Does the idea of Music Sunday terrify you? Why not make the third Sunday of the month Story Sunday? If every story takes an average of five minutes, you will need five to seven stories to fill the activities section. This is a great third-Sunday tradition for any teacher who regularly visits the children’s library.
What you need
- A selection of terrific stories
Include one or two of the Old Testament stories in a Story Sunday. Look for books with excellent illustrations. Consider the content of the illustrations: are the pictures of women and men, boys and girls? Are the people plausible for the time period and place?- Storybooks that feature themes of friendship, compassion, “the last shall be first,” especially if accompanied by engaging illustrations. Look, too, for books about nature that show the gifts God has given us.
- Children’s information books can be wonderful—subjects such as plants, animals and weather show the wonder of God’s creation. Also, biographies of famous Christians can make inspirational stories.
- A cozy place for the children to listen, with pillows or comfy chairs
What to do
- Gather the children together. Introduce the activity: “It’s Story Sunday…”
- Let the children get really comfortable, making sure that everybody can clearly see the pictures—this will significantly reduce any fussing that they are likely to do later on.
- Read the story!
- Try to use the age-old teacher technique of holding the book out for the children to see while you read. This involves reading the book upside down. This feat gets easier with practice.
- If a child starts to chatter, ask them a direct question: “What do you think happens next, Julie?”…“Have you ever had an experience like this, Michael?”
- Good questions:
- At any point in the story, ask, “What do you think happens next?”
- “Does this (name a detail from the story) remind you of anything from your own life?”
- “Why do you think (name a character) did that (state the action)? What would you have done?”
- You may choose to use the Marks of Mission as the touch point text for your Story Sunday. How do the experiences of the characters in the stories relate to the Marks of Mission? Read the Marks of Mission before you begin each Story Sunday.
- The Beatitudes are another great touch point that can be read before Story Sunday.
Helpful Hints
- Between stories, you can shake! Have the group stand up, shake hands, shake hips, shoulders, heads, feet, etc. This really works to help the group settle down.
- Consider the historical context of any Bible stories that you read.
