God's Word, My Voice

Lyn Zill Briggs

Description

Want the children in your congregation to leave with God’s Word on their lips and in their hearts? This collection of The Revised Common Lectionary readings (Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament, and Gospel), are paraphrased for children to be read aloud in Sunday morning worship, will help kids easily read and understand the word God has for their lives. This collection of lectionary paraphrases is written in a child’s speaking voice, NOT as an adult telling a story to the children. The psalms include a refrain for the entire congregation that closely parallels to the Book of Common Prayer’s version.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Education
• Philosophie et théologie
• Children
• Youth

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 01 février 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780898699302
• Langue: English

Extrait

God s Word, My Voice
A Lectionary for Children
Lyn Zill Briggs
2015 by Lyn Zill Briggs
All rights reserved. God s Word, My Voice is copyrighted material. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, with the exception that permission is hereby granted to persons who have purchased this book and wish to reproduce these pages for worship, church school, or other nonprofit use.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Church Publishing, Incorporated. 19 East 34th Street New York, New York 10016 www.churchpublishing.org
Cover design by Laurie Klein Westhafer Typeset by: Rose Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Briggs, Lyn Zill.
God s word, my voice : a lectionary for children / Lyn Zill Briggs.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-89869-929-6 (perfect bound)-ISBN 978-0-89869-930-2 (ebook) 1. Lectionaries-Texts-Juvenile literature. 2. Episcopal Church.-Liturgy. I. Episcopal Church. Book of common prayer (2013). Selections. II. Common lectionary (1992) III. Bible. English. Selections. New Revised Standard. 2015. IV. Title.
BX5947.L4B75 2015
264 .032-dc23
2014034107
To the glory of God with thanksgiving for The children of the Church of the Resurrection And my parents who taught me to love God s Word
Contents
Introduction
Year A
Year B
Year C
Scripture Index
Introduction
On the first Pentecost, the presence of the Holy Spirit empowered people to understand what was being said and heard. Understanding led to transformation. And transformation led to growth of the Body of Christ. Since that time, the scriptures have been translated for the purpose of transformation.
According to Wikipedia, the entire Bible has been translated into 518 languages, and portions of the Holy Scriptures have been translated into 2,798 different languages. Children use and understand language in different ways than adults do. We are responsible for helping them understand what God is saying to them through God s Word, so that the Spirit can transform them.
This collection of paraphrases is another tool to enable transformation. This book is intended to support children in reading Holy Scriptures aloud in church to the whole assembly of people. Adults love to hear God s Word spoken in a child s voice, and may come to understand God s Word in a whole new way. Incorporating the children more fully into the worshipping assembly strengthens all of us as God s people.
This resource does not contain scriptural translation, but biblical paraphrase. To that end, some details (like names of geographical places or difficult names of people) have been left out of the text. I ve filled in some blanks (catching up with what happened previously, etc.) and fleshed out some details. But not much. Paraphrased readings correspond to each of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with Holy Week/Triduum readings and Christmas Day.
Reading aloud is incarnational activity When you read aloud, you also hear yourself reading and are doubly impacted by God s Word. Adult readers know this.
Incorporating children in the liturgy can be challenging in some congregations. If there hasn t been a tradition of children being present or having any kid time, it may be difficult getting kids to come. Honoring children s place in the worshipping community shows that the message of God s love and the challenge of a faithful life are important to all generations. It s even difficult to bring God s Word alive for adults who have sixty years experience of listening to the lectionary Most of all, intergenerational worship brings a congregation together to experience the message of God s love offered to us all.
There are many benefits for including all ages in worship and having children read the lections. Incorporating children and their voices into the reading rota encourages parents to bring them and their extended families to church. Children will feel more fully part of their church and will become more comfortable in the sacred space of the chancel as they actively participate in their readings. An extra bonus is that reading aloud in church will help your children (and any reader) grow in confidence. Remember that children want to do a good job. Train them to read slowly and distinctly. Teach them how to introduce the reading properly and conclude with The Word of the Lord.
