网上牧师杂志–中文版（简体）, SCh Ed, Issue 33 2019 年 秋季
2019 秋季版
A ministry of…
作者: Roger Pascoe 博士, 主席,
圣经讲道学会
剑桥, 安省, 加拿大
邮箱: [email protected]
电话: 1-519-620-2375
第一部分:加强讲解式讲道
“强化应用” （第二部分）
介绍
在本杂志的上一版，我们讨论了怎样强化讲道的应用部分。在这一版，我们将继续这个主题。
作为传道人，我们应该记住神学是完全实用的，因此也必须实际应用在我们的讲道中。真理不仅仅意味着知识，它也意味着实践。真理的实践必须成为我们讲道的重要部分。这就是我们所说的应用。
但是许多传道人往往发现，决定如何应用他们所宣讲的真理使之既与今天的听众相关，同时又符合经文，是一件很难的事情。所以，这里有些想法可以帮助你在讲道中采取相关的应用。
A.发现好应用的有效提示[1]
首先，审视经文中的情况。问如下问题…
#1:当时的问题、事件或环境是什么？
- 圣经作者是写给谁的？
- 为什么作者在那个时候写信给这些人？
- 需要指出的问题、状况、试炼或痛苦是什么？
- 作者责备、纠正、劝告或解释的本质是什么？
#2:圣经给出的解决方案或要求的行动是什么？
- 作者是如何指出问题的？他给了他们什么指导？
- 神直接向他们指出了吗？如果是，那么神指示他们做什么或者成为什么？
#3:人们的反应是什么？
- 圣经作者期望或者要求什么样的回应？
- 人们如何接收信息以及他们对解决方案如何反应？
- 他们对作者的指导有什么样的态度？
第二，审视当下的情况。问如下问题…
#1:今天人们的需求和问题有什么相似之处？
- 我们和经文中的人有什么相似之处？
- 他们的生活状况和我们今天有什么相似之处?要具体。
#2:对当下的状况，经文中是如何解决的？
- 关于这个问题，圣经告诉了我们什么？
- 哪些圣经原则可以应用到我们自己身上？
#3:今天我们该如何回应？
- 基督徒该如何回应经文关于这个问题的指导？
- 当下我们应该做什么来纠正这个问题？在我们的态度、信仰、优先考虑的事情、价值观、意志以及关系中，有我们需要纠正的东西吗？
- 我们必须做什么来顺服神的话？
第三，你讲道的实际应用要具体
- 我的会众在他们的生活中如何处理相似的问题？
- 我们和经文中的人有什么相似之处？
- 我期望我的会众有什么反应——认罪、悔改、遵行、怀疑、拒绝、生气、发问、反对、接受、顺服？
当你问这些问题的时候，试着通过明确地指出当前情况的类型给以回答。对于他们如何将真理应用到自己的生活中，要试着给出具体的指导。
应用要在你会众的生活中具体、真实。想出可信的，实际的例子，哪怕因为保密的原因你不能说出实际情况，在这种情况下，如果合适的话，你可以请求某个人做一个与主题相关的个人见证。
所以，当你考虑经文中真理的实际应用时，要准备好回答自己问题和挑战的答案。神想要整个会众做什么、相信什么以及改变什么？神在会众每个人的生活中要他们做什么、相信什么或者改变什么？神想要他们成为怎样的人？
并且要常存盼望，例如，圣灵在我们里面，帮助我们顺服真理；我们的命定是确定且牢靠的，最终我们会从试炼中得到救赎；我们能因在基督里的信心和未来的盼望而有喜乐。
最后，说明你建议你的会众采取什么样的行动。要具体并举例子。 他们需要采取什么样的行动才能使真理进入他们的生活，使他们活出神子民该有的样子？他们应该采取什么样的具体措施？并在这个过程中向他们提供帮助。这是你作为牧师的责任，不是简单地告诉他们根据圣经真理他们该如何做，而是切实帮助他们实现这个目标。
比如，如果这个主题与基督徒忍受苦难有关，试着给他们一些具体的建议来应对这些考验他们信心的难处（身体上的、精神上的或者情感上的等等）。例如，（1）他们可以来记一些相关的、使人有信心的经文（2）他们可以和基督徒朋友一起祷告，互相帮助；（3）他们可以将他们的难处与咨询师、牧师或者圣经学习小组分享。给出经文，说明为什么担当彼此的难处是合乎圣经的。
结论
.记住，并不是每一段经文都可以直接转变成应用。换句话说，你不能假设当时圣经里发生的事情和现在的完全一样，或者我们必须像他们当时的反应一样。你如何过渡到今天的应用取决于经文。这就是你必须忠实于圣经作者意图的地方。
B.好应用所具备的特点
1. 好的应用会突出信息的迫切
它必须有一种紧迫感，那就是必须现在就采取行动—比如，信从福音，顺服神的意志，停止有罪的习惯和接触等。
2.好应用会反映信息的强度
我所说的强度指讲道中那些强调—鼓励人们对神话语以及传道人的劝戒做出积极回应。这不是一次愉快的炉边谈话，而是呼召。耶稣的比喻总是呼召人们做出某种行动，例如好撒玛利亚人：“去照样行吧”（路10:37）
3.好应用会与信息的目的相呼应
应用必须与讲道的目的直接相关。它必须来源于讲道的目的也指向讲道的目的。无论你为你的讲道定了什么目的，你的应用必须通过使人们的生活有切实的不同来实现这个目的。
4.好应用会激发出信息的动机
任何一场讲道的目的之一就是推动你的听众采取某种行动。你想要激发的动机就是那个能够触摸心灵，引导思路，刺痛良知、引导意志并付出行动的东西—不是通过掌控或者威胁，而是圣灵引导的、被真理唤醒的对神话语的回应。“我们最终的目的是推动意志，使它转到另一个方向，加快它的步伐，使它能够按着神诫命的方式歌唱” [2]
5.信息能够帮助人们意识到自己的问题，并面对和处理。好应用能够强化信息这方面的功能。
在应用中，信息以个人和直接的方式帮助听众意识到自己的问题（不再是间接或者非个人的）。他们可能面对真理“原则”没有回应，因为它是间接或者非个人化的。但是，当面对真理的“实践”时，回应是不可避免的，是必须的。
.讲解式的讲道的本质就是让人们意识到自己的问题，并去面对和解决，不论是直接或者间接。在大多数讲道中，这种应用有两种形式。例如，先知拿单斥责大卫（撒下12），以间接的应用（讲故事）开始，但是以直接的应用结束：“你就是那个人”。耶稣在他的应用中也通常是直接的。
间接的方式，有的时候人们可能听过就忘了，他们错过了重点而不知道如何回应。但通过直接的方式，你不至于会冒这样的风险。提后3:16-17似乎表明，圣经真理的应用应该（1）直接明确，而非间接和暗示；（2）说服并指责，而非建议和容忍（使徒行转中使徒的讲道）。
6.好应用使信息产生说服力
应用的主要目标是说服听众遵守真理，无论它是在整个讲道中，还是在最后，或两者皆有。讲道中的解释是为接下来的应用打基础。因此一篇讲道既是信息性，又有改变性。
说服的能力来自于圣灵将神的话作用于人的心灵、思想、意志和良心。说服的工具是传道人将真理与生活结合，以至于听众看到改变的必要性，并被说服去做些什么。
当圣灵开启人对神话语的理解，并通过传道人的应用展示神话语的实际，这就是改变的强大催化剂。
为了使应用具有说服力，真理的讲解和它的应用都必须被恰当地、礼貌地、谦卑地呈现出来，以便听众能够接受。
7.好应用会从信息的解释中浮现出来
应用必须被经文驱动，正如解释被经文驱动一样。 不要使用经文任意弹出你想要的应用。这是对你的读者和经文缺乏诚信。你的应用一定要出自经文，与经文作者的意图相符，并且你应用的要点与经文的主要观点一致。
不要使用经文达到你自己的目的。这是对经文的乱用。当应用用于生活的时候，它不能以任何方式歪曲经文。这才是诚信地使用经文。这需要很多的训练。搞明白基于经文的应用跟搞明白经文的意思同等重要。
注意，应用必须来源于经文，与此同时应用的范围需要被“扩展”，如此，经文中隐含的意义才可能应用于生活的诸多方面。因此，一段经文，只有一个意思，却可以有很多应用。
8.好应用会显露信息中牧师的要点。
好应用引导人们去该去的地方。它会在人们受伤时关心他们，在人们违背的时候责备他们，在人们饥饿的时候喂养他们，在人们危险的时候保护他们。
9.好应用会使信息中抽象的真理具体化
不要担心举具体的例子会导致有的听众认为与他们无关—也就是说，他们可能认为既然你并没有提到与他们相关的例子，因此他们就不需要有回应。在这里，圣灵弥补这个空缺。圣灵会使用你给出的例子，使听者的思想和良心中浮现出他们需要纠正或改变的东西等。
