 
RIPPLES

By

Jim Payton

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY

Jim Payton on Smashwords

Ripples

Copyright 2012 by Jim Payton

This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews.

Your support and respect for the property of the author is appreciated.

These stories and plays were written over a number of years primarily as a basis for Ministry to children. They are open to having the reader substitute appropriate names to suit their ministry and any other appropriate adaptations. They have also proved to be popular with aged people.

The author is a New Zealander so please forgive the occasions that spelling differs from that in use by your country.

Above all others, this book is dedicated to St Columba's Church, Taradale, New Zealand where The Lord and I met face to face.

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Table of Contents

Story 1 Practical Faith

Story.2.Promises

Story 3 Belonging

Story 4 Humpty Dumpty

Story 5 A Ghost Story

Story 6 Phillip and The Midnight Visitors

Story 7 A Tale for 10 to 13 year olds

Story 8 Joe Against The World

Story 9 Lucy and Mary

Story 10 Meeting Jesus

Story 11 Sam The Samaritan

Story 12 The Want-it-Now's and Fast Food Land

Story 13 Easter

Story 14 Talk to God

Story 15 Do Not Tell Lies

Story 16 Why Do We Go To Church

Story 17 Mums

Story 18 The Day the Minister Scared Me

Story 19 Salt

Story 20 The Messiah

Story 21 The Prodigal Son

Story 22 The Little Star

Story 23 David

Story 24 Redemption

Story 25 End of the Year

Story 26 Copy Cat

Story 27 Reuben and Son

Story 28 Jesus and the Real Indians

Story 29 Sally and Food

Story 30 Armour

Story 31 The Circle of Life

Story 32 Reasons and Seasons

Story 33 What Are Presents

Story 34 Easter 2

Story 35 A Letter from Rex

Play 1 Little Star

Play 2 The Barbeque

About the Author

Story 1 Practical Faith

Janet placed her lunchbox beside her. She chose biscuits and an apple from the box and put them to one side.

"Yummy," she thought. "Peanut butter sandwiches."

As she unwrapped the sandwiches, she looked up and saw the new boy watching her. He had only been at school for a week, but he had already been in trouble. His name was Karl, and like her, he was in year 5. He had no lunch to eat. He was also from another Country. Janet had heard other children calling him names because he spoke differently, and not very well. His clothes looked ragged, and his hair was greasy. As she bit into her sandwich, Karl looked away angrily. Janet wondered why he was angry. She took another bite and caught him looking at her again. She smiled at him. Her mother had told her she should always be polite. Karl frowned at her and again turned away. Janet put down the sandwich she was eating, and taking another one from her lunchbox, walked over to Karl and held it out to him. He sneered at her and turned away. Janet put the sandwich down beside him and said, "You can share my lunch." She went back to her own seat. She watched as Karl touched the sandwich when he thought she was not looking, and then took a bite. She smiled to herself.

Janet thought back to when her Sunday school teacher told her that Jesus had said, "Feed my sheep." The teacher had said that did not mean giving food to sheep, but teaching people about God. Janet then took a packet of chippies and left them beside Karl.

Over the next few days, Janet again shared her lunch with Karl, even when some of the other children told her she was silly. When Janet told her Mum what she was doing, her Mum put a few extras into her lunchbox.

Janet and Karl started talking, and she helped him with his English and Math. Later, Karl became Janet's friend, and she met his sister, Juanita, who started going to Sunday school with her. Karl never did go to Sunday school, but Janet knew that he would always remember how a Christian girl helped him in a practical way when nobody else would.

Janet knew Jesus would understand her way of feeding his sheep.

Story 2 Promises

Janet was a child aged eight who lived in Masterton, New Zealand. Some of her friends had pets and Janet wanted to have a pet as well.

"Mum," she said. "Can I have a guinea pig?"

"No." said Mum looking up from the magazine where she was reading about Brad Pitt.

"Awe, please Mum, please," begged Janet.

"No." Mum said again.

"I'll wash the dishes," said Janet. "I'll make my bed."

"Wait until your father gets home and ask him," said Mum.

When Dad duly arrived home, he got a beer out of the refrigerator, kicked at the dog, and threw the cat off the rocking chair. He sat down and switched the television over to a sports channel.

"Dad," said Janet. "Can I have a guinea pig please?"

"No," said Dad.

"Please," said Janet. "Please, please, please. I'll do anything."

"See your mother," replied Dad.

"Mum. Dad says I can have a guinea pig," said Janet telling a lie

"What?" yelled Mum.

"Dad says I can have a guinea pig."

"Well, we'll see," said Mum.

Two days later a guinea pig arrived. It sat in a hutch on the back lawn.

"Mummy, Mummy, thank you," said Janet hugging her mother.

"Just remember young lady," said Mum. "You have to make sure that you check every day to see it has enough water and food and you also have to shift the hutch every third day."

"I will. I will," said Janet. "I promise. I'll call him Abe."

Over the next two weeks, Janet was very good. She feed Abe, gave him food and water and shifted his hutch. On the third week, she forgot to check Abe. She remembered a couple of days later, and although he had eaten all his food, there was still some water left.

The week after that Janet forgot all about Abe because she had a birthday party to go to, and then she slept over at a friends place, and then something good was on T.V. and then one night it was raining.

Abe shivered cold and alone in his hutch. He felt weak and sad. He felt that no one loved him. He was also scared. He tried to squeak out loud so some one would hear him, but no one did. He lay down on his wet straw and prepared to die.

Just as he was about to die Abe heard a strangers voice.

"What have we here?" asked the voice.

"Oh it's nothing," said Janet's voice. "Come on. You came over to play, not look at an old guinea pig."

"No. I think this is more important," said the voice. Abe felt the hutch move and gentle hands pick him up and cuddle him into a warm jersey.

"What's his name?" asked the voice.

"Abe," replied Janet. "But he's got all stinky and yucky now."

"I'll look after him," said the voice. Abe felt himself carried away from Janet's house.

"I'm Judy," said the voice. "Don't worry I'll look after you." Abe found himself fed with warm milk and going to sleep on nice warm freshly torn up newspaper. Gradually Abe got well again. His coat shone and his eyes sparkled. Judy took him to a guinea pig show and won first prize. They received a ribbon and a bag of lollies. Janet did not get anything.

So because Janet was lazy, did not keep her promise, and lost interest, poor Abe nearly died. Judy, on the other hand, kept her promise to look after Abe, won a prize, and of course, Abe lived happily ever after.

That is what Jesus is like. When other people do not like you, or have lost interest in you, Jesus will always look after you. He will always be with you. He will make sure that you are cared for, fed, and kept warm.

Story 3 Belonging

Sally was a butterfly. Well she thought she was a butterfly. Somehow, though, she was different. Her Mum and Dad had white wings. One of them had two black spots on their wings, and the other had one black spot. Some of Sally's cousins had beautiful bright orange wings, some had black wings with orange marks on them and some had brown wings, but none of them was like her. Sure, she had white wings and black spots, but she had three black spots. Not one, not two, but three. This was terrible for poor Sally. None of the other butterflies at butterfly school had three spots. Everyone made fun of her. Even the caterpillars at kindergarten would call her 'three spot'. She had tried to make herself look like the other butterflies. She had tried to paint over one of the spots but you could still see it through the paint. She had tried dyeing her wings bright green, and bright yellow, but that made her look even sillier. Nothing seemed to work. No matter what she did, she still had three black spots on each wing. Sally was so sad. She felt as though she just did not belong. One day, while all the other butterflies were at butterfly school learning how to eat cabbage leaves faster, Sally went and sat in the shade of a dock leaf. She felt all alone and sad. While she was sitting there, a worm poked his head up above the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" asked the worm. "Why aren't you at school?"

"I hate school," said Sally. "All the kids make fun of me."

"Why?" asked the worm.

"Because I've got three spots on my wings," said Sally.

"So what?" asked the worm.

"Well," said Sally. "It means that I don't belong. I don't think I am really a butterfly. I'm different."

"Have you got wings?" asked the worm.

"Yes, of course," replied Sally.

"Can you fly?" asked the worm.

"Of course," replied Sally.

"Do you eat cabbage leaves?" asked the worm.

"Yes," admitted Sally.

"Well it seems to me that you are a white butterfly," responded the worm. "I think the third spot makes you look extra lovely."

"Do you think so?" asked Sally now a little bit happier.

"I sure do," stated the worm. "You belong with all the other butterflies. You may be a bit different, but that does not mean you do not belong. Go home."

Sally, feeling much brighter, flew to her home at number 4 Cabbage Row. Her Mum and Dad were so happy to see her. The school headmaster had telephoned to say she was not at school and everyone had been so worried.

"Oh Mum I've been so silly," said Sally. "I thought I didn't belong, but a worm I spoke with showed me how silly I was. Although I am a bit different, I still belong to the butterfly family. Not only do I belong to the butterfly family, but I belong to God's world, and God loves me no matter how many spots I have."

And, that is the same with us all. Even when we are called names, it does not matter, because God loves us. Thank you God!

Story 4 Humpty Dumpty

Hi. My name is Kurl. I am a horse. When you see me searching for food in my paddock you probably do not take much notice of me. Well, why should you? Well you should, because I come from a long line of horses that date back to Roman times. The other day my Mistress was walking me around the park. One particular house had a barking dog. On one of our circuits, for some reason, it did not bark, and I could hear a man talking on a telephone about Humpty Dumpty. He said that in the nursery rhyme all the Kings Horses and all the Kings men could not put Humpty together again. He must have been a Pastor or Minister because he said that God could have put Humpty together again just as he puts people back together. When I heard Jesus mentioned, I remembered what my Mum had told me some years ago. It seems that when Jesus was alive, one of my ancestors, a horse named Rex, belonged to a Roman Centurion. A Centurion was a Roman soldier in charge of 100 other soldiers. This one was in Palestine, and the date was about 30 AD, or CE as they say now. Life was very busy for Rex's owner because most of the people living in Palestine were Jews, and they did not like the Romans. The Romans often had to stop the Jews fighting them, and fighting amongst themselves. One person causing a lot of worry to the Jewish leaders was a man called Jesus. He had a group of people who were close friends of his, and they spent their time travelling throughout Palestine and preaching to, and healing, people. He did not bother the Romans much, but he did upset the Jews. Jews who were friendly with the Romans had a cool life, but Jesus did not like the way they acted. He believed they did things all wrong. Jesus did not like the way they thought they were better than others. Jesus wanted everyone to love each other, be friends, and not hate anyone. He said that those who thought themselves important would not be important to God. The Pharisees did not like that one bit. They stirred up trouble and got the Romans to arrest Jesus. Rex's Centurion owner went to do the job. They went to an olive grove at Gethsemane. There were a group of people there, but no one knew who Jesus was because all Jews looked the same to Romans. The Jewish authorities had one of Jesus' friends working for them, and he showed them Jesus. Upon Jesus' arrest, one of his friends drew his sword and cut off a soldier's ear. There was blood everywhere. It was quite scary for a moment. Jesus told his friends not to fight but instead of staying to help Jesus, they all ran away. Jesus then healed the soldier's ear. One moment he had no ear and then next, Jesus had reattached it. The only thing to show anything had happened was the blood on the soldier's clothing. Straight away all the soldiers, and the Jews who had gone with them to make sure Jesus was arrested, knew that there was something special about Jesus. He was so calm about it all. Rex, and his Centurion owner, then took the arrested Jesus to the Jews High Priest, Caiaphas. Caiaphas questioned Jesus for some time and then sent him to the Jewish Tribunal. The Tribunal members were Jews known as the Sanhedrin. Jesus was questioned some more. The Sanhedrin wanted to have Jesus killed, but because they were not legally able to do it themselves, they sent him to the local boss of the Romans, Pontius Pilate. Pilate questioned Jesus and then sent him to Herod who wanted to speak with him. After questioning him, Herod returned Jesus to Pilate. Pilate then told the Jews that he could not find anything that Jesus had done wrong. After a bit of confusion Pilate sentenced Jesus to death. He did that because he was scared of upsetting the Jewish leaders and causing trouble. Rex's Centurion owner then took Jesus to a place called Golgotha and nailed him to a cross between two baddies. When Jesus died, things got freaky. The sun disappeared, there was thunder and lightening and a huge earthquake. It was scary. Straight away, Rex's owner, and many of his men, became Christians. That was not the end of the story though. No way was the end. It actually turned out to be the beginning. Some friends of Jesus took his body away and put it into a tomb for safety. (A tomb is a burial place, a bit like a grave). They placed a big stone across the entrance to the tomb. Some guards were nearby to make sure nobody pinched the body. A friend of Rex's owner was the person in charge of the guards. While the Guards were at the tomb there was another earthquake, and then a man dressed all in white, and shining as bright as the sun, appeared out of nowhere and rolled away the stone that had been across the front of it. It had taken several men to place it there, but this one person easily rolled it away. The guards did not realise the man was an angel. They ran away because they were scared. As they ran, one of them looked back and saw the man in white talking to Jesus who was alive again. I reckon it was just like that Pastor said; God had put Jesus back together again because he can do the impossible and could have even put broken Humpty Dumpty together again.

Even today, when nobody loves us, or cares for us, or says things about us, and we are all broken up inside because of it, God can fix us through Jesus, his Son. With his love for us, and his care, we can come back to a good life when all seems to be sad and bad, and we can be whole again. Yep, I reckon I am famous in my own way, but I have learnt to be modest and stay quiet and humble in my paddock waiting for my Mistress to come and see me.

