What's going on with Maynard's Groovy Bible Tunes, from day to day...
Facebook has just introduced its new "reactions" - instead of just "like", you can "wow", "sad" and so on.
Turns out that some of these go perfectly with explaining Good Friday... and singing my "It was a .... Friday" Good Friday Song.
Luke 23:32-49
"It was a ... Friday" is the perfect accompaniment - Listen here, download here
Make some big reactions - you need Love, Wow, Sad, and Angry from the pictures above. I used backing paper on large cardboard squares (from packaging boxes), and then large coloured circles of paper, and more cutout paper for the details.
This is in note form, you need to elaborate and interact with the children and adults
Facebook: used to be able to "like" things - now you can chose different "reactions".
[Show big reaction pictures that you've made]
Good Friday was the day when Jesus was crucified, it was a day for reactions.
1st reaction: [Show the 'Angry' reaction] [Get them to identify it, tell them we're going to make it stand for 'bad', get them to shout "BAD" (after 3 perhaps - 1,2,3 "BAD!")]
It was a Bad day – people were horrible to Jesus: 23:35-39
2nd reaction: ['Wow' reaction, do the same...] Mad
Mad day – because it shouldn't have happened
23:40-41; yes, criminals deserved it (in some way), but Jesus was an innocent man.... Mad
['Sad' reaction] Sad
Sad day – Jesus was killed. 23:48-49
Great friends, helped many people – couldn't believe what had happened.
Bad, Mad, Sad
So how come: “Good” Friday?
['heart' reaction] Glad
Glad because Jesus' death happened s.t. We could be put right with God.
23:42-43
How can a thief be in paradise? Because he put his trust in Jesus, and Jesus death put him right with God.
Not just for thief: = for you and me.
Bible tells us, apostle Paul: “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) - we know that, if we're honest with ourselves. On our own, we're not right with God.
We may not be a thief – but we're not right with God. Sometimes we're bad [show 'angry'/bad reaction], sometimes we're mad and we don't do what God wants [show 'wow'/mad reaction]
We need help. [perhaps show 'sad' reaction - how God feels] The thief shows us what to do: we need to trust in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-24 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
In other words: we're declared right with God ("justified), as God's free gift (his "grace") – because of what Jesus did on the cross: [show 'love' reaction] he loved us so much that he redeemed us, he bought us back, by paying the price for our sins.
Death is what we deserve. Jesus died that death on the cross.
So
[Recap Good Friday events and show reactions, and get them to shout] Bad, Mad, Sad
But we can be Glad
because: Jesus death can put us right with God, if, like thief, we put trust in Jesus.
Want to do that? [explain your follow-up plan]
Because: today might be Bad / Mad / Sad,
but it's a day when we can be: GLAD!
Sing the song... "It was a Bad Friday..."
You can now get all the We Sing Hosanna songs on iTunes - click here!
They're also coming out on CD real soon, and the Album download is already here...
I didn't have a chance to write any new songs before Easter this year, but I've had a short break afterwards, and so here's a new song for next Easter!
"We Sing Hosanna!" is for Palm Sunday. It takes a look at the different things that people said about this man "riding on a donkey" - Zechariah (Matthew 21:5), the "city" (Matthew 21:10), and the chief priests (and teachers of the law - but it was too hard to get them in! - Matthew 21:15). Lined up against them is the response of the disciples - the joyful "Hosanna!" for the Son of David, the King (Matthew 21:9,15).
Anyway - I've just finished recording the song, so now I've got to do the sheet music, package it all up, and get it online.
It's now online, and here are the links:
Jukebox: www.maynardsgroovytunes.co.uk/jukebox/wesinghosanna
Store: www.maynardsgroovytunes.co.uk/store/catalogsearch/result/?q=wesinghosanna
OK, so some of you are really organised, and on Boxing Day, you're already looking for Easter Songs...
Here are some resources to help you along, click the links:
Easter Children's Bible Songs on the Jukebox :: MP3s of Easter Songs in the Store :: Easter Song CD Compilation in the Store :: Easter Song Compilation Download in the Store
Here are some of the individual songs:
Good Friday :: Bothered :: Most Important :: So This Is How :: Fifty Three Verse Six :: God Has A Plan
The moment Christmas has happened, people are on the look-out for Easter Songs!
The first Easter Song hit this year was on Boxing Day! But no problem - if you're the kind of person who likes to be well-prepared, then you've come to the right place: lots of great Easter songs are waiting for you on the "Jukebox..."
Here's a link: www.mgbt.co.uk/jukebox?key=easter - follow that, and you'll get a selection of Easter Children's Bible Songs to listen to. PDF sheet music is available for each one, and MP3 downloads in the store. Hope you enjoy them!