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Game Ideas, Object Lessons

Broken Water Balloons

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Broken Water Balloons

You can’t have summer without at least one water balloon fight. Water Balloons have a purpose – to be filled with water. As God’s creation each of us also has a purpose. Pascal said that all men were created with a God shaped vacuum – an emptiness in our lives only GOD can fill. When we try to fill that emptiness with things other than the Living Water, we will always feel empty. We will always be thirsty.

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Games Using Water Balloons

  • Back to Back – Split the youth up into partners however many as necessary. Then put them next to a bucket of water balloons. This is a relay race so have another bucket abouy 15 feet away. The players have to put the water balloon between both of their backs and walk to the other bucket. If your balloon breaks you must go back and get another balloon. Set a time limit and when the times run out see which team has the most water balloons in their bucket.
  • Beach Towel Toss – Divide into teams of two, each person holding a towel at the corners. Standing six feet apart, each team must use the towel to toss a balloon back and forth with another team. After a successful toss, have the teams move farther apart. Continue playing until the balloon breaks.
  • Blanket Water Balloon Toss – All youth stand around a blanket holding an edge. When you toss individual water balloons high into the air, the youth must try to catch each water balloon in the blanket.
  • Hot Potato, Water Balloon Style – Played just like Hot Potato, youth must pass a water balloon around the circle when the music starts. When it stops whoever is holding it has the bust the water balloon on their own head.
  • Soaker – one person throws a water balloon high in the air and calls out another player’s name or number. The player so called must catch the balloon. If the player succeeds at catching it unbroken, she gets a free shot at the thrower who called her name and gets her turn at throwing a water balloon up and calling another’s name.
  • Water Balloon Pinata – Fill regular sized round balloons up with water, and tie them to a rope that is hung between two trees. You are blindfolded, given a plastic baseball bat, and get three swings to break a balloon.
  • Water Balloon Shot Put – see who can toss a water balloon the farthest. For added incentive, have a leader stand just out of reach of the players for a target.
  • Water Balloon Squat – Relay. Run to the line. Sit on a water balloon. Return to the team.
  • Water Balloon Stuff – Get two sets of those long johns and a bunch of water balloons. Get two volunteers and assign them a team whose job is to stuff water balloons in the long johns. When the designated time is up you count the balloons and the one with the most balloons wins. The winner and his stuffers get to throw all the balloons at the loser.
  • Water Balloon Toss – Form two lines of paired players, facing each other. Have each pair toss a water balloon back and forth, taking a step backwards after every two tosses. The further back you step, the further the toss and the more likely the water balloon will burst. The last pair to have their water balloon intact wins.
  • Water Balloon Toss Relay – Form 2 or more even teams. As in any relay race, have a starting line and a finishing line. Spread each member of the team about 3-5 feet apart. Each member must toss the water balloon to the next team member. If the water balloon breaks or falls onto the floor they have to start from the very beginning. The object of the game is to send 3 water balloon successfully down the line and into their team bucket.
  • Water balloon volleyball – Set up a volleyball net or string a rope between two posts, and then split the youth into groups of two. Give each group a towel or sheet and instruct the teams to hold it between them to create a landing mat for water balloons. With one team on each side of the net, the players use their towel or sheet to toss the balloon over the net to the other side. Every time a team drops a balloon, the balloon breaks or the balloon doesn’t cross over the net, the opposite team earns a point. Play to eight points before switching out teams.
  • WATER BALLOON FIGHT – have a classic water Balloon war between two teams.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

At the end of your water balloon games, take a hose and squirt a leader or volunteer down.

  • Compare a water balloon and a hose? In what what ways are they similar? Different?
  • Describe a time when you were really thirsty?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

During the time of Jeremiah much of Israel had turned away from God. They had turned away from the Fountain of living water and were looking to other things (broken cisterns) to satisfy their spiritual thirst. A cistern was basically just a hole in the ground with some kind of lining meant to hold stagnant rainwater. They were broken from the very day they were built. Only God Himself can quench our spiritual thirst. (See Isaiah 55:1-2, John 4:10-14, John 6:35 and John 7:37-38.) Imagine yourself as a very thirsty person in a parched land, turning away from a bubbling spring of cool water to shovel out a cistern in the dirt, under the parched sun, in the hopes of collecting some rain water! Many people today are also busy digging cisterns. We are not so different from the people of Jeremiah’s day. The one thing that is different is that we have more things available to us with which we try to satisfy the deep longings and thirsts of our lives.