应用要具体，把真理与生活联系起来。为了有效地做到这一点，你必须关注生活中的一些情况，在这些情况下，特定的真理以特定的方式应用。作为传道人，你的任务就是使听众明白这点并敦促听众遵行。不要停留在概念层面。很多传道人都如此，他们很难从神学的抽象层面，来到具体的、有形的、生活的层面。
结论
不要忽视应用。在讲道之前要回顾你的讲稿，看看里面有多少应用。足够吗？每一个主要原则都有应用吗？我的导师，Stephen Olford 博士曾经敦促我们说，应用应该占讲道的50%！
C.应用的参考准则
1.找寻真理、应许、命令和例子
应许、命令和例子的给出不仅仅是教义上或者理性上的认同。它们要被反复灌输到生活中。圣经中的真理需要来相信并遵行。
对圣经真理的唯一正确的回应是信心，这不仅表现在被动地接受原则，而且表现在理解它们对生活的意义并活出它们（也就是应用）。注意，真理和例子可能是明确的，也可能是隐含的。
例如，一个明确的原则是：“你应该爱人如己”（利19:18）. 虽然一个明确的原则是什么或者说了什么毫无疑问的，但它在生活中的表现可能因文化而异。我们的任务就是去发现这个具体的真理在今天我们所处文化背景下的应用。
一个隐含的原则可能是那些需要通过逻辑推理才能看到其对生活的意义。例如，“不要奸淫”，说明了纯洁、忠诚和爱的必要性。
寻找这些原则，然后沿着抽象的阶梯向上移动，以确定它们最广泛的意义。接着，把它们应用到我们这个时代的社会生活中去。
2.学习应对应用旧约时会面临的诠释学挑战
想要更多地阅读这方面的文章，我推荐Tremper Longman III所著的Making Sense out of the Old Testament中的“基督徒如何将旧约应用于生活？” (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998), 103-136.
3.了解你所处的文化
这样，你就可以把神的话用在真实的人和真实情况上。没有意义的应用或者已经过时的应用几乎没有影响力。
圣经中的真理原则对任何时代的任何人都有意义。我们的任务就是要把它应用于我们的时代我们的人身上—这就是相关。
4.意识到没有哪两个传道人必须以统一的方式应用经文
这并不是说一个对一个错。这只说明他们的方式不同，或者他们呈现了同一真理的不同侧面，或者他们的会众受益于不同的应用方式。
5.不要在应用时耗尽精力
当应用的时候，保持你对真理的确信和热情。当你将真理个人化的时候，这是保持强度的关键时刻。
6.作为一个这个真理也适用于你并且已经应用于你生活的人来讲道
这并不意味着你必须使用“我们”。有时候，或者一般来说你会用 “你”使应用个人化以及具有说服力。但是，你要确保在你劝戒别人去遵行这个真理之前，已经应用于你自己的生活。
一定要把这作为你准备讲道的一部分。当你准备好讲稿，你要在神的面前回顾它，以祷告地方式回顾，求神向你显明你需要应用于自己生活的真理。
7.视觉化你的听众
看到他们的需要（在不指向个人或者暴露隐私的情况下）。涵盖听众生活的不同状况（例如在家中、工作中、学校中、社区中）——包含每个人。
在每一种生活状况中使用“可能”的情况。“可能你在工作中遇到这种…”等。你可能不能准确地描述每个人所面临的情况，但你会在他们的脑海中触动其他一些情况，在这些情况下，这个应用是针对他们的。
8. 记住应用的四个原则
#1.个人化的原则
这个原则就是传道人要将真理应用于自己的生活。如果你对别人传讲你没有应用到自己生活的东西，你的讲道会没有能力。当你这样做的时候，不但神知道，听众也知道。传道人必须传讲他所相信的并在自己的生活中活出来的东西。
#2.想象的原则
要想恰当地应用经文，它对你必须是真实的。人物、地点和情感必须活在你的想象中。如果它对传道人来说是生动的，那么看到它如何应用于其他人对你来说会更容易。
#3.扩展的原则
当我们对听众讲道并引导他们，一段时间之后，传道人会更了解他们——他们的怕和需要。我们对这些人的经验（他们住在哪里，他们是谁）使得我们能够扩展经文的应用，以涵盖尽可能多的方面。这并不是说我们可以不恰当地或者不准确地使用经文。每一段经文只有一种解释，但是却有针对人们经历和问题的许多种应用。
#4.声明的原则
声明经文的应用必须明确且有权威。经文的应用必须没有任何不确定性。人们来教会是为了寻求明确的方向，为了知道神说了什么，他们必须怎样生活，怎样才能得到帮助来解决他们的问题。因此，应用必须公开声明，这样人们才不会被悬在半空，或者不知道重点是什么。
第二部分 讲道大纲
如果想听关于这些的英文讲道，请点击链接: Link 1 - 启 2:1-4; Link 2 - 启 2:5-7
题目：给七个教会的信：以弗所，正统但冷漠
主题：复兴由神子民的悔改开始
要点 #1:首先，好消息：“表面上看，你们教会在属灵上很健康”
(1)你们持续勤劳地做工（2a）
(2)你们清楚坚决地审判罪恶（2b）
(3)你们信实而不知疲倦地坚持（3）
要点 #2:现在坏消息是：“你们教会内部有严重的心灵问题”
(1)基督的诊断：“你把起初的爱心离弃了” (4)
(2)基督的处理：
(a) “回想你从哪里坠落了”（5a）
(b) “悔改，行起初所行的事”（5b）
(c)警告“你若不悔改，我将把你的灯台从远处挪去”（5c）
(d)对听从警告的人的应许：“得胜的，我必将神乐园中生命树的果子赐给他吃”（7）
Related Topics: Pastors
網上牧師雜誌 – 中文版（繁體）, TCh Ed, Issue 32 2019 年 夏季
2019 夏
A ministry of…
作者: Roger Pascoe博士, 主席
第一部分:加強講解式講道
“強化應用”（第一部分）
介紹
你在講道中所講解的聖經真理的應用，常常是大多數講道最薄弱的部分。除非講道使真理更具體、形象、個人和實際化，否則講道只是抽象真理的講解，仍然停留在理論層面（想法、定義、老生常談）
應用往往是最薄弱的地方可能因為…
1)我們花費太多的時間在講解上面以至於很難從理論轉向應用
2)我們從對經文解釋的研究中累積了太多的東西要講，以至於沒有時間來溝通其他的東西
3)我們感到理論和實踐之間的緊張
4)我們視真理為真理，非常珍視它，非常享受它，以至於應用它似乎就降低了它的價值
5)我們擔心聽眾的反應。當我們在應用中談到具體方面的時候，我們的資訊就變得個人化，有的時候可能會引起負面的回應，因為我們觸摸到人們的緊張神經，暴露了痛點，激發了良知。
6).我們自己必須首先理解經文並且應用到自己身上，才能夠將經文應用到其他人身上。這有可能是痛苦的。
講道往往容易要麼強調講解要麼強調應用。有的傳道人專注於講解，而有的著重應用。一方面，對那些準備講稿並花費很多時間來弄明白經文說了些什麼的傳道人，往往容易著重於講解而忽視了應用。另一方面，對於那麼花很少時間來研究經文的傳道人，往往容易著重于應用而忽視了講解。
. 講道既需要講解也需要應用。如果你不應用所講解的真理，那麼你就無法顯示真理怎樣與生活相關。我們必須講解某段經文的含義以及它與日常生活的聯繫。人們想要也需要應用於他們生活中的真理——他們的人際關係，他們的想法，他們的習慣，他們的信念，他們的問題等等。
只講解卻沒有應用就如同講道的任務沒有完成一樣。只理解卻不考慮如何應用就如同只完成了一半的工作。當你研究這段經文來理解它的含義，你也必須考慮它實際應用的意義。你不能只研究一段經文而不將它們與現實生活聯繫。這才是真理被活出來的地方。這也是經文的目的——被遵行。
除非我們從聖經的世界來到當代世界，否則我們只是把真理和我們的聽眾留在了經文古老的背景中，除了知識之外，沒有任何有用的目的。
聖經講道必須從“是什麼”到 “那麼怎樣”再到“現在做什麼”。當我們講解真理的時候，我們解決的是真理的“是什麼”（也就是真理意味著什麼？）。當我們應用真理的時候，我們解決的是真理的“那麼怎樣”（也就是真理引起怎樣的不同？）。當我們實行真理的時候，我們做出真理所要求的“現在做什麼”（也就是我們現在必須做什麼以及它會怎樣改變我們）。