Story 5 A Ghost Story

Do you remember Kurl? Her ancestors had seen Jesus killed and then come back to life again. The story does not end there. Oh dear me no. That was only the beginning. Once Jesus left the tomb, he travelled to see all his friends and disciples. He showed them he was actually real and not a ghost. He let them touch him to make sure he was alive. He then said that he was going to leave them and go to heaven to be with his father, God. That made his disciples and friends very sad because he had just come back from being dead.

"Don't be sad," said Jesus. "I will be coming back again. While I am away, I will send the Holy Spirit to look after you. It will tell you what you should be doing. It will be like having God and Me inside you. You will be able to heal people and do other miracles."

Then a cloud came and covered Jesus and it took him away to heaven. The disciples were excited at this stage because they knew something great was going to happen because Jesus had said it would.

One-day Jesus' Disciples, and friends, were all together for the day of Pentecost. It was a holiday when the Jewish people celebrated the first harvest of new fruit. They heard a loud sound like rushing wind. It was loud, but nothing moved as it would in a wind. Nothing like that had happened before. Flames of fire seemed to touch the heads of the people there. It did not set their hair on fire so it could not have been normal fire. Once the flames touched them, the people got an excited feeling inside themselves. Then they found that they could speak in languages that they did not know. Normally they mostly spoke Hebrew, but suddenly some could speak Greek, some Egyptian, and many other languages. If it happened like that here, now, those of us who speak only English would suddenly be able to speak Maori, Samoan, Japanese, Mexican, Taiwanese, French and other languages. That would be exciting. Think of all the extra friends we would suddenly have. Not only that, we would be able to tell them all about our Sunday school times wouldn't we? They were also excited because they were able to heal sick people and do other special things. They liked what was happening so much; they decided to spend as much time together as they could. They put all their money together and shared their food. They sang hymns and read the Holy books together. They became a big family like we are at our Church.

So how do you get the Holy Spirit to come and live inside you? Well you say your prayers every day, go to Sunday school as often as you can, and above all, you love your Mum and Dad and your brothers and sisters. You do not say or do naughty things to other kids. If you do all that, and listen to your Sunday school teachers, you will find that the Holy Spirit will come and live inside you. You will not see the Holy Spirit, but you will know he is there because when you go to do something naughty, you will some-how know it is wrong, and that is the Holy Spirit's way of telling you not to be naughty.

Story 6 Phillip and the Midnight Visitors

(Based on Acts 16: 16 – 34)

Phillip was a young boy who lived a long, long, time ago. His Dad was a jailer who looked after prisoners. Phillip had been to the jail with his Dad and had seen the prisoners locked in rooms and chained to blocks. He had heard his Dad telling his Mum how whipping a prisoner hurt them.

One morning, when it was still dark, Phillip woke up in his bed. He could hear people talking in the kitchen area. He got quietly out of his bed and went to see who was there. With his Mum and Dad were two other men, and the servants.

"Hullo," one of the men said when he saw Phillip. "Who do we have here then?"

"It's my son Phillip," said Phillip's Dad. "Come here boy and meet some very important people. Phillip, this is Paul and this is Silas."

"How do you do?" asked Phillip politely.

"Very well now," said the one called Paul. "Things did not look so good last night though."

Paul then turned back to the table and started to eat the food that was on it. Before he did though he bowed his head and he and the other man, Silas, said thank you for the meal. Phillip went and stood by his Mum.

"What did the man mean about last night?" asked Phillip.

"They were prisoners," said his Mum. Phillip thought about this for a while and then went up to Paul and said,

"Hey man. Are you a baddy? Is that why you were in jail?" Paul laughed. He pushed the food away, picked up Phillip, and sat him on his knee.

"Well young Phillip," said Paul. "Yes, I think you could say that I am a baddy, but not the sort of baddy you think. I don't beat people up or steal things but I'm bad in other ways"

"What other ways?" Phillip asked. Then, before Paul could answer, he turned to his Dad. "Dad if he's a baddy how come he's not still in jail?"

"Well," said Phillips's Dad. "Yesterday these two men helped make a sick woman better and some people didn't like it. They went to jail even though they had done nothing wrong. In the middle of the night, there was a big earthquake. The jail doors all flew open, and the chains fell off the prisoners' hands. It was scary. I thought I was in big trouble with a capital T, but then I found that the prisoners had not escaped, although they could have.

"You were lucky weren't you?" said Phillip to Paul and Silas.

"No Phillip," said Paul. "You see we had done nothing wrong. People thought we had and did not like us. Our God, however, is on our side. We prayed to him asking for help and it was God who made the earthquake, with his anger, and he opened the jail doors and took the chains off us."

"Gee," said Phillip. "How do I get God to help me? I'll bet it felt real good to have someone secret, and invisible, help you."

So, remember, you have to say your prayers and either read your bible, or listen to stories, until you find out who God is, and who his son Jesus is, and then one day you'll suddenly find Jesus is holding your hand and showing God to you. When that happens, you will find that although some people may still not like you, and still do things to make you sad, your invisible friend Jesus will make you feel good and happy."

Story 7 A Tale for 10 to 13 year olds

It was half past six in the morning but still dark. Janice could hear her Mum out in the kitchen. The freezer opened and closed. That would be the toast bread. Yep, sure enough, the clack of the toaster going down. The microwave opened and closed. That would be the hot milk for the weetbix (or weetabix if you are English). The hall door opened.

"Hurry up Jan," shouted Mum. "How many more times do I have to call you? Get up now."

"But its cold," called back Janice.

"Do it," retorted Mum.

"I hate you," shouted Janice.

"Love you too," replied Mum.

Eventually Janice made it to breakfast. She ate her weetbix, toast, and Milo, and then left the house to meet her mates for the walk to school. While Mum cleaned up Jan's room and made her bed, both chores Jan's extra sleep had prevented her doing, Jan was telling her mates how much she 'just so didn't like' her mother. All the rules and uncool things she had to do were just too much.

"I like, really hate her you know," stated Janice.

At lunchtime, Jan's friends begged bits of her lunch that was way better than theirs.

"Your Mum must be neat," one of the girls ventured.

"Are you nuts?" asked Jan. "She's like, duh!"

After school, Jan spent time with her boyfriend Ian. They sat on a stone fence not far from the school and secretly held hands while discussing teachers, fellow pupils and parents. Jan liked Ian even though he went to church and a youth group.

"You must have a great Mum," said Ian.

"Not really," said Jan. "If she was like Alice's Mum she'd be great. Her Mum lets her go out at night with Robbie and on the weekends she's allowed to stay over at his place."

"Do you think that would be a great way for your Mum to show you she loved you?" asked Ian. "I think she's right. She must love you to do all the things she does for you."

"I hate her," stated Jan.

"I think that's very sad," said Ian letting go of Jan's hand and standing up. "Tell me, when you get home later what will happen?"

"Oh, I'll get told off for being late, have something to eat and then get nagged about homework and all before I'm allowed to use the 'phone. And that's another thing. If she loved me she'd let me have a cellphone. Everyone has them."

"I don't," retorted Ian. "You don't really hate her do you?"

"Yes I do," retorted Jan.

"A long time ago," said Ian. "When Jesus was alive, one of his disciples, the one called Peter, told him that he would never say he didn't know him. When the pressure went on him though, he did say exactly that. Not once, but three times! How many times today have you said that you hate your Mum?"

"I don't know," said Jan.

"Three times?" asked Ian.

"Maybe," conceded Jan.

"You don't hate your Mum," explained Ian. "You're just trying to be big with your mates. To be one of the 'cool' kids. Your Mum loves you. Don't be a fool. Just like Jesus loved Peter, your Mum loves you. Don't deny her love. Don't let her down. Jesus forgave Peter. Go tell your Mum you love her."

Story 8 Joe Against the World

Joe was having a real bad day. First he was yelled at, by his Mum, for getting up late. He didn't know why she was on his case. After all, he had got up the third time she had yelled. Then she had been on and on about him not making his bed. Well he didn't have time did he? She wanted him to go to school so why couldn't she make up her mind. It was either school or the bed. She couldn't have both. A pretty clear-cut case the way he saw it. Then on the school bus, the driver had picked on him. He had blamed Joe for pulling the stop cord. Joe had tried to explain his arm had accidentally caught it when he was trying to protect himself from someone. Because of that, he had had to walk the last mile to school. That made him late, and he got in trouble with the teacher. Things were certainly on a downward spiral. It wasn't his fault that nobody loved him. It wasn't his fault he had to fight everyone to protect himself. It wasn't his fault that he got caught stealing lollies.

At lunchtime, he wandered out onto the playing fields and checked out the groups. He noticed a new 'kid' sitting off by himself so he targeted him. The 'kid' was eating his lunch.

"Gidday," said Joe.

"Hi', replied the 'kid'.

"See that group over there," said Joe pointing across the field. "Best keep out of their way!" As the new 'kid' looked over towards the group, Joe quickly pocketed a packet of his chips. The new 'kid' turned back. He looked up at Joe. "You only had to ask," he said.

"What do you mean?" demanded Joe.

"You didn't have to steal the chips. If you're that hungry I would have given them to you."

"You're crazy," said Joe and walked away.

At the afternoon break, Joe was throwing his Kung Fu star at a wall when the new 'kid' walked up to him. He handed Joe a small packet of biscuits and said, "God loves you". Joe stood still, looking silly. As the new 'kid' walked on Joe was speechless. Suddenly he ran after the 'kid'.

"What do you mean God loves me?' he demanded. "Who says he does? You?"

"No," said the 'kid'. "The bible does."

"Yeah right," said Joe.

"Yeah right," said the 'kid'. "Can you read?"

"'Course I can," replied Joe.

"Well read the bible then," said the 'kid'. "There are 30 different books in it. They all have good stories in them. There are many war stories. There are love stories. There are escape stories. There are ghost stories. There are adventure stories."

"I thought it said about God loving me," said Joe.

"Indeed," said the 'kid'. "It tells about God's love all through it, but you'll have to read it to find that out. Trust me though, it does say that. It also tells you how not to steal, how to plan your life so you're not alone, how to be loved by others, and best of all, how to love them back."

And do you know what? Joe found out that when he was angry he only had to read Ephesians 4: 26 to 32, when afraid, Romans 8: 31 to 39, and when lonely, Psalm 91. He also found out that God did love him. When he found that out, he changed, and people suddenly started to love him back.

Story 9 Lucy and Mary

The leaf of the pansy looked lovely to Lucy the Ladybird as she flew over it. The pansy flower shaded a part of the leaf so Lucy landed on it, folded her red wings with the black dots, and crept into the shadow from the flower. Nobody could see her crying. Her tears were big, for a ladybird, and fell onto the leaf in big wet patches. Her sobs were very loud for a ladybird. They were so loud that Mary the Monarch butterfly could hear them as she flew past. She turned around and landed on the pansy flower.

"What's wrong Lucy?" she asked.

"Nothing,' sobbed Lucy. "Just leave me alone."

"I'm your friend Lucy," said Mary. "I want to help you. Friends love each other. Tell me what's wrong and let's see if we can do something to make you feel better."

"It's Samantha," said Lucy. "She's being mean to me. She's saying awful things about me and won't let me be picked in the plant eating competition."

"Ah," said Mary. "Samantha the slug! Yes, she's not very nice is she? Mind you, she's not very nice to any one really. She used to say things about me also."

"Why doesn't she do that now?" asked Lucy.

"Because I became her friend," explained Mary. "She used to call me all sorts of names because of the colour of my clothes. Really she was just jealous. It will be the same with you. When others do not like you, it is usually because they are jealous. You look lovely in your red coat with black spots on it and I'm afraid poor Samantha looks pretty plain."

"So if I become her friend will she stop being awful to me?" asked Lucy.

"Not straight away, and maybe never," said Mary. "Just say hello to her and don't say anything bad about her and in the end she won't be able to help herself and will start being nice to you. If she doesn't, then don't worry, there are plenty of others in this world."

"But they've all got their own friends," protested Lucy.

"Yes but every-one needs as many friends as they can get. Remember that to have a friend you have to be a friend. That is the big thing. To be a friend you need to show love to that person. Be nice to people every-time you can, say hello to them, offer to help them, and soon you'll have more friends than you'll know what to do with."

"Okay," said Lucy wiping her eyes with her feelers. "I'll try."

"Remember Jesus," said Mary. "He had a lot of friends but he had enemies who hated him. He was always nice to them even when they were being mean to him. In that book that humans read, called the Bible, it says in Matthew Chapter 5, verse 44 that you are to love your enemies. That is what you will be doing if you become friends with Samantha. Never forget that you always have your invisible friend Jesus. He is always beside you wanting to hold you and love you. You can always talk to him."

Story 10 Meeting Jesus

Once upon a time, a young girl went to Sunday school every single Sunday. She loved hearing about Jesus and was sad when the school holidays arrived because at her Church it meant no Sunday school. The thing was, though, that she had never met Jesus. Her teacher told her all about him, his father God, and about his relatives and friends, but she never met Jesus. All she had of Jesus were some pictures hanging on the Sunday school wall and some in one of Mum and Dad's old bibles.

One day, at Sunday school, her teacher told her the story of the Good Samaritan. You will remember that is when people walked past an injured man and did not help him. The only person to help him was an enemy. If you do not know the story, ask Mum or Dad to read it to you. She thought it was a nice story told by Jesus, but only liked it because Jesus had told it. She thought it would have been better if Jesus had been the hero and he had saved the man.