  • Discuss as a group how cisterns were constructed and the constant effort it took to maintain them vs. get refreshed from a natural spring of water.
  • Digging cisterns is like going our own way in life. How do our own plans take constant effort to maintain?
  • What are some of the things people seek for pleasure, happiness, to fill the emptiness of our days?
  • Why do people insist on building broken cisterns rather than drinking from the spring of living water that will never run dry?
  • Why do people look for other sources? Why aren’t people happy with the Living Water?
  • Why do we run from one thing to another, never finding satisfaction, but never running to God?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • How do we know if we are seeking the things of God or broken cisterns?
  • What is it in us that makes us prefer to do things our way rather than accept God’s way?
  • Is it possible for us to be so busy doing things that don’t really matter that you never became involved in the things of God? Can we do good things and yet still neglect God? Spiritual things?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • Describe a time when you sought God to fill a void in your life that seemed impossible to face?
  • What do I not have in my life that, if I only had, I believe would make me happy?
  • What do I now have, that, if taken away, would leave me unhappy or devastated?
  • What do I have now that I spend a lot of time maintaining and would struggle to keep?
  • What is it that I now have in my life that I can’t live without?
  • Are you so busy repairing and refilling your broken cistern that you never took advantage of the fountain of life God offers?
  • God is asking you to see what you have been doing with your life. How are you spending your time, your money, your abilities, your resources?
  • Are you wasting your life and ignoring the many opportunities to be used by God?
  • Where are you going to drink today, this week this month, the rest of your life—for all of eternity? The spring of living waters or the cisterns of this world?
  • Ask God to show you the broken cisterns you have in your life. Surrender them and ask Him to satisfy your soul with Himself alone.
  • What are you consuming that masks your inner thirst? What deeper needs do you sense in yourself? Ask God would to show you how He can meet that need.

SCRIPTURE

  • Jeremiah 2:13 – “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
  • John 7:37 – “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”
  • John 10:10 – He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”

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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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Creative Teaching Ideas, Game Ideas, Object Lessons

Bubbly Christians

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Everyone loves soap bubbles – Preschoolers, Children, Youth and Adults. They gleam and sparkle in all the colors of the rainbow. They float along and drift in delightful and unexpected ways. They come in all sizes and shapes, and can be caught or set free, alone or connected. But one thing is true of all bubbles. There will come a time when each bursts and is forever lost. Bubbles do not last forever. They remind us to focus on this things that last forever.

Bubbly Christians

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What You Need

1. Soap Bubbles

You can buy ready-made soap bubble solutions with wands inside, but it is so much cheaper to make your own by simply mixing together the following ingredients in a container:

  • 1/4 cup glycerin – You can find it at drugstores
  • 1/2 cup dish soap – Various dish washing detergents will have different characteristics so experiment a little to get the best solution.
  • 2 cups warm water – Distilled water is recommended by some.

2. Bubble Wands

For bubble wands you can use pipe cleaners, plastic lids with a hole cut in the center, a can or round plastic container with the bottom cut out, fly swatters, a slotted spoon, a wire whisk, cookie cutters, strainers, cheese graters, or a clothes hanger wrapped tightly with cotton string.

