lk. 23:40-43).

“Salvation has come to this house,” Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “since he also is a son of Abraham.” What did Jesus mean by this: “He (Zacchaeus) also is a son of Abraham”? Well, in contrast to those who observed what was happening, who accused Jesus of being the “guest of a man who is a sinner” (19:7), who were children of Abraham by birth but not by faith, Zacchaeus, on the other hand, despite his previous conduct, was by birth and now by confession a man of faith, a “son of Abraham.” The old had gone and the new had come.

So, not only does Jesus give Zacchaeus a clear assurance of salvation, but also Jesus gives a clear declaration of his advent: “... for the Son of Man has come” (19:10a). The word “for” indicates Jesus’ explanation of how and why salvation could come to anyone, even a thief, even to someone as far from God as rich, powerful, and corrupt Zacchaeus. Over the course of his ministry, Jesus stated many reasons why he came into the world. He said...

“I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:32)

“I have come not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (Jn. 6:38)

“I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10)

“For this purpose (the cross) I came to this hour” (Jn. 12:27)

“For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world, that I should bear witness of the truth” (Jn. 18:37)

“I have come a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness” (Jn. 12:46)

“I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (Jn. 12:47)

But surely this statement in Luke 19:10 of why Jesus came into the world outshines them all. “Salvation” is only possible because “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (19:10). The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world was to save lost people – that’s why “the Son of Man has come.” This is what Christmas is all about - the coming of the Son of Man, whose coming changed world history.

What, then, does this title “Son of Man” mean? “The Son of Man” is the title Jesus used most often in the gospels to refer to himself. Since its meaning is never explained, the title must have been well known and understood.

1. It’s a title that indicates Jesus’ deity. That’s why Jesus called himself “the” Son of Man (a) when He claimed the authority to forgive sins (Lk. 5:24), because only God can do that; (b) when He claimed authority over the Sabbath (Lk. 6:5), because only God is lord of the Sabbath; (c) when He claimed authority over the harvest (Matt. 13:3), because only God as creator is God of the harvest; and (d) when He spoke of the redemptive aspect of his mission in the world (Mk. 10:45), because only God can redeem sinful human beings.

2. It’s a title that identifies Jesus’ humanity. The Son of Man is the incarnate God who in his humanity identifies with the human race (a) by associating with publicans and sinners like Zacchaeus (cf. Lk. 7:34); (b) by being totally accessible by human beings; (c) by experiencing all the things we experience like sadness, weakness, suffering, disappointment, hunger, temptation, and even death.

The Son of Man is the incarnate God who in his lowly humanity demonstrated his love for sinners when He 7 emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:7-8).

3. It’s a title Jesus used to prophesy of his sufferings as in: (a) “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Lk. 9:22); (b) “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men” (Lk. 9:44); (c) “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Lk. 24:7); (d) “‘31 See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.’” (Lk. 18:31-33).

4. It’s a title that connects Jesus to his future coming. The O.T. prophets foretold that the Son of Man was coming, and now the “Son of Man has come.” Prophecy has become reality. Not only has this prophecy about the coming of the Son of Man already been fulfilled at his first coming, but it is yet to be fulfilled at his second coming for the Son of Man is coming again. This time not in lowliness and poverty and rejection but in power and glory: “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Lk. 21:27).

The Son of Man is coming again. At that time his coming will be sudden and unexpected, not to save but to judge. “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Lk. 12:40). “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all - so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Lk. 17:24-30).

So in Luke’s gospel Jesus is presented as the universal Savior, the Son of God and yet the highly accessible Son of Man. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is “the Son of Man” who feeds the hungry, exalts the humble, reaches out to the disadvantaged, the unlovely, the poor, the outcasts. But he is also the One who condemns the rich and powerful.

As someone else has pointed out, in Luke’s gospel, “the Son of Man” emphasizes that Jesus’ humanity was at the same time ordinary but also extraordinary; it was normal but also abnormal (Ken Carson, “The Son of Man Comes,” Grace Institute for Biblical Leadership, Spring 2008). He was born like any normal human, but his conception was highly abnormal, extraordinary. He was born as an ordinary baby to a poor family in a stable, but the birth announcement was extraordinary, made by angels to astonished but adoring shepherds. He matured like a normal boy but had extraordinary wisdom and knowledge. He was baptized like any other person, but his baptism was accompanied by the audible affirmation of God from heaven. His genealogy goes back to Adam like everyone else, but it goes through king David, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So, from Luke 1:1 to 4:13, Luke announces the fact of the coming of this extraordinary Son of Man to earth. It is announced by angels, by prophets and prophetesses in the temple, by John the Baptist, and by God the Father himself.

