Psalm 78: Tell our story to the children
(suitable for all-age worship)
Gather round, everyone, for I have a story to tell.
It is a story from long ago, all the way up to right now.
Listen up, children, for this is your story too.
Listen up, everyone, hear of the glorious deeds of God
and the wonders he has done for us.
Parents, grandparents, tell your children about our God
so that this new generation will put their hope in the Lord, and follow the ways of God, hopefully better than their ancestors did!
This story I have to tell is a ‘Yes But’ story.
Yes, God chose a people for his own, but they kept rejecting him.
Once, this people were slaves in a foreign land, but God rescued them. Through plagues and hail and death God pulled them out of slavery, safely through the sea and into the wilderness. But the people got thirsty in the desert and grumbled to God. So God split open a rock and fresh water poured out. Then the people got hungry in the desert and complained to God, so he rained down birds for them to eat, and bread onto the desert ground. But still the people whinged and grumbled. He brought them to his holy mountain, he showed his power and glory, but soon they chose their own tame gods. No sooner did they repent and ask for forgiveness than they turned away again and did their own thing. But God kept taking them back, finding ways to draw them to his heart and lead them into truth.
Our story is like this, too. Our ancestors in the faith came to this land full of faith and hope and the desire to share the good news with the Maori people; and many Maori people received it eagerly, becoming agents of change for their own people. But the church soon sided with those who wanted more land, and the Maori people felt abandoned. We went to war, us against them, and broke God’s heart.
Our ancestors came to this land looking for a new start, hoping to be faithful to God here, but they soon just tried hard to make money and fit in. Our church was planted in a time when it was normal to be Christian, but since then many people have turned away from God. We want to grow into the future, but we keep getting stuck in the past.
And still, despite everything, God is faithful.
God keeps choosing us no matter what we do wrong.
God keeps on leading his people as a good shepherd,
tender and strong, wanting only the best for us.
This is our story, learn it well.
God is good, all the time!
All the time, God is good!
(suitable for all-age worship)
Gather round, everyone, for I have a story to tell.
It is a story from long ago, all the way up to right now.
Listen up, children, for this is your story too.
Listen up, everyone, hear of the glorious deeds of God
and the wonders he has done for us.
Parents, grandparents, tell your children about our God
so that this new generation will put their hope in the Lord, and follow the ways of God, hopefully better than their ancestors did!
This story I have to tell is a ‘Yes But’ story.
Yes, God chose a people for his own, but they kept rejecting him.
Once, this people were slaves in a foreign land, but God rescued them. Through plagues and hail and death God pulled them out of slavery, safely through the sea and into the wilderness. But the people got thirsty in the desert and grumbled to God. So God split open a rock and fresh water poured out. Then the people got hungry in the desert and complained to God, so he rained down birds for them to eat, and bread onto the desert ground. But still the people whinged and grumbled. He brought them to his holy mountain, he showed his power and glory, but soon they chose their own tame gods. No sooner did they repent and ask for forgiveness than they turned away again and did their own thing. But God kept taking them back, finding ways to draw them to his heart and lead them into truth.
Our story is like this, too. Our ancestors in the faith came to this land full of faith and hope and the desire to share the good news with the Maori people; and many Maori people received it eagerly, becoming agents of change for their own people. But the church soon sided with those who wanted more land, and the Maori people felt abandoned. We went to war, us against them, and broke God’s heart.
Our ancestors came to this land looking for a new start, hoping to be faithful to God here, but they soon just tried hard to make money and fit in. Our church was planted in a time when it was normal to be Christian, but since then many people have turned away from God. We want to grow into the future, but we keep getting stuck in the past.
And still, despite everything, God is faithful.
God keeps choosing us no matter what we do wrong.
God keeps on leading his people as a good shepherd,
tender and strong, wanting only the best for us.
This is our story, learn it well.
God is good, all the time!
All the time, God is good!