The Blog
What's going on with Maynard's Groovy Bible Tunes, from day to day...
Good Friday All-Age talk, with Facebook "Reactions"
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.
Bible Passage
Luke 23:32-49
Song
"It was a ... Friday" is the perfect accompaniment - Listen here, download here
Preparation
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.
The All-Age Talk
This is in note form, you need to elaborate and interact with the children and adults
Reactions
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.
1. Bad
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
2. Mad
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
3. Sad
['Sad' reaction] Sad
Sad day – Jesus was killed. 23:48-49
Great friends, helped many people – couldn't believe what had happened.
Recap:
Bad, Mad, Sad
So how come: “Good” Friday?
4. Glad
['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.
Explain...
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.
Conclude
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..."
ShortLink: http://mgbt.uk/5s_
Tags:
Good Friday - Guitar Chords
I've just been alerted to a problem with the Guitar chords in "Good Friday".
In bars 6 & 8 ("Good Friday means ... Good Friday 'cause") it reads
F#m(Em) Bm(Am) A(G) Bm(Am), but it should read:
F#m(Em) C#m(Bm) B(A) C#m(Bm)
In practice, it's easier just to play F#m(Em) for the whole bar.
I've updated the sheet music files everywhere on the site with the correct chords. Sorry if it has caused you any problems.
Easter Review
"Maynard's" has had a great Easter! Thanks for your support.
We've had increasing hits in the run-up to Easter, with lots of tracks being listened to and lots of sheet-music downloads.
Favourites over the period have been:
For Sheet Music: Good Friday, Most Important, So this is how, and Will you sing? (in that order)
For Listening: the same, in a slightly different order!!!
"Good Friday" has been the out-and-out hit, soaring over the others.
Great - hope it brings glory to God, and helps people to trust in Jesus
New CD
I've been asked for a specific Easter CD, so I've made one - a compilation of the most Easter-y songs. In particular it's got three new songs that haven't been on CD before: Most Important, Good Friday, and Luke 19v10.
I'm still planning to make a 'proper' new CD - ie all new songs - songs that haven't been on one of the other (non-compilation) CDs! I'm nearly there.... still a couple of recordings to do, and a load of sheet music.
The run-up to Easter is proving to be busy at work - excitingly - but that does stop me doing much on the songs for the moment. So it'll be after Easter before I get the new CD out.
I'd still like to 'up' the production values, and make something that someone might want to sell in a shop - perhaps by having more songs with kids singing on them. I just don't seem to be able to make the time right now - or even to plan the time! Argh!
ShortLink: http://mgbt.uk/oEf
Tags:
Calendar:
MarGet Maynard's Groovy Bible Tunes on Seven Great CDs!
Get some CDs so that you can sing along wherever you are,
and enjoy praising Jesus and remembering how great he is in that familiar foot-stomping way!
Click Here for the CD Store