Tag Archives: Bible Study

Nativity scene silhouette

Free resource: Honor and shame in the Christmas story—in 19 languages

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Are you interested in fresh ways to explore the Christmas story? Would you like your church, mission, or community to have the story of the birth of Christ come alive—by engaging Luke’s Gospel through storytelling, drama, and group discovery?

“Honor and Shame in the Christmas Story” is a seven-lesson Bible study for all kinds of groups. It’s based directly on the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. Each lesson is easy to follow—just one or two pages. Here are the seven lessons:

  • Lesson 1: The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5–25), parents of John the Baptist
  • Lesson 2: God sends the angel Gabriel to talk with Mary (Luke 1:26–38)
  • Lesson 3: Mary visits Elizabeth / Mary sings praise to God (Luke 1:39–56)
  • Lesson 4: At last, Zechariah is a father (Luke 1:57–66)
  • Lesson 5: Zechariah praises God and prophesies (Luke 1:67–80)
  • Lesson 6: The birth of Jesus in the time of Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1–7)
  • Lesson 7: Lowly Shepherds and Highest Angels in Jesus’s Story (Luke 2:8–20)

These Bible studies highlight the honor-shame dynamics hidden in plain sight. The Bible study questions are designed to help a group make their own discoveries from the story. We also suggest ways to dramatize parts of the stories.

I used Claude AI to make the translations. I instructed Claude to draw from the Bible translations most commonly used by Protestant churches in the represented language groups.

The translations of these Bible studies are likely imperfect, so edit as you see fit. All translations are in Microsoft Word, except the English version, which is a PDF. You may also want to edit the study for other reasons. No problem. Edit as you like.

Download below—(Word files, so you can edit them; English is a PDF)

Want it in another language?

“Honor and Shame in the Christmas Story”—would you like this resource available in another language? Send me an email at wernermischke@icloud.com. I will have the document translated and added to the list above.

Four steps—and a free guide—to help you read the Bible in the language of honor and shame

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honor and shame word universe

Read Bible honor and shame graphic.sm

You do not have to be a professional cross-cultural worker or Bible scholar to read and understand the Bible in the “language of honor and shame”. Most anyone can do it if they familiarize themselves with a few key concepts. Below are four steps to help you unlock the honor/shame dynamics in Scripture so that the Bible can “come alive” for you in a fresh way.  You can be confident that the insights you glean from reading the Bible this way will help you understand people from other societies whose pivotal cultural value is honor and shame.

Before following these steps, download the quick reference guide to reading the Bible in the language of honor and shame. Click here to download. Familiarize yourself with the dynamics of honor and shame which exist in Bible societies. 

STEP 1—Recognize honor/shame dynamics. Observe the “universe” or spectrum words and dynamics of honor and shame in the Bible in the graphic at the top of this post. (This is also part of the quick reference guide.) As you read the Bible, circle those words in black. Pay special attention to these words … glory, honor, blessing, ashamed, cursed, name, kingdom, blood—and anything having to do with family or kinship.

STEP 2—Recognize all conflicts as honor competition. From sibling rivalries to deadly wars—remember it is fueled by “challenge and riposte” (the ubiquitous honor-shame “game”) and the “image of limited good” (win-win was conceptually impossible except as revealed by God; win-lose was the only way). Make a note in your Bible. (NOTE: See this blog post for an explanation of “challenge and riposte”. For an explanation of “image of limited good”, see this blog post.) 

honor-status reversal, honor and shame dynamicsSTEP 3—Identify examples of honor-status reversal. Underline or circle these verses with a yellow colored pencil. This can range from individual verses to long stories. See this post for an explanation of honor-status reversal.

STEP 4—Observe words and themes about salvation—and how they connect to honor-status reversal. In the Old Testament and New there are many references to the words … saved, ransom, redeem, atone, propitiation, etc. Underline or circle these verses in red. Observe the relationship, if any, between salvation and honor-status reversal.

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