July–Aug Light series 1: God’s Champions Run the race Aim: to get ready to ‘run the race’ of faith Light readings: Genesis 49:22–26; Exodus 15:19–21; Daniel 3; Ezra 7; Nehemiah 8:1–10 Reading: Hebrews 12:1–3
Getting started This month’s Light readings look at people in the Old Testament who were ‘winners’ by God’s standards: who honoured him by the way they lived, the attitudes they adopted and the actions they took. They are heroes of the faith, some of them commemorated in Hebrews 11, and described in Hebrews 12:1 as ‘a great cloud of witnesses...’ surrounding those who now run the race of faith. These are stirring words, and this service should stir people in their faith or towards a desire to know Jesus more. It reflects the style of the Olympic opening ceremony, where an oath of allegiance is taken. Even if it is not your normal practice in an all-age service, include the short statement of faith. Encourage the congregation to pause before saying this and reflect on the extent to which they agree with the words. But also point out that the excitement of attending an event like the Olympic opening ceremony often inspires people to get more involved in sport; similarly, being amongst those who love and follow Jesus is a great way to strengthen belief in and understanding of him, and to inspire faith.
You will need • Flags or pictures of flags, from different countries, especially any that represent the people in your congregation. These should be hung on poles or garden canes. You may want a tall waste bin in which to stand these during the service, or simply lean them up against a wall on display. • Names of each country written on large pieces of paper or card. • Music for a fanfare and parade of flags. Live music would be best, or download something appropriate from the internet (eg Aaron Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man or the Rocky theme music). • The theme music from the film Chariots of Fire. • Optional pictures of athletes running, and perhaps of crowds cheering them on. • A flag-shaped piece of paper for each person, with the Statement of faith printed on one side (available as a download). Do you have anyone who needs a large print version of this? • Vest top, shorts, trainers, tracksuit, warm jumper, woolly hat, gloves, scarf, and if possible some training weights – or pictures of all these, plus someone who can wear these clothes. • Cross or picture of Jesus.
© Scripture Union
www.scriptureunion.org.uk/light
Beginning the service With: Flags, fanfare music and parade music Welcome everyone and explain that this service will reflect the opening ceremony of the Olympics. That begins when the head of state of the host nation is welcomed at the entrance to the Olympic stadium. So if Jesus were to enter the church today physically, what would people do to welcome him? Ask for ideas. Some possibilities might be applause, cheering, standing up, kneeling down, or giving him a seat at the front of the church. Today we cannot see Jesus with our eyes or reach out and touch him with our hands, but he is present, and we will greet his representatives. Ask all children 11 or under to come to the front of the church. Read out what Jesus said to his disciples (Mark 9:37): ‘When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me.’ Ask the children to walk round the church, and everyone aged 12 and over to welcome God into their midst in whatever way they feel is appropriate. Remind the children that this welcome is not for them, but for Jesus whom they represent. Sing an appropriate song that recognises the presence of Jesus. Explain that everyone present has an important part to play in this service, like the athletes who take part in the Olympics. Give flags to people of different ages to parade round the church, ensuring that everyone who is not of British birth carries the flag of their own country. Play a fanfare as they begin and some stirring music as they parade round. The name of each country represented should be paraded ahead of their flag. You might end this introductory part of the service with a prayer thanking God for being his family together, wherever you have come from.
Bible reading With: theme music from the film Chariots of Fire Optional: images of athletes running, and crowds cheering them on Begin playing the music, and read Hebrews 12:1–3 at a steady pace, making good use of pauses as appropriate. Allow the music to finish after the reading. Ideally the reader should rehearse this well before the service to get the phrasing and timing right with the music.