Games using Soap Bubbles

  • Biggest Bubble – Using a bubble wand, see which team can blow the biggest bubble without popping it.
  • Biggest Bubble using only your hands – Put your fingers together so they form an opening, dip your hands in a bowl of bubble solution to get a bubble film, and if you blow gently, you can make bubbles up to two feet in diameter.
  • Bubble Archery – Place a bullseye target at the end of the room. Youth must blow a bubble from behind the line and then use their breath to blow it into the target to get points.
  • Bubble Baseball – Divide the youth into teams and have them stand in line one behind the other. Set up a turn around point at some distance from the starting line. One at a time the someone from each team will blow a bubble and catch it on their wand. They must then run to the turn around point and back to their team with out losing or popping their bubble. When they return to the start then the next person in line goes. If a bubble pops or they lose their bubble from their wand they must run back to the start and begin again. The team with all their players to finish first wins.
  • Bubble Blast – With just one breath, see who can blow the most bubbles. If you get a good deep breath, you’ll be amazed just how many bubbles you can blow!
  • Bubble Catch – Blow a limited number of bubbles then youth run after them and try to catch them on their wand. If they pop the bubble or don’t manage to catch one they are out.
  • Bubble Count – One youth blows bubbles while you call out a number. The first person to pop that many bubbles wins.
  • Bubble Dodgeball – Youth each get a bubble wand and bubbles and staying in a designated area they try to blow bubbles at each other. If a bubble pops on you, you are out. Players must be stationary in one spot and can only pivot on one foot, but can duck and twist to avoid the bubbles. They can even blow them away.
  • Bubble Float – Who can float one bubble in the air the longest before it pops. Youth can keep their bubble floating in the air the longest by blowing gently underneath it. Variation, give the team 30 seconds to blow the bubbles. After the 30 seconds is finished, time them until the last bubble pops.
  • Bubble Freeze – Youth blow bubbles on a paper plate and then, before the bubbles pop, put them in the freezer. Biggest frozen bubble wins.
  • Bubble Pop – Form pairs or teams. One person (or more) blows the bubbles while another person pops them. The pair / team who pops the most bubbles in 1 minute wins. Make it more difficult by not allowing them to use their hands. Change it up by requiring the bubbles to be popped with different body parts – nose, ear, elbows, foot, etc.
  • Bubble Race – Divide the youth into teams. Teams line up in single file lines. Mark off a finish line at least ten feet away. The person at the front of the line must blow a bubble and he or she must then guide that bubble across the finish line. He or she then runs back to the team and sends the next person to do the same thing. If anyone’s bubble pops or floats away, they must go back and start all over. This continues until every member of one team gets a bubble over the line and makes it back to her team.
  • Bubble Race – Youth must blow their bubble along the race track and across the finish line!
  • Bubble Stack – One person blows a bubble while another catches it on the bubble wand. Another team member blows another bubble, which also must be caught and placed on top of the first bubble. The team with the highest stack at the end of sixty seconds wins.
  • Highest Bubble – Who can blow a bubble the highest into the air?
  • Mega Bubble – This game from Minute to Win iIt requires the youth to first blow a bubble from behind a starting line, then use their own hot air to move it across the play area and through a waiting hoop that is hung from the ceiling. The smaller the hoop, the more difficult the challenge. You can also increase the distance to the hoop to increase the challenge. Rules: You cannot touch the bubbles. If a bubble bursts while traveling through the hoop it does not count – it must actually go through the hoop and be seen on the other side. You may not touch the hoop itself. If a player must return to the beginning and start again, he or she must be standing behind the foul line to blow the next set of bubbles.
  • Nested Bubbles – Blow bubbles inside of bubbles. Using straws, who can get the most bubbles inside of a bubble without it popping.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Use the games as a discussion starter about the things in life that are temporary vs. eternal.

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

  • What do all bubbles have in common? – Eventually they all burst!
  • What are some things that last forever?
  • What are some things that we strive for in life that are only temporary?
  • Why is it so much easier to focus on the temporary things?

Some bubble last longer than others, but in the end the bubble bursts. The same is often true of life’s attractions.

  • What are some things in life that may at first seem long lasting but in reality are only temporary?

Explain that each bubble is filled with air. While you cannot see the air you know its there because it gives the bubble its shape. In life sometimes we must believe in what we cannot see and this is called faith.

  • How is faith related to the desire to live for things that are eternal rather than temporary?

Bubbles grab our attention. So do the things of the world. In fact the bubble is like a small little world.

  • What are some of the things in life that grab our attention?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • What are the characteristics of a person that is living for eternal things?
  • What things do they live for? Focus on? Strive for?
  • How can a reminder that so many things are temporary change the way a person thinks and lives life?
  • How can having an eternal perspective on things affect a person’s focus? Dreams? Aspirations? Actions? Priorities?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • What are some of the priorities in your life right now?
  • Are these things more beneficial for the here and now or for the eternal?
  • Are you focused on things that will last?
  • What would change if you had a more eternal perspective on life?

SCRIPTURE VERSES

  • James 4:13-14 – “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
  • Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
  • Luke 12:15-21 – “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
  • Colossians 3:1 – “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
  • 1 John 2:15-17 – “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
  • Mark 8:34-36 – “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
  • Matthew 6:31-33 – “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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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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Devotional

Bible Lessons from the Olympics: Blind Focus – Im Dong-Hyun

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The athletic feats of the Olympics continue to astound us. The excellent displays of speed, strength, agility, and determination continue to inspire us. But there are few who are as amazing and inspirational as the less-than-perfect Olympians. We thought we’ve seen it all. A leg-less runner pretty much topped the list. Until we heard of a blind archer. Read on…

Blind Focus

 

On 27 July 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London a new world record score of 699 in archery was set. World records are broken all the time at the Olympics. But what makes this world record unique is that it was set by someone who is legally blind – Im Dong-Hyun from South Korea.

He has only 10 percent of normal vision in his left eye and slightly more at 20 percent in his right which makes him legally blind. In competition, he refuses to wear corrective lenses while shooting, because they make him uncomfortable. Instead he relies on his muscle memory and a slight difference in color in his blurred vision. At 70 meters, he sees only a blurred yellow blob, but says he has grown used to seeing the target that way. Dong-Hyun describes what he sees as being similar to different colored paints being dropped in water. The colors are not very distinct and the boundaries between them are blurred.

