Body of Christ

Video Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will see what can be accomplished when people (or bugs) work together in a clip from “A Bug’s Life.”

Objectives for this workshop:

Children will...

• Examine the way the characters in the movie clip work together to achieve a common purpose
• Explore challenges faced by the characters in the movie clip
• Compare the ant colony to the Church

Workshop Preparation:

• Be familiar with the lesson plan, the Bible story and the wondering statements.
• Watch the video clips and be prepared for discussion stops
• Arrive at church early enough to cue the video to the starting place for the clip.

Supplies:

• Children’s Bible
• Video “A Bug’s Life”

Lesson Plan

Opening:

Greet the children and introduce yourself. (Remember, you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.)

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we are going to see a clip from the movie, “A Bug’s Life.”

9:47 Memory verse

Our memory verse is from 1 Corinthians 12:27: All of you together are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of that body.

9:50 Scripture Story 1 Corinthians 12:12-20, 27, from the International Children's Bible

Dig:

Prepare the children for the story they will hear:

After Jesus went up to heaven, sometimes people in the first churches got jealous of each other and had arguments about who was greater. The Apostle Paul wrote letters to churches that were fighting among themselves and reminded them that they were supposed to be like Jesus' new body, working together to do Jesus’ work. This story comes from the Bible in a letter from Paul called the first letter to the Corinthians. Listen to the word of God:

Older Children: Read from the Children’s Bible.
Younger Children: Read the following, edited for simplicity or underline in light pencil what to read in a children’s Bible

quote:

A person’s body is only one thing, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts to a body, but all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that too. [We are all different] But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit [the Holy Spirit]. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.And a person’s body has more than one part. It has many parts. The foot might say, “I am not a hand. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. The ear might say, “I am not an eye. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, the body would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, the body would not be able to smell anything. If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one of them. And so there are many parts, but only one body.
…
All of you together are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of that body.

I wonder…

• Remember that you do not have to use all the “I wonder” statements—gage your use of these discussion starters according to your students’ needs.
• Remember that silence is an appropriate response to an “I wonder” statement and to allow silent time for children to wonder with you before answering.
• Feel free to wonder out loud with the children, but resist the impulse to give the “right” answers. We are all in conversation with scripture. Sometimes the answer is the conversation.

I wonder what is the body of Christ…
I wonder what it feels like to be a part of the body of Christ…
I wonder how I am a part of the body of Christ…
I wonder how it feels to be a foot or an eye or a kneecap…
I wonder what part of the body you are…
I wonder how our church is like a body…
I wonder how people in our church work together…
I wonder if any parts are missing or need help…

10:00 Movie Clip: A Bug’s Life
Fast-forward the tape to 55:20.

We are going to see a clip from near the end of “A Bug’s Life.” In this clip, a colony of ants with the help of a group of circus bugs are working to build a bird to scare away a mean gang of grasshoppers.

START at 55:20 where Flick is telling the “circus bugs” about the plan to build a bird
STOP at 56:45 where Flick and the princess are lifting an acorn together.

What different jobs have you noticed as the ants and circus bugs have worked together to build the bird?

RESTART THE VIDEO
STOP at 57:11 where the Lady Bug juggles dewdrops

I wonder why these bugs aren’t working on the bird? (FYI: The lady bug broke his leg rescuing “Dot,” one of the little ants.)
I wonder how the little ants are helping?

RESTART the video
STOP AT 59:40 where everyone is cheering.

What other jobs did you see the bugs doing as the bird was finished and hoisted up into the tree?
I wonder how the bugs felt to work on a big important project like that…
I wonder if any of the bugs complained about the work…
I wonder if any of the bugs felt left out…

FAST FORWARD to 1:17:44

In the next clip, the grasshoppers have come and they are going to kill the queen. Notice the way the bugs work together now.

START the tape
STOP at 1:19:15 where some ants notice the line of little ants going up to the tree where the bird is.

How were the “circus bugs” helping with the plan?

RESTART the tape
STOP at 1:21:36 when the stone gets stuck

What went wrong with the bird?
I wonder what the ants will do?

RESTART the tape
STOP at 1:22:40

It worked! The “bird” scared the grasshoppers, but in the end, it was the ants themselves that made the grasshoppers leave.

What did the ants do when the stone got stuck?
I wonder how the two little ants felt when the stone got stuck…
I wonder how it feels to work together on something big and important…
I wonder how the ant colony is like the Church…

Reflection:

Imagine our church as an ant colony.
What are we working on? How do we all work together? What is your job?

Help children who are struggling, if they want help. Warn the class when they have just one minute left.

10:28 Closing Prayer–led by the SHEPHERD

“Dear Jesus, thank you for helping us work together in the church. ...Amen

References:
Pixar, “A Bug’s Life.” Disney, 1997.

Idea to use this video came from https://www.rotation.org/topic...9#295011598215952909

A lesson from First Presbyterian Church
Nevada, MO

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.