Here are some suggestions for using this resource: Be creative in presenting these paraphrases, remembering that they are not performance pieces but God s Word. Use props as necessary, making sure the understanding of the word doesn t get upstaged. Have children read them exactly as is. Or work with them to fit your context so that they are understood. When the children read from the Epistles, help them remember that they are letters. Have a child run up to the ambo or lectern just as someone is ready to read, with a scroll in hand, saying Here s a letter we just got from Paul. Read it Have a group of children surround the reader with scroll in hand, anxiously awaiting Paul s words. Children enjoy leading the congregation in the psalms. A congregational refrain is included when appropriate in bold. Rework the lessons that contain lots of dialogue, dividing the speaking parts between several kids. If possible, print the readings in the bulletin in their entirety. Children may not be the best readers, but that doesn t mean they can t read aloud while we follow along. You ll be amazed at their improved reading skills and confidence over time. Introduce the children to the ambo/lectern before they are scheduled to read. Practice with them using the microphone or the stool they might need. E-mail the parents or the children themselves the lessons ahead of time with copies of what their child will be reading. The first time a child reads in church, send him or her a note of thanks and an invitation to read again. You can use all three readings at a service, or just one, whichever suits your congregation and the children who are reading. Involve groups of kids by dividing up the reading into discrete parts. Kids can alternate paragraphs, standing at the ambo together. It can be intimidating to stand and read before a room full of adults. Having a parent standing close by can give a child the confidence he or she needs. Engage the children in proclaiming the gospel. There is lots of dialogue in some lessons. Have a child read along with the gospeller perhaps being the voice of Jesus. It s awesome to hear Jesus words from the mouth of a child. Encourage the use of this lectionary at home. If possible, e-mail the readings to the parents of all the children so they can read them together aloud as a family. Or give this book as a gift to families at special times. Read aloud in Sunday school classes or children s church. After church, invite the kids to re-phrase and tell you what they heard and read. Use your discretion in assigning readings. Some readings are more appropriate for younger children. All are appropriate for older children and adults.
Hear and read God s Word in as many ways as you can to as many people as you can. May God bless your hearing, reading, and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. I would love to hear your experience of God s Word, My Voice .
Lyn Zill Briggs
[e-mail]
Pentecost, 2014
Thank you, Sharon Ely Pearson, for recognizing the power of the Spirit in the voice of a child and bringing this project to print. I deeply appreciate your encouragement and partnership.
Year A
The First Sunday of Advent
A Reading from Isaiah [2:1-5]
Here s what Isaiah sees for the future of Judah and Jerusalem:
God s house will be on the highest mountain of them all. And everyone will see it and want to come to it. Because they ll say to themselves, Let s go see what good things God has to teach us so that we can become better people and follow the good path God has for us.
That s where you ll find some good ideas about living and loving-in God s house. God s ways to live are good ways to live.
In the future, when things go God s way, people who are different from each other will get along. Countries won t fight each other. They ll use their weapons as garden tools to grow good things to eat instead of using them to hurt each other. Let s walk on God s path together.
The Word of the Lord.
Psalm 122
It made me so happy when someone suggested we go to God s house
Because my feet always want to take me there, to Jerusalem, where all the people praise God.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May good things happen to those who love God s house.
That s where decisions have been made, and kings have been crowned, and people thank God.
I think we should all pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.
May there be peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.
Let s do everything we can to make sure there is peace in Jerusalem, and see that those who live there are safe and happy.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May good things happen to those who love God s house.
A Reading from Romans [13:11-14]
The time has come. We need to wake up Wipe the sleep from your eyes, because we are closer than ever to God s salvation. The rough times are almost over, and the sun is about to come up. We should put aside our dark thinking, and instead put on the armor made of light. We should act like we act when people are watching us, because they are. Don t do the things that would bring us shame: being drunk, messing around with people we shouldn t be messing with, being jealou