Contents

1. Name one source where you have found material for stories for each
of the following categories. Tell a story from each category.Edit
a. Sacred historyEdit
Stories in the sacred history category are Bible stories. These are
obviously found in the Bible!

Sample Story: Daniel 6

The story of Daniel in the Lion's den tells of his obedience to
God. Daniel loved to talk to God daily and he did this
publicly three times each day religiously. Some people in the
Kings palace did not like Daniel so they plotted to take his
life by using his religious practices against him. These men
tricked the King into passing a law that anyone found
praying to another God except the King were to be cast into
the den of lions. The King signed the decree and the men
went to work to trap Daniel. Daniel did not chance his
routine but went ahead to his open window and prayed to
God as he always did. When the men informed the King
about Daniels doings the King was very upset with himself
but he could not take back his decree. He commanded that
Daniel be cast into the lions' den telling him that his
Daniel's God will deliver him.
The King spent the night fasting and was unable to sleep.
Early the next morning he went to the lions' den and found
that Daniel was still alive. Daniel told him that God had sent
his angels to seal the lions' mouth shut and they had not
hurt. As a result of their actions the men who had plotted
against Daniel along with their families were thrown into
the den of lions and they were killed by the lions. Obedience
to God will by God's people will always result in the
protection of His people.
 b. Church historyEdit
Paul B. Ricchiuti has written several books covering church history at
the Primary and Junior levels:
 Where is Moo Cow/Tig's Tale
 Mr. Squirrel's Treasure/Ellen's Miracle Horse
 Charlie Horse
 Ellen White: Friend Of Angels
 Ellen White: Trailblazer For God

c. NatureEdit
Jim Arnosky has written many excellent nature stories and field guides
for the younger crowd. These books are excellent resources.
The life cycle story of penguins, bees, ants, and frogs are truly
fascinating. Consult an encyclopedia for details, or check out a book
from your local library. Most children enjoy acting out the life cycle
story of the penguin:
 Have them walk and slide on their tummies to a "rookery"
 Hand each girl an "egg" (not a real egg!) and have her pass it to a boy
using nothing but their feet.
 Direct the girls to return to the "sea" to get "fish" (you can make fish
from construction paper). It may be wise to have an assistant hand out
the fish.
 Have the boys huddle together to fight the cold Antarctic winter/night,
rotating the boys from the inside to the outside so no one gets too cold.
Tell them to keep their eggs on their feet.
 Take the "eggs" from the boys and give them "baby penguins" (plush
toys work well for this)
 Call the girls back and have them find the boy they passed their egg to.
Then direct them to give the fish to the babies. (In reality, they
regurgitate the fish when they return).
 Have the boys return to the sea to eat - they haven't in several months!
Then they return and feed the babies fish.
 Finally the whole family returns to the sea.

Children also enjoy acting out the parts of the Sun, Earth, and Moon:
 Designate one child as the Sun - give "the Sun" a flashlight
 Designate another child as the Earth and have the earth spin around on
its axis as the Sun shines on it. Point out how one side is dark (night)
and the other is bright (day).
 Designate a third child as the Moon. Have the moon orbit the Earth, but
make sure the Moon is always facing the earth (its rate of rotation and
orbital period are the same).
 Then set the Earth in orbit around the Sun and see of the Moon can
keep up.

d. Character storyEdit
A character story is a story about a person. It could be a famous person
(such as Abraham Lincoln), a not-famous person, or someone you
know. Choose a story that demonstrates good character. You can also
tell a story about someone with bad character, but be absolutely
certain that you share the consequences of this person's poor choices.
An encyclopedia, book, newspaper or magazine article, or first-hand
knowledge are excellent resources for these stories. The Adventist Book
Center also carries bedtime story books by Arthur S. Maxwell - these
stories are true classics. If you do not have these books, check your
church or Adventist school library.
Sample story
Little Johnny and Bob were classmates who went to the
same school but did bot know each other. Bob was a big
boy, but Johnny was the smallest and sat in a corner by
himself. Johnny did not talk to anyone in the class. The
teacher started out the school year with the class rules and
discussed the consequences for breaking them. One day Bob
broke one of these rules, and when called to take his
punishment of five lashes from teacher's ruler, Bob could
not take the punishment. No one knew, but Bob was deathly
afraid of being whipped. He stood rooted to the floor when
the teacher called him and cried until he wet his pants. The
class was sorry for Bob but could do nothing to help him
even though they begged teacher not to punish him. The
teacher told them that someone had to be punished for
 Bob's misdeed. The children all grew silent and waited,
when from the back of the room a little voice said "I'll do it".
This is what Jesus did for all of us every time we sin we do
not have to worry because Jesus went to the cross and died
for out sins so we don't have to die every time we commit a
sin. So let us think about his sacrifice for us every time we
are tempted to do something that Jesus would not be
pleased with.