有的人會說聖靈負責應用的工作，而不是我們。當然，如果沒有聖靈將神的話作用于人們的心靈、良心和意志，我們的講道將毫無功效。最終，神話語的應用只有在聖靈的作用下才會改變生命。但是對講道來說也是同樣的——只有聖靈才能使其產生功效。所以，有人會問，為什麼要講道？
我們講道是因為講道是神指定的和我們溝通他話語的方式（羅10:14-15），包括它的意義和應用。聖靈使用我們作為管道來講解和應用經文。傳道人有義務和責任來告訴人們怎樣將神的話語具體應用於他們的生活。
應用是聖經講道不可缺少的部分，因為…
1)它將聖經的真理和聽眾的生活緊密聯繫起來。我們的工作是理解原文作者所講的內容和目的，並決定如何將這些資訊應用於我們今天的會眾。通過應用的方式，你將剛剛解釋的經文與它如何影響你會眾的生活聯繫起來。
2)應用在神在過去對他百姓的教導與今天對我們的教導之間架起了橋樑。
3)它將經文的智慧忠告與每個人的現實生活聯繫起來——他們對喜樂、與神的親密關係、被修復的人際關係、遵行神的話語以及基督裡的盼望等等的需要。
4) 它克服聽眾的“那麼怎樣”的異議——比如“這和我有什麼相關？”或者“我必須做什麼或者改變什麼來回應經文？”
5)它從真理的 “是什麼”過渡到基督徒的“如何”應用真理。
6)它清楚說明已經被解釋過的聖經真理實際上影響一個基督徒如何在市場、家中、學校、鄰舍中生活等等。我們的會眾中有很多只是周日來到教會，但是其他的時間就像一個非基督徒一樣生活。
7) 它將教導的原則轉變成可以實踐的東西——可以相信的一個教義；可以採取的一種態度；可以改變的一個關係等
在應用中，我們敦促人們…
a)我們敦促人們將他們所聽到的真理“視覺化/具體化”。接受不僅僅是思想上認同也是經歷的改變，生命的改變。如果他們只是理解了真理卻不採取行動，又有什麼益處呢？我們的任務是通過將真理從抽象的理論過渡到具體的、可行的、生動的實際，説明他們看到（視覺化的）真理（也就是它在現實生活中看起來如何）。
幫助他們“具體化”真理，避免人們主觀的判斷“神要對我說”什麼，也就是，沒有試著來理解原文作者想要表達的意思。怎樣將聖經真理以具體的、實踐的方式呈現出來；怎樣將真理與人們的日常生活結合——這對很多傳道人來說是很難的。
我們必須讓人們看到真理的樣子，這樣他們才能在自己的生活中看到它並聯繫起來。我們想看到他們說“是的，生活中確實是這樣，我需要這個。我有這個經歷”。我們想要真理道成肉身——也就是把真理活出來。畢竟，基督徒的整個生活就在於道成肉身，不是嗎？要像基督，也就是讓基督的真理在我們的生活中彰顯出來。
問題是“我們怎樣才能做到？”我們可以通過給出“具體的”情況和例子。這樣的情況和例子要適用於不同的聽眾（他們的年齡、身份、工作、關係、經濟狀況等），而且能夠幫助他們在實際生活中看到你所講的。
b)我們力勸人們“個人化”他們所聽到的真理。我希望人們說“是的，我需要這個。我想要這樣或我想要這樣做或想要順服這個或相信這個“等。
c)我們力勸人們“實際化”他們所聽到的真理。我們想要他們採用它，練習它，實踐它。我們呼籲人們去順服和遵守神的話因為真理是要被遵行的。我們呼籲人們順服和實踐，以至於他們的生活有真理的樣子。我們通過邀請和挑戰他們按著講道中所教導的，以實際的方式改變他們的生活，來幫助他們“實際化”真理。
A.應用必須切合聖經經文
講解式講道不是寫評論，只要傳遞資訊就可以。它的著重點在於將經文中所闡釋的真理應用于信徒的生活。要想應用原則，你必須先要解釋這個原則所出自經文的內容。如果沒有“是什麼”，你就無法解釋“怎麼做”。你不可能在不瞭解職責所依據的原則的情況下堅持執勤。因此，應用必須基於你所講的經文。這可能是現今講道中的最大缺陷。傳道人在沒有令人滿意地、準確或清楚地解釋經文含義的情況下，就離題進入應用。如果聽眾不理解經文的意思(也就是我們所傳內容的權威)，又怎能指望他們遵守呢？
此外，你的應用不但必須基於聖經經文，也必須受到聖經經文的限制。換句話說，你的應用應該僅限於所講經文的主題和範圍。應用必須基於經文中的真理然後適當應用。你不能夠從經文中任意提出你想要的應用。就像你的講解要受限於一段經文的內容和主題，你的應用也是如此。換句話說，應用必須出自你對經文的解釋。
雖然如此，但我確實相信我們可以在符合原文作者的總體意圖和經文主題的前提下，自由廣泛地“擴展”應用。這樣可以保證我們在遵循經文的基礎上，將經文應用到很多不同的情況以及我們聽眾面臨的挑戰。
我們可以合理“擴展”應用的方法之一是通過使用演繹邏輯或推理。因此，應用包括“暗示”。根據定義，暗示為應用擴大了範圍。我們生來具備推理的能力。因此…
1)應用要有邏輯。讓人們知道這段經文如何引導你的邏輯，得出你現在的應用。
2).應用要具體。舉例子。
每一場聽道，聽眾都想知道三件事：
1)你在講的是什麼？（經文的主要內容——也就是主題）
2)你的觀點是什麼？（對經文的理解——也就是主要和次要論點）
3)你想讓我做什麼？（經文的推動力——它在我生活中的應用和目的）
記住，你沒有權利邀請人們對你沒有講解以及他們沒有聽明白（也就是沒有視覺化）的真理做出回應。
B.應用必須有計劃
作為講解式的傳道人，不論是講解還是應用，我們都應該有計劃。
1.我們的應用必須“個人化”
這要求我們指出問題的時候，不要造成不和或衝撞。應用要求個人對真理的接受和順服。因此，聽眾必須：
a)接收資訊。
b)在心中思想資訊——換句話說，反思資訊如何影響他們的生活。
c) 通過詢問他們需要做些什麼來確定需要改變的是什麼
d)決定改變並計畫實行。或者是需要對某人負責，或者改變常規或習慣等。
為了使你的應用個人化，你必須嘗試以具體的和個人的（他們在哪裡生活以及如何生活的）方式面向廣大的受眾，。想想你該如何將你的講道應用到他們的個人、家庭、工作、教會和社區生活中。也要試著將你的講道應用到他們的思想和內心——比如他們的態度、信仰、關係（與神以及其他人）、行為、願望、動機、價值觀、優先順序和性格。
2.我們的應用必須具有“實踐”意義
這裡我們談談人們應該如何回應。僅僅知道資訊“是什麼”是不夠的。我們也必須告訴他們“怎麼做”。我們往往止步於“是什麼”。“是什麼”確實很重要，但是這並不能構成完整的講道。
a)必須要有基於聖經對信徒和非信徒悔改的呼召
b)必須要有基於聖經對更新的呼召。 每一次講道，對信徒來說，必須是一次更新和復興；對非信徒來說，是獲得重生的機會。
c)必須要呼召回到聖經的實際。因為我們生活在文化化的基督教時代，而不是基於聖經的基督信仰，所以在我們社會中有一種趨向這種膚淺基督文化的趨勢。傳道人需要呼召他們的會眾回到聖經的實際。
3.我們的應用要有“目的”
我們的講道必須有目的，有目標。所有的經文都指向基督（西1:27-19）。這是講道最終也是最主要的目的，以至於人們離開的時候，能夠更像基督。這是我們講道的主要原因。
C.應用必須激勵人們付諸行動。
每一次講道都需要一個四重的運動來激勵聽眾在個人的操練中學習順服：
1. “思想”必須被我們的講道所教導（理解力）
每一次講道必須教導——拓展大腦，去思考和理解以前沒有考慮過或理解過的事情。乾糧（也就是“肉”）屬於長成的人（來5:14）。你必須成長跨越基督信仰最基礎的東西。膚淺的教導產生膚淺的基督徒。
2. “心靈”需要被我們的講道所觸摸（願望）
要想 “促使”一個人行動，你必須瞄準他的“心靈”。心是我們身體的主要器官。“心”這個詞指的是一個人生命的隱秘源泉，也是神做工的地方。
為了使聽者產生“運動”(行動)，就必須觸及心靈。
.觸及心靈的講道，使聽眾能夠和裡面的人物或者事件產生共鳴，並接受其中的原則。顯然，這需要一個從一般過渡到具體的過程。
聖經中“心靈”指做出決定和選擇的地方。是一個人思想和意志匯合的地方。僅僅充實思想是不夠的，你也需要觸及心靈。
這裡的重點是願望而不是理解力。講道要激發心靈來回應，是心靈被喚醒。要做到這樣，講道必須有熱情。
3. “意志”必須被我們的講道所引導（決定）
