Introducing the Bible (Key Stage 2)

Martyn Payne

Introduction

For Christians the Bible is the special book whose stories help them come closer to God. Although some Bible stories are more or less well-known, the way the many stories all fit together to give the big picture of what God is like, and how Christians believe he relates to each person in the world, is less often explored. The following outline is a way in which that exploration can be started and this could be used as a presentation for collective worship to begin a week looking at the Bible, or as an opening to an RE Lesson on the topic of the Christians' special book.

Preparation

You will need to create an ‘empty’ book in the style of a Bible. Although it is possible to buy some book-like storage boxes from craft shops, a simple homemade version can be constructed using a black-box file, some gold card and stick-on lettering. Remove the spring retainer from within the box file and also on its spine, covering up the hole that is left with strong black tape. On the top and bottom as well as the right hand edges of this file box stick strips of gold card that have been lined in black to create the impression of pages. You may like to create a more rounded spine on the 4th side by taping on a piece of carpet material that gives this spine some bulk and makes it more like a real book. On this spine, as well as on the front of the book, stick gold lettering to spell out the words 'Holy Bible'. Decorate the book further with other features that give it a special book-feel. You should now have a book that opens up and in which various items can be stored. Items to go inside include:
a small inflatable globe; a glass container full of sand; a heart-shaped piece of card; a largish flat stone; a decorative bottle; a cross; a toy sheep.

Development

1. Ask the children what sort of snacks they like to take with them when they go out for the day or maybe what sort of food they bring with them to school in their lunch box, if they do not have school dinners.

2. Cover up your Bible book with a special decorative cloth and introduce this as your own special snack box for the day with some rather different sorts of food inside. You have brought it along just in case you get hungry. Can the children guess what sort of unusual foods are inside?

3. Tell the children the following riddle to help them guess what sort of lunchbox this is. This riddle is written as if the box itself were speaking to them:

I am not only very old but also very new;
I may seem rather strange but all of me is true.
There are 66 inside but really only one;
I can be pocket sized or sometimes weigh a ton!
My all is a person, you simply ought to meet;
He often signs his name and each story is his treat.
I am a world best seller, though sadly rarely read.
I wonder if you've seen me on a shelf or by your bed?

4. Yes, it is a book – it is the Bible. Christians believe this is a special book from God. It is a snack box because Jesus once said we need more than food to be really alive. We also need to have the stories and words that come from God. This is a reference to what Jesus says in response to one of the temptations. (See Matthew 4:1-4)

5. This Bible book however is a bit different from the normal Bible that you find on a shelf because there are no pages! Instead you have put things inside as a way of remembering some of the stories this book contains. Bring out the following items one by one mysteriously and then lead in to what story they connect to.

• the small inflatable globe = Christians believe this world is God's creation and we need to look after it.
• the glass container with sand = lots of important and wonderful things happened to God's people in the desert. It is where they learned about God as they travelled.
• the largish flat stone = it was on stones like this one that God gave the 10 best ways to live - the Ten Commandments.
• a heart-shaped piece of card = the stories in the Bible show Christians that God loves them and longs that they choose the best way to live.
• a decorative bottle = God cares about people so much that he keeps all their tears in a bottle. This is a reference to a piece of poetry in the middle of the Bible (See Psalm 56:8).
• a cross = Christians believe that eventually God stepped into this world as Jesus and the cross is where they discover more about how much he loves them and how they can become the best they are meant to be.
• a toy sheep = there are also many sheep stories in the Bible because sheep were big business in those days. It was a way to understand what people are like because they often wander off and get lost; but also what God is like as a shepherd who rescues and cares and knows each person by name.

7. These are just some of the stories that make up this special book. I wonder what other stories the children may know?

8. If you use this Bible box regularly, you can draw out other items that will link to various stories and this can develop the theme over a number of lessons or as a regular slot in your RE teaching. Link items to stories like:
Five stones = the story of David and Goliath
A boat = the story of Noah
Leaves from a tree = the story of Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree etc

9. For more ideas on how to introduce the Bible and its stories to children see the section 'Getting Going with the Bible' on the Ideas... Ideas... Ideas page.