Abraham and Sarah

Game Information:

At the beginning of our Abraham and Sarah CD, your students sweep in over the Arabian Desert following Abraham and Sarah on their way to the land of Canaan. Students then come circling into 'The Scriptorium' somewhere in the hills of Canaan. A large Scripture Console rises in front of them. It is through the Scriptorium's Console that they will be able to launch themselves across the desert and into five learning areas. What is the Scriptorium? Where did it come from?

It was constructed by those of us in the future as a way of traveling into the past to encounter Abraham, Sarah and God's Covenant story --and make it our own. It's also a cool way to access the CD's contents. Be prepared...you haven't seen anything like it before.

From The Scriptorium student can launch into five different learning areas:

I. The Giving of the Covenant
II. Sarah and Abraham's Visitors
III. The Near Sacrifice of Isaac
IV. What will others say about me? --Insane Fanat-asy
V. and Pay It Forward --living out the call.

The first four areas are complete lessons in themselves -with open/dig/reflect content. They can be used separately or in sequence. You can selectively get through the CD in one 45 minute class time, or approach the content over a period of hours or several classtimes. Some material is more suitable for older students, but there's plenty for all ages. All the content and questions a teacher might want to cover are built right into the CD. The Questions and Reflection content is built engagingly enough for older students to use in self-directed study. See our outline for more details....and more....

I. THE COVENANT...a 3-D animated retelling of God's establishing the Covenant with Abraham --complete with passing torch and smoking fire pot. God's voice in the Covenant story was created by blending together several young people's voices. Abraham is seen (partially pictured right) in a 3-D desert landscape with the nighttime sky rolling over head. After encountering the basic story your students will delve into the definition of 'Covenant' and how THEY plug in to it today through a series of interactive study notes.

II. SARAH'S STRANGE VISITORS ... Sarah has a major section in this CD --her encounter with the Angels & God outside her tent. You'll hear Sarah narrate the story and see it unfold in animation beside her. Students will then have the opportunity to hear Sarah's thoughts on several subjects, such as, why she laughed at God. If they choose, students can also see a short animated song titled 'Sarah' and reflect on the lyrics. This 'songlet' was written to convey God's global purpose in establishing the Covenant with Abraham and Sarah. Hear a 1.3 mb song clip from 'Sarah.' Pictured right: Our 'live' Sarah was videotaped against a green screen. She was then 'installed' in a 3-D animated scene outside her tent.

III. The near SACRIFICE OF ISSAC is the third learning area accessible from the Scriptorium. We sensitively retell this essential Abraham story through narrated animation, and an amazing 3-D music video that incorporates children and youth into the story as 'witnesses.' The scene, music, and effect help students dig into 'why' Abraham was put to the test, and points to the theological connection of this story to that of Christ's sacrifice. Click here to see more graphics of this amazing part of the CD. Our 3-D animated altar scene is based on the actual archaeology of worship sites in and around Canaan during the time of Abraham.The song 'O Father Abraham' written especially for this CD to help students understand Abraham's obedience and God's purposes. The song sounds like something the rockband U2 might have written. Afficiandos may even recognize a guitar riff similar to the one in U2's Streets have no name. 'O Father Abraham.....what was in your heart at the moment of decision?' Hear a 2.6mb O Father Abraham song clip from the CD.We do something very special at the end of the 3-D altar sequence to help your students understand the important theological connection between Isaac's almost sacrifice and the crifice/blood atonement of God's Son. Click here for a sneak preview. In addition to these two special animation elements, we've created some interesting additional learning areas for this story: a narrated study notes, a 'what is faith' flash presentation, and a Lyrics Study printout or ponder. Click this icon> to see a screenshot of the study sections in the Sacrifice Section. Older students can delve into more about the concept of altars, sacrifice and the practice of child sacrifice which God in Genesis 22 essentially out-laws.

IV. 'INSANE FANAT-ASY' Insane Fanat-asy is the title of the fourth interactive learning experience your students can discover from the Scriptorium. Insane Fanat-asy's learning activity is life-application oriented. Students type in their thoughts about faith and following God as prompted by the lyrics. These can be printed for discussion. They can also be viewed by later users of the CD at that computer to see what other young people are thinking about their faith. Insane Fanatasy's activity and song encourage students to think about how Abraham and Sarah's journey of obedience can strengthen their own.

Why is it called Insane Fanat-asy ? That's the title of the brief hard rock Christian song about the ridicule and lack of support young people can sometimes experience when they decide to follow Christ and become an OVERT Christian. Kids can relate to the tough choices Abraham and Sarah had to make. Parents and teachers are always asking for blind obedience. Being faithful and obedient is hard for us all. The song lyrics come from a real life episode. 'I know what they're saying about me...'throwing it all away' ....a temporary form of insane fanat-asy, he'll come 'round some day.'

Pay It Forward is the final learning area your students can launch into from the Scriptorium. It is a life application section that will provide your students with a creative and fun way to demonstrate via an experiment in they can conduct in own lives - God's desire for 'descendants.' They can also print a 'certificate of completion' once they've completed the CD.

Ok, that's NOT quite it.... In addition to the five learning areas (randomly accessible to suit your lesson plan needs), we've put some extra 'goodies' on the Console in the Scriptorium. The console has an interactive kid-friendly MAP of the Middle East (both then and now) and a Middle East MAP GAME challenging students to put the name-places back in their correct location. When they do, another brief learning area appears with discussion options. The Study Console also includes: a Bible timeline, Abraham and Sarah Quiz and NRSV based scripture texts for the major stories used in the CD.

Ages 8 through adult.