The next day, at lunchtime, she took her sandwiches outside to eat. Sitting at another bench was a young boy who had nothing to eat. She had seen him many times before and did not like him much. Actually, she did not like him at all. His clothes were dirty, he did not have any shoes, he had nits in his hair and he wiped his nose on his sleeve. She noticed that all of her friends, and the other children, all kept away from him. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, the story of the Good Samaritan popped into her head. She realized that the boy was similar to the injured man in that story. She took two of her sandwiches and gave them to the boy. He ignored her and the sandwiches. She was tempted to take them back, or even throw them into the rubbish. She did not, but walked away. She looked back to find him still looking at her. Later she saw that the sandwiches had gone and she saw a smear of jam on the boy's lips so knew he had eaten them. It gave her a good feeling. Actually, it made her feel nice. She was sad that he had not said thank you, but that did not change the feeling inside her. Actually, it even seemed to make her feel better that she had done something that was good but for which she received no thanks.

It was at that stage, she realized, she had finally met Jesus. He was no longer a picture on the wall or in a bible. He was the happy feeling inside her, he was she, and he was also the boy.

Story 11 Sam the Samaritan

Sam was a Samaritan. It was short for Samuel, a good name in Bible times. Samaritans lived in Samaria, an area between Judea and Galilee. You can look it up on one of those maps in the older Bibles. They worshipped God but did so differently from the way Jews did. Jesus was a Jew. The Jews and the Samaritans generally did not have anything to do with each other. Jews barred the Samaritans from helping to rebuild Jerusalem. They lived according to the first five books of what is now the Old Testament part of our Bibles. Not only was Sam a Samaritan, but he was also a leper. A leper was a person who had a sickness called leprosy, which made sores appear all over their body. They also had no feeling in their bodies so that they did not know when they hurt themselves. It started with flaky skin and then your hair would turn white and sores would appear. You did not get leprosy by touching other people, but people were scared of it, and called people with it unclean. That meant that they were not able to go to worship God in their Synagogues or Churches, and they had to live with other lepers. They could not live with their Mums, Dads, brothers, sisters or any one else. When they moved about they had to shout aloud, "Unclean, unclean," so people would know they were lepers and could keep away from them. They became sad and lonely. Sometimes the leprosy would disappear. If that happened, the cured leper would have to go to a Priest for an inspection, and then, after making certain sacrifices, ordered by the Priest, the person would be able to go back to a normal life.

As a leper, Sam was living with a group of nine other lepers. As if having leprosy was not bad enough, those he lived with were Jews and made life even more difficult for Sam. The group had heard of a Jewish person called Jesus. They had heard he had a power that let him heal sick people. People said Jesus had healed a woman who for fourteen years had walked bent over. Now she was able to walk upright. They heard Jesus healed a boy with epilepsy. Also, apparently, Jesus had fed five thousand people using only two fish and five loaves. He had also returned a dead person to life. They had talked among themselves about whether or not Jesus would be able to cure them of leprosy. They talked about what they would do if healed. They all agreed that the one thing they would do was thank Jesus, and pray to his God forever, if he ever healed them.

One day they were sitting outside their local town begging for money and food when they heard a great deal of noise coming along the road. People ran into the village saying, "Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. You know him. The one who heals people; the one people say is the Son of God, our King." Sam and his friends became very excited. This would be their chance. They ran towards the road shouting "unclean, unclean." People gave them a wide berth. Some shouted at them to "go away" but Sam and his friends were determined.

"Jesus, Master, have pity on us," Sam shouted. Jesus did not seem to hear. The noise of the crowd was too great. He was talking to his apostles and his hands were emphasizing points with their movements. "Jesus, Master, have pity on us," Sam shouted again. To himself Sam said, "Please, please make him see us. Make him notice us. Please, the God of Jesus, make him see us." Suddenly Jesus looked across to where Sam and his friends were standing. Sam felt a sudden excitement. Everything went quiet. Sam saw an ordinary man looking at him but there was something different about him. He just seemed somehow different. "Jesus, Master," said Sam in a voice that sounded loud in the silence. "Have pity on us." Jesus raised his hand and pointed to Sam and his friends.

"Go and show yourselves to the Priests," he said. He then lowered his hand and continued to walk on, talking to those around him. The noise resumed. Sam, and his friends, looked at each other. They also started to walk, keeping pace with Jesus as he approached the town.

"Look," said Sam. "My hands." The sores had disappeared. His friends looked at him and then at each other. Excitement welled up inside them. They checked, first themselves, and then each other. All their sores had healed. They were no longer lepers. Their excitement was great. They shouted and jumped for joy. They had never received such a wonderful present. They ran ahead of Jesus into the town to find a Priest to clear them so they could go back to their families and friends. Sam ran with them but then he remembered the promise he and his friends had made. As much as he wanted to go to his family and friends, he believed his promise was much more important.

Sam ran back to Jesus. The crowd around Jesus was big but Sam pushed his way through. All the while, he shouted out praises to Jesus' God. Finally, he broke through the crowd and knelt down in front of Jesus who stopped. Some of the Apostles tried to pull Sam away but he shrugged their arms off. "Jesus, Master," said Sam. "Thank you. Thank you for healing me." Jesus reached down and touched Sam. "Where are the other nine," asked Jesus? Sam tried to make excuses for them but Jesus said to those around him, "Why was this foreigner from Samaria the only one who came back to thank God?" Jesus lifted Sam up and said, "You can get up and go. Your faith has made you well." So do not be like Sam's friends. Remember that everything comes from God and we must say thank you to God every day.

Story 12 The Want-it-Now's and Fastfood Land

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away there lived a family called the Want-it-Now's. There was Dad Want-it-now, Mum Want-it-now, Johnny Want-it-now, and Janet Want-it-now. Just like their names, they could never wait for anything. They were very impatient. If they wanted a new television set, they could never wait and save enough money to buy it. They had to have it immediately. When Dad Want-it-now came home from work, dinner had to be on the table waiting. He would get angry if it was not waiting. As a result, the whole family grew up very greedy.

Janet and Johnny were just like their Mum and Dad. If they saw a toy they liked they would want it right away. They could not even wait for their birthday, or Christmas. They had to have in straight away. Mum and Dad Want-it-Now would have liked to give Janet and Johnny everything that they wanted, but they just could not afford to because there were so many things that they wanted straight away. Because they could not have what they wanted immediately, Janet and Johnny decided they would run away from home. They had heard of a place that sounded very much like heaven to them. It was Fastfood Land ruled by a King called, Burger with everything and French fries Fastfood.

One night, when there was a full moon, Janet and Johnny got their school bags. They put plenty of lollies, chocolate biscuits and fizzy drinks into them, along with some extra clothes, and then climbed out their bedroom window and set off for Fastfood Land. Because it was nighttime, and the streetlights were not very bright, it was a bit scary. Somewhere a dog howled, there was snuffling in the undergrowth, and green eyes looked down at them from a tree. Occasionally they thought of going back home but they were 'Want-it-Now's' so they carried on. Then, suddenly, they saw it in the distance. There were bright lights and the sound of laughter. As they drew closer, they could see crowds of people having fun. There were roundabouts, things to ride, things to do, and even more importantly, food to eat. The food was important because they had just eaten their last packet of Squiggle Tops.

They arrived at the gates of Fastfood Land and were greeted by King Burger with everything and French Fries Fastfood. "Come in. Come in," he said. "Whatever we have is yours, just make yourselves at home." Janet and Johnny just could not believe it, all those things that they had wanted but had not been able to have. They made pigs of themselves. They ate 'As much as you can eat Meals' until they were coming out their ears. They had cone ice creams with chocolate bars in them, they had ice-cream sundaes, and they had thick shakes. They just ate and ate and ate. Then they played on all the equipment and then ate again. For breakfast they did not just have pancakes and French fries, they also had more ice creams.

Life was perfect. All the things they had not been able to have; perfect.

After a while though, they felt that something was missing in their lives. While they had plenty of food, there was just an urge to have some shepherd's pie occasionally, and a rice pudding. There was also an urge to see their Mum and Dad, and have them read a story or give them a cuddle. They realised that the love of their Mum and Dad was missing. While Mum and Dad Want-it-Now were not perfect, Janet and Johnny realised that they needed them to fill that little space in their hearts that left them wanting something when they thought that they were in heaven. They realised that having everything that they wanted was not making them happy. The trouble was, they did not know how to leave Fastfood Land and get back home. They asked many people how they could leave, but the people just wanted to know why they would want to leave when they had everything they had always wanted right there. Over time, they noticed a boy called Joshua. He was not always there, but when he was, he would only stay for a short while. He would eat a small meal, play a little while and then leave and not be seen again for ages and ages. Suddenly he would appear again. Nobody knew where he came from or where he went. One day Janet and Johnny saw Joshua playing and asked him if he knew how to get out of Fastfood Land. He said that it was easy and all they had to do was follow him. Janet and Johnny decided to follow Joshua when he left, but then they got involved in a game. When they had finished Joshua had gone. That happened several times until Janet and Johnny decided that they really did want to leave Fastfood Land. They stopped playing, and eating, and followed Joshua all day when they next saw him. When he stopped playing, they followed him. He led them through forests, over mountains and along tracks. At first, they could still hear Fastfood Land, but gradually those sounds disappeared as they stayed with Joshua, and then suddenly they were outside their own house.

Mum and Dad Want-it-Now were so happy to see Janet and Johnny and they were ever so happy to see them. They all lived happily ever after.

It is the same with us sometimes. We are so busy wanting and doing other things that we run away from God. If we look hard enough though, we will find Jesus, who will take us to God. He is not always easy to see when we are busy, eating and wanting things, so you have to look hard.

Story 13 Easter

Easter is not far away now. You know what that means don't you? Easter eggs and hot cross buns! There are many stories about why we have hot cross buns and Easter eggs. Some of them may be true, but I have my own story of how and why we have them.

In the Christian church, Easter is a special time. We are both sad and happy at Easter. We are sad because Jesus died, and we are happy because he became alive again. Because he came alive again, after he had died, we are now able to go to heaven even if we do wrong things. Jesus knew that he was going to die. He also knew that after he had been dead for three days he would come back alive. I reckon he was very brave. Just before he was taken away to be killed, Jesus had a meal with his disciples. We now call that meal the Last Supper. That is because that meal was the last one he ate with his disciples. In Jesus' time, the meal was to remember the Passover. You may have heard of the Passover. It was the special meal eaten by the Jews when they left Egypt. Part of that was making a sign, with lamb's blood, to show which houses they lived in so God's angel would not harm them. During that meal, Jesus said some special things we remember to this day. He said that whenever we eat a meal together, with bread and a drink, we are to remember him. That means that we should remember Jesus whenever we say grace; some people call it 'Giving thanks'. Grace should not only be to thank God for the food we are going to eat, but also to remember that Jesus died so that we can go to heaven.

So why do we have eggs and hot cross buns at Easter? I believe that the cross on the buns is to remind us that Jesus died on the cross. I also think that the eggs mean a new life. New birds come from eggs. Eggs are the beginning of life for a bird and I believe the Easter egg means a new beginning for each of us. A new way of life, that takes us to live in heaven with God and Jesus when we die.

Story 14 Talk to God

As Barbara walked towards the shed to put the rubbish away, she could hear her Grandfather talking to some one. She dropped the rubbish in the bin and walked over to where she could hear her Grandfather's voice. Yes, there he was, on the veranda, and waving his arms as he did when he got excited. She looked around. Who was he talking to? There was no one about. There was just her Grandfather and five empty chairs.

"Hi Poppa," said Barbara climbing onto a chair.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite little girl," replied her Grandfather. Barbara knew he said the same thing to all his Grand daughters.

"Who were you talking with?" asked Barbara.

"My invisible best friend," replied Poppa.

"Is your invisible friend like my secret invisible friend?" asked Barbara.

"No, no, no," laughed Poppa. "My friend is not a secret. Far from it, I am always telling people about him."

"But he is invisible," confirmed Barbara.

"In some ways," agreed Poppa. "You see, my invisible best friend is God. I talk to him every day, sometimes several times a day. He sits in that chair beside you."

"Don't be silly Poppa," said Barbara. "Talking to God is saying your prayers."

"Indeed it is," agreed Poppa. "But talking is a little bit different to praying. When you talk with a best friend you tell them your secrets, your dreams, your likes and your dislikes."

"But that's prayer," protested Barbara.

"Ah," said Poppa, "but when you have a friend you don't do all the talking. Your friend talks to you as well. That means you have to stop and listen to your friend. Listen to what they have to say."

And you know that is the important thing when you talk to God. You have to listen to what God says back to you, or asks you to do. Sometimes you might hear him speak aloud, even though you will not be able to see him. Sometimes he will speak in other ways; something you read in a bible story might seem like it is God talking to you, or it might be a thought that comes into your head, or it might be something some one says to you. It might be in a dream. You will most often hear God talk when you are sitting very quietly. He has a soft voice and you really have to listen to hear him. Try it and see. When he does speak to you, talk to an adult about what he said. Check with Mum, Dad, Pastor or Sunday School Teacher to be sure that it is God's voice you are hearing.

