Family Force 5 - Wake the Dead Bible Study

I wrote this one for the most recent edition of Interlinc's music magazine (YLO 74) In addition to the text here, you can find this one in pdf format as a freebie from the folks at Interlinc.

Leader's Guide

Student Guide

Artist: Family Force 5

URL: familyforce5.com

Album: Dance or Die

Label: Transparent Media Group

Song: Wake the Dead

Writer: Kirk Moore

Ministry: Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ

Location: Somonauk, Illinois

Email: kirk@revkirk.com

Theme:

Renewal

Objective:

In this study, students will dance and play. They’ll also learn about and experience the life that God promises and gives.

Warm- up:

Puppets! Before the meeting, run down to the children’s ministry area at church and grab all the puppets you can find. (It might be a good idea to ask the Children’s ministry leaders if this is OK, but if you’ve forgotten that detail, be sure you treat the puppets well!) As students arrive at the meeting, give them a puppet and tell them to give the puppet a name and to develop a voice for it. Remind them to treat the puppet nicely. Once everyone has a puppet, have them go around the room for a 30 second introduction. If there’s time (the warm up shouldn’t last more than 10-15 minutes) encourage the students to go around the room again and “really bring those puppets to life.” If there’s no time, thank the students for “really bringing those puppets to life” and collect the puppets. (Be sure to get them back to the children’s ministry area!) If you want to have a little more fun, award each puppeteer an award that involves the phrase “bringing the character (or puppet) to life. You can use different categories – female/male, comedy/drama, special effects etc.

Transition:

Bringing puppets to life may seem natural to some and difficult for others. What do you think it would be like if you could really – like Pinocchio – bring a puppet to life? How would you breathe life into that puppet? Keep that thought in mind as we listen to a song that you might need to dance to – feel free to get up on your feet if the spirit moves!

Play: Wake the Dead from Family Force 5

During the song, have students draw pictures of their favorite puppets and/or make up funny or dramatic catch phrases their puppets could speak. (Unless they’ve decided to dance!)

Transition:

It sounds like the singer is a little angry about the comments some make about the music he sings. The singer then responds that the loud music and the message are telling of a power that can really shake things up.

Bible Study:

Let’s look at a part of the Bible where God told a prophet that He was going to really shake things up.

Invite a student or students to read Ezekiel 37:1-14 out loud. Encourage them to really “bring the words to life.”

Ask: (allow time for discussion after each question.)

• These verses are very descriptive – almost like the treatment for a very realistic special effects movie. How did you react to the graphic details?
• How does it strike you that the bones were “very” dry? Is that different from just “dry?” How?
• Both God and the writer (Ezekiel) have things to do relating to bringing the bones to life. What are they?
• What do you think this Bible reading says about hope and about the renewal that God gives?

Say:

• What connections have you drawn between the Bible reading and the song?
• What else are you thinking – as it relates to the Bible reading and/or the song?

Wrap-up: Sometimes it’s exciting. Sometimes it’s unnerving. Sometimes it’s even scary. God is breathing new life into you and into this group and into our church all the time. God is continuing to do a great thing.

Closing prayer: Thank you, God, for your life-giving spirit. Thank you for giving us words of hope. Help us to be able to share our experience of that hope and of the life you give us with everyone we meet. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.