Bible Riddles: What am I?

WHO AM I?

God made Adam out of dust,
But thought it best to make me first;
So I was made before the man
According to the Lord’s Holy Plan.

My whole body God made complete,
Without arms or hands or feet.
My ways and acts did the Lord control,
But in my body He placed no soul.

A living being I became,
And Adam gave to me a name.
Then from his presence I withdrew,
For this man Adam I never knew.

All my Maker’s laws I do obey,
And from these laws I never stray.
Thousand’s of me go in fear,
But seldom on the earth appear.

Later, for a purpose the Lord did see,
He placed a living soul in me.
But that soul of mine the Lord had to claim,
And from me took it back again.

And when this soul from me had fled,
I was the same as when first made;
Without arms, legs, feet, or soul,
I travel on from pole to pole.

My labors are from day to night,
And to men I once furnished light.
Thousands of people, both young and old,
Did by my death bright lights behold.

No right nor wrong can I conceive,
The Bible and it’s teachings I can’t believe.
The fear of death does not trouble me,
Pure happiness I will never see.

Up in Heaven I can never go,
Nor in the grave or Hell below.
So get your Bible and read with care,
You’ll find my name recorded there.

What am I?

Answer: A Whale

 


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An Illustration of Eternity

Here’s an interesting Object Lesson for children, youth, and adults from Francis Chan illustrating the difference between living for the things of this world and living for eternity. The few short years you have on earth determine how you will live for eternity. What are you living for?

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
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THINK Before You Speak to Youth

think-before-you-speak.jpg

Our words are very powerful, especially when speaking to youth who are forming their sense of identity and self-worth. They have the power to build up, and to tear down, the power to inspire and to dishearten, the power to encourage or discourage. Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a youth minister, or just a friend of youth here are 5 simple things to consider.

The next time you want to say something to a youth, T.H.I.N.K. first.

Before you say something you might regret, ask yourself these 5 simple questions. If the answer is “No” to any one of these questions, then you might not want to say it to a youth. Teens are very sensitive to the words we say. The following scriptures have had general references to people replaced with the word “youth” or a variation to bring more focus to our conversations with those who are youths.

1. TRUE? – Is it true?

  • Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, in reference to youth, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)
  • Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment. (Proverbs 12:19)

2. HELPFUL? – Is it helpful?

  • Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building youth up according to their needs, that it may benefit the teens who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

3. INSPIRING? – Is it inspiring?

  • But encourage teenagers daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13)
  • Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur youth on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:23-24)

4. NECESSARY? – Is it necessary?

  • Walk in wisdom toward youth, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each teenager. (Ephesians 4:5-6)
  • But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken to youth. (Matthew 12:36)

5. KIND? – Is it Kind?

  • Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice toward youth. (Ephesians 4:31)
  • He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend. (Proverbs 22:11)
  • Instead, speaking the truth to teens in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15)

Another way to look at this is to consider how to reword what you have to say to teenagers so that it fits these 5 guidelines. So the next time, before you say something to a youth, THINK first!


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Prayer circle

Objective
This activity is a variation of the normal group prayer that provides youth both an element of personal attention while at the same time keeping the entire group actively engaged.

Resources
None needed

Preparation
Divide the youth into two groups of equal size. In case of an odd number the person without a partner will be given a special task. Leaders are encouraged to be part of the groups.

What to do

  1. Assign one group (if the groups are uneven use the larger group) to form a circle with everyone in the circle face to the outside of the circle. (i.e. Standing in a circle facing away (not looking at each other) from the other members of the circle.
  2. Next assign the second group of youth to each line up facing one of the youth that have formed a circle. So there will be an outer circle of youth facing inward, with each youth facing another one in the inner circle.
  3. If the circles are uneven, there will be one youth in the inner circle without a partner.
  4. Then give the youth the following instructions. Not now, but when I say “begin” you will pray for the person you are facing. If you do not have a partner you will be praying for the youth group as a whole. You need to keep praying until I say “change”. When I say “change” all those in e outer circle -Outer circle members raise you right hand- all of you with your hands raised will move to your right. So that you are facing the next person in the inner circle. Inner circle, do not move, stay where you are. Does everyone understand? (Depending on the comfort level of the youth, you can suggest the prayers be out loud or silent)
  5. Ok. Let’s “begin”.
  6. Give the youth some time to prayer for the person they are facing. After a set amount of time, call out change. Youth are to silently move to the next person. Ask them to “begin” again, but this time for the new person they are facing. Once again, if there is a teenager without a partner that youth is to pray for the youth group as a whole. Continue until the circles rotate until they are facing their original partner again.

