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by Howard Bruce Stephens (Author)
The sacred stories of the Holy Scriptures are of immeasurable value. They carry the message of the Good News, that God sent his only Son into the world to be our Savior. These sacred stories contain intrinsic power within themselves to convey their message directly into the heart. Handle carefully, they are alive and give life!
Telling the sacred story begins at home, for the child's first teacher is their parent and their first textbook is the Bible. "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth." (Deuteronomy 11:18-21) As the body of Christ the Church also shoulders the responsibility of teaching these truths. In some traditions the baptismal service includes a question to the congregation, "Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?" The answer is clear and strong, "We will!"
The sacred stories are not being told to our children. The prophet Hosea writes, "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6) Only a single generation sustains the transmission of our faith and it is our responsibility to tell our children. Our Lord said, "...when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) Our purpose is clear; our mission is right; we have been given the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, therefore we cannot delay. Tell the Good News! The Kingdom of God is here and now! Change your mind and believe the Gospel. Amen.
"Bible Plays for Children" provide another way communicating the sacred stories to our children. Hearing the story or reading the text has tremendous value and cannot be diminished in any way, however acting out a story takes the message even further into the heart. Children learn by imitation and are innately capable of role-play. A child with a toy truck becomes a firefighter or with a small doll assumes the role of a caregiver or with a simple stick becomes a major league baseball player.
In the time and space provided by most churches for Christian Education there is a unique opportunity to communicate with our children the sacred stories of Scripture. Within the environment of a normal classroom, simple props and imagination can transport the child to a manger in Bethlehem, Jesus feeding the 5000, being with Lazarus in the grave and knowing that Jesus is no longer in the tomb but alive again and forevermore. The capacity for learning while acting out the story cannot be overemphasized. It is a powerful teaching tool. Children learn by doing.
