Sensitive to the Spirit

August 15, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Text
John 16:8; Psalm 51:3-5; 1 John 1:8-9

Materials
A pile of cushions on the floor, with a dried pea hidden underneath

Central Truth
Christians are sensitive to sin because of the presence of the Holy Spirit inside them

Activity
Get some volunteers to sit on the cushions and see if they can guess what is hidden underneath. Does anyone know the fairy-tale of the princess and the pea? Because she was a princess she could feel a single pea under her mattress when she slept. It is a very silly story because although our skin is very sensitive, it could never be sensitive enough to feel a pea under a mattress.

Application
We are like princes and princesses because we are Children of the King! One of the things the Holy Spirit does is to make us sensitive —not to peas, but to sins like jealousy and lying, selfishness and sulkiness. We should not be surprised that we notice these ‘peas’ in our lives, because God wants us to admit that they are there and get rid of them. We can only get rid of them when we recognise them. Without the Holy Spirit, we do not even notice them. This sensitivity is an essential part of the Holy Spirit’s work to make us like Jesus.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
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Scripture Memory

Name the Books!

August 14, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
None

Activity
Divide the class into two teams. The teams will have to name the books of the Bible in order without looking. Ask the first team the first book. They get 1 point if they name “Genesis” The second team must then name the next book “Exodus.” Alternate between teams. Set a time limit for the response (10 seconds?) You may allow the whole team to answer or line each team up and go down the row asking individuals to answer without help. If an answer is missed or not given within the time limit allow the other team to answer. If both miss, announce the book and continue on. The team with the most points could be awarded Bible Bookmarks.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Object Lessons

Roses and Thorns

August 11, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A Rose (or other flower)

Activity
Show a beautiful flower to the children – talk about how fragrant and pleasing it is. Next bruise some of the rose petals and point out the thorns. Jesus Body was bruised for our iniquities and a crown of thorns was placed on his head.

Now Enlist someone to be a timekeeper and someone to take the rose and see how fast he/she can pull all the petals off the flower. (Make this into a fun contest). At the end of the “race” announce the time – then ask for another volunteer. Get the timekeeper ready and then announce – “Ok, let’s see if you can beat that time. Are you ready? Ok, get set….put it back together.”

This is an interesting moment.

Application
Sometimes things may seem hopeless. Christ was crucified, his body bruised, his blood shed and he was dead. Point out that only God can make a rose. We can destroy it like Christ’s body was crucified and it may seem impossible to bring it back to life. But with God all things are possible. No matter how hard one tries, you cannot rebuild a rose. It’s ruined. But then point out that God can restore life through Jesus Christ.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Marco Polo Sheep

August 10, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Activity
Designate one child as the shepherd. Blindfold him/her. The rest of the children are assigned the roll of lost sheep. They go hide somewhere in the room. Once they have selected a spot they cannot move. The blindfolded shepherd calls, “Lost sheep”. All the lost sheep have to answer, “baa”. When a shepherd finds one of the lost sheep the shepherd responds with “Jesus loves you and wants to find you.” The sheep stays with him as he goes looking for the rest of the sheep. He cannot help the shepherd find the other sheep. When the shepherd has collected all the missing sheep he removes his blindfold and leads them all back to “the fold” which can be their chairs.

Application
Make sure and discuss how people can be like lost sheep. They can say or do or feel things that separate them from God. God always plans ways to keep us close to Him. Even by placing himself in our place.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Impressions

August 9, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A large crayon and plain white sheet of paper for each person. (thick crayons work best)

Activity
Give each youth a sheet of paper and a crayon. They have 10 minutes to collect 10 “impressions” of the meeting area. Impressions are made by placing the paper over an object such as the carpet, a dor hinge, a keyhole, or even the sole of a shoe and rubbing the crayon over the object to pick up its patterns. Youth should list each item on the other side of the paper. At the end of the 10 minutes, take turns guessing the IDENTITY of the impressions and where everyone got the “Impressions” on their paper.

Application
Sometimes we are like this paper allowing people and things to leave an impression on us. Pressure was used to leave an impression. Even though the crayon left an impression on the paper, the paper left no impression on the objects. The objects were solid and firm, but the crayon was yielding. If we are secure and solid in the knowledge of who we are we will also be unyielding under pressure. We will be able to influence others rather than have them influence us.

Which are you more like?
What pressures leave an impression on you?
What happened to the crayon as a result?
How is that like us?
How can we make a positive impression on others while avoiding letting them make a negative impression on us?