Then from Luke 4:14 to 9:50, Luke describes the purpose of the coming of the Son of Man to earth. The purpose of the coming of the Son of Man was to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to give sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed and downtrodden. That is, He has come to the rejects and outcasts and despised of society, like the lepers (Lk. 5:12) and tax collectors (Lk. 5:29) and women (who figure prominently in the life of Jesus in Luke) and Samaritans (Lk. 9:51-56).

This then is his glorious declaration that “the Son of Man has come.” And then we see…

II. His Glorious Compassion In Seeking Lost Sinners

“ The Son of Man has come, to seek… the lost” (19:10b). This is why the Son of Man has come into the world – to search for lost sinners.

Who are the lost? What does it mean to be spiritually lost? Every human being comes into the world in a lost spiritual condition, with our backs turned against God in rejection of God’s love, with our wills rebelling against God in rejection of God’s law. We come into the world like the rich man – self-sufficient, independent, and self-willed. “For all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). That is our condition by nature (birth) and by practice (behavior). We are “lost” sinners. To be “lost” means to not know where you are, to not know how to return home, to not know which way to turn, to be helpless and hopeless. Perhaps there are some reading this who know you are lost spiritually. Well here’s the good news: “The Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.”

That’s the essence of Christmas – the coming of Jesus to search for lost sinners. Jesus seeks “the lost,” like those in Luke 15 – the woman who tirelessly searched for the lost silver coin; the shepherd who tirelessly searched for the lost sheep; the father who tirelessly searched the horizon day after day for a sign of his lost son. Just so, the purpose of the coming of the Son of Man was to search for lost people.

He did not “come to call the righteous” (Lk. 5:32) - those who think they don’t need God; those who do not admit they are lost - but Jesus came to call “sinners to repentance” - those who acknowledge their need of him; those who confess their sins; those who know and admit they are spiritually lost.

Note that no one ever sought after Jesus unless Jesus first sought after them. He initiates the process of salvation. Those who call on the name of the Lord do so precisely because he sought them out and found them. Salvation is all because of his sovereign grace and mercy.

Here we see then Jesus’ glorious declaration that “the Son of Man has come,” his glorious compassion in searching for lost sinners. And thirdly we see…

III. His Glorious Redemption In Saving Lost Sinners

“The Son of Man has come to... save the lost” (19:10c). The Son of Man has come not only to “seek” lost sinners but the Son of Man has also come to “save” lost sinners. What good would a search party be if, upon finding a lost person, they merely informed them they were lost? No, the purpose of searching for lost people is to save them.

Having found those who are lost Jesus does not destroy their lives, but saves them (Lk. 9:56). Jesus does not cast them out, but draws them in (Jn. 6:37). Jesus does not let them perish in their sin, but brings them to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). Jesus does not expose their spiritual nakedness, but covers them with robes of righteousness (Isa. 61:10; 2 Cor. 5:21).

That’s why Jesus came – to seek and to save the lost, to bring them home to God, to reconcile them to God through faith in him, to provide a way of escape from the judgement of God. And he did that by paying the penalty for our sin through his death on the cross. God declared that the punishment for sin is death, for, He said, “the soul that sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:20). And Jesus died our death, in our place, so that we could escape God’s judgement for our sin. That’s why the Son of Man has come – “to seek and save the lost.”

It all started with Jesus’ birth that ultimately led to his death. By coming into the world, Jesus showed us that He is God, dying and then rising from the dead and ascending back to heaven from where He had come. And now he is waiting for lost souls to accept his offer of mercy.

Final Remarks

That’s the substance of Christmas. That’s why Jesus came. Remember our thesis: The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world was to save lost people. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” What a glorious declaration, glorious compassion, and glorious redemption - praise be to God!

