Luke 8

Book of Luke: Chapter 8

Jesus sets a man free (Luke 8:26-39)

This week is the story of Jesus healing the demon possessed man. Gospel stories of demon possession are difficult to teach, because we generally don’t experience demons as described in the Bible. This can be a tricky/scary story to share with kids so do be mindful of that.

Leaders Input

"The story in this passage can be a fun, goofy, or challenging one to communicate to kids. How do we approach the topic of demons? What’s with the pigs? There are several elements that we can take from this encounter in Luke. We don’t want to ignore or avoid the spiritual forces present in the Bible, but it is important to let students know that Jesus is bigger than all of our fears. We can trust in Him and let the spirit of God rule our lives. When that happens, we are transformed and made new, just like the man in the story. And once we are new, we have a job to do telling others about the wonderful power of Jesus!" (Ministry to Children)

Monday Meditation Gary Neal Hansen)
Why not look at the narrative three times, through the eyes of the three primary characters or groups Jesus encounters? They each have something to teach us... Read more here

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Intergenerational Worship

Intergen Yr C Pentecost 2: A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Jillian Ross Intergen Australia. Bible references: 1 Kings, Galations, Luke. The readings and material this week express a longing for God and an experiencing of God in different ways.

Games

A few light-hearted games might be a good way to start this session. Try these ones (adapted from Ministry to Children)

Dress up relay:
You will need: as enough clothes, hats, accessories, etc for several teams. For added humour - try and include as many PINK items as you can and tell the kids that todays story involves a lot of running pigs.
Split the kids into two teams. Allow each team to choose a “model” that will be decorated. Put the dress ups in buckets at one end of the room with each team, and have the models stand at the other end of the room. Time the activity and let the kids grab items out of the bucket (one at a time) and run across the room to dress the models. When the time runs out, you may choose a “winner” based on the number of items worn or creativity of the outfit.

If pigs could fly:
Provide several small plastic pig toys. Allow students to take turns acting out the pig scene…you might let them push the pigs off a table, launch them catapult-fashion, or even fling them across the room! Have a small bucket of water available for them to land in. (Alternately use soft toy pigs and a dry bucket!)

Kids Talks

Fear not! Jesus protects and transforms (Ministry to Children) - Full lesson plan including games, talk and crafts. Emphasis on kids knowing that Jesus is bigger than all our fears.

The Demon Possessed Man (St Barts Kids) - Lesson Plan including "read, chat, do, pray" sections for multiple age levels from preschool to Year 6.

The man who lived in a graveyard (Sermon Writer) - very short simple talk that uses general language and doesn't mention demons.

Jesus casts out evil spirits: Sculpt it, act it, guess it, write it, pray it (ChildrensMinistry.com) - explore the story in different ways.

Healing of a demon-possessed man (Mission Bible Class)

Activities

Make-over man mania (Ministry to Children) - On a large sheet of butcher paper, draw an outline of a person. Or you might even use a Halloween skeleton decoration, if one is available. Provide students with items like paper clothes, eyes, hearts, etc., and have them “change” the man to make him a whole person again.

Transform biscuits - start with some plain biscuits and provide decorations to transform them into something new. Try pink icing, mini marshmallows and some liquorice or black lollies to make pig cookies or go more general and see what magic the kids create.

Scratch Paper - This is a fun way to explore the idea that God is with us even when all seems dark. Why not cut a person shape out of scratch paper. Let the kids scratch away the top layer to see peace and beauty hiding underneath.

God is with us / Glow in the dark pictures (Flame Creative)

God keeps us safe (Flame Creative) - beaded bracelets.

Pig Pompoms (Laughing Kids Learn)
Grab some pink pompoms and race your pigs!

Preschool Play

Tell the Story - This is a challenging and complicated story to share with your preschoolers! Some options:

Try the short and simple talk The man who lived in a graveyard (Sermon Writer).
Use one of these lesson plans instead - they focus on themes of God's power and protection (Ministry to Children). All include full lesson plans and fun activities! Try:
If your church has access to Godly Play resources, you could tell the story of The Good Shepherd.

Story props / Small world play - Put out some people and some animals and felt or paper shapes to represent land & water. Depending on your story you could try pigs and people, or sheep and a shepherd. Include some "dangers" - e.g. dangerous animals, ponds etc.
Things to chat about - the story and what happened.

God is bigger than everything bad! - grab a parachute or a big piece of fabric. Get enough adults/leaders to hold the edges so they can lift it up and down. Play some music and encourage the kids to move around. When the music stops, lift the parachute up and the kids have to run under the parachute and sit down while it comes down over them. Repeat until everyone is exhausted!
Things to chat about: how God's love surrounds us and keeps us safe

Also check out our general activities.

Pray it!

Bubblewrap Prayers
Who loves bubblewrap! (Me!) Not only is it fun to pop but you can wrap precious things in it and it will protect them. Why not try some bubblewrap prayers about things that make us afraid or worried?

Have some small squares or strips of bubble wrap - one for each kid. Get the kids to think about something they feel afraid or worried about. They can tell God about it and ask him to protect and help them. Then pop a bubble to show you have given this fear or worry to God. If you have more than one fear or worry do it again for each one.

Finish by holding the bubble wrap. Remind the kids that just like bubblewrap can protect precious things - we are precious to God and his love wraps around us. Thank you God!

You may like to send them home with some more bubblewrap for worries during the week!