Youth programmefor ages 15–18CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

BIBLE SUNDAY 2011 : YOUTH RESOURCESFOR 15-18SBecause each youth group is unique, you will need to adapt the following material to fit your group’s needs. Use this flexible programme with optional activities to create your own session. You will not have time to use all the provided content. Either select enough for one session, or spread it over two or three sessions. All Bible readings are quoted from both the Contemporary English Version (CEV) and the King James Bible (KJV).

INTRODUCTIONBible passageNehemiah 8.1–18

Learning objectiveTo understand why it is important for people to hear the Bible in their own language, and to reflect on the change that comes about when people understand its content.

Resources you may need• Resource 1: Audio file, download from www.biblesunday.org/amharic

• Resource 2: Rank the books – in order of most copies produced.

• Resource 3: Bible translation quiz/card sort.

• Resource 4: Tesfaye’s story sheet.

• Resource 5: King James Pictionary cards.

• Bibles in different languages and translations, including the King James Bible.

• Assorted props for making temporary shelters or booths, e.g. sheets, blankets, poles, string, etc.

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Nehemiah 1–7: The story so farFollowing years of disobedience to God and aggression towards its neighbouring countries, Judah was invaded by the Babylonian Empire (centred in modern-day Iraq). Jerusalem, the holy city established by David, was trashed and its people taken into captivity. It was as if all that God had promised through the heroes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel and David had come to nothing.

Seventy years and three generations later, Nehemiah – a Jewish servant of the Babylonian king – plucked up courage and asked permission to return to Jerusalem so that he could rebuild its broken walls and gates. As if!

Yet despite his relative youth and lack of experience, Nehemiah successfully motivated and organised volunteers to rebuild the city. In doing so, he also rebuilt their pride and community spirit.

But, even more importantly, rebuilding the walls and gates also reconnected them with the story of their ancestors: their grandparents, their great-grandparents, their great-great-grandparents. They were not just captives of the Babylonian Empire, they were Hebrews, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their story was part of God’s story.

Nehemiah 8.1–4: Don’t just ignore it, HEAR IT!People of all ages and gender spontaneously called for the book of the Law (the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses) to be read aloud from beginning to end in one continuous ‘readathon’. They listened for over six hours to every word of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It reminded them of why they had worked so hard to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. They had been rebuilding their faith in God.

Nehemiah 8.5–12: Don’t just hear it, UNDERSTAND IT!Listening to the book of the Law at first made the Hebrews sad. They mourned the spiritual heritage they had lost and their broken relationship with God. But Nehemiah told them instead to celebrate the faith they had rediscovered, remembering to be generous towards and inclusive of those who could not afford their own celebration.

Nehemiah 8.13–18: Don’t just understand it, LIVE IT!But as they listened to the book of the Law, the Hebrews also rediscovered biblical truths that had been forgotten for generations. These were not new truths or supplements to the book of the Law, but rather ancient treasures that had remained buried in the biblical text and which now took on fresh significance.

As they listened to the book of the Law, they were reminded that Moses had called the Israelites to live in temporary shelters or booths for a week each year. God had called the Israelites on a journey: they were to be pioneers, not settlers. Now, standing in the open, the Hebrews instinctively understood that their ultimate destination was not Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, but the New Jerusalem of God’s Kingdom.

Hearing the book of the Law was not enough. They had to act on it. Having worked so hard to rebuild Jerusalem, they marked its completion by making temporary shelters from branches and leaves and sleeping rough in them for a week. It must have seemed bizarre to onlookers.

Nehemiah demonstrates the impact that hearing the Bible can have on us and others. Young and old, male and female, rich and poor can all be changed by understanding the Bible. It helps us, in twenty-first-century Britain, to reconnect our story to Nehemiah’s story and, ultimately, to God’s story.

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SESSION OUTLINEWelcomeWelcome each young person by name on arrival.

MediaWithout introduction or explanation, play the Resource 1 audio file (a reading of John chapter 1 in Amharic, an Ethiopian language, available to download from www.biblesunday.org/amharic ).

Ask the young people, ‘What have you just heard? What do you understand from this?’ Do not tell them at this stage anything about the audio file. Simply gather their ideas about it.

Starter: Introducing the BibleCopy and cut out Resource 2 (found on page 8). Give the young people (working in teams, pairs or as individuals) a set of the book title cards (available at the end of this file) and ask them to rank them in order of most copies produced (answers below).

Rank Title / Author Total Copies

1 The Bible 6 billion

2 The Qur’an 800 million

3 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 200 million

4 The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkein 150 million

5 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 80 million

6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling 44 million

7 The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren 30 million

8 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 13 million

9 A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking 10 million

10 Being Jordan by Katie Price 1 million

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books )

Ask the young people, ‘What surprises you most about this list?’

The Bible is by far the bestselling book of all time. No one knows precisely how many copies have been printed, sold or distributed. Estimates put it between 2.5 and 6 billion in the last century alone!

