Bible stories

Someone was looking for a simplified Easter Story.

For years I would read scripture to kids verbatim for fear of messing something up and just to honor the Word. Maybe that's better. Maybe this is better...not clear.

Here's a challenge for you: Take a specific child or group of children. [Your favorite 3 year old, for example]

Knowing the concrete elements of life that are real to this child's experience (or for this particular age group) tell the Easter story. Leave out all the things that won't make any sense to them or use words that will make sense to them and help them understand the story. Leave out the abstact words and concepts that they have no experience with and try to tell the story.

Do it for a 2 or 3 year old. Do it for an 8 or 9 year old. Do it for a 12 year old. Stick to the elements of the story that the child has the language and the experience to understand.

That's the non-illustrated version. A picture is worth a 1000 words, or so they say. If you use a Bible picture book, try a "what do you see?" approach.

All this without changing the story and not leaving out the details...