Sweet grapes or Sour grapes?

May 28, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Place a bowl of seedless grapes in the middle of the room. There should be enough grapes for everyone to have one. You may have additional grapes to be used as a snack.

Activity
Ask everyone to sit in a circle around the bowl. Have each person to look into the bowl and choose a grape, remove it from the bowl, and study it carefully.
* How did this grape grow?
* What is the purpose of this grape?
* What determines a bad grape from a good grape?
Have everyone return their grapes to a different bowl. (These might not be edible again after they touch them and possibly mangle them) Mix up the grapes and see if the youth can find their original grapes.
* Are you sure it is the same grape?
* How can you tell?
* What special marking or color does your grape have?
* Who has the best grape? Why?
* In what ways are we like these grapes?

Debrief
Like the grapes, no two of us are alike, but we all have the same purpose in life: To abide and reproduce. What determines a good or bad grape is what lies beneath the skin. The skin doesn’t matter. A grape may be nutritious, good, tasty, sweet, sour, rotten, worm eaten, hard or soft. People may have sour personalities, rotten, eaten inside by sin, hard hearts or soft hearts. Other people may be sweet, good, a delight to be around, and beneficial to others.

Application
The vine, the roots of the vine, water, sun, circumstances, and drawing from the vine what it needs all determine what the grape will be like. In the same way, the source from which we fulfill our needs, the Living Water in our lives, the SON, and circumstances all affect what we are like. How consistently we draw from our Source (abide) also affects us. Circumstances and sin may cause us to be bruised or if it becomes sin becomes the primary characteristic of who we are we become rotten or sour. (See John 15)

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Leafing it to Jesus

May 27, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Obtain the leaves from various trees and plants. Have some green leaves, some dried ones, big ones, small ones, different shapes, wilted ones, etc.

Activity
Have kids identify the plants from which the leaves come. You could number the leaves and then have kids identify each leaf by number. Reward the youth that gets the most correct.

Debrief
Explain that the leaves dry up and die when disconnected from the tree. Our spiritual lives will also dry up if we are disconnected from Jesus. Without Jesus we cannot even grow. John 15 describes this relationship between Christ and Christians as similar to that between a vine and branches.

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Object Lessons

Tree-mendous growth

May 26, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Preparation
Select a location where there are several large trees growing. You might also need a ground sheet students can lie on. You’ll need several Bibles.

Activity
Take your group to the selected trees. Form groups of no more than five and have each group select a tree. Have kids lie under the trees, looking up at the branches. Have a volunteer in each group read John 15:5-10, then have kids answer questions about themselves and their trees in their groups.

Debrief
1. Imagine this tree is a picture of Christ and his followers.
* Which part of the tree would you label as Christ? Explain.
* Which part would be his followers? Why?
2. Have kids look for branches that are dead and need pruning.
* Why do branches die?
* How might someone become spiritually dead, like a dead branch?
3. Look for new growth.
* In what ways have you experienced new growth spiritually?
4. Look for evidence that the tree is reproducing, such as seeds or fruit.
* What areas of your Christian life are producing fruit?

Additional Activity
Have each person choose a branch that is most like him or her spiritually and explain why they’ve chosen this branch. For example, someone might say, “This branch is like me because it has lots of new growth, and I’ve been growing a lot in my faith recently.”

Application
Close by having groups each form a circle around their tree and pray that they’ll grow in Christ, the true vine.

Creative Teaching Ideas

Servant or Saint?

May 24, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Make a list of actions that describes things that are ways to serve, ways that we please God (saints), things that give us peace, or things that are grace (undeserved gifts) from God

Activity
In Philippians 1:1-11, Christians are described as servants and saints as recipients of grace and peace. A servant looks after the needs of other people. A saint lives a life that is pleasing to God. Call out the items on your list. Kids will respond in one of the ways below.

* If the item read is an act of service, they get on their knees.
* If it is an action a saint would do, they put their hands together as in prayer
* If it is something that gives us peace they rest their heads on hands together as if going to sleep
* If it is an act of God’s grace (i.e. a gift from God) they open their arms wide to receive it.

You can go through items and let kids even decide items of their own.

Game variation As a game eliminate anyone who performs the incorrect action for an item.

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Improving Your Teaching

Teaching Like Jesus – Jesus Began at the Level of the Student

May 24, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

When Jesus talked with the woman at the well He began with water, compared that water to eternal life, and finally explained about the Messiah (John 4:1-26). He began with people at the level they were at and then stretched them and gently guided them to deeper spiritual truths and action.

Rather than scolding Thomas for his religious questions, Jesus gave him the evidence he needed to believe (John 20:24-28). Jesus responded to His mother’s worry by explaining why He stayed in the temple (Luke 2:49). Jesus comforted His disciples by assuring them He would prepare a place for them (John 14:1-3). At the Last Supper He tempered Peter’s overconfidence by telling him what to do after failure (Luke 22:32). He helped His disciples see that children weren’t a bother to “serious” religion, but a demonstration of it (Mt 19:13-15).

By beginning at the level of the student we can gently guide them into deeper spiritual truths. In the process we are a little closer to teaching as Jesus Taught.

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Improving Your Teaching

Teaching Like Jesus – Jesus Spent Time with Students

May 23, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Jesus spent time with His students. He called 12 people to be His closest disciples (Mark 1:17-20). He talked with them (Mark 11:20-25), rested with them (Mark 6:30-31), and shared the Last Supper with them (Mark 14:12-26).

