The United Reformed Church

This habit of singing a song to 'Welcome the Word' has a long tradition in Christian worship. The short songs offered here go to well-known tunes that can be found in most hymn books by looking up the metre of each song or the name of one of the suggested tunes.

The ten songs in this initial collection are all by John Campbell (who also holds the copyright) with some involvement from Lance Stone. They are free to use as you wish but please acknowledge authorship in any printed or projected words. They are in pdf format and also Microsoft Word format for ease of copying and pasting into other documents, Powerpoint or song projection programs.

Short songs to welcome the word (pdf version)

Short songs to welcome the word (Word version)

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Self-denial has been one of the features of the Christian life throughout church history, most obviously in the recorded lives of saints and religious communities. But it seems increasingly difficult to talk about self-denial these days. Perhaps this is because our society values individual freedom and material wealth, or because people can be so sensitive to the implication that they are not living up to expectations. But what are God’s expectations of us?

This starter prepared by Peter Henderson is suitable for Lent and is based on Mark 8:31-9:1

Download the Self Denial pdf

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This starter was used at the South Western Synod meeting on 11th October 2008. The powerpoint incorporates an update of where Vision4Life is up to at present but you can use the handout as it is without the Powerpoint.

Download the Paying Taxes starter

Download the Paying Taxes with accompanying Powerpoint (includes a V4L update)

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This is a sketch that can be used as a starter in the context of worship or another activity, group or session. It makes use of Terry Pratchett's idea of "the trouser legs of time" to show two possible outcomes to the familiar story!

Download Loaves and Fishes sketch

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A way of remembering Jesus' life for people of all ages and abilities using pegs and string. This is a more extensive version than the one in the booklet.

Download the Jesus' life-line pdf

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This could last up to 15 minutes and lead into a main course or dessert. The idea is to get people recognising the skills they use to understand everyday writing and how this can be applied to seeing the different sorts of writing in the Bible.

Download the How to read a newspaper pdf

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Starters are brief taster sessions of up to about 15 minutes that help to lead people into engagement with the Bible. They could be followed directly by an appropriate 'main course' or you could go straight to 'dessert'.

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Resources specially designed for the seasons of the Christian year will appear here. Please check back periodically.

Advent

See Advent Resources

Lent

See Film for Lent and Waiting at the bottom of a mountain

This material is for you to use before you visit someone. It is offered as part of the planning and preparation that goes into a meeting moment, when one person goes to meet another in circumstances of particular need.

Download the Pastoral Meeting Moments pdf

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The following nibbles aim to be flexible, adaptable and easy to use at times when people are sharing food. For example they could be used as a series for a Luncheon Club, or one could be selected for an event such as a Harvest Supper. Use them in whatever way works best for your group. Each nibble is based around a Bible passage. This is followed by questions and reflections.

Download the Mealtime Moments pdf

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These nibbles aim to be flexible, adaptable and easy to use at any sort of meeting which begins with a Bible-based reflection, for example Ladies Fellowship, Choir, Men's breakfast, Christian Education Leaders, etc. They use one text in 4 different ways for 4 different occasions.

Download the Four ideas one text pdf Select from the menu on the right or view the Bible Year Menu Card

Nibbles are short and snappy discussion starters or question raisers related to a Bible story or Bible idea. They can be included within any meeting which has another purpose (everything from a Badminton Club or a Sewing Group to a Church Meeting or an Elders Meeting) with the aim of spicing up the Bible connections and enticing folks to consider another aspect of the Bible Year Menu at a later date.

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A series of 4 studies to tie in with Mark's gospel, the core gospel in the Common Lectionary for 2009. The studies by Lance Stone are based on John Proctor's book 'Mark's Jesus'

You can download the pdfs of each study below.

Study 1: From action to passion

Study 2: On the way

Study 3: Mark's women

Here you will find some resources which can be used to link films that have been on general release and are now available on DVD, with biblical themes.

This is a Main course which can be used over 5 weeks, based on the film The Terminal. After a first week viewing and discussing the film, the course looks at themes of identity, loneliness, promises and  punishment & forgiveness. This course was originally offered for use during Lent but can be used at anytime.

Download The Terminal film course in pdf

Download The Terminal film course in Word

Big Screen Theology

Dave Hopwood of Lee Abbey in North Devon, an Anglican community, retreat and conference centre, has generously given permission for us to use his Big Screen Theology resource. It makes links between 52 films and bible passages and might be a useful resource for people who liked the Terminal bible study and want to take it further.

This is the fourth of the 4 main courses which you can download in pdf format: Welcome to Corinth pdf There is a template which is needed for printing out for this study: Template for Welcome to Corinth (pdf) Select from the menu on the right or view the Bible Year Menu Card

This is the third of the 4 main courses. You can download the Remembering Him - Jesus' story PDF Select from the menu on the right or view the Bible Year Menu Card

This is the first of the 4 main courses.  Download the And God said... Creation's story pdf

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this page is also available in pdf form: Download the feedback document.

Vision4life is what you make it. Therefore, we need to know what you think about Vision4life.

• You can visit the website and use the ‘Contact us’ link to send in your comments.

• You can join a Forum and contribute to the discussions.

However, evaluation and feedback are two very important parts of the Vision4life process.

Evaluation

This is a vital part of all the Vision4life activities. You will notice three simple questions at the end of all the downloadable documents from the website. Here they are again to remind you:

Extra materials from other contributors will appear here

Grove Booklet B37 - Mark's Jesus by John Proctor

www.grovebooks.co.uk

This is a fun way of sharing experiences of the bible whilst making a quilt.

Download the Making a Bible Quilt study guide pdf