僅僅教導思想和觸及心靈是不夠的。你也需要引導、強調和塑造意志使其順服神的話，向自己死，向基督活，脫去舊人，穿上新人（加2:20；弗4:22-24）
如果只有思想和心靈被影響，是不夠的。一個人的意志也必須被引導使其自願順服神的話並且將它活出來。
4. “良知”需要被我們的講道所紮（察覺）
在應用中，良知是一個有力的工具。它能有力地推動人去順服。它能提醒人們哪裡沒有順服真理。它也能暴露出一個人的生活中哪裡犯了罪需要被審判。
.因此，基於聖經的教導會激發良知，使人們產生順服。
s結論
整個應用都必須是個人化的、有實踐意義和目的，它要影響一個人的整體——思想、心靈、意志和良知。心靈固然是產生行動的巨大推動力，但是如果你能夠將思想的轉變和心中的願望結合起來，這會是一個更強大的力量來激發良知，從而促進一個人在意志上順服神並遵行真理。
D.應用最好貫穿整個講道
真理的應用穿插整個講道，聽眾就不會忘記應用所基於的真理。它使真理和實踐緊密結合。將應用和你剛剛講過的經文緊密聯繫起來，這會使你的應用更有權威，因為不是你在說，而是經文本身在說。
有的傳道人在結尾的時候才提到應用。這也是可以的，但是有幾點不利之處：
1)如果你總是這樣做，你的聽眾很快就會知道，那麼你就會失去了影響力，因為他們已經準備好不理睬了（“哎，又來了”）。我建議只有為了強調和肯定你在講道過程中已經講過的應用時，才將應用放在結尾。
2)它將真理的解釋和應用分開來，以至於你的聽眾不能自然地將它們彼此聯繫起來。
我認為你應該從引言開始直到講道的結尾，不斷地應用真理。
1)在“引言”中，你應用當你…
a)建立傾聽的需要以及這堂資訊的必要性時
b)聯繫到經文的時候
c)用“一句話概括你的講道”時（也就是，你的主題、主旨）
2)講道“主體”中，你應用每一個真理原則…
a). 在你的主要觀點和次要觀點的措辭中。它們的用語應該是應用型的——也就是，使你的聽眾被包含其中，看到他們自己在真理-原則中。
b)在你解釋每一個要點的當中或者最後
c)在舉例中
3.在“結尾”，你應用真理…
a)當你總結講道的時候
b)當你最後一次實際化、個人化講道的時候
E.為什麼應用這樣困難？
1.因為它本身就難！這是辛苦的工作因為：
a)它要求經文的準確。
b)它必須和人們以及他們的文化相關。
c)它要求個人的反省和誠懇。
2.因為傳道人認為應用顯而易見。
你很容易這樣認為，即你所講解的經文與它在你聽眾生活中實際應用之間的聯繫顯而易見的，所以你並不需要說明，聽眾自己就會明白。我們很容易認為我們的聽眾能夠自己“得知”真理如何影響他們的生活。
當然，這往往不真實。應用並不會自動跳出來，正如真理不會自動跳出來一樣。需要有人指出來。
3..因為傳道人曲解了講道的目的
講道的目的是為了改變人們的生命使其更像基督。我們通過講解真理然後說明它如何改變我們來達到這個目的。這就是應用
應用是我們將聖經真理與聽眾每天的生活聯繫起來的方法。這意味著舉例說明真理在你會眾的生活中是什麼樣的，勸戒你的會眾改變，指出錯誤，責備錯誤的態度和關係等等。
記住，所有的理論都是非常實用的。它的目的是為了影響一個人的行為、心願、優先順序、價值觀、目標、關係等等。
一個好的講道不但教導真理而且讓人知道這和“我”有什麼關係。一個經過仔細雕琢而完成的講道才指導應用。真理是為了被遵行（羅6:17）。這才是能夠改變你聽眾生活的東西——不是幾個要點的精明措辭，而是真理在生活當中的應用，引起人們的改變。
4.因為傳道人需要在講道之前就徹底地思考清楚應用
太多的傳道人認為他們可以對應用進行臨場發揮。這是不能夠的。應用需要提前的深思熟慮，因為你的會眾不同，他們的生活情況也不同，但卻都需要被觸及。你有…
a)年輕人、中年人、老年人
b)專業人士、藍領、辦公室人員、工廠職工等
c)已婚的、單身的、離婚或者分居的
d)年輕的專業人士、退修老人
e)有子女的、無子女的、單身的
f)公立學校、高中以及大專的學生
g)富人、窮人和中產階級
要將神的話有效地應用于如此廣大的群體，需要講道之前仔細的思考。
F.尋找應用
我們面對的問題是，當你揭開經文中的每一個真理時，該如何過渡到應用？你在不偏離經文的主題以及原文作者的意圖的前提下，如何找到真理在實際生活中的應用？
一般而言，我建議，聖經原則的實際應用不應該超出其在經文中的應用範圍。這恰恰強調了準確瞭解經文主題的重要性。你必須將你所講解的真理和你的應用直接聯繫起來。
首先，問自己如下的問題：
a)這個作者寫的是什麼？
b)為什麼作者給這些人寫這個？
c)在人們的生活中，有哪些情況需要糾正、鼓勵、安慰、確據、責備、引領等？
d)作者如何將這個真理應用于他讀者的生活？
e)作者期望從他的讀者得到怎樣的回應？
這些問題的答案為你的應用設立了參考。
其次，問自己如下問題以發現適於當代的應用：
a)經文中哪些普遍的、不變的真理可以直接應用於今天的生活？
b) 當代哪些情況、挑戰、問題等等在本質上與經文的原始聽眾所面對的相似？我們當代的聽眾在哪些方面經歷與原始聽眾相同的情況？
第三，從一般性的應用進入具體的、個人的應用。一般性的應用告訴人們，經文中的真理如何應用於家庭、工作、教會中等等。這不錯，但是我鼓勵你更進一步，在你們的文化和環境下具體應用到生活中去。這個很難。那麼，你該如何做呢？
同樣的，你通過提問來探究真理的個人應用：
a)這個真理對我會眾的日常生活意味著什麼？
b)教會中有哪些挑戰、需求、生活方式、信仰以及境況需要被處理——個人的、經濟的、教會的、社區的、關係的、屬靈的、倫理的等等。
c)這個真理可以應用到我們生活的哪些方面？
第四，考慮你期望會眾有怎樣的回應。你期望他們如何改變他們的價值觀、優先順序、關係、信仰、態度、操練、動機、願望、性格等等？
最後，向你的會眾提出挑戰，問他們：
a)神想讓我如何對待這個真理？
b)我怎樣才能做到這樣的改變？我需要做什麼？
c)我該如何開始？
G.傳講你所發現的應用
1.你必須瞭解你的會眾和教會
當你問以上的問題時，你不但是針對你自己的生活，也尤其要針對你會眾的生活。
所以當你問問題（尋找相關的應用）的時候，你必須通過想像你的會眾坐在長椅上，或者流覽你的教會名錄，將你的會眾放在腦海中，考慮他們的生活情況、需要、問題、挑戰等等。
2.你從以上的操練出發列出適合的應用
現在你將經文應用於與其所述需求相對應的實際需求上。這些應用不要讓人覺得在針對某一個會眾，也不要洩露隱私。這些應用本質上來說仍然是普遍性的，但是通過列舉這些原則怎樣應用到你會眾所處的特殊情況中，你將網收得更緊，也更清楚地說明應該如何應用這些原則。
所以，你可以說：“如果你過一個聖潔的生活，在你的工作場所你應該…（例如，不要和異性過近）等等”。接著你可以給出多種方式來實踐這個應用。
你所講的應用實例會激發你的會眾在他們自己的具體生活中來操練。
3.試著給出足夠的例子來涵蓋你整個會眾
你可以通過涵蓋不同的年齡、婚姻狀況、經濟狀況等等來這樣做。以下四種情況可以包含每一個人：
a)學校
b)工作場所
c)家庭
d)社區
4.如果可能，不要忘記，要點使用應用性的措辭
這樣做有幾點好處：
a)應用會貫穿你的講道，而不只是在某一部分
b)你在要點中所建立的原則將是個人化的，而不只是抽象的真理
c)你的要點會有更大的影響力
關於應用的總結
理論，傳講地恰當，完全是實踐性的。聖經不僅僅是為了用知識填滿我們的頭腦，也是為了改變我們生活、思考和行動的方式。特別是，每一場講道都應該幫助我們通過實踐經文中普遍恒久的真理，使我們更像基督。為了這個目的，我們必須清楚準確地講解經文，並應用到相關的個人化的實際情況中。
Part II: Sermon Outlines講道大綱
如果想聽關於這些的英文講道，請點選連結: Link 1 - 約 21:15-17; Link 2 - 約 21:18-19; Link 3 - 約 21:19-25
題目：“呼召去服侍”
主題：基督徒服侍的教導
要點 #1:愛主是服侍主的保證(15-17)
a)雖然我們的忠誠軟弱，耶穌仍然珍視我們的愛
