Materials
Bring in a variety of items that may be unfamiliar to children. These items should have a special purpose and be useless apart from that purpose. Examples might be:

* the little wrench that is used to tighten a drill bit in a power drill – useless without the drill
* a jumper from a computer board – useless without the computer card
* a zipper from an old backpack – useless without the backpack
* Corkscrew – useless without a cork
* watch battery – useless without a watch
* can opener – useless without a can
* staples – useless apart from a stapler
* power cord – useless without an appliance
* monopoly or other game peices – useless without the game board
* eyeglass / sunglasses lense – useless without the frames
* telephone handset – useless without the telephone / phone line
* roll of film – useless without a camera
* cap from an ink pen – useless without the pen
* lid from a teacup – useless without the cup
* lock – useless without a key
* doorknob – useless without a door
* Pull ring from a soft drink
* etc.

You can also use car parts, adapters, components of power tools, parts of kitchen appliances, and various parts and peices of items found around your home.

Activity
Ask children to identify the purpose of each item. Award prizes to individuals for each item correctly guessed or to teams who correctly identify the most items. You may wish to number items for identification purposes.

Application
Explain that each item has a very special purpose. It was created to fulfill a very specific task or need. While it might be used for other things, it has a very specific purpose. Apart from that purpose it is basically a piece of junk. According to Acts 28:30-31, the church was also created with a purpose. Apart from that purpose it is useless. The purpose of the church is to
1) Focus on Jesus;
2) Focus on the Kingdom of God;
3) Focus on Koinonia (fellowship).

Variation
Use this to discuss the idea that God created each of us with a purpose (1 Corinthians 12)

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Materials
A toy bow and arrow set, a toy gun with darts that use suction to stick, or a darts set and target. You can get nerf targets and even velcro targets with velcro coated balls from Toys R Us or another toy store.

Activity
Demonstrate your skill at throwing the dart/ shooting the arrow without aiming at anything. Brag about how good of a shot you are. Then explain that no one really knows how good of a shot you are without a target. Bring out the target and have a competition between you and the kids.

Then place the target an impossible distance away so that it is impossible to hit the target and challenge anyone to hit it. Give them only one chance.

Application
Explain that reaching the target is a bit like us trying to reach heaven. It is impossible for us because we are not perfect enough to hit the target. If we miss once, we are disqualified. If we tell one lie, say one hurtful word, do one thing wrong, then we miss. In the Bible the word for “sin” is the same word used in archery to describe the missing of the bullseye. It means “to miss the mark.”

Variation
Add a variety of carnival games for children and display gifts (candy?) for those that are successful. Some options:
* Toss a ring over a softdrink or water bottle (very small ring)
* Toss a coin on a saucer sitting on top of a cup (impossible distance)
* Throw a dart at a balloon (impossible distance)
* bounce a ping pong ball into a small glass (slightly bigger than the hole)
* toss a tennis ball to knock over all three cans (use heavy cans)
* toss a ball through a hole in the side of a box. (Hole is almost same size as ball)
* Use a straw and cotton swab as a dart to hit a peice of adhesive (sticky) paper or fly paper. (impossible distance)

Application
After everyone has failed, reward all participants with the prizes. The Bible says it is impossible for us to reach heaven by our own efforts, but God gives us the free gift. All we have to do is trust in him. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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Materials
A large opaque cloth sack for each group of objects (a dark colored pillow case works fine), and a variety of objects that can be identified by touch. Alternatively you can get dark colored socks or even paper bags for smaller items.

Look through your house and collect a variety of objects. Some possible items you can use:

fruits– apple, orange, banana, grape, plum, nuts, rambutan, star fruit, lemon
office supplies– pencil, stapler, eraser, paperclip, pen, hole punch (avoid sharp items such as thumbtacks and scissors)
stuffed animals / beanie babies– Various stuffed animals you have around the house.
kitchen utensils– butter knife, spoon, fork, egg beater, spatula, ladle (Avoid sharp utensils)
tools– screwdriver, hammer, wrench, file, punch, plyers, level
small hardware– nails, bolts, nuts, washers, hooks, screw
money– various coins, various bank notes, credit cards
jewelry– ring, necklaec, brooch, tie-pin, earring
game pieces– monopoly tokens, poker chips, dominos, chess peice, dice, carrom seeds, marbles, jacks
toys– car, doll, marbles, miniatures
toiletries– soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo
nature– various leaves, stone, twig, flower, sand
sports– golf ball, ping pong ball, tennis ball, golf tee, soccer ball
computer– mouse, diskette, memory chip, keyboard
multimedia– vcr, audio, CD, MD disk, players, earphones
Dinner table items– cup, saucer, bowl, plate, pot, pan
Personal items– wallet, keys, ID card, belt, watch, glasses (use unbreakable ones)
OTHERS?