Bible talk With: vest top, shorts, trainers, tracksuit, warm jumper, woolly hat, gloves, scarf – or pictures of all these; a person to be an athlete; sheets of A4 paper, marker pen and safety pins Throw off Talk about how an athlete gets ready for a competition by training hard regularly, whatever the weather or season. Even if it’s raining, a runner will have to go out and run! Introduce your ‘athlete’ dressed in all the clothes, and explain that they are wearing the hat, scarf, jumper, gloves etc on top of their tracksuit because they will run all year round, even when it is cold, wet and windy. But would they wear all these things for a race? Name each item in turn, and have the person remove it if the
© Scripture Union
www.scriptureunion.org.uk/light
congregation think they would not wear it for a race, until they are wearing the vest, shorts and trainers. This is what athletes run in competitively, so that they can go as fast as possible unhindered by the other clothes. The Bible likens following Jesus to being an athlete in a race. Read Hebrews 12:1 again. What are the things that hinder us in following Jesus? Ask for suggestions (such as the things we do wrong; thinking too little or too much of ourselves; not believing that Jesus wants us on his team, etc.) and write each on a sheet of paper before pinning it to one of the garments cast off by your athlete. Have people come out and hold these up for everyone to see. These are things that we are to ‘throw off’ as we follow Jesus. Then put these to one side and have everyone but the athlete return to their seats. Fix on Get your athlete to jog round the church looking around at people and waving. Though they may be dressed correctly, is that how an athlete runs a race? Of course not – not until the race is over, and they are doing a lap of honour! Now have your athlete run as they would in a race, with their eyes fixed on a particular point – preferably a cross or picture of Jesus. This is how an athlete runs: they focus on the place they are running to (the tape) and keep looking at that. So what do Christians focus on as they run the race of faith? Jesus, of course! We should fix our eyes on him and not be put off by things people say, or by mistakes we make along the way (in the same way as an athlete who fell would get up and keep running). And the crowd of witnesses – God’s champions, the heroes of faith about whom we will learn this month – are there to remind us that it is possible, and worth doing. Interview someone who, using words and images that makes sense to children as well as adults, can talk about how they focus on Jesus (perhaps one of your children’s team). Invite everyone to think of one thing they might throw off, and one thing they could do to ‘fix on’ Jesus.
Prayers of confession With: the items of clothing labelled during the Bible talk Include this prayer of confession after the Bible talk: use the ideas from the written labels on the clothing that was thrown off to remind people of the things that we should throw off in trying to follow Jesus. Turn what is written on each label into a brief confession, and after each prayer use the following words: Leader: Let us throw this off All: And fix our eyes on Jesus
Prayers of intercession With: the flags from the parade; prayer topics for each country; a mock Olympic torch (a feather duster with flame-coloured crepe paper tied loosely round it would suffice!) Pray for the different countries represented by the flags used in the parade. You could do this in one of several ways: • Display each flag in turn and lead a prayer from the front, focusing on any particular needs of that country and praying for those there who follow Jesus
© Scripture Union
www.scriptureunion.org.uk/light
• Invite someone from that country to pray for it • Spread the flags out around the church and invite the congregation to go and pray for the different countries. A list of prayer topics by each flag would be helpful. At the end of the prayer time, have your ‘athlete’ run in with a mock Olympic torch and do a lap of the church. As this happens, lead a prayer for the light of Jesus to spread throughout the world and especially through all in church today, into your area.
Statement of faith With: statement of faith written on flag-shaped piece of paper for each person (available as download) Remind people that at the opening ceremony, two people take the Olympic oath: an athlete to represent all the athletes and a judge to represent all the judges. Give everyone a copy of the statement of faith. Read it aloud so that everyone has heard it before saying it. Ask them to think for a moment if they agree with it; if not, they should only say the parts that are true for them. Invite anyone who wants to talk about the meaning to come and discuss it with you at the end of the service. Say the statement of faith together: I believe in God who made the world and loves his creation, especially me. He is living and active today, and has chosen me to be on his side. I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, who became one of us to show God’s love for all. He died on the cross so the wrong I do can be forgiven, and I can be a full member of God’s team. I believe in the Holy Spirit who, like a trainer, prompts and coaches me to be all God made me to be, and gives me power to run the race marked out for me. Suggest that people take this home and design their own flag for God’s kingdom, drawing it on the back of the statement of faith.
Ending the service Read Hebrews 12:1–3 again. The Olympic opening ceremony will end with the national anthem, so end this service with a song that reminds people of Jesus whom we follow.
Helpful extras Music and song ideas ‘Be still for the presence of the Lord’ ks 19 ‘Jesus you are here’ ks 219 ‘Let us run with determination’ ks 229 ‘May the mind of Christ my Saviour’ SOF 1148 ‘We believe in God the Father’ SOF 572 ‘We want to see Jesus lifted high’ SOF 1105
© Scripture Union
www.scriptureunion.org.uk/light
Notes and comments The Olympic opening ceremony follows a particular pattern which could be reflected in this service outline as follows: Arrival of head of state Recognition and welcome of God’s presence, including song Parade of participants/flags Parade of flags Speeches Bible reading Bible talk Prayer of confession Olympic anthem Song of praise Lighting of Olympic flame Prayers of intercession and arrival of torch Oaths by competitor and judge Statement of faith, song of commitment National anthem Song in praise of Jesus
© Scripture Union
www.scriptureunion.org.uk/light
