• 1 Corinthians 13: "Love".
• Daniel 3: "Nebuchadnezzar Commands Everyone to Worship a Gold Statue".
• Psalm 97: "God the Supreme Ruler".
• Matthew 13: 24-30 "The Parable of the Weeds".

Bible Reading

One boy from each company will read the set passage out loud, without a microphone, as if reading in church.

The boy can be from any team entered by the company. 

They must read from a copy of the Good News Bible; use of a printed sheet is not permitted.

The reader should introduce their reading, for example, "This reading is Psalm 97 ."  The introduction should be done from memory.

A maximum of 10 marks are available.  The judges will be listening for the following things:

• Volume
• Clarity
• Speed
• Confidence & Fluency
• Understanding (i.e. where emphasis is placed)

Set passage for reading:

• Psalm 97

Mime

One team (of 3 boys) from each company will perform a mime based the set passage.  The team can be made up of any 3 boys from the company, and could include boys who did not take part in the quiz.

The mime should last no longer than 2 minutes

No spoken words, sound effects or props are permitted.

A maximum of 10 marks are available.  The judges will be looking for the following things:

• How well the story is conveyed
• Confidence
• Fluency
• Performing to the audience
• Keeping within the time limit

There will be a 2 point penalty for a team that uses any sort of aide-memoire to help them perform the mime.

Set passage for mime:

• Daniel 3

The points scored by a company will be calculated by adding the highest score achieved by any of their teams in the quiz, the score for the reading and the score for the mime.

Would all companies please confirm their attendance and the number of teams they are entering OR OTHERWISE to Andrew Burchell by Wednesday 21st March.

The quiz this year has been set by our Battalion Chaplain, Andrew Gale.

Daniel 3: Nebuchadnezzar Commands Everyone to Worship a Gold Statue
King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made, twenty-seven metres high and nearly three metres wide, and he had it set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then the king gave orders for all his officials to come together - the princes, governors, lieutenant-governors, commissioners, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces. They were to attend the dedication of the statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. When all these officials gathered for the dedication and stood in front of the statue, a herald announced in a loud voice, "People of all nations, races, and languages! You will hear the sound of the trumpets, followed by the playing of oboes, lyres, zithers, and harps; and then all the other instruments will join in. As soon as the music starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Anyone who does not bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." And so, as soon as they heard the sound of the instruments, the people of all the nations, races, and languages bowed down and worshiped the gold statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
It was then that some Babylonians took the opportunity to denounce the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "May Your Majesty live forever! Your Majesty has issued an order that as soon as the music starts, everyone is to bow down and worship the gold statue, and that anyone who does not bow down and worship it is to be thrown into a blazing furnace. There are some Jews whom you put in charge of the province of Babylon - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - who are disobeying Your Majesty's orders. They do not worship your god or bow down to the statue you set up." At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered the three men to be brought before him. He said to them, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you refuse to worship my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have set up? Now then, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, oboes, lyres, zithers, harps, and all the other instruments, bow down and worship the statue. If you do not, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Do you think there is any god who can save you?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up."
Then Nebuchadnezzar lost his temper, and his face turned red with anger at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. And he commanded the strongest men in his army to tie the three men up and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up, fully dressed - shirts, robes, caps, and all - and threw them into the blazing furnace. Now because the king had given strict orders for the furnace to be made extremely hot, the flames burnt up the guards who took the men to the furnace. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, still tied up, fell into the heart of the blazing fire.
Suddenly Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement. He asked his officials, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the blazing furnace?" They answered, "Yes, we did, Your Majesty."
"Then why do I see four men walking around in the fire?" he asked. "They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt - and the fourth one looks like an angel."
So Nebuchadnezzar went up to the door of the blazing furnace and called out, "Shadrach! Meshach! Abednego! Servants of the Supreme God! Come out!" And they came out at once. All the princes, governors, lieutenant-governors, and other officials of the king gathered to look at the three men, who had not been harmed by the fire. Their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned, and there was no smell of smoke on them.
The king said, "Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued these men who serve and trust him. They disobeyed my orders and risked their lives rather than bow down and worship any god except their own.
"And now I command that if anyone of any nation, race, or language speaks disrespectfully of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he is to be torn limb from limb, and his house is to be made a pile of ruins. There is no other god who can rescue like this."
And the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to higher positions in the province of Babylon.

Psalm 97: God the Supreme Ruler
The Lord is king! Earth, be glad!
  Rejoice, you islands of the seas!
Clouds and darkness surround him;
  he rules with righteousness and justice.
Fire goes in front of him
  and burns up his enemies round him.
His lightning lights up the world;
  the earth sees it and trembles.
The hills melt like wax before the Lord,
  before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
  and all the nations see his glory.
Everyone who worships idols is put to shame;
  all the gods bow down before the Lord.
The people of Zion are glad,
  and the cities of Judah rejoice
  because of your judgments, O Lord.
Lord Almighty, you are ruler of all the earth;
  you are much greater than all the gods.
The Lord loves those who hate evil;
  he protects the lives of his people;
  he rescues them from the power of the wicked.
Light shines on the righteous,
  and gladness on the good.
All you that are righteous be glad
  because of what the Lord has done!
Remember what the holy God has done,
  and give thanks to him.

Matthew 13: 24-30 The Parable of the Weeds
Jesus told them another parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the plants grew and the ears of corn began to form, then the weeds showed up. The man's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?' 'It was some enemy who did this,' he answered. 'Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?' they asked him. 'No,' he answered, 'because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.'"

1 Corinthians 13: Love
I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains - but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burnt - but if I have no love, this does me no good.
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete - as complete as God's knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.