e. Object lesson with visual aidsEdit

An object lesson is a story that warns others as to the outcomes that
result from a particular behavior as exemplified by the fates of those
who followed that course. The Biblical stories of Esau, Balaam's donkey,
and King Saul are excellent examples. Uncle Arthur's story books are
replete with object lessons. After choosing a story, you will need to
choose a visual aid. A visual aid can be anything from the story, but the
more central the visual aid is to the story, the better.
Web sourcesEdit
The internet has become a wide ranging source for stories from all
categories. The following links will take you to sites that contain
possible sources for stories to tell. Add your favorite sites:
 NeXt Bible Sermon Illustrations - also found at Bible.Org
 Our Daily Bread - Daily devotionals

Use an Internet search engine to look for Adventist Mission Stories and
you will find a long list of interesting and true mission stories that will
captivate the young mind.
2. For the above stories you tell, do the followingEdit
a. Tell one of your stories to children, aged five and under, for at least
three minutes.Edit
Volunteer to tell a story to the Beginners (Cradle Roll) Sabbath School
class in your church, or if your church presents a children's story during
the worship hour, volunteer to tell that. You can also tell stories if you
volunteer to work the child care aspects of an evangelistic series.
 b. Tell one of your stories to the 10-12 year olds for at least five
minutes.Edit
Volunteer to tell a story to the Juniors Sabbath School class in your
church, or tell one around a campfire during your next club camp out.
You can also tell a story as part of the worship service during a
Pathfinder meeting.
3. Make a written outline of a story you are to tell.Edit

An outline is a hierarchical organization of an idea - in this case, a story.

The major bullets in the outline should include the setup, description of
a conflict, how the characters react to the conflict, how the conflict is
resolved, and the events caused by the resolution.
1. Setup
1. Where and When
2. Description of protagonist
2. Conflict
1. Description of antagonist
2. Nature of the conflict
3. Reaction to conflict
1. What the antagonist does
2. What the protagonist does
4. Resolution
1. How the conflict is resolved
5. Aftermath
1. What happens to the antagonist
2. Lessons learned

4. State how and under what circumstances course material is to be

modified for the followingEdit
a. Telling the story in first person, second person, and third personEdit
First Person
A story told in the first person is one where the words "I", "me",
"we", "and "us" are used. It is a story about yourself. These stories
are among the most compelling because they come from the story
teller's personal experience - and the audience knows that.
 Sample Story
I grew up with three sisters and one brother in a little town
called Brown's Town where Iwent to church and school with
all the other children in my neighborhood. Our parents told
us to come straight home from school each day and not to
linger on the road. Welived one mile from school and
if we walked briskly could be home in thirty minutes.
This particular day I decided that I did not want to go home
early but would go with a friend of mine to Goshen to visit
her grandmother. She promised me we would not be long
but she just needed to pick up something from her
grandmother to take home. When we got there I noticed a
tamarind tree in her grandmother's yard and it was loaded.
We picked some and I discovered that they were sweet and I
wanted to take some home for my siblings. We had fun
picking tamarind and anything else we could pick. Before
long two hours had passed and I knew that I was in trouble.
We ran all the way home but to my dismay my mother was
waiting for me and all my other siblings were already home.
That day in spite of my reason and the tamarind I had taken
home I got a whipping that I will remember to this day for
disobeying my parents.

Second Person
A story told in the second person is one where the word "you" is
used. A good way to tell a story in the second person is to direct
your audience to close their eyes and imagine specific points in
your story: "Imagine yourself as you walk through the forest. You
can hear the birds sing. You can feel a gentle breeze on your face."
Bible stories lend themselves to this sort of story telling, and can
put the audience right in the story. This can help them to better
relate to the people in the story and the lesson it conveys. Convert
a story to second person when you want to engage the
imagination of your audience.
Third Person
 A story told in the third person is a story told about someone else.
The downside to telling a story in third person is that the
audience assumes you do not have personal experience in the
matter, and they are not fully engaged (as in the second person).
However, this type of story does have its place. If you are telling a
story about someone the audience knows (or knows about), it
may be important to leave it in the third person.
See the Wikipedia article on Point of Viewfor more information.
Sample Story
In the Bible there is the story of a man who believed he was
doing a good thing by killing all those who proclaimed that
Jesus is God. The disciples and many other believers knew
of this man and they were all very afraid of him. One day
this man (who the Bibles calls Saul) was on his way towards
Damascus to bring some of these people back to Jerusalem
as prisoners. As he neared Damascus he was stopped by a
bright light which seemed to shine from heaven and he
heard a voice asking him why he was persecuting Him. He
was so frightened he fell trembling to the ground, blinded
by the light asking "who are you Lord?". He was given
specific instructions by this voice and when he followed
them he received his sight and became a converted
Christian who preached eloquently and with much energy
for the rest of his life, proclaiming the one true God to all
who he could until his death.
b. Different audiences, ages, and purposesEdit
Young children do not have the patience to sit through a long story, so
make it short. It helps if you can involve them in the story. Have them
stand up and do something, perhaps to demonstrate how a penguin
walks (show them how and ask them to copy you) or whatever else you
can have them do that will help your story progress. Make sure your
vocabulary matches that of your audience. The point of storytelling is
not to demonstrate how clever you are, it is to communicate an idea. If
you're using multi-syllabic words (such as multi-syllabic) on a crowd of
four year-olds, expect some blank stares followed by fidgeting and then
pandemonium. Older children will feel like you are patronizing them if
you ask them to show you how a bird flies. "C'mon! That's first-grade
stuff!" They might not say it, but they will sure think it (and
some will say it!)
You can use one story to make more than one point by stressing
different parts of it. The story of Jonah can be used to stress the
importance of obedience, how we cannot run away from God, the love
God has for other people, or how enormous a whale is. Each of these
points can be made with the same story by stressing different aspects of
it.

