Tyndale 2: Glimpses for Kids worship bulletin

The English Bible on English Soil
Once the printing was completed, copies had to get into England without being seized. Smugglers hid the Bibles in shipments where no one expected them: in flour barrels, in trunks with false bottoms, and in airtight boxes inside wine barrels.

The Bibles sold as quickly as they reached England, even though one cost about half a week's earnings (over $100 in today's dollars). Families saved and put their money together, and a farmer would trade an entire load of hay to get just one Bible. Groups would meet together to hear the Word of God for the first time in their own language.

The religious leaders and the King were furious! They tried to destroy as many copies as they could. They also intensified their search to find and arrest me.

A "Friend" Turns Me Over to Killers
I had begun to feel quite safe in Germany. I had also become somewhat of a celebrity. But I let nothing get in the way of completing my task. I worked late every night translating several books of the Old Testament.

One day I met a young Englishman in Germany who seemed to share my ideas about the need to translate the Bible. Over time we became good friends. What I didn't know was that this young man was a spy who would soon betray me. He led me right into the hands of my captors, after inviting me out for a meal. I was jailed, charged with heresy (false teaching), and sentenced to death by burning.

PostScript
The last thing we know about William Tyndale is that he was led through a crowd into the public square. A noose was placed around his neck. His last words were, "God, please open the King of England's eyes." He was then hanged and his body was set afire.

God answered his prayer in a wonderful way. Within one year of William Tyndale's death, the King of England gave approval for an English Bible to be published. Tyndale's Bible was used as a guide for the new translation. This new translation is the father of the King James Bible that is still read today.

Make It Real! Questions to make you dig a little deeper and think a little harder.

William Tyndale had a talent for learning languages. Instead of burying his talent, he worked hard to develop it and use it for God. What talent has God given you? What can you do to develop your talent and use it for GodÃªs glory?
Translating languages is very difficult work. To get a feel for the difficulty, try translating the Ten Commandments into language that a preschooler could understand. You can find them in the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 20.
It seems strange that some people in the 1500s thought the Pope's law could be more important than God's law. Can you think of a time when you have had to choose between following God's laws and following man-made laws? What did you do?

William Tyndale, God's Outlaw