Tell Me the Stories of Jesus

Thumbs up or thumbs down: Do you like to hear stories? Do you ever ask your mom or dad to tell you a story?  I love stories too!

Today we're going to learn a song about telling stories, but these aren't pretend stories.  These are real stories about Jesus.

Sing the first line: "Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear"

Can you think of some of your favorite stories of Jesus? (If you want, you can post pics of different stories on the board to help them remember: nativity, baptism, raising Jairus's daughter, with the children, etc.)

This time sing it with me, then I will point to someone (or call on someone raising their hand) to tell a story of Jesus. (The telling is short: just one sentence.) Then we will sing the line again, and someone else can tell a different story. (Repeat as often as you like, perhaps 4 times per line.)

Sing the next line and explain what it means.  "If Jesus were here right now, what question would you like to ask Him?  What story would you ask Him to tell?" Sing the line, have someone share their question, sing the line again, have someone else share, etc.

The next line tells about two places where Jesus spent lots of time: the wayside and the sea.  What is the wayside? (Show a picture of the sermon on the mount to give them a clue.)  In this picture, is Jesus in a city?  The wayside is someplace out of the way of the city; the countryside.  Sing the line, then show a picture of a "tale of the sea" and have a child tell what is happening in the picture.  Sing the line again, and show a different "sea" picture, etc.  (Examples of tales of the sea could include calming the storm, walking on water, fishing on the other side of the boat, etc.)

Sing the last line and have children share more stories of Jesus. Repeat as desired.

Sing the whole song together.

**The secret to making this work is to keep it fast paced, so the repetition of each line is only interrupted by a small amount of talking.  The purpose is not to tell any of the stories in detail; just to remind them of the story with a few words.