Story 15 Do Not Tell Lies

Heather and Peter were playing with a basketball. Peter was in bed because he was not feeling very well. To keep him quiet his sister stood in the doorway of the bedroom and threw the ball to him, which he would catch and throw back. This went on until they both started to get bored. As they played, Heather started asking Peter for the use of his cell phone. He got one for his birthday, and Heather was jealous. Peter said 'no.' Heather started to make her throws more awkward for Peter to catch and Peter started making his harder. Surprise, surprise, one of Heather's throws sent the basketball through the bedroom window. Before the glass had even hit the ground Heather was running down the hall to tell their Mum what had happened. Peter was out of bed and off outside like a shot. As he passed the kitchen, he heard Heather saying to their Mum, "Peter broke the bedroom window." Peter thought that he would be in trouble. He hid in the family orchard until eventually their Dad came home. Soon he could hear his Dad calling out his name. To Peter he sounded angry. Peter said nothing and eventually darkness fell. Peter was cold as he still had only his pyjamas on. He could hear his parents calling out for him but was scared to answer. He was scared because he thought his Dad would blame him for the broken window, and be angry for him not going to him when called. Peter quietly left the orchard and headed away from the house.

It turned out that the night was darker than he thought it would be. There was no moon. While he had no idea of where he was going, or what he would do if he got there, he blundered on. Eventually, as he tried to jump across a ditch, Peter fell. He heard quite a loud crack and felt a terrible pain in his left leg. He tried not to cry but the pain was awful. It was impossible for him to get to his feet. As Peter lay in the water, he thought that he would die. Then he heard voices calling his name. They were a long way away but they did not belong to his parents. He tried to call back, but his voice did not seem to go very far. Next, he heard a helicopter and then a bright searchlight found him in the ditch. The voices Peter had heard were the Police and Search and Rescue people trying to find him. He was taken to hospital all wrapped up in blankets and a silver rug especially made to keep him warm. The Doctors put plaster on his broken leg, and treated him for being very cold.

At the hospital, his Mum, Dad, and sister came to see him. They all told him that he was not going to get into trouble for breaking the window. Peter did not say that he did not break it, but just looked at Heather. She did not own up. For the rest of his life Peter had very little to do with Heather. One day he met some Church people. He went to Church with them a few times and, in due course, he prayed to God asking him to forgive him for not having anything to do with Heather. He said that he forgave her for telling a lie about the window. After that, he felt much better and went to see Heather. He told her that he forgave her for telling that lie and they then became good friends again.

If you look up Deuteronomy Chapter 5, Verses 20 and 21 in a Bible, you will see that God says you should not tell lies about others, and that you should not want anything belonging to some one else. In the story, Heather told lies about Peter and she wanted what he had, a cellphone. Because of those two things Peter almost died. Verse 16 says that you should respect your Mother and Father and Peter did not do that. So, even though Peter and Heather live today, God knew all those years ago that telling lies and wanting things belonging to others would cause trouble. What this story tells you is that you should never tell lies, not want anything that belongs to others, and always respect you Mum and Dad. If you do those things then your life will be a lot easier than Peter and Heathers life was.

Story 16 Why Do We Go To Church

"Come on lazy bones," said the voice. "Time to get up. Today's Sunday, and if you don't get a move on we'll be late for Church." Sean recognised his mother's voice but it would be cold up and he could hear the rain beating against the bedroom window. His bed was warm. Outside would be cold and miserable.

"I'm sick," said Sean. "I don't think I will be able to go to Church."

"Tough," said his mother as she pulled back the blankets. "Up." Whining and moaning Sean got up, had a really quick wash, where the flannel barely touched the water and did not quite make it to his skin. Cereal and toast were on the table but in an attempt to make his Mum feel bad Sean did not touch them.

"My tummy hurts," he said. His mother put the cereal away and the toast went out to feed the birds.

"At least some of God's creatures will appreciate your feeding them," said his mother. As the birds enjoyed the extra food, Sean regretted his stubborn actions.

"Why do we have to go to Church?" asked Sean. "None of the others at school do."

"Whoa," said Sean's mother. "Big question young man. Do none of your friends go to Sunday school or Church?"

"No," said Sean although he did not know as he had never asked and they have never said. "So why do I have to go?" His mother looked at the clock. If they did not leave now, they would be late. This was important though, and she knew God would rather she dealt with Sean's question than be on time for the start of Church.

"Come on Sean," said his Mum. "Come and sit down. Let's have a Milo and biscuit while we talk." They settled down at the kitchen table and in between sips at her Milo, Sean's Mum talked, while smiling at how her son's tummy had suddenly become right. "A long time ago Sean there was no earth. There were no birds to feed, no beaches to go to, no parks to visit, no supermarkets to buy food at, and no people. There was nothing. Then God spoke. He spoke for six days. During that time, he made the earth we live on. He made night and day. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars. He made the sea and the dry land. He made plants, fish, animals and birds. Then he made us, humans. It took him all six days to make everything."

"Our teacher says it took millions and millions of years to do that," said Sean.

"Is that right?" asked his mother. "Well that shows how little he knows."

"The books at school say it too," said Sean.

"Well," said his mother. "That is why we go to Church on Sunday. The book we read at Church is called what?"

"The bible," replied Sean.

"Yes," said his Mother. "The Bible and who wrote the Bible?"

"God," said Sean.

"God," agreed his Mother. "Some people say the Bible was written by humans, and while to a degree that is true, the words came from God. Numerous attempts to prove the Bible wrong have failed. Not only have they failed, but also the longer we live on this earth, and the more information that we gather, the more true the bible becomes. The Bible, our book, has been here longer than the books at school.

"As I was saying, God made everything in six days and then, says the Bible; he rested on the seventh day and made it a special day. That special day is Sunday and we go to Church to learn about God who made everything and to say thank you for doing that."

Story 17 Mums

The sun was hot. Sweat from my forehead ran down into my eyes and they stung. It did not matter how often I wiped them, they continued to sting. I longed to be back in New Zealand and not in a foreign country where it had taken me so long to learn how to speak the language.

I was here where the people were a different colour, and lived a different way of life, because life in New Zealand had become impossible. Mum had repeatedly told me to get a different job, to meet a nice girl, to change this, and to do that. To get married to a nice girl and to have children. I felt as though she was trying to run my life. To get away from it all I came to this place in Africa where I lived by taking food to the hungry. In the distance, I could see a tree and headed for it to get some shade from the sun. As I got closer, I saw a young boy aged about 10 or 11 years sitting on his heels. I squatted beside him. As we spoke, I learnt that his Mum had died of a serious sickness leaving him to look after four brothers and sisters. They lived a life balanced between life and death, with hunger, sickness and loneliness. He told me that when his Mum was alive she would cuddle him and care for him. She would make sure he had food and a safe place to sleep. He told me how very much he longed for her and how much he missed her. He said that she often told him off, but that he now knew she had done that for his own good. Because of those 'telling-offs', he told me, he had learnt some very important life lessons.

As he spoke, I thought of how selfish I had been as a child. Always I had wanted this and wanted that. Always it had been me, me and me. I realised Mum had been trying to point out life lessons to me but that I had not wanted to learn them. The tears in my eyes washed away the sweat. How much I must have hurt my Mum, but she never complained, just gave me a hug and a kiss and told me she loved me, and for me to be careful.

Mums, close to being the most important beings on this earth! How sad we often do not realise until it is too late. Go on, give your Mum a hug, and a kiss, and tell her you love her.

Story 18 The Day the Minister Scared Me

Do you read the Bible? Not many children do. Actually a lot of Mums and Dads do not read the Bible either. The Bible has many different books in it, written by many different people. One of those books is Psalms. It was in use before Jesus was even born. In Psalm 111, it says that 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'. That seemed funny to me because I thought the Lord was a loving person and I did not want to be scared. When I was young, I lived on a dairy farm and we did not get to church very often. We used to get our Sunday school lessons in the mail. One day though, I was at church and I was sitting up the front. In those days, the Ministers took the church services from the pulpit. The pulpit was a stand higher than the rest of the church seating. On this day, the Minister was standing in the pulpit and he was dressed all in black with a white collar turned around the wrong way. He opened up the Bible, looked down at it, and then leaned over the front of the pulpit and looked down at me. He said in a loud voice, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". It sounded like the end of the world to me. I was scared.

The next day, I was over the back of our farm, and went into a little clearing I had found in the middle of many gorse bushes. Gorse is prickly and normally you keep away from it but I had found this little 'secret' place when I was looking for newly born calves, and would go there when I wanted to be alone and get away from my four sisters. Sitting on a fallen tree trunk in the clearing was a man. He was not a farmer. He did not look like Dad anyway.

"Hullo Jim," he said.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"Oh I know lots of things," he said. "I've been around for thousands of years." He did not look that old to me. He did not even look as old as our Minister did.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I am called many names. What does matter is what the Minister said to you in Church yesterday; the bit about fear."

"I thought God was nice and loving," I said. "I didn't know you had to be scared of him."

"You don't," said the man. "It's just that sometimes adults use funny words and sometimes those words mean different things. Look, I'll show you." He held out his hand. I took hold of it and suddenly 'zap', we were no longer in the clearing. We were wearing funny clothes and while the people were speaking English, it was funny English. I could tell that we were in London, because I knew the street names. I later found out that is was about the year 1890. The man took me into a church. Lying open on the alter was a Bible. The man turned to Psalm 111 and there it was, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'. Then 'zap' and we were back in New Zealand, but not in the clearing. It was about 1976, or so, and the man took me into another church and the Bible there was like the ones at our Church today. He showed me Psalm 111 and it said, 'The way to become wise is to honour the Lord'. Then 'zap' again and the man took me into the house I now live in, although I did not know that at the time because it was in the future. He picked up a Bible and opened it again at Psalm 111 and it said, 'Respect and obey the Lord, this is the first step to wisdom'. Then 'zap' and we were back in the clearing.

"Now," he said. "That little journey shows you that the Bibles being used now will change and make more sense when you are grown up and have to tell Bible stories in church. Now, go and help milk the cows." I turned to go and when I looked back, the man was not there, but I could hear him saying his last words and they were,'Oh, and by the way, tell those children at your Church to sing as loud as they can'.

Now, wasn't that strange. I think so. You had not even been born, and the building that is now your Church had not been built either when that man spoke to me. You know what I think? I think he was an angel, don't you?

Now, when I read things in the Bible that I do not understand, I ask other people or read different Bibles until I do understand. So those words, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom', do not mean that you should be scared. What they means is that if you want to be wise, and clever, then learn about God and do what he says. You know the Bible is full of good stories about what God says. Get Mum or Dad, or Nana or Pop, or Granny or Granddad to tell you some of them.

Story 19 Salt

Peter sat cross-legged on the floor listening to his Sunday school teacher. She was talking about things that Jesus had said. He heard her say Jesus had said that people needed to be like salt and to be like a light to the world. Afterwards, at home, Peter went to the kitchen cupboard and got the saltshaker. He shook some salt into his palm and licked it. It tasted a bit yucky. His Mum saw him and asked what he was doing. "I'm trying to be salt like Jesus said I should," replied Peter. "But I don't think I want to be salt. I don't want to be that yucky." Peter's Mum laughed.

"Jesus didn't mean it like that," she said. "I'll show you tomorrow morning."

The next morning, for breakfast, Peter's Mum made him porridge. "There you are," she said putting a steaming plate in front of him. "That'll warm your belly." Peter took a mouthful and spat it straight out.

"Mum, that's yucky!" he said.

"Well," said his Mum. "Try this." She put another plate in front of him and that tasted great.

"You see," continued his Mum. "The second plate had salt in it and the first one didn't. Jesus did not mean you have to turn yourself into salt. He meant you have to be like salt. Now a little bit of salt in the porridge made it yummy and that is what Jesus meant. He meant that if you are good then you will be able to change your friends and make them good as well." So when you read that Christians are to be the salt of the earth it means that they are to be good, to tell the truth, to help others, and to always be happy so other people get to like Jesus. As salt in porridge makes it nice, you will make people nice.

Story 20 The Messiah

One day Jesus and his disciples were walking quietly along a long dusty road. They were tired and sat down for a few minutes under a tree in some shade. When they had settled Jesus suddenly said to them, "Who do people say I am?" The disciples looked at each other. You could just see them thinking things like; what sort of turkey is this guy?

"Ah," said one of them, "They say you are Jesus."

Another said, "I heard someone say the other day that you are John the Baptist come back to life because of the things you say."

Yet another said, "Because of the miracles you have been doing some reckon you are Elijah come back to life."

"Some say you are one of the prophets," said another.

"I see," said Jesus. "And who do you say I am?"

"You are the Messiah," Peter said immediately. A Messiah was the person the Jews believed would save them from the Romans who ruled over them. Jesus then told his disciples that people would not believe what he was telling them, that they would call him a liar and say he did not know what he was talking about. He told them he would die but that three days later he would come back to life. Peter did not like what he was hearing. He did not want to know a loser. He wanted Jesus to be a great warrior like Hercules, or the Power Rangers, or some one. Some one who could call out to God to zap people, some one who could help them pass exams, win races, make lots of money, and have many friends.

"Now hang on a minute mate," said Peter. "What is all this about nobody knowing what you are talking about and putting you to death? That is not right. Tell me it is not. You are going to help us to be winners, to beat up those who do not like us. Get with the program please."

"Poor, poor Peter," said Jesus. "You are so wrong, so very, very wrong. You are thinking like a human. I am doing what God wants to me do. He wants me to show people how to reach him. That is who I am, the way to God. Follow me, do what I do and you will reach God."