 

Guidelines for Prayer
Here are some of the things that the Bible teaches about prayer:

  • God Answers Prayer – Matthew 21:21-22
  • Pray regularly – Psalm 55:17
  • Pray at all times – 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
  • Pray together – Matthew 18:19-20
  • Pray secretly and honestly – Matthew 6:5-7
  • Prayer is asking – John 16:23-26
  • Pray for enemies – Matthew 5:44
  • Pray for the sick and those in need – James 5:13-14
  • Pray for everything – Philippians 4:6-7
  • Pray about anything – John 14:12-14
  • Pray with Thanks – Philippians 4:6-7
  • Pray with confidence – John 15:7-8,16
  • Pray in Jesus’ Name – John 16:23-26
  • Confess sin as part of prayer – 1 John 1: 9
  • Prayer keeps us from sin – Matthew 26:41
  • Prayer gives courage – Luke 18:1

 


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Scarred Arms

Every night, the young mother rocked her young 3 year old daughter to sleep and each night the same conversation took place between mother and daughter.

The young mother would first tell a story, then say a prayer for her daughter, and finally hum a lulaby.

The daughter would then respond by touching her mother’s soft hair and saying, “Mommy, your hair is so pretty. I love your hair.”

She would stroke her mother’s cheek and say, “Mommy, your face is so pretty. I love your face”

Finally, the little girl would point at her mother’s arms and say, “But Mommy, your arms are ugly. I don’t love your arms.”

This bedtime ritual went on night after night. Then one evening, after the little girl had once again told her mother that she did not love her arms, the mother decided it was time to tell her daughter the story of her scarred arms.

The mother gently explained, “When you were a baby, there was a fire in the nursery. You were trapped in your crib and would have surely burned to death. But I heard you crying, ran into the room, and had to reach through the flames in order to save you from the fire. The fire burned mommy’s arms very badly and that is why my arms are so ugly.”

The child thoughtfully nodded. A couple minutes passed. The mother assumed that her daughter was probably too young to understand.

Then the little girl began her nightly ritual and began by touching her mother’s soft hair.
“Mommy, your hair is so pretty. I love your hair.”

As usual, she stroked her mother’s cheek and said, “Mommy, your face is so pretty. I love your face”

Then, for the first time in the little girl’s life, she reached down and began to gently caress her mother’s arms and said, “Mommy, your arms are prettiest of all. I really love your arms.”

Jesus is just like that mother with disfigured arms.

He has reached through the fires of hell to rescue you from the crib of death.

His scarred arms are beautiful because they reveal how much he loves you and what it cost him to save you from the flames.


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Unfinished

david.jpgMichelangelo is famous for his work as a sculptor and painter. Although he started 44 statues, he finished only 14. He is best remembered for his sculptures of David and also of Moses. But 30 of his sculptures are left unfinished.

As creative as Michelangelo was, he is surpassed by a more awe-inspiring sculptor. This creator has more works than you can count. You are one of them. Scripture says, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” (Ephesians 2:10)

With the Creator claiming us as His workmanship, why do so many of us feel unfinished? Why do so many people feel like chunks of stone waiting for the right person to recognize the potential inside of us?

Paul prayed for the saints at Philippi, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Are you confident that God is sculpting you, molding your character, shaping you to be like His Son? Are you as confident as Paul that God is a faithful, persistent Creator that will not stop until His work in you is complete? Or do you listen to that internal voice of condemnation that thrives on doubt, fear and discouragement?

Spend some time yielding your life to the Master to shape and mold you, to renew your mind, to complete the good work for which He has created you.


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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Shrek Themed Birthday Party

shrek.jpgDescription
In every youth group, there will be opportunities to celebrate the birthdays of your teens. Here is a Birthday Party theme with one of my favorite animated characters.

Decoration Ideas

  • Poster board cut and decorated to look like castle windows.
  • A poster on the Door saying: Welcome to the land of Far Far Away
  • Cut out poster board to look like Shrek and Fiona’s carriage (garlic clove of Garlic).
  • Shrek soft toys and plushies.
  • Cover your table with a bright yellow table cloth. Scatter green sequins all around the top. – Run strips of green and purple streamers down the center to create a table runner.
  • If your party is for younger youth or children, build a castle using a large appliance box and small boxes on-top. Cut a door and windows. Paint the entire castle with gray paint. Alternatively, decorate the box to look like a tree stump with windows. The children can use this for playtime and you’ll be able to keep it for your lucky birthday child! And it’s a great decoration for a youth party too!

