A Bible Story pt. 3

At whatever level you present a story from scripture it holds it's own as the Word of God and it holds together as a memorable story. It will accomplish whatever God intends it to accomplish, perhaps more so if we don't dissect it. But God gave us imaginations and intelligence and a physical body and a spirit and they all work together to His glory. And He ultimately reveals Himself through His Word and what He's created.

Now, whether you're a teacher or a parent, I'm assuming you know your children. I'm assuming that you're not just handling content but that you're attentive to the receptivity, the thinking, the interests, the experiences of the children in your care.

Let's do't again and take this story to yet another level. These levels aren't black and white, cut and dried, we're playing with this whole idea of interacting with God's stories and letting God interact with us here even without a formal "teaching" or a formal "lesson".

A Dying Girl and a Suffering Woman

[Before you go to grown up wonder questions, take one scene at a time and ask a child what they wonder about. There are no right/wrong answers to this. There may not even be right/wrong answers to their wonder questions. They may just have very personal questions with very personal answers that only God can give.]

[More grown-up wonder questions.]

[The on-going question: where were the children? A separate question: How did these encounters with Jesus affect children?]

21Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. It landed at the other side. There a large crowd gathered around him. 22Then a man named Jairus came. He was a synagogue ruler. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He begged Jesus, "Please come. My little daughter is dying. Place your hands on her to heal her. Then she will live." 24So Jesus went with him. [Visualize this. Imagine yourself there. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, touch? What do you observe about Jesus? What do you observe about Jairus?]

A large group of people followed. They crowded around him. [Where are you? Are you close enough to touch Him or far away? Are you pushing or letting someone else get close?] 25A woman was there who had a sickness that made her bleed. It had lasted for 12 years. [Have you ever known someone in this situation? Imagine their situation 2000 years ago] 26She had suffered a great deal, even though she had gone to many doctors. She had spent all the money she had. But she was getting worse, not better. [Do you know anyone like this?] 27Then she heard about Jesus. She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. 28She thought, "I just need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed." [Do you know anyone like this?] 29Right away her bleeding stopped. She felt in her body that her suffering was over. [Imagine being her. Imagine being related to her or being her friend. Imagine watching her and listening to her coming home after all this is over.]

30At once Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd. He asked, "Who touched my clothes?" [Imagine how Jesus felt.]

31"You see the people," his disciples answered. "They are crowding against you. And you still ask, 'Who touched me?' " [What kind of attitude is this? What does this scene tell you about Jesus' disciples?]

32But Jesus kept looking around. He wanted to see who had touched him. [What does this scene tell you about Jesus?]

33Then the woman came and fell at his feet. She knew what had happened to her. She was shaking with fear. But she told him the whole truth. [What does this scene tell you about this woman?]

34He said to her, "Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. You are free from your suffering." [How tender Jesus was ...but He's interrupted...]