Therefore, when Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" he was not just asking what his name was. If I say to you 'Who are you?' you will say your name. However, you are more than that. You are a boy or girl, you go to such and such a school, you do or do not make your bed, and you do or do not get an allowance. Your Dad's name is so and so and your Mum's name is such and such. You have your favourite stories and your favourite friends. You are special, and God knows your name, but you are different from anyone else. Now, if I told you that I wanted you to travel, in New Zealand, from Masterton to Auckland and meet me there how would you get there? You would perhaps go by a different route, and travel a different way than your friends would. That is because we all have different amounts of money, different cars, and different ways of travelling. We may also arrive at different times. Along the way we would have different adventures; we might stop for a cuppa, to do a job, to visit friends etc. To get there we would have to follow maps, signs, directions, other people etc. It could be that you may not like the person giving you directions, driving the bus, showing you the map or flying the aeroplane, but if they are going to Auckland, and know how to get there, then you should follow what they are saying because if you do, you will eventually get there. That is what Jesus was saying to his disciples. Follow me and I will get you to God. The bible is the map we use today to find our way to God. It tells us what Jesus did, and if we listen to the stories told in it, or read them ourselves, and do what they say, then we will get to God.

Story 21 The Prodigal Son

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a farmer named McDonald. People called him Old McDonald, and as he had a farm people used to say Old McDonald had a farm. On that farm, he had all types of animals. He had cows that went moo, sheep that went baa, dogs that went woof, woof. He also had two sons: Benjamin and Samuel. Benjamin was the younger of the two. Shortly after Benjamin had left school, he became tired of working on the farm and he said to his Dad, "Dad, give me the half of the farm that will eventually be mine now, instead of later". Benjamin's Dad agreed to do that, but once Benjamin got his part of the farm he sold it and went overseas. He had a great time. He bought many McDonalds quarter pounders, happy meals and large chocolate thick shakes. He also bought Doc Marten boots, tattoos, BMW cars and all sorts of other things. He finally had no more money left. He also found that all his friends left him once he had no more money to spend for them. At the same time as he ran out of money, the country he was living in ran into trouble. All the crops failed to grow and the banks lost all their money. There was very little work for people to do, but Benjamin managed to find a job looking after pigs for a farmer. Some days he was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pig food. One day he realised how silly he had been. He realised that if he had stayed at home and worked on the family farm his family would at least have helped him. He packed up everything he had, which was not much, and headed home.

As he walked down the road towards his Dad's farm, he was a bit scared and he kept thinking of what excuses he could make for having been so greedy and silly. He did not have to worry though. As he got closer, he saw his Dad running towards him. His Dad threw his arms around Benjamin and was so happy to see him. His Dad ordered the servants to arrange a big welcome home party for Benjamin. Benjamin felt real stink about how he had taken his money and wasted it, but his Dad said that it did not matter because he had come back home and that was the main thing.

Meanwhile, Samuel, who was out feeding the sheep and cows, came back from his work to hear a party in full swing. "What's the party for?" he asked the servants.

"It's for Benjamin, your brother," they said. "He has returned home." Well, Samuel packed a real sad. He got sulky and would not go into the party.

"It's not fair," he said. "Benjamin took his stuff and went away and ate McDonalds, KFC and Burger King, but I stayed home and worked hard. When I wanted a party, I wasn't able to have one. It's not fair." He stamped his feet.

Samuel's Dad said, "Hey, be glad your brother has come home. I love you, and I always will. Everything I have is yours. I know it seems unfair that Benjamin has wasted his share of the farm, but be happy that he has come back to us, his family."

You see, it is the same with God's family. Sometimes it seems unfair that we are being good yet others are not but they seem to enjoy things that we cannot have or do. Then when they stop being bad everyone makes a big fuss over them. It seems unfair doesn't it? The thing is, God loves us all, even when we turn away from him, and even when we do wrong, he still loves us, so when we come back home to him he has a party with all the angels to celebrate us leaving our bad things behind us and being good again.

Story 22 The Little Star

I am only a small star. If you looked forever at the night sky, you would not see me. God made me on the fourth day of creation. My name does not matter, but God knows it. When he made me, he said, "I have made and placed you in the heavens for a special reason". At that time, I did not know the reason, but from where I was I could see all that happened in the world. I watched animals and big creatures roam the earth. I watched Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge and leave the Garden of Eden. I watch Abraham leave Ur and travel to the Holy Land. I watched the trials and troubles of the Jewish race. I saw God talking with Moses and giving him the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. While all this happened, I stayed in the sky wondering what task God had for me. Then, one day, God sent an angel to tell me to get ready for an important job. I can tell you that I was excited. I guessed it probably meant something was going to happen on earth. I knew that if it were to do with earth then it would be with the Jewish people because they were God's chosen race. I started to take a bit more interest in what was going on in the Holy Lands. Then I saw Gabriel, one of God's angels, heading down to earth. He went to a Priest by the name of Zechariah and told him that he, and his wife Elizabeth, were going to have a baby son and that they were to call him John. Gabriel also told Zechariah that his son John would get people ready for the coming of the Lord. Zechariah did not believe Gabriel so Gabriel made him unable to speak until his son was born and named John. A month later, I saw Gabriel go back down to earth to a place called Nazareth. He spoke to a virgin girl named Mary who was engaged to Joseph. He told her that she would have a baby son and that his name would be Jesus. Mary told Gabriel that she was not married but he told her that the baby would be born with God as the father. When Mary told Joseph what had happened, he married her. I knew immediately that this was important and that it was what I was going to have something to do with. For all those years, I had stayed in the sky waiting for this moment and now it was near. Then I saw that something else was happening. The Roman Emperor gave orders that everyone had to return to their hometowns for counting so that the Romans would know exactly how many people were living in the Holy Lands. Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem because that is where Joseph had been born.

Then Gabriel came to me. You can imagine how excited I was. He told me that my job was to move closer to earth and start to shine brighter than all the other stars in the sky. I was to approach Bethlehem from the East and that as I went; I was to watch for three Wise Men who would follow me. I was to lead them to the place where Jesus was with his Mother Mary. Immediately I started towards earth. As I got closer, I started to shine brighter and brighter. Then, one night, I saw Jesus born in a manger surrounded by animals. It was then that a big group of angels went past me and told some shepherds that Jesus had been born. I watched the shepherds as they went to see Jesus. Down on earth I noticed men on camels following me. It was all happening just as Gabriel had said it would. I shone even brighter, and led the men on their camels to where Jesus was. They knelt down and worshipped Jesus as the son of God. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They then left.

God then spoke to me. He said, "Thank you little star. You have done well." I then went back to where I had been since the fourth day of creation. As I went, my brightness returned to normal. I now stay where I began all those years ago. I thank God every day for my chance to have been able to serve him. I do not know if he has another job for me, but if he does then I will do it. From where I am, I can see Jesus in heaven with his father, God, and I can see people on earth doing what Jesus wanted them to do. I love to see the children, at Christmas, getting presents, and giving presents, and remembering as they do that I was part of giving them the greatest gift of all; Jesus.

Story 23 David

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a family in Bethlehem in the land of Judah, whose father's name was Jesse. Also in the family, which was a large one, were eight sons. The oldest was Eliab. He was big and handsome. All the girls loved him. The youngest son was David. One day, Judah's neighbours, the Philistines, decided that they did not like the people living in Judah so they held a meeting and decided to fight them. Jesse's three oldest sons Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah, were in Judah's army. Because David was the youngest son, he was unable to join the army. He had to stay home and look after the family's sheep.

Both armies set up their camps on hills on opposite sides of a valley. In the Philistine, army there was a giant. He was about 12 feet tall. That is about twice the height, plus a bit more, of most men today. His name was Goliath. Each day Goliath would walk down the hill from the Philistine camp and out on to the valley floor. He would then shout out to the Judah army saying, "I am the best soldier in the Philistine army. You choose your best soldier to fight me. If I win you will all become our slaves. If he wins then we will be your slaves." He did this once a day for 40 days. Did anyone from Judah go out and fight Goliath? No, they were too scared. They thought that because he was bigger than they were, he would be better than they would. Would you have been scared? I would have been.

One day Jesse told David to leave the sheep and take some food to his brothers in the army. David got to the Judah army at the same time as Goliath came down and asked some one to fight him. David saw how scared all the soldiers and his brothers were of Goliath. David said that he would fight Goliath but everyone laughed at him. He then went to the King and said that he would go and fight Goliath. The King said that he would not be able to beat Goliath, but David told the King that he had fought lions and bears when they attacked his family's sheep and had always beaten them. Then David said, "The Lord God has kept me safe from the claws of lions and bears and he will keep me safe from the giant Goliath."

The King offered David his armour but David said that it would be too heavy for him. Instead, David went to a small stream and picked up five smooth stones and put them in a little leather bag he had with him. Once he had done that, David, with his staff, a slingshot, and five stones, went out to meet Goliath.

Goliath just laughed when he saw little David. He poked fun at him and called him names. David said to him, "I have God on my side and you should not insult him. Because you have, I will beat you because God will help me. With God's help, no swords will hurt me." Goliath then raised his sword and strode angrily towards David. David put a stone in his slingshot and threw it at Goliath. The stone hit Goliath in the head and he fell down dead. Once the Philistine army saw that their hero Goliath was dead, they got scared and ran away.

Did you know that it is the same with us today? David won because he had God on his side, and God is more powerful than the meanest and biggest giant. God does not need to use weapons, he uses normal every day things to help us win. You will not meet many mean giants but you will meet mean people. You will also have to do things that you think you are unable to do. Just remember, when those things do happen to you, say, "God, help me. I cannot do this by myself." When God hears you say that, he will help you win, because he loves you and wants to give his love away to you and keep you safe.

Story 24 Redemption

Miriama climbed up onto her Grandfather's lap.

"Poppa," she said.

"Yes young lady," answered her grandfather.

"What does redemption mean?"

"Goodness," said her astonished grandfather. "That is a big word. Where did you hear it?"

"At Sunday School."

"Ah," said her grandfather. "At Sunday School. And what were you told about that big word?"

"Well," said Miriama. "Mrs. Olds said that it meant Jesus died to redeem our sins. I don't know what that means."

"Yes it is a big grown-up type of word isn't it," agreed her grandfather. "Here is one way to look at it. It is not the only way though. You have been shopping at the supermarket with your Nana haven't you?" Miriama nodded. "Well," continued her grandfather. "When you got to the checkout area you will remember that you got a big long list of what you had bought." Miriama nodded again. "On the other side of that list were some vouchers. You could take those vouchers and get some things for free or cheaper than normal."

"I remember those," shouted Miriama. "Nana got a free hot chocolate when she bought me a cheeseburger."

"Well," laughed her grandfather. "Your Nana got that cup of hot chocolate by redeeming the voucher on the back of that list. When Mrs. Olds said that Jesus died to redeem our sins, she meant that Jesus swapped himself for our sins. You could think of it this way. Instead of a list of groceries at the checkout, pretend that it was a list of your sins: the bad things you have done. The voucher on the back of the list is like the life of Jesus. God swaps your sins for the life of his son Jesus."

"Oh," said Miriama. "Poor Jesus."

"Yes indeed," agreed her grandfather. "But it is good news for us. Because he swapped his life for us, we are able to go to heaven. The voucher is Jesus' life, and God swapped his son Jesus' life for our sins because he loves us so very much."

"I should say a prayer to God for doing that shouldn't I," said Miriama.

"I think that would be a great idea," agreed her grandfather.

Story 25 End of the Year

Another year has almost ended and shortly school will be over for another year. It will be neat to be on holiday again. And, of course, you know whose birthday it is at Christmas don't you? Yes, Jesus'. Every time you go to Church or Sunday school you hear about Jesus don't you. Why do you think we always talk about Jesus?

Well, we talk about Jesus because there are many stories about him in the Bible. Those stories tell us about Jesus being born in a manger, a little bit about him growing up and then being baptised by his cousin John the Baptist when a dove came down on him and God said that Jesus was his son. Then there are stories about Jesus making a blind man able to see, making people walk who had not been able to, curing people who had terrible sicknesses and making dead people come back to life. There are also stories about him turning water into wine, getting a few loaves of bread and some fish and feeding thousands of people with them, walking on top of the water on a lake, and stopping the wind from blowing. Then there are the stories Jesus told about how to pray to God, how to love people and how to be good. So we hear about Jesus all the time because he is the person we need to copy. We need to be copycats of Jesus. If we could all be exactly like Jesus this world would be a lovely place wouldn't it. Nobody would shout at us, nobody would hit us, nobody would steal, and nobody would be hungry. We would all be happy.

It is not like that though is it? Because we are Christians, we must try to be like Jesus, to be copycats. If you want to be an All Black, you will have to copy Tana Umaga. If you want to be an All White, you will have to copycat Wynton Rufer. If you want to be a boxer, you will have to copycat David Tua. If you want to be a Church Pastor, you will have to copycat your Pastor. If you want to be a Christian you will have to copycat Jesus, and that is why you always hear stories about Jesus while at Church. It is so that we can all be copycats and become as good as Jesus was, and still is, today. If we can do that, we will really see God and that is what the grownups want to do, and why they tell and listen to stories about Jesus and other people in the Bible. If the whole world copycatted Jesus, there would be Peace and no one would be afraid of anyone else. Now wouldn't that be nice?

Story 26 Copy Cat

Some say, to be a Christian you have to copycat Jesus. When you do that, you will have some of the same problems that Jesus had over 2,000 years ago. I want to tell you about some things that happened to a friend of mine who wanted to copycat Jesus. His name is Sam, and he is about your age. Sam's Mum and Dad are poor. They do not have a lot of money. They do have enough to survive but there is not enough for extras. At school, Sam has enough to eat for lunch and play lunch, but not enough to buy ice blocks, cakes or lollies. Many of the other children buy those things and Sam would like too. One day one of his friends went up to Sam and said, "Sam, I found this $5 note on the footpath outside the dairy. It will not be possible to find who lost it. Anyway, $5 is not much. It'll let you buy some lollies and drinks though so here, you have it, it's yours."