 

Party Hat Ideas
Greet Everyone at the door with their very own pair of Ogre Ears.

Materials

    • Large sheets of light and dark green Craft Foam or construction paper.
  • Craft glue or a hot glue gun.
  • Headbands

 

Instructions

  1. Cut two shrek ears and two small triangles for the inside of the ears.
  2. Attach the small triangles to the ears with a glue gun.
  3. Then attach the ears to the head band with the glue gun.

 

Food Ideas:

  • Ginger Bread Man Cookies
  • Roasted Turkey Legs
  • Roasted Garlic Cloves
  • “Worms” in red swamp mud (Spaghetti Bolognese)
  • Soda with green food coloring

 

Game Ideas:
Pin the Wings on the Donkey

  • Just like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but you’ll need to make wings with construction paper or craft foam sheets.
  • Enlist an artistic teen to draw a Donkey on poster board … they are much cuter that the donkey in the traditional game.

 

Prince Charming Tag

  • Designate a Prince Charming. That player will wear a crown.
  • When you say go…the guests will try to catch the Prince.To make it more difficult for youth, blindfold them and have prince charming quote lines from the movie. Youth follow the voice and try to tag prince charming.

 

Cupcake Walk

  • Let youth draw and color a picture of their favorite Shrek character on squares of heavy paper.
  • Tape the squares to the floor in a circle, using one fewer than the number of participants.
  • The birthday youth gets to start and stop the music at appropriate times during the game.
  • When the music starts, like in the traditional musical chairs, the teens walk from square to square.
  • When the music stops, the youth left without a square is out of the game but gets a cupcake.
  • Play continues until one player is left.
  • Award a prize to the winner, along with a tasty cupcake.

Unwrap the Birthday Gift

Description

The “Unwrap the Gift” game is similar to the Pass the Parcel Game with the difference being that this one gives you a phrase that determines which youth gets the gift next. While you can use this for Christmas, it can also be used for birthdays. Why should the birthday teen be the only one who gets a gift? Want to make it even more inclusive? — Then use a gift like snacks or party favors that everyone can enjoy!

Preparation

To play this Unwrap the Gift game, you’ll need to wrap a gift in multiple layers of wrapping paper with a slip of paper per wrapped layer. You’ll need pieces of paper or sticker labels with the phrases written on them. Remember that the final phrase is below the first layer you wrap.

Note: When wrapping the gift use at least 2 different designs of wrapping paper so visually the guest will easily know when they have unwrap the topmost layer. If you use pink paper for one layer and
purple for the next you won’t have someone unwrapping 2 layers at the same time by accident.

The Phrases

You could use rhymes, bible verses, accessories, clothing color, riddles, trivia questions, favorite foods, pets, hobbies, anything you can imagine. Some examples of phrases to use:

  • The next one to get it all, is someone who is very tall.
  • Who’s up next? The gift goes where? To the one with the longest hair.
  • Mark 9:3 “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”
  • Someone who loves ice-cream.
  • Someone who has a pet dog.
  • Someone wearing a bracelet.
  • Someone who knows the number of books in the Old Testament.
  • Someone who can finish the verse,”The Lord is my shepherd…”

Please add a few phrases of your own by posting a comment to this entry with your own ideas.

 

The phrases should get progressively complex and go from general to specific. You’ll want to start by seeing people wanting to avoid receiving the gift early, then clamoring to get it later in the game.

What to Do

  1. Grab your wrapped gift and invite everyone in the room and have them sit in a circle facing each other.
  2. Announce that you are going to play Unwrap the Gift game.
  3. Explain that when you receive the gift, you’ll need to Unwrap 1 layer of wrapping paper and read the next phrase to determine who gets the gift next. The last person to unwrap the last layer of wrapping paper wins the gift and once you have had your turn unwrapping, you cannot receive the gift again. There’s no telling how many layers there are so, the next one to completely unwrap the gift gets to keep it!
  4. We suggest the Party Host save a spot in the circle and start the game off so everyone understands how it is played. The birthday teen could even be the first one to start the game.

