Kids of all ages, shapes and sizes live in our neighborhood. Our family enjoys each freckled face, acne challenged, nose picken’ one of them. They trickle to our front door after school asking if this child or that child can play since we have a playmate for all age catagories. The older ones roll up on a skate board or bouncing a basketball. The younger ones skip empty handed bearing large smiles. They come at different times on different days, except for every other Friday night. This is the time we all come together for a neighborhood Bible study in our den. Our home is open to anyone that will come, kids and parents alike. So far our Bible study ranges from kids five-years-old to fourteen. A diverse group of boys and girls with a common interest.
After our first meeting my husband and I determined we would start with the basic Bible stories found in the Good Book...start at the beginning. The kids come with anticipation and leave excited. They retain the lessons and look forward to more. Since our neighbors continue to return bringing friends with them, I thought I would post what we cover at each study, so that any of you in the cyber world can use the information and duplicate the studies in your own neighborhoods. I’ll start at the beginning and post one every other week, since that is our meeting schedule.
Bonin Neighborhood Bible Study- Week 1- Introduction (Basic Bible Stories start Week 2)
Opening Game:
Inspired by the movie The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, the kids were broken into groups and given instructions that would supposedly lead back to the kitchen for ice-cream. One group was sent to a neighbor’s front porch to find a note that would give further instructions. The second group was to find their instructions taped to a street light. The third group was sent to the trampoline for their instructions.
Group one had the right instructions; they scurried into the house excited and out of breath looking for their reward.
Group two was lead on a wild goose chase that never lead them to the kitchen for ice-cream.
Group three never found their instructions.
Once the kids were reassembled in the kitchen, some satisfied, but more frustrated, each was given some ice-cream as the lesson was explained.
Group one represented the people that are told the gospel and accept it. They went straight to their reward.
Group two represented people who are seeking for the truth, but are told false information and therefore lead away from the true reward.
Group three represented the people who are never given the chance to hear the gospel and do not have a clue how to go into an eternal life with rewards.
Bible Reading and Discussion:
After some discussion about the meaning of the game, Troy had everyone open their Bibles to Colossians 1:15-21. He read the passage aloud and discussed who Jesus is and what He has done. John 1:1-5 was cross referenced with the above passage. Rather than teaching AT the kids, we asked them question after question and found each answer in the passages that we read. The kids were assigned John 1-3 for their reading homework. After the discussion we closed in prayer, then broke into a few groups for some games.