That’s what we celebrate at Christmas. That is the essence of the Christmas message. We focus on the circumstances of his birth and we wonder at it, and rightly so. But the wonder of his birth is the precursor to the wonder of his death – the one points forward to the other. When Jesus came to earth and was born as a baby in a cattle shed he knew that his life would end by crucifixion on a cross. And he willingly endured all that so that you and I might be saved from our sins.

If you have not already repented of your sins and turned in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, will you do so today? And if you are a Christian, are you diligently following him, seeking to serve him, waiting for him to come again? May it be so for the glory of God and for your blessing.

Related Topics: Christmas

4. The Search OF the Savior: Why Jesus Came, Part 2 (Gal. 4:4-7)

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Most of us try to organize our lives around a schedule. You schedule appointments, schedule your school work, schedule time with your friends etc. Soon you find that your week is all filled up.

Some people don’t make plans at all. Or, if they do, they don’t stick to them. Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler, is reported to have once said: “I’m constantly amazed by the number of people who can’t seem to control their own schedules. Over the years, I’ve had many executives come to me and say with pride, ‘Boy, last year I worked so hard that I didn’t take any vacation.’ It’s actually nothing to be proud of. I always feel like responding, ‘You mean to tell me that you can take responsibility for an $80 million project, and you can’t plan two weeks out of the year to go off with your family and have some fun?’” At this time of year everyone’s schedule seems to be full with Christmas family gatherings to attend, Christmas concerts to enjoy or perhaps be part of.

Sometimes, unscheduled events occur. Cliff Barrows served as Billy Graham’s lifelong associate and crusade song leader. The story is told that in 1945, before he met Billy Graham, Cliff and his fiancée, Billie, had scraped together enough money for a simple wedding and two train tickets to a resort. On arrival, however, they found the hotel shut down. Stranded in an unfamiliar city with little money, they thumbed a ride. A sympathetic driver took them to a grocery store owned by a woman he knew. The newlyweds spent their first night in a room above the store. The next day, when the lady overheard Cliff playing Christian songs on his trombone, she arranged for them to spend the rest of their honeymoon at a friend’s house. Several days later the host invited them to attend a youth rally where a young evangelist was speaking. The song leader that night was sick and Cliff was asked to take charge of the music for the service. The young evangelist, of course, was Billy Graham, and the two became lifelong partners. You can’t schedule such unplanned events.

Sometimes, timing is everything. The plans we make don’t always work out. Unexpected interruptions come up and the timing of our plans has to change. When an unscheduled event occurs, you usually scramble to figure out how you can reorganize your life quickly. Perhaps it’s a health issue, or a death in the family, or a paper at school you forgot was due this week. Or, perhaps it’s the birth of a baby - sometimes babies do what they’re supposed to do and come into the world on time and sometimes they come unexpectedly. Herod hadn’t planned on the Messiah being born. This was certainly an unscheduled event for him and he began to scramble. That’s why he “summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared” (Matt. 2:7). Mary hadn’t planned on Jesus being born that day. But all of sudden, “the time came for her to give birth” (Lk. 2:6).

When things don’t go the way you plan, God’s timing is always the best. He may have plans for you that you know nothing about. The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven” (Ecc. 3:1).

We’re going to see today that God’s plan is perfect. All the details are fixed and certain. He made his plan in eternity past and he is carrying it out perfectly. His plan isn’t late, nothing is unscheduled, and it won’t change because it’s a perfect plan, God’s Perfect Christmas Plan.

God’s plan was determined before the world was made and spans throughout the entire history of the human race. His plan was so enormous that we can’t fathom its complexity. Yet, smoothly and surely his plan continues to unfold. Just as surely as his Word is eternally trustworthy so his plan for the human race is coming true. The point of the passage we are studying in this sermon is that the purpose for Jesus’ coming into the world was to fulfill God’s perfect plan.

A perfect plan has three components: (1) The perfect time; (2) The perfect person; (3) The perfect purpose. First, then…

I. God Awaited The Perfect Time

When the fullness of time had come… (4a)

1. The fullness of time was planned from eternity past. God has an eternal calendar, a schedule for human history, a plan concerning human beings and the earth. Throughout human history God has been unfolding his plan for the world. But throughout human history people have ignored God’s plan. They turn a blind eye to his plan and turn their backs on Him. Adam and Eve disregarded God’s plan for their bliss in Eden. The nation of Israel disregarded God’s plan for their blessing in Canaan. So, God has repeatedly warned, cajoled, and pleaded with people to repent, to be reconciled to Him, to trust him.