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MediaPlay again the Resource 1 audio file.

Ask the young people, ‘What do you now think you have heard? What do you understand from this?’

Now tell them that it is a Bible reading from the first chapter of John’s Gospel in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia.

Ask the young people, ‘How useful was it for you to hear this well-known Bible passage about Jesus coming to earth to make God known to us being read in the Amharic language? What would have been more helpful to you?’

QuizAsk the young people, ‘How important do you think it is for the Bible to be available in your own language for people to read, should they wish to? But how available around the world is the Bible for people to read?’

If the group is big enough, organise the young people into teams for the quiz. Otherwise, they can work in pairs, or even on their own.

Option 1: Higher or lowerRefer to Resource 3 (available at the end of this file). Read out a statement. Each team (or individual) must secretly write down what they think the correct corresponding number should be. The number closest to the correct answer given in Resource 3 is the winner of each round.

Option 2: Card sortCopy and cut out a Resource 3 for each team or individual. Set a time limit for the teams or individuals to match the statements with the correct numbers.

There are approximately 6,912 languages in the world today. Parts of the Bible are available in 2,479 languages. The New Testament has been translated into 1,231 languages. But the complete Bible has still only been translated into 469 languages. This leaves 4,421 languages still waiting for even one book of the Bible. It takes on average six years to translate the New Testament, and ten years to translate the Old Testament. Bible translation is therefore still a big challenge.

Today, one billion people cannot read the Bible. This is either because the Bible has not been translated into their language, or because they have been denied access to education and cannot read.

In response, Bible Society makes the Bible both available and accessible through translations, audio and Braille to people across the globe.

Bible reading: Nehemiah 8.1–4: Don’t just ignore it, HEAR IT!This year, 2011, is the four-hundredth anniversary of the King James Bible. Ask for volunteers to read the Bible passage in as many different languages and translations as you can obtain, including the AV. Hearing the passage a number of times will help boost understanding.

Alternatively, having read the passage in one version, read it again – this time with two different versions being read simultaneously. Then read it again – now with three different versions being

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read simultaneously. How many different translations can you build up to?

In Babylon people spoke Akkadian and, increasingly, Aramaic. They did not speak Hebrew, the language used for the book of the Law. After three generations in Babylon, how many captive Hebrews would have been able to read (as opposed to speak) Hebrew with confidence and accuracy? The Hebrews requested that the book of the Law be read to them. They wanted to hear it in their own language.

Read or refer to Tesfaye’s storyTo help people like Tesfaye, an Amharic speaker, to hear and understand the Bible, Bible Society provides solar-powered or wind-up listening machines called Proclaimers. Refer to Resource 4 (available at the end of this file) to read Tesfaye’s story, or watch http://youtu.be/LwBSAp64m1s a short video produced by Bible Society.

Bible reading: Nehemiah 8.5–12: Don’t just hear it, UNDERSTAND IT!Although the Hebrews were aware of the book of the Law (and some had probably read it many times before), when they heard it read aloud they gained a fresh understanding. The Bible, the Word of God, is described as ‘alive and active’ (Hebrews 4.12, CEV) because even though its words are unchanging and timeless, its relevance comes alive to us at different times in different ways through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Activity: King James PictionaryUse Resource 5 (available at the end of this file) to play a game of King James Pictionary. Secretly show or whisper to a group member one of the English language phrases that originate from the King James Bible. This person must communicate using only drawings or sketches (no spoken or written words or letters) to enable the rest of the group or team to guess what the phrase is. The person who identifies the phrase correctly must sketch the next phrase.

To make the game even more challenging, give each person sketching the phrase only a copy of the King James Bible verse (not the Pictionary-style phrase), for them to work out what common English language phrase originates from it.

Afterwards, ask the young people, ‘What do these phrases all have in common?’ Answer: they all originate from the King James Bible.

Published 400 years ago, the King James Bible has influenced the English language more than any other book. Its publication enabled all English-speaking people – young and old, male and female, rich and poor – to read or listen to the Bible for the first time in their own language. People listened

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to it so much that they began to adopt some of its phrases into their everyday speech.

As well as changing the English language, hearing and understanding the Bible changed society. For example, inspired by the Bible, William Wilberforce (1759–1833) campaigned for the abolition of slavery, Revd Dr Martin Luther King (1929–68) campaigned for racial equality, and George Müller (1805–98) set up care homes for young orphans. Nehemiah not only wanted to change Jerusalem’s walls, he wanted to bring about social, political and spiritual change in society.

Activity: Create your own audio fileChallenge your young people to produce their own short Proclaimer-style audio presentation. This should include a short Bible reading from Nehemiah 8 so that listeners can hear the Bible, and an explanation to help listeners understand its meaning. Work in teams if appropriate. High-quality audio recording is available on many mobile phones and laptops.