For added significance, place physical items mentioned in a Biblical story you are going to discuss inside a bag on its own. (For Example you could place gardner’s tools and a vine and branches in a bag when you wish to discuss John 15.)

Activity
1. Place the categories of items in separate bags. Place one item that doesn’t match with the others. (i.e. place an apple in with office supplies) Have youth/children use touch to identify the item that doesn’t belong. Award bonus points for also getting the category correct.

Variation
Place all the items in a single bag. You should have 5-20 items depending on the age of your group and the appropriate difficulty. If you wish to expedite this activity you might prepare several bags of identical items. Without looking inside the bag, have kids touch the items in the bag and then go back and write down all the items. Award kids who get them all correct or the most correct. This can be done as a subsequent activity to the first.

Application
Just as you identified by touch the presence of items that you could not see, we can identify the presence of God in the ways he touches our lives. Many times he uses other people to touch our lives. Even today, you may not see Jesus, but you know he is there and has other people to take care of you.

This document is a guide only. It contains general information and is not intended to represent a comprehensive checklist
.

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Materials
List of single word questions or scripture verses missing a single word. Ensure that the words are not longer than the number of people on a team.

Activity
The next time you have a Bible quiz or scripture memory, make kids answer the question or supply the missing word in the scripture by spelling it out using their hands, arms, legs and body. Each person becomes ones letter. The first team to line up and correctly spell out the answer as a team gets the points for that question. Continue until all questions are completed.

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Materials
A coin to be flipped by an impartial participant.

Activity
Divide the group into 2 even teams. Have teams sit on the floor facing. Members from each team must hold the hands of the team-mates next to them, preferably behind their backs so that the other team cannot see them. At the end of the line, place a spoon on the floor between the last two people. On the other end, you need an impartial person (you or a volunteer) to flip a coin. Everyone except the two people at the beginning of each line must close their eyes, or sit facing out and all must be silent.

When the coin is flipped, if it is heads, the people at the beginning of each row squeeze the hand of the person next to them, who then squeezes the hand of the person next to them, and so on. When the squeeze gets to the end, the last person can open their eyes and grab the spoon. The team that grabs the spoon first sends the person from the end of their line to the beginning and everyone shifts down one. The object is to be the first team to rotate all the way back to the starting position. If the coin is tails, nothing happens and you flip again. If the people at the beginning of the line squeeze on tails, they go to the end of the line (rotating backwards). They also go backwards if anyone on their team opens their eyes prematurely or makes any noise. It is helpful to have judges standing behind each team to watch for erroneous squeezes and to listen for noises.

Application
While the line cannot see what the teacher is doing at the front, they can feel the touch of the person in front of them. One person squeezes the hand of the next until it reaches the end. Each person will in time be at the front of the line and the leader. In the same way God leads our lives. He must not touch us directly but through someone else. In time he may choose us as leaders to touch the life of another person.

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1. Place the items below on index cards. You can then play matching games with them. Place the cards writing side down down in a grid. children turn over two cards. If the question matches with the occupation they get to keep those cards and try again. Otherwise they turn the cards back over and the next person tries to match two cards.

2. Make two sets of cards listing only the occupations. Divide the class into two teams and give each team one set. Call out the description and then the first team to bring you the card with the correct occupation gets a point. Award the team that gets the most points.

Who would you talk to if the teacher made a mistake marking your paper?
Teacher

Who would you go to if you had a water pipe leaking?
Plumber

Who would you go to if your electricity was not working?
Electrician

Who would you go to if someone robbed you?
Police

Who would you contact if you saw your house on fire?
Fireman

Who would you talk to if you were feeling very sad?
Counselor

Who would you talk to if you wanted something to eat?
Cook

Who would you go to if you needed a haircut?
Barber

Who would you go to if your wristwatch quit working?
Watchmaker

Who would you go to if your dog was sick?
Veterinarian

Who would you go to if your computer quit working?
Computer repairman

Who would you go to if your car engine wouldn’t start?
Mechanic

Who would you go to if you needed spiritual advice?
Pastor

Who would you go to if your vision was getting blurred?
Optometrist

Who would you talk to if you need a reference book on animals?
Librarian

Who would you talk to if your hearing was going bad?
Audiologist

Who would you talk to if you had a heart problem?
Cardiologist

Who would you talk to for legal advice?
Lawyer

Who would you talk to if you needed medicine?
Doctor

Who would you talk to if you had a toothache?
Dentist

Who would you go to in order to have your sin cleansed?
Jesus

Application
A teacher may give us bad marks, but we can learn from our mistakes. A mechanic may take the car completely apart, but when he puts it back together it works. A dentist may pull a tooth, but he makes room for a new tooth. Sometimes the solutions to problems are very difficult or even painful. Also discuss the idea that we had a sin problem and as such need Jesus.

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