b)雖然我們的忠誠軟弱，耶穌仍然想要我們的服侍
要點 #2:服侍主的目的是榮耀他(18-19a
a)我們年輕的時候要榮耀他(18a)
b)我們年老的時候要榮耀他(18b-19a)
要點 #3:服侍主的模式是跟隨他(19b-23)
a)我們回應他的呼召而跟隨他(19b)
b)我們的眼睛仰望他而跟隨他(20)
c)我們管好自己的事情而跟隨他(21-23)
Related Topics: Pastors
网上牧师杂志–中文版（简体）, SCh Ed, Issue 32 2019 年 夏季
2019 夏
A ministry of…
作者: Roger Pascoe博士, 主席
第一部分:加强讲解式讲道
“强化应用”（第一部分）
介绍
你在讲道中所讲解的圣经真理的应用，常常是大多数讲道最薄弱的部分。除非讲道使真理更具体、形象、个人和实际化，否则讲道只是抽象真理的讲解，仍然停留在理论层面（想法、定义、老生常谈）
应用往往是最薄弱的地方可能因为…
1)我们花费太多的时间在讲解上面以至于很难从理论转向应用
2)我们从对经文解释的研究中累积了太多的东西要讲，以至于没有时间来沟通其他的东西
3)我们感到理论和实践之间的紧张
4)我们视真理为真理，非常珍视它，非常享受它，以至于应用它似乎就降低了它的价值
5)我们担心听众的反应。当我们在应用中谈到具体方面的时候，我们的信息就变得个人化，有的时候可能会引起负面的回应，因为我们触摸到人们的紧张神经，暴露了痛点，激发了良知。
6).我们自己必须首先理解经文并且应用到自己身上，才能够将经文应用到其他人身上。这有可能是痛苦的。
讲道往往容易要么强调讲解要么强调应用。有的传道人专注于讲解，而有的着重应用。一方面，对那些准备讲稿并花费很多时间来弄明白经文说了些什么的传道人，往往容易着重于讲解而忽视了应用。另一方面，对于那么花很少时间来研究经文的传道人，往往容易着重于应用而忽视了讲解。
. 讲道既需要讲解也需要应用。如果你不应用所讲解的真理，那么你就无法显示真理怎样与生活相关。我们必须讲解某段经文的含义以及它与日常生活的联系。人们想要也需要应用于他们生活中的真理——他们的人际关系，他们的想法，他们的习惯，他们的信念，他们的问题等等。
只讲解却没有应用就如同讲道的任务没有完成一样。只理解却不考虑如何应用就如同只完成了一半的工作。当你研究这段经文来理解它的含义，你也必须考虑它实际应用的意义。你不能只研究一段经文而不将它们与现实生活联系。这才是真理被活出来的地方。这也是经文的目的——被遵行。
除非我们从圣经的世界来到当代世界，否则我们只是把真理和我们的听众留在了经文古老的背景中，除了知识之外，没有任何有用的目的。
圣经讲道必须从“是什么”到 “那么怎样”再到“现在做什么”。当我们讲解真理的时候，我们解决的是真理的“是什么”（也就是真理意味着什么？）。当我们应用真理的时候，我们解决的是真理的“那么怎样”（也就是真理引起怎样的不同？）。当我们实行真理的时候，我们做出真理所要求的“现在做什么”（也就是我们现在必须做什么以及它会怎样改变我们）。
有的人会说圣灵负责应用的工作，而不是我们。当然，如果没有圣灵将神的话作用于人们的心灵、良心和意志，我们的讲道将毫无功效。最终，神话语的应用只有在圣灵的作用下才会改变生命。但是对讲道来说也是同样的——只有圣灵才能使其产生功效。所以，有人会问，为什么要讲道？
我们讲道是因为讲道是神指定的和我们沟通他话语的方式（罗10:14-15），包括它的意义和应用。圣灵使用我们作为管道来讲解和应用经文。传道人有义务和责任来告诉人们怎样将神的话语具体应用于他们的生活。
应用是圣经讲道不可缺少的部分，因为…
1)它将圣经的真理和听众的生活紧密联系起来。我们的工作是理解原文作者所讲的内容和目的，并决定如何将这些信息应用于我们今天的会众。通过应用的方式，你将刚刚解释的经文与它如何影响你会众的生活联系起来。
2)应用在神在过去对他百姓的教导与今天对我们的教导之间架起了桥梁。
3)它将经文的智慧忠告与每个人的现实生活联系起来——他们对喜乐、与神的亲密关系、被修复的人际关系、遵行神的话语以及基督里的盼望等等的需要。
4) 它克服听众的“那么怎样”的异议——比如“这和我有什么相关？”或者“我必须做什么或者改变什么来回应经文？”
5)它从真理的 “是什么”过渡到基督徒的“如何”应用真理。
6)它清楚说明已经被解释过的圣经真理实际上影响一个基督徒如何在市场、家中、学校、邻舍中生活等等。我们的会众中有很多只是周日来到教会，但是其他的时间就像一个非基督徒一样生活。
7) 它将教导的原则转变成可以实践的东西——可以相信的一个教义；可以采取的一种态度；可以改变的一个关系等
在应用中，我们敦促人们…
a)我们敦促人们将他们所听到的真理“视觉化/具体化”。接受不仅仅是思想上认同也是经历的改变，生命的改变。如果他们只是理解了真理却不采取行动，又有什么益处呢？我们的任务是通过将真理从抽象的理论过渡到具体的、可行的、生动的实际，帮助他们看到（视觉化的）真理（也就是它在现实生活中看起来如何）。
帮助他们“具体化”真理，避免人们主观的判断“神要对我说”什么，也就是，没有试着来理解原文作者想要表达的意思。怎样将圣经真理以具体的、实践的方式呈现出来；怎样将真理与人们的日常生活结合——这对很多传道人来说是很难的。
我们必须让人们看到真理的样子，这样他们才能在自己的生活中看到它并联系起来。我们想看到他们说“是的，生活中确实是这样，我需要这个。我有这个经历”。我们想要真理道成肉身——也就是把真理活出来。毕竟，基督徒的整个生活就在于道成肉身，不是吗？要像基督，也就是让基督的真理在我们的生活中彰显出来。
问题是“我们怎样才能做到？”我们可以通过给出“具体的”情况和例子。这样的情况和例子要适用于不同的听众（他们的年龄、身份、工作、关系、经济状况等），而且能够帮助他们在实际生活中看到你所讲的。
b)我们力劝人们“个人化”他们所听到的真理。我希望人们说“是的，我需要这个。我想要这样或我想要这样做或想要顺服这个或相信这个“等。
c)我们力劝人们“实际化”他们所听到的真理。我们想要他们采用它，练习它，实践它。我们呼吁人们去顺服和遵守神的话因为真理是要被遵行的。我们呼吁人们顺服和实践，以至于他们的生活有真理的样子。我们通过邀请和挑战他们按着讲道中所教导的，以实际的方式改变他们的生活，来帮助他们“实际化”真理。
A.应用必须切合圣经经文
讲解式讲道不是写评论，只要传递信息就可以。它的着重点在于将经文中所阐释的真理应用于信徒的生活。要想应用原则，你必须先要解释这个原则所出自经文的内容。如果没有“是什么”，你就无法解释“怎么做”。你不可能在不了解职责所依据的原则的情况下坚持执勤。因此，应用必须基于你所讲的经文。这可能是现今讲道中的最大缺陷。传道人在没有令人满意地、准确或清楚地解释经文含义的情况下，就离题进入应用。如果听众不理解经文的意思(也就是我们所传内容的权威)，又怎能指望他们遵守呢？
此外，你的应用不但必须基于圣经经文，也必须受到圣经经文的限制。换句话说，你的应用应该仅限于所讲经文的主题和范围。应用必须基于经文中的真理然后适当应用。你不能够从经文中任意提出你想要的应用。就像你的讲解要受限于一段经文的内容和主题，你的应用也是如此。换句话说，应用必须出自你对经文的解释。
虽然如此，但我确实相信我们可以在符合原文作者的总体意图和经文主题的前提下，自由广泛地“扩展”应用。这样可以保证我们在遵循经文的基础上，将经文应用到很多不同的情况以及我们听众面临的挑战。
我们可以合理“扩展”应用的方法之一是通过使用演绎逻辑或推理。因此，应用包括“暗示”。根据定义，暗示为应用扩大了范围。我们生来具备推理的能力。因此…
1)应用要有逻辑。让人们知道这段经文如何引导你的逻辑，得出你现在的应用。
2).应用要具体。举例子。
每一场听道，听众都想知道三件事：
1)你在讲的是什么？（经文的主要内容——也就是主题）
2)你的观点是什么？（对经文的理解——也就是主要和次要论点）
3)你想让我做什么？（经文的推动力——它在我生活中的应用和目的）