Consider how these productions can then be used. For example, to promote all-age community, can they be burned onto CDs and made available to those linked to your church who have restricted sight? Alternatively, could they be uploaded to your church’s website or made available through young people’s Facebook pages?

Bible reading: Nehemiah 8.13–18: Don’t just understand it, LIVE IT!The Hebrews did not just hear and understand – they acted on what they had learned.

Activity: Building sheltersProvide each team or pair with an assortment of materials and props – such as broom handles, tent poles, sheets, blankets and string – with which to make their booths. Challenge them to build their own booths. Award prizes for the best design, biggest structure, best interior design, best team work, etc.

Alternatively, provide pop-up tents (easy to set up, far more challenging to pack away!).

ExtensionChallenge your young people to sleep (either outside or inside) for a night in their booths to raise money for Bible Society’s Proclaimers audio Bible project. As an alternative to sleeping in the open air, you might prefer to erect the booths inside your church hall. You will need to plan this event in accordance with your church’s Safeguarding and Health and Safety policies to ensure that the event is safe and well managed. In particular, think about the following.

• What ratio of suitable adults to young people will be required?

• How secure is the site?

• What will you do if…

Activity: Plan a sponsored Bible readathonJust as the Hebrew community (young and old, male and female, rich and poor) gathered in public to hear the book of the Law read aloud from beginning to end without stopping, so challenge your

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young people to organise your church community to work together to read aloud part or all of the Bible from beginning to end. The New Testament can be read in approximately 18 hours. The complete Bible can be read aloud in just under 72 hours. Guide the young people to think about how they might organise such a project.

ResponseInvite the young people to sit in their booths or pop-up tents and reflect on Nehemiah 8. Ask them, ‘What verse(s) were most significant for you? Why?’

How could they re-tell (not so much translate) these verses, or even the whole chapter, in ways that could be understood by those who use Twitter, Facebook or texting? From their booths some will, no doubt, have instant access to such social media through their mobile phones.

End by inviting the young people to pray for Tesfaye and people like him, as well as for the work of Bible Society.

These activities are written by Danny Brierley. Danny is an RE teacher in inner-city Birmingham and a member of Chawn Hill Church.

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RESOURCE 2: RANK THE BOOKS

The Bible

The Qur’an

A Tale of Two Citiesby Charles Dickens

The Lord of the Rings trilogyby JRR Tolkien

The Da Vinci Codeby Dan Brown

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsby JK Rowling

The Purpose Driven Lifeby Rick Warren

Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryby Roald Dahl

A Brief History of Timeby Stephen Hawking

Being Jordanby Katie Price

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

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RESOURCE 3: BIBLE TRANSLATION QUIZ / CARD SORT

6,912The total number of known languages in

the world today.

4,421The number of languages that have no

part of the Bible.

2,479The number of languages that have part

of the Bible.

1,231The number of languages that have the

full New Testament.

469The number of languages that have the

complete Bible.

10The number of years it takes to translate

the Old Testament.

6The number of years it takes to translate

the New Testament.

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RESOURCE 4: TESFAYE’S STORYThe Light House centre for former street children lies down an unmade road in the back streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Psychologically, spiritually, emotionally and visually it is a sanctuary. The walled garden is full of trees providing shade and a breeze on a hot January day. White bell flowers grow in profusion by the front door. There’s a vegetable plot where the boys learn to garden.

Indoors, ten boys are animatedly doing a Bible study, accompanied by Janta, the home’s white dog. In another room, six older boys are listening to a Proclaimer.

In the kitchen there’s a mound of red onions, potatoes and cabbages under the table, which will be cooked up outside for lunch.

One of the boys living here is called Tesfaye. When he was only 13 years old, Tesfaye was living on the streets of Addis Ababa. He tried to earn a living as a shoe-shine boy and collected scrap metal to sell. But after six months he was penniless, frightened, hungry and alone.

One night he slept in an electricity substation to keep out of the cold night air. The next morning, as he was leaving, he was electrocuted and thrown clear of the building.

‘I was in hospital for many months because my left arm was badly burned,’ he says. ‘Then I met a physiotherapist at the hospital. She was a very nice woman and was in contact with the Light House centre. Two guys from the centre came to meet me and then I came here.

‘I got a real life. We have a great future plan and hope about our country,’ he adds. ‘The people who you see here have a real hope. They have a real interest to help others. They have a real passion to know the Bible and work. Sometimes we go and do outreach to others.’

Tesfaye and his friends listen regularly to the Proclaimer Bible and take part in Bible studies.

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RESOURCE 5: KING JAMES PICTIONARY

Pictionary (English language) phrase

Bible reference

King James Bible

Turned the world upside down

Acts 17.6

And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also…

Fly in the ointmentEcclesiastes 10.1

Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.

The blind leading the blind

Matthew 15.14

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

No peace for the wicked

Isaiah 57.21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

The powers that be Romans 13.1Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Escape with the skin of my teeth

Job 19.19–20

All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.

Salt of the earth Matthew 5.13

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.