Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

  As we approach the events of Easter, this simple activity will help provide context for your children. Create a simple map of Israel on the floor, allowing children to see for themselves the places where the events in the gospels happened. Click here to download the instructions

A 1st Century stone path in Bethsaida, where Jesus walked the streets Understanding the daily life of Jesus helps us to discover who he really was. Context puts flesh on bones, and breathes life into the gospels. There are many great resources out there to help us to dig into the context of 1st Century Palestine. Here are some of our favourite free resources: Modern Photos of Israel/Palestine Annette took these photos during her visit in 2011. Free to download and use in PowerPoint or printed out to show small groups of children. We would be grateful if you could acknowledge Scripture Union New Zealand.  Links to great websites: A virtual tour of Israel Bible Places Great images of reconstructions of the temple in the time of Jesus Free photos of modern Israel A basic interactive map of Israel with photos A free app which gives you a virtual tour of Jerusalem and the temple. Works offline!  A couple of great Youtube clips of the Temple i...

Thanks to Sonja from Palmerston North for this great idea. She has taken our Easter Journey serial story and created a walk-through experience from it. Use it as is, or take her idea and modify it to suit your own context. The Easter Walk-Through has 16 stations that are set up around the church. Each station has a photo or two on the wall. Each station has two sets of the story; a simplified version and a fuller version.  Place a small table at each station with an action point and an activity. On a few of the stations there is also some history for people to read if they are interested.  At the end of the 16 stations have juice, coffee and tea available, and warm hot cross buns with butter! (Include a yummy gluten-free option) Here are all the files you will need to set up your walk-through experience:  Easter Walk-Through Instructions Easter Story - Full Version  Easter Story - Simplified Version Easter Action Points Easter History Points ...

These are a handful of quick ideas you can use to explore the Christmas story with children. They accompany photographs that I took in Israel in 2011, but you can google your own images as well. __________________________________________________________________ Map it!   The places mentioned in the Christmas story were not well known in Jesus day. But they sure became famous! We know about Bethlehem, Nazareth and the hill country of Judea because they all feature in the biblical story of Christmas. It's helpful for children to know where these places are. That way they don't seem like a fairy tale. Bethlehem is not in a land far far away, but is a real place.  Activities: Print out black and white maps of Israel. Give the children gold star stickers to mark the places mentioned in the Christmas story. Provide an atlas or google maps to help you.    Click here for a free black and white map.  Click here for an interactive colour map....

A few years back I returned from Israel determined to help my Bible in School's class grasp the daily reality of life in the time of Jesus. I created this game for that purpose. The kids in my class helped me modify it so that it worked well. We loved playing it! Be warned; it is noisy and slightly chaotic (as all good games should be). It takes a little time to make up all the cards, but once you have made it you can use the game over and over.  The aim of the game is to enter the first century market place and trade and sell your goods. The prices are accurate to what they would have cost in Jesus' day, based on what we know from the ancient texts; the Mishnah, the New Testament, and archaeological       discoveries.  However, it is hard to be certain about the exact cost of items. You can see ‘Daily Life at the Time of Jesus’ by Miriam Vamosh for more detail ( to purchase ).   So, when someone goes to the market place to...

J oseph kn ows what he ha s to do. He ha s stood a nd watch ed that day, as the rocks broke and the sun faded from view . He ha s watched as Jesus had di ed. And now he kn ows what he ha s to do.  Joseph , not Jesus' Dad, another Joseph, has a tomb. And he wa nts to honour Jesus by burying him in his tomb. He doesn't want Jesus to en d up like the criminals who have died th at day, cast into a heap by the Roman s. Discarded like rubbish.  Jesus is not rubbish to be tossed away. So, Joseph pushes his way through the cr owds on the road and finds his way to where Pilate is. He has a strange request to make. And he is in a hurry. It is just about time for the Sabbath, when every Jewish pe rso n stops working. He must get to Pilate be fore then.  Pilate is pretty surprised to see Joseph, and even more surprised when he hears that Joseph wants Jesus' body. "Is he dead already?" Pilate asks. He send s off some soldiers to check . When they report back...