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Clothespins

August 8, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Clothespins – These are the spring loaded clips used to attach clothes to a pole so that they do not fall. As a substitute you can use colored stickers or the paper clips that are spring loaded.

Activity
Give every person two clothespins as they enter. When everyone has their clothespins, tell them you’re giving them two minutes to get rid of their clothespins. The only way to get rid of them is to pin them to someone else. Chaos results as everyone tries to get rid of their clothespins!!

Application
While we don’t carry clothespins with us through life, we do carry our sins. Sometimes they pinch us in uncomfortable places. Sometimes we don’t even realize they are there. But the sins carries with them pain and suffering.

Jesus suffered the ultimate pain and suffering on the cross as he bore the penalty for our sin. Ultimately that penalty is death. He chose to bear the consequences for us. He did not run away from sin, but said place all your sins on me and I will carry them for you. (Let everyone take their clothespins off and stick them to a cardboard cross.) While pain and suffering still accompany sin in our lives, the penalty of death has been removed for those who will trust in Christ.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Object Lessons

Creator and Created

August 6, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A padlock and a key that turns it; a tin of food and a tin opener; a nut and a nut-cracker, various other items that go together.

Activity
Begin by showing the lock and asking what it can be used for. After receiving a few suggestions, begin to question whether they are correct. After all, a lock has no single use at all without a key. Make exactly the same point using the can and the nut.

Application
Our lives find meaning only in relationship with the Creator. We are created with a purpose and Only God knows that purpose. We also do not all have the same purpose. We are all different and special. Life without God is like a padlock with no key. God has made us for a purpose and by working together with God can we achieve that purpose.

Game Ideas

ID Cards

August 3, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Arrange a deck of playing cards with the four aces on top, followed by the four 2’s, then the four 3’s, and so on.

Activity
At the start of the meeting, count the number of youth and remove that many cards from the top of the deck. Shuffle these cards and give a card to each participant. (If people come in late, give each of them a card from the top of the left-over cards in the deck.)

Ask the youth to show their cards to each other and explain that these cards are their ID cards.
• When you want youth to pair up, ask them to find someone with a card of the same value and the same color (example: 3D and 3H).
• To form groups of four, ask the participants to find others with cards of the same value (example: 5C, 5S, 5D,and 5H).
• To divide the youth into four teams, ask them to find others with cards of the same suit. (hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs).
• For two teams ask them to divide into red/ black or odds/evens
• Instead of asking for volunteers, randomly call out the name of a card (example: “Seven of Diamonds!”) and ask this person to do whatever you would have asked the volunteer to do.

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Tree Outside My Window

August 2, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
paper and pencil for each person

Activity
Asked each child/ youth to draw a picture of ‘The tree outside my window’.

Debrief
Though the same instruction is given to everyone, the pictures they drew will be different – some will draw a view from a window, others will draw mountains or birds or animals along with the tree, etc.

Application
This activity demonstrates how each one of us has a different point of view about any given thing. We have different backgrounds. We all have different levels of comprehension and different ways of looking at the same thing. We must be sensitive to the fact that God made each of us unique and we are different from the others in our own way. But in the body of Christ, we all come together in unity. As we work together out differences become strengths. As we combine our various perspectives we can see all of life and God’s work in our lives more clearly (1 Corinthians 12)

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

A 200-page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Creative Teaching Ideas

I Spy

July 31, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Bring in kaliedescopes, magic viewers where you look through a keyhole to see a picture, a keyhole viewer from a door, water globes that have a scene inside the water and glitter which you shake up and view, sunglasses, and anything else you look at or through.

Activity
Pass around the various objects and then ask kids to determine what all the objects have in common… of course the common characteristic is that they are all things that we “look through”

Variation
Add a microscope and various things to place under the lense. Let children try to identify the various things you put under the microscope by looking through it.

Variation
Get some holograms, or stereographic pictures. Have children identify the various objects.

Variation
Create a word find or look for a “where’s waldo” type children’s book where you have to find hidden objects or people in pictures. Ask children to find the various objects. Reward the first child to find each object.

Variation
Play a game of “I spy.” or other visually oriented game.

Variation
There are books that have pictures of a small segment of a larger object. By looking at the small segment, you must identify the object. Use these with the children.

Application
After doing one or more of the above, talk about how important our eyes are. But also say that what we focus our eyes on is also very important. The best thing for a Christian to keep his eyes on is Jesus. If we look at Jesus and follow him, we will never get lost.
Ephesians 4:11-16

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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