c. Making the story shorterEdit

There are many reasons to make a long story short, including the
attention span of your audience, the point you are trying to make, or the
amount of time you have allotted to tell the story. Stories can be
shortened by skipping over details, eliminating sub-plots, withholding
background information, or any combination of the above.
In this case you can include visual aids that will cause the children to
remember the story and your reason for telling that story. Enlist the
help of parents to continue that story for that week's devotions
especially if the story is a Bible story - they could all study that story for
their devotion as well.
d. Making the story longerEdit
Making a story longer can be done by adding extra details, adding side-
stories, including background information, or any combination of the
above. It may be necessary to include background information so the
audience can understand why a character makes the choices he does.
Sometimes you may be asked to occupy an audience until the next
portion of a program is ready (it happens). There is a certain amount of
skill involved in lengthening a story while keeping it interesting.

5. Tell why a definite aim is necessary in telling a story.Edit

If a story does not have an aim, it is idle entertainment. If it has an aim,

it can teach a lesson or get a message across. Often, it can accomplish
this without being "preachy." A good storyteller can get a message or a
lesson across without the hearers even suspecting that they've been
preached to.
The aim can also be one of education. Telling the story of a Bible
character or church leader can educate the listeners about the way of
life, thought processes, character of the person. A life lesson or moral to
the story is not always needed to have an aim. The preacher uses stories
in his sermon for many reasons and sometimes it is just to keep his
audience attentive and sometimes as is more often than not to get their
emotions flowing and their thought process folloiwing his leading. The
same with the story teller, your aim may be different but at the end the
children should be able to tell you how they have learned from your
story without you having to tell them or you just wasted you time and
theirs.
6. Tell one story of foreign missionaries, not less than five minutes in
length.Edit

There are many good stories about Adventist missionaries. Norma

Youngberg has written many books chronicling missionary adventures
in the South Pacific. Eric B. Hare wrote of many of his experiences
working in Burma and India before (and during) World War II.
The Hall of Faith series published by the Pacific Press is another good
source of foreign missionary stories. They may be out of print, but you
can find used copies at Amazon.com.
If you are a Sabbath School teacher you may wish to spend a little time
each week telling a continuing mission story to your class. If you are not
a Sabbath School teacher, talk to one about telling a mission story in
class. In either case, try to choose a story from the mission field being
emphasized by the General Conference (this changes quarterly).
7. Tell one story that teaches health principles.Edit

You may wish to draw from personal experience, or from other sources.
Many people have stories about sneaking a cigarette and getting sick.
The story of Daniel's refusal to eat from the king's table is an excellent
source as well.

Sample Story
This is the story of a little boy who loved candy and would
not heed his grandmother's warning about eating more than
one piece per day. Grandma, knowing of his love for candy,
hid it in one of the cabinets. It did not take him long to
figure out where the candy was though. One day when she
was asleep, he climbed upon a chair and took down his
grandmother's jar of candy and sat down to enjoy himself.
He planned to have only one, but each one became one
more until the jar was empty. When he realized that the jar
was empty he hid the jar behind the cereal boxes as if
nothing had happened. That night he could not sleep
because he had a stomach ache. He cried from the pain and
when his grandmother asked him what was wrong he could
only tell her that his stomach hurt. Grandma in her wisdom
went to check the candy jar. Finding it empty, she knew
what was wrong with him. She gave him some tea to soothe
his stomach and when he woke up the next morning and he
saw that Grandma had placed the candy jar on the kitchen
table. He knew that his grandmother knew. She talked to
him about his disobedience and how his health was affected
because he was not obedient to her and that he had also
been disobedient to God's command.