A voice inside Sam's head seemed to say, "Go on Sam. This is what God wants. This is his way of helping. Take it."

"No," said Sam. "It's not mine. God will help me but not by doing wrong. Taking that money would be stealing."

Later on, Sam was sitting at school feeling very sad. He was fatter than many of the other children, and because he was not very good at playing games, they never picked him in their teams. As he sat there, an angel suddenly appeared and said to him, "Sam, I have been sent by God to help you. Just give me the word and I will make you better than any of these other kids at any game. I will make sure you win races and get prizes. Together we will really kick butt."

Again, a voice inside Sam's head seemed to say, "Go on Sam, this is what God wants. This is his way of helping you. Do it."

"No," said Sam. "It's not right. God gave me this body. If he wanted me to win, he would have made me different. Obviously he wants me to be good at something else."

Another time Sam wanted to ride his scooter down the street to play with his friends but his Mum and Dad said he was not to take it with him as the bigger boys would take it off him and break it. Sam was not happy about that and then one of his friends came up to him and said, "Hey, come with us. Those Sunday School teachers told you God will protect you and keep you safe so your Mum and Dad will never know, will they?"

Again, a voice in Sam's head seemed to say, "Go on Sam, you can do it. God wants you to do it. He will keep you safe."

"No," said Sam. "I won't do that. I know God would keep me safe, but I'd be doing wrong by not doing what Mum and Dad have said so I won't do it."

So, you see, being a copycat of Jesus is hard. Sometimes your friends, and other people, want you to do things that you should not. It was not God, or his angels, speaking to Sam telling him to do those things. It was the Devil pretending to be God. Sometimes it can be hard to tell what God wants you to do, so if you're not certain then ask your Mum or Dad, or someone else you trust, like your Sunday school teacher, school teacher, youth leader or an older person. They will tell you what God is actually saying.

Story 27 Ruben and Son

Based on Matthew Chapter 21, verses 1 to 11.

Ruben snuggled down closer to his father. It was not cold, but as a baby, he liked to have his Dad close by. Ruben was a grey colour but he had a big long head, just like his Dad. He also had hooves on the ends of his legs and he had a tail. When he spoke, he went "Hee Haw". Yes, Ruben and his Dad were donkeys. They lived in a town not far from Jerusalem. Suddenly two men walked up to Ruben and his Dad. They untied his Dad from the tree to which he was tethered.

"Come on," said one of the men. "You're coming with us." Ruben's Dad got slowly and reluctantly to his feet. Ruben did the same.

"Who are these people Dad?" asked Ruben.

"Beats me," said his Dad. "I just hope that it doesn't mean work."

"What are you doing with my animals?" asked Eli. Eli was the owner of Ruben and his Dad and had just arrived.

"The Lord has need of them," one of the men said. The men lead Ruben and his Dad away. They went to a place quite close. There was a hill there, and it was know locally as the Mount of Olives due to the large number of olive trees growing on it. There was a large group of people sitting on the ground and they were listening to a man who was talking to them. He acted like a teacher. Ruben heard him called Jesus. He was telling the people stories about something that was going to happen to him. He said that he was going to be leaving them all and that the Passover meal they were going to share would be the last meal they would all have together. Ruben could not understand what the man Jesus meant, but he could tell that he was very sad.

Jesus then stood up and walked across to Ruben's Dad. Someone put their robe on Ruben's Dad's back, and Jesus sat on it. Ruben's Dad then started into Jerusalem carrying Jesus on his back. Ruben's Dad turned to Ruben and said, "A long, long time ago your great, great, great, great Grandfather heard a Prophet named Zechariah say that one day everyone in Jerusalem would celebrate and shout as the King of the Jews rode on a donkey and the Son of a donkey. He must have meant us." As they walked into Jerusalem, the people on the sides of the road cut down branches from Palm trees and threw them down in front of Ruben and his Dad and Jesus, or just waved them in the air. Some people even threw their robes down for them to walk on. So, Jesus entered Jerusalem knowing that he was soon going to die for being good. While it is very sad that Jesus died, we can be glad because he did not stay dead for long. Three days after he died, he came alive again and went up to heaven to stay with his father, God, in heaven.

Story 28 Jesus and the Real Indians

Are you good at spelling? I do not mean easy words like your name, or cat, or food. I mean hard words like arithmetic. Today people call arithmetic 'math' but that is short for mathematics, another hard word. Children used to call mathematics, sums. Teachers would get children to spell arithmetic in spelling tests. If they got it wrong, they would get into trouble. Sometimes they would even get the strap, or cane. You will have to ask Mum or Dad, or perhaps your Nana or Poppa what those things were. I could never ever spell it right and got into trouble every time. One day I made up a little sentence using the letters of the word arithmetic. Each word needed to start with the letters of the word arithmetic. The sentence was, A Real Indian Thought He Might Eat Turnips In Church. If you take each first letter; a,r,i,t,h,m,e,t,i,c you spell arithmetic. Clever!

I remembered that when I sat down to write a Christmas story. These days everyone seems to shorten the word Christmas to Xmas and I want to make sure you know it is Christmas and not Xmas. I was in such a hurry to write this story, that when I typed Father Christmas, I found that I had typed Father Christmis. You know, that gave me a great idea. Christmas is all about the birthday of Jesus. That's right. We celebrate Jesus' birthday on the day we know as 25 December. That was a long time ago though, over 2000 years ago. Not a lot of people remember it is Jesus' birthday. They think it is just a holiday and a time to get presents and eat lollies. Christians remember it is Jesus' birthday but even some of them write Xmas instead of Christmas. When you write Xmas, you leave Jesus out of Christmas. You see, Jesus is the Christ, and that bit of Christmas spelt Christ, means Jesus. Whoever heard of having a birthday without knowing whose birthday it is? That is what people are doing when they write Xmas. They are forgetting whose birthday it is. So when I wrote Father Christmis it reminded me that Father is God, Christ is Jesus, and by making 'mas' into 'mis' I was reminded that I was not to miss Jesus this Christmas like all those people who spell Christmas, Xmas. Do not forget that Christmas Day is Jesus' birthday will you? And do you know the best present you can give anyone? It is to tell them that you love them. So, on Christmas day do not forget to say, "Happy birthday Jesus, I love you. Thank you for being my friend. Amen"

Story 29 Sally and Food

I do not know if you remember me. I am Sally, the butterfly. I have three spots on my wings. I got all upset once because teasers at school called me 'three spot'. As I told you, I go to butterfly school to learn how to eat cabbages, but just like you, we have school holidays. While it is great for the first few days not having to get up early, it soon gets boring doesn't it? I mean, big time boring. Like, what can a butterfly do but fly? I miss my friends and sometimes wish I were back at school.

But, let me tell you about when I met Percy the Praying Mantis. I had seen him at the Garden Centre before, but as he went to another school, I had never spoken with him. This time I met him at the athletics track. As I was bored, I just flew around and then stopped to watch a couple of snails training for the 100 mm sprint. Percy was also there. We got chatting and then he invited me back to his place. I had never had so much fun. We played pin the spot on the ladybird, and then hopscotch. If you do not know what hopscotch is, you had better ask your Mum or Dad. Percy's Mum also had a DVD for us to watch. It was Slug man 3. That was neat. We got some lollies to eat. They had brussel sprout centres. Yummy. Percy's Mum telephoned my Mum to see if I could stay for tea. Once tea was set out on the mushroom table, I went to start eating but then noticed everyone else was sitting with their eyes closed. Mr. Mantis said, "God, bless this food to do us good for Jesus sake. Amen." Then everyone started to eat. Afterwards I asked Percy why his Dad did that. Percy said that all the food and everything else on this earth came from God so they all thanked him for it before each meal. It seemed so simple, so I told my Mum and Dad and now we say it before each meal. Do you?

Story 30 Armour

I can remember the day well. How old was I? Oh, about 9 or 10. I was a bit of a strange kid. I did not have many friends, and I was never the first one picked in any side. Gee, it is awful to be the last one picked. Even at my schoolwork I was only average. I was scared of the teachers. I remember when Mum and Dad took me to a dentist. They had some shopping to do, so while I only had two fillings, I ended up being away from school for the whole day. The next day, at school, the teacher asked me how many fillings I needed. I believed I would be in trouble if they thought I had been away from school the whole day for two fillings, so I said twenty-six. That little lie got me into more trouble than if I had stuck with the two fillings. Other kids called me names, and I lost fights. When we got into trouble at school, we would get the cane. It was a length of bamboo. Teachers would use it to hit you on the backside. I got it a few times and it hurt. One day I saw another boy getting the cane, girls did not get it, and he had put some newspaper down his shorts so that it did not hurt him. I remember thinking it was funny having newspaper as armour. It did stop the cane from hurting him though.

The next Sunday, I read in my Sunday school lesson about spiritual armour. Spiritual is a big word isn't it? Do you know what it means? If you do not know, what it means, ask Mum, Dad, Grand parents or your Sunday school teacher and see if they can tell you. I said that I read my lesson because we lived a long way from a Church so we did our Sunday school lessons by correspondence. I knew that armour protected you because I had read about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Robin Hood. In both stories, the Knights protection was armour. The Bible story talked about the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, shoes of peace, a shield of faith and a helmet of salvation. It said that if I wore that armour, I would be safe from harm. I liked the bit about the belt of truth. If I had used it when asked about my fillings, I would not have got into trouble.

I know that the Knights of the Round Table had protection from arrows, swords and lances (Spear-like weapons,) by their armour. I also knew that the bible did not mean that we had to dress up in real metal armour like King Arthur's Knights. I knew that it meant that to be a Christian, and do God's works, then I would be attacked by people who would try to make me do wrong things. I found that the best armour was to learn my memory verses. By knowing them, when some one said something bad, or tried to make me fight, I was able to remember those verses and instead of being hurt by what people said, ignore the words. How do memory verses do that? If I had used my 'belt of truth' about my fillings that piece of armour would have protected me from the cane. I would have remembered the Bible memory verse that says 'You must be truthful with each other' in Zechariah Chapter 8, verse 16 and told the truth. Instead of name calling hurting me, my 'shield of faith' would have told me that God loved me. I would have remembered Psalm 52, verse 8b which says 'I can count on His love forever.' If you see people fighting, then you might remember a verse that says, 'Blessed are the peacemakers', so you will try and stop the fighting. That would be using your 'shoes of peace'.

Story 31 The Circle of Life

While standing at the kitchen sink as I either wash or dry the dishes, I look out at our back lawn. We have a large tree dominating the lawn, which provides fantastic shade from the summer heat. In the spring, birds build nests in the tree. They teach their babies to fly from that tree. Both parents and children, to start with, simply have to fall out of the tree to peck at crumbs of bread, cut up apples and wild birdseed that Yvonne and I put out for them. I have to smile at parents feeding the young birds. Even though they are big enough to feed themselves, they stand beside their Mum or Dad and flap their little wings frantically until a crumb of bread drops into their mouths. In the pot plant base that we use as a birdbath, whole families splash, wash and drink fresh clean water.

From time to time, strong winds buffet the tree. Its branches wave majestically and the wind chimes hanging from those branches tinkle frantically. Unfortunately, the wind also blows some of the bird's nests from the tree and eggs get broken or baby birds die. If that happens, the Mummy and Daddy birds build new nests, or repair their old ones, and get on with life again. It does not matter how many times it happens they just start over again.

Then, once summer changes into autumn, and autumn into winter, the tree drops its leaves. By July, all the leaves have gone from the tree. There are just bare branches left, but the birds are still there: sparrows, thrushes, blackbirds, silvereyes, starlings, mynas and the odd yellowhammer. Occasionally a Tui from the neighbour's trees will put in an appearance. The birds require more food in the winter so the amount of bread and seed we buy increases.

Before we know it, the buds are back on the tree and then the leaves appear again and our view of the neighbour disappears. The birds either rebuild their nests or build new ones and the babies reappear.

What I see is the circle of life. Elton John sings of it, and God made it. For the birds, our backyard and tree is their world. God provides the tree for them to live in. He feeds them and he gives them sons and daughters for their families. He gives them life and death. They have disasters like strong winds blowing their homes away and killing their young, and dangers like cats that stalk them. God also gives them Yvonne and me to provide little extras in life, to keep cats away, and give food and love.

While there are some trees that stay green always, and never lose their leaves, our tree is not one of them. Our tree does so much work in the spring and summer that it needs to rest, so during the autumn it drops its leaves and goes to sleep for the cold winter months. Sometimes you and I work so hard for God that we need a rest like the tree. God made life like that. He knows we need to have some time to rest so he made Sundays, and holidays, for us. Like the tree though, it does not mean that we forget God or our job. The rest is for us to think about God and the work we have to do for him in our lives. Once we have had our rest, like the tree during the winter, we start our work again for God, just as the tree makes leaves and shade.

Story 32 Reasons and Seasons

Sometimes you go to school and the boy or girl who was your friend the day before suddenly does not want to be your friend anymore. They have another best friend. That makes you very sad and sometimes it makes you cry. When that happens, you sometimes say bad things about them because you are hurt and upset. You have done nothing wrong and do not know why they no longer want to be your friend. It does not seem fair does it? So what should you do when your friend does not want to be your friend anymore? Should you say bad things about them, should you start a fight with them, or should you poke your tongue out at them?