First, the fullness of time was planned in eternity past. And second…

2. The fullness of time was revealed throughout the O.T. It was revealed in Genesis 3:15, when God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and he offspring: he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.” It was revealed through the time of the patriarchs, judges, kings, and O.T. prophets (cf. Heb. 1:2-3). And the years passed until the perfect time came, “the fullness of time,” when God intervened in history to execute his plan of redemption.

So, the “fullness of time” was planned from eternity past. It was revealed throughout the O.T. And third…

3. The fullness of time came when Christ was born. Christ’s birth was “the fullness of time” because it was exactly at the time of our greatest need. Human beings had shown themselves to be utterly incapable and unwilling to keep God’s law. Over thousands of years, the human race had proven that we are sinners in need of a Savior. “While we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Indeed, “At that time, you were separated from Christ … having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).

It was the “fullness of time” because it was exactly according to God’s timetable. That was the time for God to effect his eternal plan of redemption. This was the culminating revelation of God’s plan. This was the apex of his unfolding drama of redemption. This was the zenith of all God’s ways with man. This was the perfect time when God himself was going to intervene in human history by coming to earth. The task was too great for any mere mortal to speak or act on behalf of God – not the prophets nor the kings or judges or patriarchs. So that was the time for God’s one and only Son to be born.

It was the “fullness of time” because it was exactly the right time for God’s plan to be put into action. The time had come to which all redemptive history had pointed. The right moment had come for God to disclose to the world how he would effect his plan of salvation, a plan that he had made known through the prophets, but a plan that the human race had ignored. That’s why, when Christ was born, no one seemed to realize what was happening. The people of Jerusalem and Bethlehem didn’t know, even though their own Scriptures had predicted it long before.

When Christ was born nearly 2000 years ago it was the perfect time for God to initiate his plan of redemption. And the perfect time for God to complete his plan will come again in the future. He acted once at Christ’s first coming and He will act again at Christ’s second coming. At Christ’s first coming, God revealed his grace; at Christ’s second coming, God will reveal his judgment and wrath. There is a limit set for God’s plan of grace. Yes, “God has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). And so, God pleads with people today: “Behold, now is the favorable (acceptable) time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). And He warns everyone: “Surely I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20). There is a limit set for God’s plan of grace. The question is: “Are you ready?”

God awaited the perfect time. And…

II. God Appointed The Perfect Person

…God sent forth his Son (4b)

This reminds us of the man in the parable who “planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.” (Mk. 12:1). First, he sent a servant to receive the fruit if his vineyard, but the servant was beaten by the tenants and sent away empty-handed. Then, he sent another servant who was shamefully treated, stoned, wounded and sent away. Then, he sent another servant who was killed, and many others, some of whom were beaten and some killed. After all that, “He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” (Mk. 12:1-6).

Jesus, the perfect person, was “born of a woman” (4c). In God’s perfect plan, he sent forth Jesus, his beloved Son, who was “born of a woman.” He did not come the first time in the way he will come the second time. At his second coming he will come in power and great glory. Then, “he will come in the clouds and every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7). And then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). But at his first coming, Jesus came in weakness and obscurity, “born of a woman.”

Because he was born of a woman, Jesus was fully human. But Jesus was also fully divine. Though he was fully man, Jesus was no ordinary man. He was no ordinary man because his conception was different than any other - the woman to whom he was born was a virgin. He was not conceived through the natural union of a man and a woman. He was conceived through the Holy Spirit: “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” the angels said to Joseph (Matt. 1:20). His conception guarded his deity. And his conception guarded his holiness – he had no sinful nature. He was fully human and yet perfectly sinless as Scripture attests: God “made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). He was “holy, innocent, unstained, separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26). He was “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).

Thus, Jesus was the God-man. He was fully and perfectly God and fully and perfectly man. He was God “manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). This is a foundational, non-negotiable truth of Christianity (cf. Heb. 2:14). “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).

