3 Bible Story Scripts to Tell Your Kids + Why Storytelling Matters
Storyteller Sarah
Sarah works in her church’s children’s ministry and over the years she has earned the nickname “Storyteller Sarah.” I have seen her in action and she is amazing at telling Bible stories to kids! She keeps them engaged, she uses words they understand, and explains the story in a way that is relevant to them.
Let me (Steph) clarify something: this is not my gift.
I’m okay at it, because I have had a lot of practice, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. Knowing and retelling Bible stories to our kids can be incredibly powerful, so I asked Sarah to work her magic and retell some stories so that you can tell them to your kids!
I have been asked by more than one person, “How do I use a Bible story to help correct or encourage my kids? I know what I want to say, but I can’t put it all together!” Maybe you are wondering too!
Guiding Behavior Using the Bible
One of the reasons that storytelling is so powerful is because Jesus did it too! He often spoke in parables to teach His listeners lessons. Stories made it easy for His listeners to understand: they got the context and the language that He was using. We can do this with our kids too!
We are going to share three Bible stories with you that you can use in different settings with your kids.
God Helps me to Love People who are Difficult to Love: The Story of Zacchaeus
Let’s say that your child comes home from school and tells you about a bully — someone who is picking on others and making it difficult to play. Of course, you will want to talk about what bullying is and how to talk to a trusted adult when needed, but you can also talk about how your child can show kindness to that bully. You might want to share the story of Zacchaeus found in Luke 19:1-10.
You might tell it like this:
Did you know that Jesus hung out with a bully in the Bible? He even went over to the bully’s house to spend time with him. His love and kindness changed the man’s life completely!
The bully’s name was Zacchaeus and he was a guy who felt really bad about who he was. He was a tax collector and he made a living by cheating and stealing from people. He had a lot of money and a lot of things, but his heart was empty. He didn’t have many friends and he was a very short man. Maybe he was embarrassed about being short or maybe he felt bad about all the stealing? We don’t know for sure, but I bet he was pretty lonely!
He had heard that there was an amazing teacher named Jesus who had been preaching incredible messages and even healing people. He knew that Jesus was going to be coming to teach in his city. He had heard so many wonderful things about this man and wanted to see him for himself.
When Jesus came to Jericho, there were huge crowds all around him. Because Zacchaeus was so short, there was no way he would be able to see Jesus. He was probably worried that people wouldn’t want him around if he tried to push his way to the front. He suddenly had a crazy idea. What if he climbed up a big sycamore tree and watched Jesus from way up high? That’s just what he did! He climbed a great big tall tree and looked down at all the people listening intently to Jesus’ teaching. He watched as all these people were smooshed up together, listening to Jesus. He sat all alone up in the tree, desperately wanting to get a glimpse of Jesus.
Suddenly, something very unexpected happened. As Jesus was walking near the tree, he stopped teaching and looked straight up at the tree.
Is he looking at me? Zacchaeus wondered.
His heart was racing! He felt more alive than ever before!
Then, something even crazier happened. Jesus looked into Zacchaeus’s eyes and said, “Zaccheaus, come down. I’m coming to your house today!” Jesus knew his name! Jesus wanted to come over to his house!
Zacchaeus hurried down from the tree and was so overjoyed to have Jesus over. But all the people glared and started whispering.
“He’s going to the house of a sinner!” they sneered.
Zacchaeus and Jesus spent time together and Zacchaeus was changed by meeting Jesus. Jesus saw Zacchaues, knew everything about him, and still loved him. Jesus was kind to Zacchaeus. Being around Jesus inspired Zacchaeus to leave his old life of sin and follow him.
He repented of his sin and decided not only to stop cheating, but to give back four times the amount he had stolen! Zach said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (vs. 8).
Jesus was so proud of Zacchaeus and let Zacchaeus know that now he was saved! He said, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (vs. 9 and 10).