Well, you can do several things. The main thing is that if they will listen, tell them that you are sad they do not want to be your friend anymore, but also tell them to have fun with their new friend, and that you still like them. If they will not listen, or do not want to listen, or say bad things about you, leave them alone and do not go near them. You then find a new friend. You see, people and friends come into your life, group or team for what is called a reason or a season. God puts them with you, either to teach you something or for you to teach them something. That is the reason for them being in your life. Perhaps God wants you to learn how to forgive people who do wrong things. He may arrange for a friend or person you know to do something wrong to you so that you can forgive them, or you may do something wrong to them and by them forgiving you, you learn how to forgive. God has put that person in your life for a reason, for you to learn something.

It may be that God has put you in a Sunday school class and the Sunday school teacher stays with you for all the time you are in the junior classes. When you go on to Youth Group, you may never see that Sunday school teacher ever again. They have been in your life for a season, a period of time, to teach you about Jesus and being a Christian.

While it is sad when you lose a friend, you must understand that God has put them in your life for a reason or a season. They are there to teach you something, or for you to teach them something. You may never know what the reason is but when they leave, it is because neither you, nor they, can learn anymore from each other. So, be sad, but know that God has another friend waiting for you.

Story 33 What Are Presents?

It was nearly 11 o'clock on Christmas Eve. Janet and her Mum and Dad had just parked their car in the carpark and were heading up the steps into the Church. Janet was nine years old and she had always gone to Church with her Mum and Dad on Christmas Eve. It meant that she was a bit tired on Christmas morning, but the thought of presents got her out of bed easily. Janet's Church was quite a big flash one. There were many steps up to the front doors. As she climbed the steps, she saw a movement in the corner where the steps met the wall of the Church. She looked closer, and saw a boy about her age sitting with his back against the wall. She let go of her Mum's hand and told her that she would be back in a moment.

Janet went to the boy. She was dressed in her best clothes but the boy had on dirty jeans, sneakers with holes, a torn jersey, a beanie, and a jacket that looked like it would never have kept the cold snow out.

'Hello,' said Janet. 'What's your name?'

'Adam,' said the boy.

'My name is Janet. This is my Church. Do you go to my Church?'

'I don't go to no silly Church,' said Adam.

'Well why are you here then?' asked Janet.

'Because,' said Adam.

'Because why?' asked Janet.

'Just because,' said Adam.

'Where are your Mum and Dad?' asked Janet.

'Don't have no Dad and Mum is sick,' said Adam.

'Are you cold?' asked Janet.

'Perhaps,' said Adam.

'Come inside out of the snow,' invited Janet. She took Adam by the hand and they climbed the steps to the front door. There were coloured lights hanging from the windows and round the door.

'What are the lights for?' asked Adam.

'They are Christmas lights,' explained Janet.

'What's Christmas?' asked Adam.

'Don't you know silly?' asked Janet.

'Course I do,' replied Adam. 'I was just testing you.' Janet gave Adam a bit of a funny look. 'What's that?' Adam continued, pointing to a manger scene with a baby Jesus doll in a manger and Mary, Joseph and animals gathered around.

'You don't know what Christmas is do you,' said Janet. 'How old are you to not know about Christmas?'

'Doesn't matter,' said Adam. 'I don't want Christmas anyway.' He let go of Janet's hand and turned back towards the door. Janet grabbed his hand again.

'No don't go away,' said Janet. 'If you don't know what Christmas is, I will tell you. Do you know who Jesus is?'

'Course I do,' said Adam. Janet looked doubtfully at him. 'Maybe I forgot,' he added.

'A long long time ago,' explained Janet, 'In a place called Bethlehem, which is in Israel, two people, Mary and Joseph had a baby. It was a miracle baby made by God. You have heard of God haven't you?'

'Course I have,' said Adam. 'He lives in Heaven and has got a long beard. He helps people but he has never helped my Mum. I don't know why he doesn't help her. She asks lots of people for help but she can't have found him yet. Do you know where heaven is?'

'Yes, I think so,' said Janet thoughtfully. 'I will try and tell you after I have told you about Christmas.

'Well, when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, all the hotels were full. There was nowhere for them to stay, and the baby was due to be born. The best they could get was a shed attached to a hotel. That is where Jesus was born. When he was born, Mary put him in a thing that held hay for the animals. It's called a manger. There wasn't a proper bed or anything. So those animals, dolls and things over there are to remind us what it was like when Jesus was born. Jesus is God's son. God is Jesus' father.'

'I knew that,' said Adam. 'You were going to tell me what Christmas is though.'

'Well I have,' said Janet. 'Christmas is Jesus' birthday. You do know what a birthday is don't you?'

'Yeah, course I do,' said Adam. 'How old is this Jesus today?'

'About 2,011 years old.'

'You are silly,' said Adam. 'Nobody can be that old. That is older than those people sitting in there.' Adam pointed to the people sitting in the Church. 'It is older than my Mum.'

'Well I told you it was a long long time ago,' said Janet.

'Is Jesus in there with those people?' asked Adam.

'Maybe,' said Janet. 'Some people killed him and he went to Heaven to be with God.'

'Oh,' said Adam. 'Why is every one happy in there singing then? When my uncle died, my Mum cried. She was sad, she wasn't happy.'

'We are happy because it is Jesus' birthday and Jesus was God's present to us. He was a very special present.'

'Sometimes Mum says I am special to her,' said Adam. 'So that is Christmas. It is a birthday.'

'Yes,' said Janet. 'It is Jesus' birthday and because it is we give presents to each other so we remember God's present to us.'

'What is a present?' asked Adam.

'It is a surprise wrapped up in paper so you don't know what it is until you open it,' explained Janet.

'I have never had a present,' said Adam. 'Where do I go to get one?'

'My Mum will have one,' said Janet. 'Come with me.' Janet grabbed hold of Adam's hand and they walked into the Church. They went to Janet's Mum and Dad and sat down beside them. 'This is Adam,' whispered Janet. 'He doesn't know what a present is. His Mum doesn't know either. I said you will give him a present.'

'Of course I will,' Janet's Mum whispered back. 'As soon as it is Christmas day I will do that.'

So, Adam sat in Church with Janet and her parents until the service finished just after midnight, which meant it was Christmas Day. Janet's Mum talked with the Minister and some other people in the Church. There was a lot of talking, and people going here and there. Adam just sat with Janet. It was nice and warm so he was happy.

'So young Adam,' said Janet's Dad. 'Which street do you live in?'

'I don't know the name,' said Adam. 'I can show you though'

'Is there only you and your Mum, or do you have brothers and sisters?' asked the Minister.

'There's just me and Mum,' said Adam.

'Okay,' said Janet's Dad. 'You come with us and we'll take you home.'

'Do I get a present?' asked Adam.

'Yes of course you do,' said Janet's Dad. 'And later on we will get a present for your Mum as well.'

Adam went home to his Mum in Janet's Dad's car. He got some new warm clothes and some lollies as presents. His Mum got a food parcel, and some clothes, and both Adam, and his Mum, went to Janet's home for a Christmas meal.

The next Sunday, Adam and his Mum went to Church with Janet and her parents. As they sat in Church Adam turned to Janet and said,

'You don't have to tell me where Heaven is now. Mum says we have found it.'

Story 34 Easter 2

When somebody says Easter to you, what do you think of? When I was a child, it meant Easter eggs and hot cross buns to eat. I can only remember getting hollow chocolate eggs. I do not know if that was because Mum and Dad only bought that type, or if they did not make marshmallow eggs in those days. I don't think they made solid chocolate ones or ones with other lollies inside them when I was your age. What ones do you like best?

I can remember learning at school that in some countries people painted the shells of hard-boiled eggs. I felt sorry for the children in those countries. Fancy not having chocolate eggs! I remember my wife making marshmallow Easter eggs for our five children. She used real eggs to make the egg shape in a tray of flour. She would then pour the marshmallow mix into the shape and leave it until it set. That made one-half of the egg. Two halves would then be stuck together and dipped into chocolate. I liked to help so that I could eat the ones that were the wrong shape or had something else wrong with them. Sometimes, when we were making marshmallow Easter eggs, the children would misbehave. Sometimes they would fight, argue, or do something else needing punishment. Quite often, the punishment would be a smack on the backside, or hand, the same as when I was growing up. That would hurt. I sometimes wished that by some miracle, someone else would take my punishment for me. Perhaps if I were a King, I would think, then when I did something wrong I could have someone else punished for what I had done. I thought that would be a good idea.

Have you ever heard of somebody punished for bad things that somebody else had done? I have. Jesus. His punishment was death for all the wrong things done by people. He even died for all the wrong things that people who had not even been born might do. Jesus was a good person. He never ever did anything wrong, but bad people killed him because he was so good. God is Jesus' father and he knew that Jesus was good. He did not want Jesus to die but he and Jesus had a plan. That plan was for Jesus to suffer by dying for all the bad things that other people had done. That is still the same today. If you love God, then when you do something bad against God's rules, he tells Jesus that he died so the bad things you have done will be blamed on him, and you will still be good. That does not seem fair does it, but Jesus loves us so much he takes our punishment. Because that happens, it means that we can go to heaven. If Jesus had not been so good, we would not be able to go to heaven or have God and Jesus as our friends.

So, when you have your Easter eggs and hot cross buns, remember Jesus and say, "Thank you Jesus for my Easter eggs and for loving me so I can be your friend and go to be in heaven with you. Amen."

Story 35 A Letter from Rex

Hello young people and those older people who are young at heart. My name is Rex. I am 11 years of age. I am writing this in Emperor Tiberius' reign. It is about 10 years since Rome appointed Pontius Pilate prefect of Judaea.

I am writing this letter because something very special has happened. It is so special that if not written down, then I think some important people will try to say it never happened. My Dad is a Roman Centurion. That means that he is in the Emperor's army and is in Charge of 100 soldiers. I do not much like living here in Jerusalem. I would rather be living in Rome but Dad says it is important to be here as we are protecting land owned by us Romans. Anyway, back to important things. Dad had been telling us about a Jewish man who was going from town to town and making sick people well again. Apparently, he believed his father was a God. He was poor, but many Jews thought he was going to start a fight against us Romans. Dad's bosses were keeping an eye on Jesus, because that was his name, to make sure he was not going to cause trouble. Then, some of the Jewish Priests arrested him and sent him to Pontius Pilate accusing him of plotting to over-throw our Roman rule and make himself King of the Jews. He apparently broke some Jewish Religious laws or something. Pilate questioned him and decided that no laws had been broken, but because the Jewish leaders kicked up such a fuss and wanted Jesus killed, Pilate told Dad and his men to take Jesus and crucify him to stop any trouble once and for all. Therefore, that is what Dad did. He and his men nailed Jesus to a cross. There were a couple of criminals crucified at the same time.

Dad was there when Jesus died. There was what felt like an earthquake and the sun disappeared for about 3 or 4 hours so that it was as if it was nighttime. Dad got frightened and it takes a lot to scare him. Dad really believed, at that moment, that Jesus was the Son of the Jewish God. He could not have been the son of a Roman God because they are not real and cannot have babies.

Now for the big special thing I was saying at the beginning. Three days after Dad had seen the person Jesus die, and seen him taken and put in a burial chamber, he saw him alive. You see, Dad had placed guards outside the burial chamber because some of the Jewish Priests thought someone might try to steal Jesus' body. Dad was here at home early in the morning when one of his guards arrived and knocked frantically at our door. He told Dad that someone was trying to break into the burial chamber. Dad ran to the chamber just in time to see two men dressed in white finish pushing the stone away from the front of the chamber. That is when Dad saw Jesus. He was speaking with the two men while he took off his burial clothes. Dad was just going to go and ask them all what was going on when some of the women he had seen at the crucifixion arrived. While they were surprised to see Jesus, they were very happy about it. When Jesus left, Dad went and found some of Jesus' followers and spoke with them. At first they were afraid that Dad was going to blame them, but once they knew he wanted to know more about Jesus they told him all that Jesus had done while he was alive. They also told him that Jesus had said that he would come back to life three days after dying but that they had not believed him.

So, that is the special thing I have had to write. My Dad now knows for real that Jesus is the Son of God. He sometimes gets a hard time from his friends but he says that it does not matter what they say. He says he saw Jesus die and come back to life again. Dad says that when he was alive, Jesus never ever did anything wrong. He died because people told lies about him. Dad says that because Jesus died without doing anything wrong he is able to take all our wrongs away from us so that after we die we will come back to life as well. I will have to think about how he does that.

Play 1 Little Star

(A Christmas Play suitable for any number of children at Sunday school level. Dependant upon the number of children available, the number of animals, angels, shepherds etc can be altered.)

Overview: God wants some way of telling the world Jesus is born. Unable to think of a way, he gets his creation together and they pool various ideas, finally deciding on a star shining brightly over the Inn where Jesus is born. It is wound up with a version of 'Twinkle twinkle little star' adapted for the occasion, and the singing of The First Nowell.

The play involves not only the main cast but also the congregation as The Choir.

The part of Little Star would be particularly suitable for a boisterous out going child that every Sunday school will have. There is a seat on the stage area for God and the children, in their costumes will be either at the back of the room or off stage. A Nativity scene is behind the stage backdrop.

Little Star

Congregation sing the Hymn,'and did you see him little star?'

God enters from the rear of church and sits on his throne.

God:

This is silly. I am God and I do not know what to do. My son Jesus is being born next week and I do not know how to let everybody know. I was going to put a notice in the paper but it is not much of a paper these days. I much preferred the old stone tablets. I could put it over the radio but of course that has not been invented yet The problem is that I have had to spend so much time sorting out the prayers of that congregation at (Name of your Church). It is a nightmare and they have not even been born yet. I know what I will do; I will get all my creation together and see what they think. Sun, come on up here and sit down.