He also spent time teaching others who were interested in Him (Mark 6:34-44). He respected people by taking time for children and by talking with the very people others often chose to ignore (Matthew 19:14; John 4:9). He spent time listening to and understanding people, regardless of their background. He accepted Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, when no one else would. Rather than judging him, Jesus spent time with him and let God’s love transform Zacchaeus (Luke 19:2-10).

Jesus knew that more is caught than taught. When we spend time with students they learn from our lives and we discover a little bit more about their needs and concerns. Then we are a little closer to Teaching as Jesus Taught.

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Improving Your Teaching

Teaching Like Jesus – Jesus connected with Life

May 22, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Jesus’ parables, “earthly stories with heavenly meaning,” made spiritual truth clear by relating it to the everyday experiences of life. “The kingdom of God . . . is like a mustard seed” (Luke 13:19). People could relate to the stories because they were drawn from real life. He used a coin to teach about taxes (Mark 12:16-17). He used the stones of magnificent buildings to explain the intensity of the end of the age (Mark 13:1-4).

The greatest engagement is to be actively involved in life. Involve rather than inform. Suppose you had climbed a mountain and wanted to convey to your students the exhilaration of reaching the top and the relief at discovering that the grueling work was really worth the effort. Would it be better to tell them about your climb or take them to the top of the mountain with you? Taking them to the top would take more time than saying: “The results are worth the climb.” But which would impact their lives more deeply? It’s the same with Bible study: the more youth do for themselves, the more meaningful their learning becomes.

Jesus taught by first being an example, and then by encouraging others to follow his example. He served by washing His disciples’ feet (John 13:1-7). He emphasized baptism by being baptized (Mt 3:13-17). He sent the disciples out in pairs to proclaim the kingdom of God. (Lk 10:1-12) He challenged His followers to share His gospel with the world (Mt 28: 18-20).

When spiritual truths connect with real life, lives are changed and we are a little closer to teaching as Jesus taught.

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Teaching Like Jesus – Jesus Invited Others to Talk

May 21, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus Asked — perhaps because people find it easier to begin talking about other people’s opinions. It was an invitation to discussion. Jesus then asked the personal question: “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15) because he was never content to leave spiritual truth at the level of discussion of what others believed. Spiritual Truth must become personal if it is to change lives.

Jesus used questions to help people draw conclusions for themselves, such as when He spoke with the rich ruler about eternal life (Luke 18:18-29).

He also invited discussion and used questions to correct faulty thinking, as when He talked with religious leaders about authority (Matthew 21:23-27). Often Jesus did not answer His own questions but used them to lead His listeners toward truth.

But Jesus did more than ask questions. Part of encouraging others to talk is learning to listen. He himself learned by listening to teachers in the temple (Luke 2:46). He reminded His followers to listen to understand (Mt 11:15; 13:18; 15:10). God commanded people to listen to Jesus (Lk 9:35). Jesus listened and encouraged others to listen.

When we invite others to speak, we get them to interact with the truths of God. When we invite others to speak, we are one step closer to teaching as Jesus taught.

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Which Way?

May 20, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1. Several objects of different colors, one color for each team.
2. A large area that allows youth to travel around the building or an outdoor area without getting in each other’s way too much.

Activity
Position the objects that youth must retrieve as a group. Color code several teams and have them locate and retrieve the object corresponding to the color of their team.

Instructions
Each group is to form a circle by linking arms but facing outside. Each team will select a group member to stand in the middle of the circle. The objective is for the person in the middle to guide the group to the object that you have positioned. Reveal the object to the person in the center of the circle only. Nobody else in the team should know about it. As the team moves, they must listen to the instructions given by the person in the middle without unlinking their arms. The person in the center may only give directions to guide the team to the object but may not reveal anything about what the object is. If the object is revealed or hints are given to indicate the identity of the object then that team will be disqualified. The team that retrieves its object first, wins.

Debrief
At the end of the game ask the youth to discuss the difficulties they faced in finding and retrieving the object.

1. What things were essential for the team to win?
– Unity
– Listening to the one in the center though you cannot physically see him because everyone is facing outward.
-If each person wanted to move at his own personal pace the whole team suffers.

Application
God wants us to serve Him, and He gives us Jesus to be our life’s navigator. If my sights are always on Jesus, if my every decision is made in the light of his abiding presence, then I know my service to God will be accomplished. Let us keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, who inspires us and perfects our faith (Heb 12:2) Though physically we could not see the center of the circle we were relying on his direction. Even if the task of completing the job might be daunting His words inspire us. We need to give up our individuality and be one with the father just as Christ was one with Him. (Philippians 2:5-11)

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Freedom in Christ

May 19, 2005 kensapp 2 Comments

Materials
Gather strips of soft cloth to tie the hands and ankles as well as to make blindfolds. (Strips torn from an old sheet work nicely) You’ll need enough strips for each person to have one.

Activity
Distrubute the cloth strips to kids and have them form three groups. Instruct one group to tie each other’s hands behind their backs. (You will have to help the last person.) Have another group use the strips to loosely tie each person’s ankles together. Have the remaining group use its strips as blindfolds. Provide instructions to the youth letting them know that as you call out various actions, they are to do each one in the best way that they can.

* Shake hands
* Touch your toes
* Walk across the room
* Wave to a friend
* Take one giant step
* Sit cross-legged on the floor
* Hop on one foot
* Point to the west
* Wink at someone.

Debrief
Have youth remain handicapped as they are and ask:
1. What kinds of problems are you having? Explain.
2. What can be done to solve these problems?
3. This game has taken away some of your freedom. What kinds of things bind us or take away our freedom in real life?
4. How can we be freed from these things?

Read John 8:31-36 and then walk around the room freeing kids from their bonds.
1. What kind of freedom does Jesus give?
2. What does it mean to be free?

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