记住，你没有权利邀请人们对你没有讲解以及他们没有听明白（也就是没有视觉化）的真理做出回应。
B.应用必须有计划
作为讲解式的传道人，不论是讲解还是应用，我们都应该有计划。
1.我们的应用必须“个人化”
这要求我们指出问题的时候，不要造成不和或冲撞。应用要求个人对真理的接受和顺服。因此，听众必须：
a)接收信息。
b)在心中思想信息——换句话说，反思信息如何影响他们的生活。
c) 通过询问他们需要做些什么来确定需要改变的是什么
d)决定改变并计划实行。或者是需要对某人负责，或者改变常规或习惯等。
为了使你的应用个人化，你必须尝试以具体的和个人的（他们在哪里生活以及如何生活的）方式面向广大的受众，。想想你该如何将你的讲道应用到他们的个人、家庭、工作、教会和社区生活中。也要试着将你的讲道应用到他们的思想和内心——比如他们的态度、信仰、关系（与神以及其他人）、行为、愿望、动机、价值观、优先顺序和性格。
2.我们的应用必须具有“实践”意义
这里我们谈谈人们应该如何回应。仅仅知道信息“是什么”是不够的。我们也必须告诉他们“怎么做”。我们往往止步于“是什么”。“是什么”确实很重要，但是这并不能构成完整的讲道。
a)必须要有基于圣经对信徒和非信徒悔改的呼召
b)必须要有基于圣经对更新的呼召。 每一次讲道，对信徒来说，必须是一次更新和复兴；对非信徒来说，是获得重生的机会。
c)必须要呼召回到圣经的实际。因为我们生活在文化化的基督教时代，而不是基于圣经的基督信仰，所以在我们社会中有一种趋向这种肤浅基督文化的趋势。传道人需要呼召他们的会众回到圣经的实际。
3.我们的应用要有“目的”
我们的讲道必须有目的，有目标。所有的经文都指向基督（西1:27-19）。这是讲道最终也是最主要的目的，以至于人们离开的时候，能够更像基督。这是我们讲道的主要原因。
C.应用必须激励人们付诸行动。
每一次讲道都需要一个四重的运动来激励听众在个人的操练中学习顺服：
1. “思想”必须被我们的讲道所教导（理解力）
每一次讲道必须教导——拓展大脑，去思考和理解以前没有考虑过或理解过的事情。干粮（也就是“肉”）属于长成的人（来5:14）。你必须成长跨越基督信仰最基础的东西。肤浅的教导产生肤浅的基督徒。
2. “心灵”需要被我们的讲道所触摸（愿望）
要想 “促使”一个人行动，你必须瞄准他的“心灵”。心是我们身体的主要器官。“心”这个词指的是一个人生命的隐秘源泉，也是神做工的地方。
为了使听者产生“运动”(行动)，就必须触及心灵。
.触及心灵的讲道，使听众能够和里面的人物或者事件产生共鸣，并接受其中的原则。显然，这需要一个从一般过渡到具体的过程。
圣经中“心灵”指做出决定和选择的地方。是一个人思想和意志汇合的地方。仅仅充实思想是不够的，你也需要触及心灵。
这里的重点是愿望而不是理解力。讲道要激发心灵来回应，是心灵被唤醒。要做到这样，讲道必须有热情。
3. “意志”必须被我们的讲道所引导（决定）
仅仅教导思想和触及心灵是不够的。你也需要引导、强调和塑造意志使其顺服神的话，向自己死，向基督活，脱去旧人，穿上新人（加2:20；弗4:22-24）
如果只有思想和心灵被影响，是不够的。一个人的意志也必须被引导使其自愿顺服神的话并且将它活出来。
4. “良知”需要被我们的讲道所扎（察觉）
在应用中，良知是一个有力的工具。它能有力地推动人去顺服。它能提醒人们哪里没有顺服真理。它也能暴露出一个人的生活中哪里犯了罪需要被审判。
.因此，基于圣经的教导会激发良知，使人们产生顺服。
s结论
整个应用都必须是个人化的、有实践意义和目的，它要影响一个人的整体——思想、心灵、意志和良知。心灵固然是产生行动的巨大推动力，但是如果你能够将思想的转变和心中的愿望结合起来，这会是一个更强大的力量来激发良知，从而促进一个人在意志上顺服神并遵行真理。
D.应用最好贯穿整个讲道
真理的应用穿插整个讲道，听众就不会忘记应用所基于的真理。它使真理和实践紧密结合。将应用和你刚刚讲过的经文紧密联系起来，这会使你的应用更有权威，因为不是你在说，而是经文本身在说。
有的传道人在结尾的时候才提到应用。这也是可以的，但是有几点不利之处：
1)如果你总是这样做，你的听众很快就会知道，那么你就会失去了影响力，因为他们已经准备好不理睬了（“哎，又来了”）。我建议只有为了强调和肯定你在讲道过程中已经讲过的应用时，才将应用放在结尾。
2)它将真理的解释和应用分开来，以至于你的听众不能自然地将它们彼此联系起来。
我认为你应该从引言开始直到讲道的结尾，不断地应用真理。
1)在“引言”中，你应用当你…
a)建立倾听的需要以及这堂信息的必要性时
b)联系到经文的时候
c)用“一句话概括你的讲道”时（也就是，你的主题、主旨）
2)讲道“主体”中，你应用每一个真理原则…
a). 在你的主要观点和次要观点的措辞中。它们的用语应该是应用型的——也就是，使你的听众被包含其中，看到他们自己在真理-原则中。
b)在你解释每一个要点的当中或者最后
c)在举例中
3.在“结尾”，你应用真理…
a)当你总结讲道的时候
b)当你最后一次实际化、个人化讲道的时候
E.为什么应用这样困难？
1.因为它本身就难！这是辛苦的工作因为：
a)它要求经文的准确。
b)它必须和人们以及他们的文化相关。
c)它要求个人的反省和诚恳。
2.因为传道人认为应用显而易见。
你很容易这样认为，即你所讲解的经文与它在你听众生活中实际应用之间的联系显而易见的，所以你并不需要说明，听众自己就会明白。我们很容易认为我们的听众能够自己“得知”真理如何影响他们的生活。
当然，这往往不真实。应用并不会自动跳出来，正如真理不会自动跳出来一样。需要有人指出来。
3..因为传道人曲解了讲道的目的
讲道的目的是为了改变人们的生命使其更像基督。我们通过讲解真理然后说明它如何改变我们来达到这个目的。这就是应用
应用是我们将圣经真理与听众每天的生活联系起来的方法。这意味着举例说明真理在你会众的生活中是什么样的，劝戒你的会众改变，指出错误，责备错误的态度和关系等等。
记住，所有的理论都是非常实用的。它的目的是为了影响一个人的行为、心愿、优先顺序、价值观、目标、关系等等。
一个好的讲道不但教导真理而且让人知道这和“我”有什么关系。一个经过仔细雕琢而完成的讲道才指导应用。真理是为了被遵行（罗6:17）。这才是能够改变你听众生活的东西——不是几个要点的精明措辞，而是真理在生活当中的应用，引起人们的改变。
4.因为传道人需要在讲道之前就彻底地思考清楚应用
太多的传道人认为他们可以对应用进行临场发挥。这是不能够的。应用需要提前的深思熟虑，因为你的会众不同，他们的生活情况也不同，但却都需要被触及。你有…
a)年轻人、中年人、老年人
b)专业人士、蓝领、办公室人员、工厂职工等
c)已婚的、单身的、离婚或者分居的
d)年轻的专业人士、退修老人
e)有子女的、无子女的、单身的
f)公立学校、高中以及大专的学生
g)富人、穷人和中产阶级
要将神的话有效地应用于如此广大的群体，需要讲道之前仔细的思考。
F.寻找应用
我们面对的问题是，当你揭开经文中的每一个真理时，该如何过渡到应用？你在不偏离经文的主题以及原文作者的意图的前提下，如何找到真理在实际生活中的应用？
一般而言，我建议，圣经原则的实际应用不应该超出其在经文中的应用范围。这恰恰强调了准确了解经文主题的重要性。你必须将你所讲解的真理和你的应用直接联系起来。
首先，问自己如下的问题：
a)这个作者写的是什么？
b)为什么作者给这些人写这个？
c)在人们的生活中，有哪些情况需要纠正、鼓励、安慰、确据、责备、引领等？
d)作者如何将这个真理应用于他读者的生活？
e)作者期望从他的读者得到怎样的回应？
这些问题的答案为你的应用设立了参考。
其次，问自己如下问题以发现适于当代的应用：
a)经文中哪些普遍的、不变的真理可以直接应用于今天的生活？
b) 当代哪些情况、挑战、问题等等在本质上与经文的原始听众所面对的相似？我们当代的听众在哪些方面经历与原始听众相同的情况？