I love the story of Jesus loving Zacchaeus because it reminds me that we are never too bad or unworthy to be loved by Him! Even when we make mistakes, Jesus is always there, ready to forgive us and help us change. He didn’t come to earth for perfect people. He came to save those who are lost and bring us back to Him. This story also reminds us to love our enemies. Zacchaeus was an enemy to God and most people didn’t want to be around Him. But Jesus loved him and Jesus’ love was strong enough to change Zacchaeus.
God loves me so much and will always forgive me: The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Maybe you have a child who is struggling with guilt or shame or one who is wanting to know how he can be sure of God’s love. Even if that’s not a struggle you say, we can never emphasis God’s love for us enough! I love sharing the parable of the lost coin, lost sheep, and prodigal son in Luke 15 to reiterate God’s great love for us.
You may want to share the story of the Lost Sheep like this:
Do you remember what a parable is? It's a story Jesus told to teach a lesson.
Do you ever struggle with guilt? Do you ever wonder if God will really forgive you and always love you? Well, Jesus told us many stories in the Bible to remind us how much He loves us. I bet this one I am about to tell you was one of His favorite stories to tell. I read this story again and again to remind myself of how much God loves me and how He goes to great lengths to bring me back to Him and keep me from wandering. Can I tell it to you now?
There were some tax collectors and Pharisees who were mad that Jesus was spending time with sinners. Jesus answered their complaints against Him by telling this story!
He told them: There once was a good Shepherd who had 100 sheep. He loved his sheep so much and took great care of them. One day, one of the sheep wandered off. You would think that he might just say, “Oh well, I have 99 more. Who cares!” But he didn’t! He was so worried about the sheep that ran away. He couldn’t stop thinking about him. He left all the other sheep to go and find him.
When the owner of the sheep found the missing sheep, he was overjoyed! He was so relieved and so excited that he carried the sheep home and began celebrating! He invited all of his friends to celebrate with him!
After Jesus was done with the story, He told his listeners that in the same way, there is huge party going on in Heaven when even one sinner repents.
God loves us and adores us. Just like I forgive you when you make a mistake, God is always ready with open arms to welcome you back to Him.
Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. When we do, we need to tell Jesus we are sorry and turn our hearts back to Him. He loves to rescue us and bring us close to Him.
God loves me enough to serve me: The Story of Jesus Washing His Disciples’ Feet
Do you have a child complaining or feeling entitled or ungrateful? (If the answer is no, tell me all your secrets!) A great way to teach kids to be loving, empathetic, and quick to serve is to share stories of Jesus serving others.
You may want to share the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet like this:
Did you know that Jesus loves us enough to serve us? He serves us and takes care of us. He does this because He loves us so much, but He also does this because He wants to teach us to do the same thing.
On the night before He died, He had a special dinner with His disciples. Do you know what disciple means? It means follower of Jesus, so you and I are disciples too if we believe in Jesus! They had dinner together and then Jesus did something really strange. He got up from the table, grabbed a bucket of water, took off his robe, and started washing their feet! I want you to imagine the dirtiest, stinkiest feet you can possibly picture in your mind. That’s what Jesus’ friends feet were like! You see, people back then wore sandals instead of shoes and sometimes they wore no shoes at all. The roads were covered with dust and dirt and animal droppings. Washing feet was a job reserved only for the lowliest servants. Jesus, the King of Kings, should not be washing feet! (That would be kind of like if the most famous person in the whole wide world came over to your house and started cleaning your toilets!)
When he had finished washing their feet, He asked them if they understood why He had done that. He told them that He did that to set the example for them and for us. He said, when you bless others, you will be blessed! He wanted to show them and us how deeply He loves us and how much He wants us to go and do the same. When we see others hurting, He wants us to help them. When we see a job to be done, He wants us to do it. He wants us to be just like Him so that others can know Him and know His love too. When we follow Jesus’ example, we are blessed and our hearts are full of joy!