(Sun enters from the rear of church and takes up a position on God's right hand side.)

Moon, you come up here as well please. (Moon enters from the rear of church and takes up position on God's left hand side.)

A star, is there a star? (Star enters from the rear of church and stands beside sun.) What a lovely little star. You just wait there a moment star.

Angels, angels, where are you my angels? (Angels enter and stand beside the moon.) Ah, there you are. Come along. Come along. Are there any Kings or rulers or wise people, apart from (insert name of Pastor, Minister or Superintendent Etc.?) You stay where you are (Pastor, Minister or Superintendent.) Good, come on Wise People and King. (Wise people and King enter and position themselves wherever you want them.)

Shepherds where are you? Come along in. (Shepherds enter and God looks at them once they are in position.) Very good. Very good. Now, who else have I created? Oh yes, the animals. Are there any animals? (Animals enter from the rear of the church.)

You lot just sit down and behave yourselves. Now, have I forgotten anyone? Oh, yes, of course, the choir leader. (The choir leader enters.

Come along choir leader. Where is your choir? You cannot be a choir leader without a choir!

Choir Leader:

There they are. (Leader gestures to the congregation.) All of them out there.

God:

Very good. Very good. My son Jesus is about to be born and I need a way of telling every one on earth. I have tried and tried to think of something but I need help. Can any of you think of a way?

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly?

Angel 1:

Nobody would see YOU. I know, how about a big thunderclap and a loud voice?

God:

No. No. I do not think that would do. It would scare people.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly?

Angel 2:

You wouldn't be seen. You're unimportant. How about a fly past of a host of angels?

God:

No, I don't think so.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly?

Choir Leader:

How about a heavenly choir? We could sing something like O Come all ye faithful. Look, we will show you:

Congregation:

Sing verse 1 and refrain of O Come all ye faithful.

God:

Mmm, yes. That is a possibility.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly?

(Sun pushes through to the front.)

Sun:

No, no, no. That would never do. I'll stop my journey over the earth and stay over the town. Then I'll really heat up and every one will know that something important is happening. They'll take notice of me.

God:

Oh dear, I do wish you would be a little nicer sun. I will never know why I made you so rude.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly?

Choir Leader:

What about Hark the Herald Angels? Listen.

Congregation:

Sing first verse of Hark the Herald Angels

Sun:

I'm not rude God. Just good, better than average, the best and brightest. At least earth would take more notice of me than they would of star, or the moon.

God:

The moon. Now there is an idea. What do you think moon? Could you do it?

Moon:

Oh, no I don't think so. I don't like crowds. I much prefer the dark when there are not so many people about. No, I think I would like to stay at home.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly.

God:

What about you King and Wise people?

King:

We could do something.

1st Wise Person:

We have had a meeting and employed some consultants.

2nd Wise Person:

It is our suggestion that we have a parade.

1st Wise Person:

We would ride in a special chariot.

2nd Wise Person:

Then King would make a speech.

King:

Then I would give all the children a special school holiday.

God:

I was actually thinking more of my son.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly?

The lion, lamb and other animals have a fight.

God:

Behave yourselves you animals. Lion, do you have any ideas?

Lion:

We could all be friendly.

(All the animals hug each other and wave their hands.)

Lamb:

Does that mean you would not kill and eat any of us ever again?

Lion:

Well, maybe.

Lamb:

The opossums could stop eating the trees. The butterflies could stop eating the cabbages.

Lion:

If that happened everyone would know something important was up.

God:

No, that's not really what I had in mind.

Choir Leader:

What about Oh Come all ye Faithful. Remember? We'll sing it again. Come on choir.

Congregation:

Sing Verse 1 and refrain from O Come all Ye Faithful.

Shepherd 1:

Look here God, me and me mates have got a bit of an idea.

Shepherd 2:

Yeah, we could all sit out in our paddocks and watch over our sheep.

Choir Leader:

Now there is an idea. You watch your sheep and we will sing The first Nowell. Are you ready choir, the first verse and the chorus.

Congregation:

Sing first verse and chorus of The First Nowell.

God:

I do not know if that would achieve a lot.

Little Star:

What about me shining brightly.

Sun:

For goodness sake little star, don't you understand that God's son's birth is important? Some big sign is needed. A dumb little star isn't going to do that.

God:

Now, now, Sun. That will never do. There is to be no fighting. Let us hear what Little Star has to say. Speak up Little Star.

Little Star:

Well, I know I am only little but baby Jesus will only be little too. I would stay just over where Jesus will lay and I would shine so brightly that everyone would see me. Then, they would all know that something important was happening.

God:

I think you might have an idea their little star.

Angel Leader:

I think Little Star is right. The least among us shall be first.

King and Wise People:

Then we would know where to go and visit, and take our presents.

Choir Leader:

We could sing to the shepherds in their paddocks and tell them what the star means.

Shepherds:

We could listen to the choir.

God:

Yes, that is it. That is the way it will be little star. Thank you.

Choir Leader:

All together, let us sing new words to Twinkle Twinkle little star.

(Little Star stands at the front of the cast and waves while the song is sung).

To the tune Twinkle twinkle little star:

Twinkle twinkle little star

Seen by Wise men from afar

Up above a crib so crude

Pointing to a baby true

Twinkle twinkle little star

Seen by wise men from afar

When the blessed babe was born

When the age of faith did dawn

It was then your shinning light

Did say come and all unite

When the blessed Babe was born

When the age of faith did dawn

Then the traveller in the dark

Thanks you for your guiding spark

He could not see which way to go

If you did not twinkle so

Then the traveller in the dark

Thanks you for your guiding spark

As your bright and shiny light

Guides the traveller through the night

We really know just who you are

Twinkle twinkle little star

As your bright and shiny light

Guides the traveller through the night.

(Backdrop is removed to reveal the Nativity Scene).

Choir Leader:

Now let us all sing The First Nowell

During The First Nowell, all leave the stage but during verse five the King and Wise people return to give their gifts to the baby Jesus.

God:

The stars will forever be in the sky and each morning the morning star, and each evening the evening star will remind all creation that I, GOD, gave my son Jesus to the world.

Play 2 The Barbeque

A Christmas play suitable for teenagers.

Outline:

A group of teenagers are at a barbeque drinking alcohol and fooling around. A discussion begins covering the Christmas story. They travel through time to the birth of Jesus. While the play is written for four actors, it can easily be adapted for a greater or lesser number.

The Barbeque

Scene:

Four teenagers are standing around a barbeque. They have cans of beer in their hands. Behind a backdrop is a nativity scene not visible to the audience.

Boy 1:

Drink up boys, plenty more where this came from.

Boy 2:

Sure is. There's enough to see us right.

Boy 3:

Right into trouble, I reckon.

Boy 4:

What are ya mate?

Boy 3:

You know who I am. I'm the guy you work with, the guy you play rugby with, and the guy who's your mate.

Boy 4:

Yeah, but it's Christmas. Let yourself go a bit. Live a bit. Hey, let it all hang out for once in your life.

Boy 3:

Well I will, but I don't have to write myself off ya know.

Boy 4:

Little do you know.

Boy 2:

Aw, leave him alone, if he doesn't want to drink then it leaves more for us.

Boy 4:

I suppose.

Boy 1:

Look, it's only Christmas once a year.

Boy 3:

I'd disagree with that.

Boy 1:

What?

Boy 3:

That it is Christmas once a year.

Boy 2:

What are you on man? Of course Christmas is only once a year.

Boy 4:

Oh no, you're not off on that bible bashing bit again are you?

Boy 1:

Are you a bible basher? What the hell are you doing bringing one of them around here (Boy 4).

Boy 4:

Well he usually keeps it to himself.

Boy 2:

If you're one of them then what are you doing having a beer?

Boy 3:

There is nothing wrong with a beer.

Boy 4:

He'll tell you there's nothing wrong with anything as long as it is in moderation.

Boy 3:

You're not quite right there.

Boy 1:

Okay mate. You tell me why I shouldn't get wasted. You tell me.

Boy 2:

Yeah, you tell us.

Boy 3:

Look, I don't think this is either the time or place to get into this.

Boy 1:

No, no. You started it so you'd better carry on. I say if I want to get wasted then that's my business. It ain't (Boy 2)'s business, it ain't (Boy 4)'s business and it certainly ain't your business. God you people make me sick.

Boy 2:

Yeah, me too.

Boy 4:

Hey, hold on. Let's not get too carried away about all this.

Boy 1:

Well he brought it up, saying that we shouldn't be drinking.

Boy 3:

I did not say that.

Boy 1:

Oh, no, of course not. You lot never say anything do you? You are all a bunch of hypocrites. You are all for nothing and then go and do what you say is wrong. Bible bashers the lot of ya!

Boy 3:

This is why I did not want to go down that track at this time. Look (Boy 4), I think it is time I headed off.

Boy 2:

Yeah, that's right, run away.

Boy 3:

I am not running away.

Boy 1:

Hey, I know what started this. You said Christmas isn't only once a year. Now I've got you there. Next, you will be saying there weren't three wise men.

Boy 3:

There may not have been three wise men. The actual number's not known. It might have been more, it might have been less.

Boy 2:

Hey (Boy 4), I thought you said this guy knew his bible. Here he is saying there weren't three wise men.

Boy 4:

Well I don't know.

Boy 1:

'Cause there was three wise men, they brought those presents, what were they? Gold and something else.

Boy 2:

Frankenstein.

Boy 1:

Frankincense you idiot, not Frankenstein, and one other.

Boy 3:

Myrrh.

Boy 1:

So there. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three presents, three people, checkmate.

Boys 2 & 4:

Yeah.

Boy 3:

Just because there were three different types of presents doesn't mean only three people brought them. Maybe one brought two presents, maybe a dozen brought different amounts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Boy 1:

Yeah? Well I dunno. I reckon there were three of them and I'm sticking to it.

Boys 2 & 4:

So are we.

Boy 3:

Hey, I don't mind. Just look it up sometime. Well, I had best be going.

Boy 1:

Yeah, you better.

Boy 2:

All the more for us.

Boy 4:

Wait a minute, what did you mean about Christmas being more than once a year?

Boy 2:

No, let him go, we don't want to know.

Boy 4:

Well I do. What do you reckon (Boy 1)?

Boy 1:

Sounds like rubbish to me. I think Christmas was about Jesus being born.

Boy 3:

Indeed it is. Come with me. Let us step back 2,000 odd years.

(Open or remove backdrop to reveal the Nativity scene.)

All four boys enter the Nativity scene.

Boy 2:

Hey, that's cool.

Boy 4:

That's gnarly man.

Boy 1:

Where are the three wise men?

Boy 2:

Where's Frankenstein?

Boy 3:

So, here we are. That is the baby Jesus and they are Joseph and Mary. They cannot see or hear us.

Boy 1:

Where are the wise men?

Boy 3:

I'm not sure. Perhaps they haven't arrived yet.

Boy 2:

I can't see Frankenstein.

Boy 4:

I can't see any presents so either they've not been, they're not coming, they don't come, or they've hidden the presents.

Boy 3:

O.K, O.K. Let's not worry about the presents. Who does baby Jesus remind you of? (Boy 4), who does he remind you of?

Boy 4:

I dunno, who?

Boy 3:

(Boy 1), who does he remind you of?

Boy 1:

He looks a bit like those baby photos of me Mum keeps showing people.

Boy 2:

Hey, yeah. He could be me. Look at his red face. Hey, he's bald too.

Boy 4:

He looks just like any baby to me.

Boy 3:

Indeed. He looks just like any baby. He could be just any baby.

Boy 1:

Yeah, but he's not is he? He is Jesus.

Boy 3:

But at this stage, at this time, he's a baby boy. He cries, sicks up and poohs, just like all babies. As you said (Boy 1), he could be you to look at.

Boy 4:

Yeah, but his father was God and his mother was a virgin.

Boy 2:

Yeah, yeah that's right ain't it?

Boy 1:

(Boy 3)?

Boy 3:

Yes.

Boy 1:

And the point of all this is what?

Boy 4:

The point is that the baby is Jesus, he was born, and at Christmas, we remember him being born.

Boy 2:

And we have a holiday, get presents and drink beer.

Boy 1:

The point (Boy 3)?

Boy 3:

The point is that God is Jesus' father. Every time a person accepts God as his father, he is born again. He becomes a baby in the faith, just as if he were newly born. Each one of us has the possibility of being like Jesus. Few do though. Therefore, every time someone accepts God as their father, it is like Christmas all over again.

Boy 2:

So Christmas could be several times a year.

Boy 3:

I think so.

Boy 1:

Yeah, well I see what you're on about. Interesting. I'll have to think about it.

Boy 3:

O.K. Time for me to go. You guys with me or do you want to stay here.

Boys 1, 2 & 4:

We are with you.

(The four boys leave the Nativity scene. As they leave Boy 2 turns and raises his beer can.)

Boy 2:

Cheers Jesus. I wonder where Frankenstein got to?

****

About the Author

Jim Payton lives in Masterton, New Zealand with his wife. Their five children have all left home (thank goodness), and they have 12 Grand children. Jim has lead a varied life prior to retiring which included time as a Royal New Zealand Air Force Avionics fitter, a Detective in the New Zealand Police, several years as a Licensed Private Investigator, a carver of Greenstone (Pounamu, to New Zealand Maori), and nearly every other occupation you could think of if you put your mind to it.

You can connect with Jim on Facebook as Pilgrimjim, his blog at pilgrimjim08.blogspot.co.nz., or by email at mailto:pilgrimjim08@gmail.com.