第三，从一般性的应用进入具体的、个人的应用。一般性的应用告诉人们，经文中的真理如何应用于家庭、工作、教会中等等。这不错，但是我鼓励你更进一步，在你们的文化和环境下具体应用到生活中去。这个很难。那么，你该如何做呢？
同样的，你通过提问来探究真理的个人应用：
a)这个真理对我会众的日常生活意味着什么？
b)教会中有哪些挑战、需求、生活方式、信仰以及境况需要被处理——个人的、经济的、教会的、社区的、关系的、属灵的、伦理的等等。
c)这个真理可以应用到我们生活的哪些方面？
第四，考虑你期望会众有怎样的回应。你期望他们如何改变他们的价值观、优先顺序、关系、信仰、态度、操练、动机、愿望、性格等等？
最后，向你的会众提出挑战，问他们：
a)神想让我如何对待这个真理？
b)我怎样才能做到这样的改变？我需要做什么？
c)我该如何开始？
G.传讲你所发现的应用
1.你必须了解你的会众和教会
当你问以上的问题时，你不但是针对你自己的生活，也尤其要针对你会众的生活。
所以当你问问题（寻找相关的应用）的时候，你必须通过想象你的会众坐在长椅上，或者浏览你的教会名录，将你的会众放在脑海中，考虑他们的生活情况、需要、问题、挑战等等。
2.你从以上的操练出发列出适合的应用
现在你将经文应用于与其所述需求相对应的实际需求上。这些应用不要让人觉得在针对某一个会众，也不要泄露隐私。这些应用本质上来说仍然是普遍性的，但是通过列举这些原则怎样应用到你会众所处的特殊情况中，你将网收得更紧，也更清楚地说明应该如何应用这些原则。
所以，你可以说：“如果你过一个圣洁的生活，在你的工作场所你应该…（例如，不要和异性过近）等等”。接着你可以给出多种方式来实践这个应用。
你所讲的应用实例会激发你的会众在他们自己的具体生活中来操练。
3.试着给出足够的例子来涵盖你整个会众
你可以通过涵盖不同的年龄、婚姻状况、经济状况等等来这样做。以下四种情况可以包含每一个人：
a)学校
b)工作场所
c)家庭
d)社区
4.如果可能，不要忘记，要点使用应用性的措辞
这样做有几点好处：
a)应用会贯穿你的讲道，而不只是在某一部分
b)你在要点中所建立的原则将是个人化的，而不只是抽象的真理
c)你的要点会有更大的影响力
关于应用的总结
理论，传讲地恰当，完全是实践性的。圣经不仅仅是为了用知识填满我们的头脑，也是为了改变我们生活、思考和行动的方式。特别是，每一场讲道都应该帮助我们通过实践经文中普遍恒久的真理，使我们更像基督。为了这个目的，我们必须清楚准确地讲解经文，并应用到相关的个人化的实际情况中。
Part II: Sermon Outlines讲道大纲
如果想听关于这些的英文讲道，请点击链接: Link 1 - 约 21:15-17; Link 2 - 约 21:18-19; Link 3 - 约 21:19-25
题目：“呼召去服侍”
主题：基督徒服侍的教导
要点 #1:愛主是服侍主的保证(15-17)
a)虽然我们的忠诚软弱，耶稣仍然珍视我们的爱
b)虽然我们的忠诚软弱，耶稣仍然想要我们的服侍
要点 #2:服侍主的目的是荣耀他(18-19a
a)我们年轻的时候要荣耀他(18a)
b)我们年老的时候要荣耀他(18b-19a)
要点 #3:服侍主的模式是跟随他(19b-23)
a)我们回应他的呼召而跟随他(19b)
b)我们的眼睛仰望他而跟随他(20)
c)我们管好自己的事情而跟随他(21-23)
Related Topics: Pastors
Lesson 23: A Life of Thankful Worship (Colossians 3:16-17)
Related MediaMay 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
- What has helped you most in getting into the Word? What has been most difficult about it?
- Is the excuse, “I’m just not an emotional person,” a valid reason for not being intense about worship?
- 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?
- 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
Related MediaZONK
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:
- 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.
- The next team player is called on and the game is repeated. That player, if answering correctly, gets to play in the same way.
- 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.
- 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.
- At the end of the game each team totals points and the winner is declared.
Some beginning Bible game questions:
Grades 1 / 2
- Who climbed a tree to see Jesus?
- Who was born in the city of Bethlehem?
- Who was thrown into a den of lions?
- Who took his family and animals and birds and other living things and went into a boat called an ark?
- Who ran away from God and took a boat in the opposite direction and was swallowed by a giant fish?
- What was the name of the boy whose father made him a coat of many colors?
- What showed the wise men the way to find Jesus?
- Who came to visit Jesus when he was born and bought him gifts?
- What do you call a man who takes care of sheep?
- What is the name of Jesus’ mother?
- Who is God’s only son?
- Where is Jesus today?
- What did God put in the sky to remind us He would never destroy the earth again with a floor and rain?
- Name three things God created when he created the world
Grades 3 / 4
- What were the names of the first two children of Adam and Eve?
- What Old Testament person lost his strength because of a haircut?
- Who did Jesus raise from the dead who had been buried several days?