So, Jesus had two natures - human and divine (cf. Phil. 2:6-7). It was necessary for our salvation that the Savior of men should be a perfect man. As John MacArthur puts it: “He had to be God to have the power of Saviour, and He had to be man to have the position of Substitute” (Galatians, 108). The debt of our sins had to be paid and it could only be paid by a sinless, perfect person. This idea is echoed in Cecil Alexander’s old hymn (“There is a Green Hill far away”)…

There was none other good enough to pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.

To satisfy the justice of a holy God, there had to be a perfect sacrifice. And the perfect sacrifice had to be a perfect person. Jesus, the perfect person, was “born of a woman.” And Jesus, the perfect person, was “born under the law” (4d). He was born under the same conditions as those who were finding it impossible to be justified by the law. Like any other person, he had the obligation to obey and be judged by the law. But unlike any other person, he perfectly kept and satisfied the law of God, because he was perfectly sinless.

So, in putting his plan into action, first, God awaited the perfect time. Second, God appointed the perfect person. And notice third…

III. God Achieved The Perfect Purpose

Every plan has to have a purpose, a goal.

God’s purpose was to change our standing before God. And He did this by sending forth his Son “to redeem those who were under the Law” (5a). To redeem something means to buy it back, just as slaves in Bible times were sometimes bought back from slavery. Because Christ was born under the law and perfectly kept the law, he is able to “redeem” all who were born under the law and were held in bondage by it, being unable to keep it themselves. We could not meet the holy demands of God’s law. We stood before God condemned, our mouths were shut. We had no defence before God, no advocate. We were guilty and enslaved with no hope of freedom until “God sent forth his Son” into the world “to redeem those who were under the Law.”

That’s what God revealed to Mary, “You shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). That’s what God revealed to the shepherds, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10-11). That’s what God, through Paul, revealed to the people in the synagogue, Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts. 13:38-39).

God sent forth his Son with the express purpose of redeeming us, redeeming us from our sinful flesh. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3). If we believe in him, the condemnation of sin in the sacrifice of Christ prevents our personal condemnation. It changes our standing before God. That’s why Jesus came into the world.

By faith in Him, we are redeemed from the curse of the law, bought back from the power of Satan to the power of God, ransomed from death to life. Our standing before God changed. That was God’s purpose, to change our standing before Him. And also…

God’s purpose was to change our status before Him. God sent forth his Son so that we might receive adoption as sons” (5b). That’s a change of status. Adoption in this context doesn’t mean what it does today in our society. In the Greco-Roman culture, a certain time was set when the male child in the family was formally and legally “adopted.” The word used here for adoption literally means “to place as a son.” So, at this pre-appointed time, the male child was placed in the position of a legal son and given all the rights and privileges of that position. This legal ceremony did not make him a member of the family, for he always was a member of the family. Rather, it gave him legal recognition as a son under Roman law.

There are two Greek words that are both rendered simply as “son” in our English translations, but they are, in fact, different. One word refers to a child by natural birth (teknon) and the other refers to the same child who has been legally declared a son in the eyes of the law (huios). Here in Galatians 4:5, Paul uses the term “huios” to describe this legal “adoption as sons” with full rights and privileges.

Paul’s point here is that, as adopted sons (and daughters), we have a new status before God. We who were slaves to the law have been redeemed from its grip and now, as free men and women, we have been adopted into God’s family with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of sons and daughters.

This new status brings with it a family intimacy, the like of which we could never have had with God before. Our status has been changed from slavery under the law to redeemed children adopted into God’s family. And now, because we are God’s children, “God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father’” (6). Notice this beautiful sequence. Not only did God send forth his perfect Son into the world to change our standing before God by redeeming us (marvellous as that is), and to change our status before God by adopting us (marvellous as that is), but also He has sealed our new standing and signified our new status by sending “the Spirit of his Son into our hearts” (6a). Thus, we are brought into an entirely new relationship with God, a relationship of intimacy and security that a slave could never have with his master, but which we enjoy with God as his children. Now we know God in an entirely different way. Now we can call God “Abba! Father!” - “Daddy, Father.” Now we are “no longer slaves but sons” [and daughters] (7a). Now we enjoy a paternal intimacy with God of security, warmth, comfort, confidence, affection, joy, peace. We have a brand new relationship with God through Christ. That’s why the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world.

