GBBW: Sabbath, Festivals, and Jubilee, oh my!

Faith stuff should be fun. Seriously.

You may know that our church is in-person the first Sunday of each month for Dinner Church, and so last week, the Sunday after Easter, I got to hang out with our older kids playing a bunch of Minute to Win It games. Each game had to be successfully navigated as a group to earn the next part of the story, allowing them all to move closer to a prize. Our entire “lesson” was outdoors, moving about, talking together, breaking up the conversation with these games.

It was so much fun.

(I know it was for them too, because one thing our church kids have learned is that I want to know if they had fun with the Story Explore, which, like GBBW, always includes a game. Early on, a couple of my games weren’t game-y enough. They were teachy. Object lessons disguised as play. Kids sniffed that out real fast and told me flat out–that was fine, but it wasn’t fun. These kids are the best.)

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Yesterday a kids book arrived in the mail, which happens now and again with my work. What’s rare is for me to love the book that comes. But this one? I loved this one.

While exploring how Jesus related to power and so-called ‘bad guys’ (which it did really well), it used silly humor to perfection. There was a shark hurricane. There were disciples imagining themselves wielding fireballs. There was a fart cannon. I could hear children laughing aloud to this book as they learned how Jesus engaged messianic expectation, violence, Rome, and God’s mission in ways that were radical and subversive.

The good theology was really nice to read. The fart cannon made it for me.

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I’ve seen a reaction to the kids ministry resources and programming of the past couple of decades–to the Veggies and the mega church skits–that gives me pause. Adults have come along accusing those approaches of being all style with no substance. At times, I’d say that’s fair. But the response has been to create materials with all substance…and no style. 

Specifically, they are often no fun.

As best I can read the situation, we have an abundance of products that are primarily made for adults and surprisingly few that are made for actual human children. They are artful, poetic, beautiful, contemplative. They can be healing, imaginative, or fresh for those adults.

But if the main vibe we bring to a child’s faith formation is quiet and contemplative, still and serious, we are missing out in a big way.

Because if it’s for kids, it should be fun.

It’s true what Fred Rogers said, 

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.

What if we invite our kids to play their way towards God? What if our faith conversations and Bible story times were regularly marked by laughter and levity?

We are helping our kids get to know God. Our God is the God who commands festivals, who tells the people to throw parties throughout the year. Our God is the God who provides an abundance of wine to keep the party going. “Joy is the serious business of heaven”, and if we don’t know that deep within us, we will suck all the fun out of helping kids discover that heaven's joy can be earth’s reality because of who our God is.

Which means trying to introduce kids to God without any fun is an oxymoron; it’s misrepresenting who God actually is. 

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After each piece of the Easter story last week, kids answered a question in order to access their next Minute to Win It challenge. After the part where the tomb was empty, but before the part where Jesus has appeared, I asked the kids this:

Imagine it: the stone has moved and Jesus’ body is gone. While the most realistic explanation seemed to be thieves, there could be some wild or silly possibilities too. Make up a wild or silly reason for Jesus to be out of the tomb on Sunday morning.

Oh my goodness. There were aliens and super villains, super-powered plants and a risen Jesus who just really wanted to find some pancakes before getting started on the whole “appearing to people” thing. 

Did I ask other questions too? Ones with more depth? Yup. Did they answer them in equally brilliant ways? Yup. They did, and one reason for that was how the deeper moments were nestled right on into the playful ones. 

The time was made for them, and it showed, so when it was time to say: “Can I hear your thoughts about whether it’s hard or easy to believe Jesus is alive?” or “If you had been there, and someone had asked “what do you think this all means?” they shared an honest answer (which is better than a churchy one any day of the week).

I’m grateful you’re here, helping the kids in your life meet the God who commanded parties. I’m grateful to be part of a group that knows that how kids meet God, being invited to be a kid as you meet God, it matters.

Let’s have some fun.

P.S. You can find the book here. I’d say it’s great for ages 4-8. And that’s not an affiliate link and no one asked me to tell you about this book.

We’re talking about Sabbath, Festivals and Jubilee in today’s Great Big Bible Story Walkthrough. These are some of my favorite themes in the Law, and I think they offer kids a glimpse into what it meant that Israel’s life together would “be a blessing.”

If you haven’t joined in yet, I hope you’ll consider it. For $30/year–less than a kid’s Bible–you’ll get a story a week, and there’s always going to be a game idea to go with it. (And yes, some questions and a prayer idea and a helpful commentary page to get into the background!)

Not sure? You can have this week’s as my gift to check it out.

Starting next week it’s time for Life in the Land. In case you’re curious, here are the 10 stories we’ll explore and the main attribute of God each will highlight most:

• God keeps their promise - the spies and Rahab

• God is with us - Gideon and the tiny army

• God speaks to us - boy Samuel hears from God

• God listens to and responds to us - the people demand a king

• God chooses unlikely people - David is anointed

• God cares for us - Elijah and the widow

• God is with us - Elijah and the still small voice

• God invites us back and forgives - King Josiah finds scripture

• God helps us - Daniel won’t eat the king’s food

• God saves us - the prophets pointing to Jesus

Kids story + Wonder, Play, Pray Pages

Gbbw Sabbath, Festivals, Jubilee Kid Ideas

171KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Commentary + Context Page for Grown Ups

Gbbw Sabbath, Festivals, Jubilee Commentary Pages

128KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Ask Away Podcast

• God Says: Rest, Play and Remember

Have a thought or question?

Works Consulted for the Pentateuch Pack

A couple people asked for more detail on the books we drew from, and we’ve got you covered! Here are the books that Curtis and I used for these ten stories:

• John Goldingay

  • Old Testament Theology Volumes 1 and 2

  • Genesis for Everyone

  • Exodus and Leviticus for Everyone

• John Walton

  • Lost World of Genesis 1

  • Lost World of Adam and Eve

• Terence Freithem

  • Commentary on Genesis - Vol 1 New Interpreters Bible Commentary

  • Exodus

• Christopher Wright

  • The Mission of God

  • Exodus - The Story of God Commentary

• Walter Brueggemann

  • Exodus - The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1

• Brevard Childs

  • The Book of Exodus: A Critical and Theological Commentary

Our God is a Sabbath giving God. So we rest, every single one of us. For we were slaves in Egypt, but we don’t live there now.

Our God is a festival commanding God. So we feast, every single one of us. For we were slaves in Egypt, but we don’t live there now.

Our God is an Exodus God. So we restore, every single one of us. We become Jubilee people. For we were slaves in Egypt, but we don’t live there now.

Amen.