- What kind of animal talked to a prophet in then Old Testament?
- Who walked on the water with Jesus?
- What was the name of the boy who had a coat with many colors whose brothers sold him to slave traders?
- Who tempted Jesus on the mountain to disobey God?
- Name 5 of the 10 Commandments
- What was the name of the sea that God dived so the Israelites could leave Egypt and walk across on dry ground?
- What Pharisee came to Jesus at night to ask him about being “born again”?
- When God wrote the 10 Commandments He did not have paper. On what did God write the 10 Commandments?
- How many sons did Noah have who helped him build the ark?
- What did the boy give to the Disciples to help feed lunch to 5 thousand people?
- Who asked God to make the sun stand still so his army could win a battle?
Grades 5 / 6
- How many books are in the Bible?
- How many books in the Old Testament?
- How many books in the New Testament?
- What books make up the “Gospels”?
- What book of the Old Testament contains the 10 Commandments?
- What book of the Bible describes the Fruit of the Spirit?
- Who wrote the first 5 books of the Old Testament?
- What is the last book of the Old Testament?
- Which books of the Bible make up the “Pentateuch?
- Who wrote the book of Revelation?
- What book of the Old Testament states “wise sayings”?
- How many did Jesus feed with five loaves of bread and two fish?
- What is the last book of the New Testament?
- Who did God tell to take his son and sacrifice him on a mountain altar?
- 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
Related MediaStart 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
Related MediaBooks 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
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Matthew 6:9-13 / Luke 11:2 |
The Lord’s Prayer |
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Genesis 18:22-23 |
Abraham for Sodom |
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II Samuel 7:18-19 |
David / Temple |
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I Kings 3:5-14 |
Solomon for wisdom |
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Daniel 9:15-19 |
Daniel prays |
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Matthew 6: 9-13 |
Lord’s Prayer |
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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
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Prayer wheel |
Paper prayer chains |
Prayer tree |
Prayer table tent |
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Prayer picture chart |
Prayer puzzle |
Prayer scrolls |
Prayer bracelets |
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Prayer pictures / photos |
Prayer mural |
Pocket chart prayer time |
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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 MediaPart 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
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The Good Samaritan
Help me! Help me! Help me please!
I’ve been beaten and robbed by a bunch of thieves 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)
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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)
Related Media“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)
Related MediaWhen 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