This new status not only brings with it a family intimacy but also…

This new status brings with it a family inheritance. Because of Christ’s redemption and our adoption into God’s family, we have become heirs of all that his children are entitled to inherit. If we are sons and daughters of God, “then (we are) heirs of God through Christ” (7b). We are brought into the family inheritance. As it says in Rom. 8:17, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” When we become part of God’s family through “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24) we receive the family inheritance. God has appointed his Son the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2) and now through faith in Him, all that is Christ’s by right is ours by inheritance because we are God’s adopted children (cf. Col. 1:16).

What, then, is the nature of our inheritance? Our inheritance is that we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5). Or, as Eph. 1:11-14 puts it, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Final Remarks

What we see in this passage is that God’s Perfect Christmas Plan is at its core the plan of redemption. And if you trust him, you can be a part of his redeemed family. This is why Jesus came into the world, to be our Saviour and to bring us into this new relationship with God, our Father. To implement his plan (1) God awaited the perfect time; (2) God appointed the perfect person; and (3) God achieved the perfect purpose.

I can’t think of any better Christmas plan than that. The timing was perfect, the person was perfect, and the purpose was perfect. As a result the unsolved riddle of the previous 400 years before Christ is solved. The unsolved riddle was: “How can a man be just with God?” Now the solution is clear: “God sent forth his Son... to redeem (us).”

Remember our theme statement: The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world was to fulfill God’s perfect plan. The question today is: Have you received the redemption that has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you ready to meet Him? Don’t let other plans hold you back so that you miss him when he comes again. Many things in our lives can distract us from what’s important.

During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur called one of his Army engineers and asked, “How long would it take to throw a bridge across this river?” The man immediately responded: “Three days, sir.” Gen. MacArthur snapped back, “Good. Have your draftsmen make drawings right away.” Three days later Gen. MacArthur sent for the engineer and asked how the bridge was coming along. The engineer reported, “It’s all ready. You can send your troops across right now if you don’t have to wait for the plans. They aren’t done yet.” What was important was getting across the river, not drawing the plans. Don’t wait until some other time to make your own plan to meet God. What’s important is to follow God’s plan. What’s important is being ready now, to get across the river, if you will. If Jesus were to return today, would you be ready to meet him? Don’t think that you have to stop doing this or start doing that first. Don’t say you plan to attend to it when you’re older. Don’t say you’ll think about it after you’ve sown your wild oats, after you get married, or when the kids are grown up.

Are you ready for the second coming of Christ in accordance with God’s perfect plan? Have you made peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ? The One for whom there was no room in the inn will one day declare: Come, for everything is now ready” (Lk. 14:17). Are you ready? There is still room in God’s house but it is filling fast. Soon the last soul will be saved and the door will be shut (Lk. 13:25). For those of us who have made peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, this reminder of why Jesus came - God’s perfect plan through Christ - should warm our hearts, fill us with hope, renew our commitment, cause us to watch and be ready, for the coming of the Lord draws near.

Related Topics: Christmas

What is Trajectory Theology?

Trajectory theology or hermeneutic has to do with an interpretive method which finds progressive change in the application of Scripture through the trajectory of time going beyond the completion of the New Testament. For example, Robert Webb's book Women, Slaves, and Homosexuals proposes a trajectory hermeneutic on the issues of slaves and women, believing that while the Bible never completely overturned the the institution of slavery or the degraded role of women we should none the less look toward the direction in which the Scripture was headed and see a trajectory in time that plays out in our present understanding even though the NT had not made it to this point yet. In other words, whatever direction the Scriptures were heading, we are to take up that ball and carry it to its finality.
 
There are many difficulties with this hermeneutic:
1. What is the finality to which we are to take it?
2. How do we know that the NT example is not that finality?
3. Who has the authority to make these decisions?
 
This most basically is progressive revelation that does not find its interpretive completion at the close of the canon.
 
Bible.org does not have anything written on this that I know of. But there are many reviews of Webb's book. Look here for Look here for grudem's response:  https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/47/47-2/47-2-pp299-346_JETS.pdf

Related Topics: Introduction to Theology, The Theology Program

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