In spite of his less than perfect vision, he more than proved his ability to hit his target. Dong-Hyun’s sight may be impaired, but his vision is crystal clear – to win the gold at the Olympics.

Take it to the Next Level

 

The great men of faith in the Bible didn’t have perfect vision either; far from it. They were blinded and misled by lust, fear, greed, pride and jealousy. They were murderers, thieves, liars, adulterers, vengeful and power-hungry. They were pretty much as bad as the next person. Interestingly, the word “Sin” is actually a term from archery. When it says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” it means to “miss the mark,” to miss the target. Like these great men of faith, we were given one shot and we all missed by a mile.

We fell short of God’s plan for our lives, we missed the target, we sinned. But can draw inspiration from Dong-Hyun who overcame his physical imperfection to win his prize. He was blind but he didn’t let his condition control his destiny. Though it certainly took courage and perseverance, what I believe are two keys to his success are:
1. Focus – He doesn’t focus on his limitations, but on his target.
2. Reliance – he relies on the feel of the bow, a steady hand, and past experience.

Focus

Like Dong-Hyun, we can choose to overcome our spiritual imperfection. As Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. If we want to lay hold of all that God as in store for us, we need to shift our focus away from our sinful “disability” and focus on God’s supernatural ability.

But what made these men of faith great, what set them apart from the rest was their focus on God. Their sights were set on Him. Like them we must keep focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith and act, trusting that God will guide us to His intended target for our lives.

Reliance

In our attempt to live godly lives, we often depend on our own strength. We tend to rationalize, depend on conventional wisdom, try it on our own for a while and when everything falls apart, God becomes our “Plan B”. Dong-Hyun could have used corrective lenses. That would have been the logical, smart thing to do to overcome his “disability”. He might even have done better. But would his life have been as much of an inspiration if he did? We often wonder why God places limitations on us. Why do we still have to deal with sin even though Christ won us the ultimate victory, why do we still struggle with it?

God certainly isn’t a fan of doing things the conventional way. If He did, none of us would ever make the cut. We’re not perfect, we’re not the best of the best of the best. The irony is God very often chooses the weak, humble, and foolish things to show His glory through them. After all, if God always chose the “perfect people,” others would just as easily attribute their successes to their natural ability; nothing to do with what God has done.

So even though these men of faith led seriously messed up lives, once they trusted God enough to make Him the center, the bulls-eye of their lives, they accomplished amazing things. “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

Scriptures Verses for Youth Bible Study

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'”

Phil 3:13-14 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:23 (NIV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Questions for Youth Discussion

  • Have you ever seen those circus sideshows where they try to hit a target blindfolded? How do you believe they do it?
  • Have you ever tried shooting at targets yourself? Basketball? Golf? Soccer? Archery? The rubbish bin? How good are you at hitting the target?
  • Why is it that God allows us to struggle with sin?
  • What are some common struggles that youth face? Christians in general?
  • What famous personalities do you know about that have had some pretty serious struggles?What was their story? Was it a triumph or defeat? Who did they turn to for help? What are some things they learned through their experiences?
  • Who are some of the Bible personalities who had some serious struggles? What were their stories? Was it a triumph or defeat? Who did they turn to for help? What are some things they learned through their experiences?

Application to the Lives of Youth

  • What are some struggles you have faced personally?
  • Who did you depend on in the midst of your struggle?
  • Did you overcome your struggles? Or are you still working through them?
  • Will you do anything differently, knowing what you’ve learned today?

If we’re willing to say, “God I know I’m not perfect but here I am, with all my imperfections, ready and available to allow you to work through me;” if we’re willing to make God our focus and depend on Him, willing to see beyond our past and fix our eyes on Jesus, the arrow of our lives will fly surely enough to hit God’s intended target and destiny for us. And we’ll leave our mark and legacy on the pages of history.

Get "Go for the Gold" Youth Bible Study SeriesGo for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

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Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Teaching Illustrations

A single-minded Tom Edison

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“Little strokes fell great oaks.”–Benjamin Franklin

The February 1998 issue of Success magazine contains an excerpt from a story that the magazine printed 100 years ago. The article, “A single-minded Tom Edison,” contains an interview with Thomas A. Edison, the great inventor.

Here is part of the conversation Theodore Dreiser had with Edison:

“Dreiser: ‘What’s the first requisite for success?'”
“Edison: ‘The ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly. . .'” “You do something all day long, don’t you? If you get up at 7 and go to bed at 11, you have put in 16 good hours, and it is certain with most men that they have been doing something all the time. The only trouble is that they do it about a great many things, and I do it about one. If they applied it in one direction. . .they would succeed.’

In that short interview, Edison reveals one requirement for achieving success: focus.

Does your life have focus?

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” (Philippians 3:13)

But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)


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…