Take it to the Next Level

Here are some possible lessons:

  • Surprises: Life is often full of surprises. Some are ours to keep and others are meant to be passed on.
  • Grace: While in this game, you have to do something or possess a certain characteristic to get the gift, the grace is different. Grace is unmerited favor.
  • Salvation: The gift of salvation is not the result of someone being born on a certain day, but because someone died on a certain day. Jesus gave his life, so that we might live. It was an unmerited gift, not based on who we are or what we do, but who God is and what he did for you! For God so loved he gave.
  • Gifts: A lot of gifts come to us in life. Some are ours to keep, but most are ours to share and pass on to others.
  • Evangelism: Evangelism is receiving the gift of God and passing it on so that someone else can be blessed.

 

Just for Fun

Of course, you can just play this as a fun game at a Birthday Party, Christmas Party or any other celebration with friends.

=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection



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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A Healthy Spiritual Heart for Youth

As a youth, we need to ask God for:

  1. A LEARNER’S HEART
    • Learn for God’s glory, your edification, and the furtherance of the Gospel.
    • To know, knowledge are used at least 51 times in Proverbs.
    • Weigh all learning through the knowledge of Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18).
  2. AN UNDERSTANDING HEART – 65 times in Proverbs
    • To be able to interpret what you learn (above) in God’s perspective (Proverbs 2:10,11).
    • To be able to understand yourself first (Proverbs 4:7-9) and then others.
  3. AN HONEST, TRANSPARENT HEART
    • What you can’t understand (above), share with the person giving you the real or imagined problem (Matthew 5:23,24).
  4. A PURE HEART
    • In an increasingly amoral world we must flee youthful lusts (II Timothy 2:22).
    • Young men and women overcome by letting God’s Word live within (I John 2:14).
    • Don’t be a loner – go out two by two (Mark 6:7).
  5. A DISCRETIONARY HEART – in Word and in Deed
    • To know the difference between that which unnecessarily offends and the inoffensive (Proverbs 2:11).
    • Lord, help me not to be a stumbling block to younger Christians (I Corinthians 8).
  6. A RESPECTFUL HEART
    • You may not agree with or understand someone, but respect him for his work’s sake (I Thessalonians 5:12).
    • Notice in I Timothy 5:1,2 the intricate relationships that young Timothy must observe.
  7. A DISCIPLINED HEART
    • One that chooses against oneself in all matters great or small (Luke 9:23). What you are will be your message (II Corinthians 3:2,3):
  8. A SERVANT’S ALERT HEART
    • Become a load-lifter. Anticipate what would be helpful and then do it. Study the greatest servant in all of history, Jesus Christ (Mark 10:42-45).
  9. A COMMUNICATING HEART
    • This is the counterbalance to merely “being a good example.” Communicate by word, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    • Acts uses words like witness, teach, tell, proclaim, etc., 113 times or an average of four per chapter.
    • Your personal testimony, backed by God’s Word are your greatest weapons (Revelation 12:11).
  10. A PRAISING, THANKFUL HEART
    • If you learn this through loneliness, problems, misunderstandings – you will be A-OK with God.
    • In everything give thanks (I Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20; Hebrews 13:15):

 


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Shaping Character

Youth, like all of us, are works in progress. And God’s priority is the development of our character.

“Bart decided to ask God to shape his character. He surrendered his own will to the will of God. At the time, Bart’s business floundered on the verge of failure. ‘Should I throw in the towel, or keep trying to hang on?’ Bart wondered.

“God replies, ‘You need to persevere.’ After we have done the will of God, then we will receive our reward. God’s will is for us to demonstrate to a hurting world how wonderfully His power can work within the person who perseveres.

“Certainly, there are days when we feel like we will die, or maybe even wish we could, but we keep going. Why? Why do we keep going? Because when we have done the will of God we will receive what He has promised.

“Will persevering guarantee we will succeed in the worldly sense of success? Is that what He has promised? Does it mean we will not go out of business if we hang on? No, but we can state emphatically that if we don’t persevere we will not succeed in any sense. Not persevering guarantees we will fail…

“Beyond succeeding in a worldly sense though, God wants our character to succeed more than our circumstances in such a way that our character eventually succeeds, for that is His highest aim, His will.”

Patrick Morley, “Walking with Christ in the Details of Life” Thomas Nelson Publishers


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.

Learn More…

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