Tag Archives: purpose

Story of the Diamond Dealer – What’s your Passion?

August 9, 2017 kensapp Leave a comment

A story illustrating the difference between knowing something and having passion about something.

Winston was a famous New York diamond dealer. He arranged a meeting with a merchant who wanted to add a unique diamond to his collection.

“I have the perfect diamond for you. Please come see me. I am sure this diamond is exactly what you are looking for.”

The collector flew to New York and Winston assigned a salesman to meet him and show him the diamond. When the salesman presented the diamond to the merchant he described the expensive stone by pointing out all its fine technical features. The merchant listened and praised the stone but turned away and said, “It’s a wonderful stone but not exactly what I wanted.”

Winston, who had been watching the presentation from a distance, stopped the merchant and asked, “Do you mind if I show you the diamond once again?” The merchant agreed and Winston presented the same stone. But, instead of talking about the technical features of the stone, Winston spoke spontaneously about his own genuine admiration of the diamond and what a rare thing of beauty it was. Abruptly, the customer changed his mind and bought the diamond.

While he was waiting for the diamond to be packaged and brought to him, the merchant turned to Winston and asked, “Why did I buy it from you when I had no difficulty saying no to your salesman?”

Winston replied, “The salesman is one of the best in the business and he knows more about diamonds than I do. I pay him a good salary for what he knows. But I would gladly pay him twice as much, if I could put into him something I have and he lacks. You see, he knows diamonds, but I love them.”

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
— Howard Thurman, Author and Philosopher

Do we simply know God, or do we love God? Is God our Passion?

Scriptures on Passion for God

Matthew 22:37 – And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
1 Corinthians 8:3 – But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
Revelation 2:4 – I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Luke 10:38-42 – Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Mark 12:29-34 – Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Creative Teaching Ideas

A New Year: New Priorities

December 30, 2015 kensapp Leave a comment

A New Year - New Priorities
With the New Year we typically evaluate the past year and set new priorities for the upcoming year. Sometimes we call these new priorities or renewed priorities New Year’s Resolutions. New Year’s Resolutions may be focused around family, personal goals, money, jobs, and many other things. While these things are not necessarily wrong, when they take precedence over our relationship with God they become a problem.

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What You Need

Large sheets of paper or newsprint
Whiteboard markers (that will not bleed through the paper)

Preparation

Put a Poster or large sheet of paper in each corner of the room for each of the following labels:
- Possessions or Provision
- Power or Position
- Popularity
- Others
Place a chair in the exact center of the room as a marker.

What to Do

Explain:
- Possessions refer to the material things we seek in life.
- Power refers to positions we want to obtain in life.
- Popularity refers to social recognition and fame that people seek in life.
- Explain that the center of the room represents living for God.
Allow youth to brainstorm about the things that people have as priorities in their lives. Examples might be good grades, a good job, a marriage partner, a house, to serve God, to have lots of money, etc.
Then have youth write the priority on the poster that represents that priority. Some items might fit into more than one category (i.e. good grades might be a priority but the reason could be for popularity or for the purpose of getting a job with more money and a higher position – power.)
After the posters have been filled with examples of each priority, have youth stand somewhere in the room that reflects their most important priorities in life. (For example, if someones priority is to make lots of money they might stand in the possessions corner.)

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

Read Matthew 4:1-10

How does this passage relate to the posters in the corners of the room?
Which poster represents each of the temptations?
How did Christs understanding of his purpose in life reflect his priorities?

Jesus was tempted with popularity, power, and possessions (material needs). But because Jesus understood his purpose in the world he did not give into temptation. There is nothing wrong with material possessions, power or popularity. But when they replace God as a priority in our lives they become a problem. In fact, later in Jesus ministry we would see him providing for the physical needs of people, he would demonstrate the power of God, and he would be popular. Yet his priority was to do the will of God, to accomplish the purpose for which he had been sent into the world. God has brought each of us into the world for a purpose. The better we understand our purpose, the better we will be able to balance our priorities to fulfill that purpose in the new year.

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

What are some things that are part of Gods plan for every persons life?
How can a person discover and trust Gods plan for his or her life? (See Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:6; Romans 8:28)

MAKE IT PERSONAL

What do you believe is part of Gods purpose for bringing YOU into the world? (You may not know all the details yet, but you might have some ideas.)
Each of you has positioned yourself in a specific corner of the room based on your own priorities. How can someone in your position move closer to Gods Purpose for your life and away from the wrong priorities?
What are some of the practical steps you can take this year that would move you closer to Gods ideal plan for your life?
Commit to one of the steps you can start this week!

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ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES
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Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths.”

Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18
“in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:8
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

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Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Game Ideas, Object Lessons

Lego Instructions for the Christian Life

September 10, 2014 kensapp Leave a comment

LEGOs are one of those toys that are universally loved around the world by all ages. They are simple building blocks in a variety of shapes and colors, but with a little creativity and imagination they can be put together in unlimited combinations to create masterpieces. They are a great metaphor for each of us in the body of Christ. And if we follow God’s instruction we can be used to create and do incredible things.

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Games using LEGOs

Blind Builder – A player is blindfolded and must construct the item solely from verbal directions from the team. First to team to complete it wins.
Blind LEGO Construction – Blindfold each team and ask them to build a Lego sculpture using a pile of Lego pieces in front of them. Give awards for the most like a real object, funniest, tallest, longest, most creative, etc
Fast As You Can – In this game you call out a simple object that can be created from LEGO’s. Each team has three minutes to make one as fast as they can. At the end of the three minutes have a judge decide who sculpture most resembles the object. Play a couple of rounds so there are more chances for winners.
Guess How Many LEGO Bricks – Guess how many bricks in a lego jar? The winner could go home with the jar of LEGOS.
I Spy The LEGO Guy – Get several LEGO guys and hide them in various places around the room. The youth or team to locate the most wins.
LEGO Car Race – Divide the youth group into teams and provide each team with a duplicate pile of plastic LEGO building blocks and four LEGO wheels. Within a given time limit, the team must build a car, create a nickname for the car, a racing team name and choose a mascot. Allow each team to line up their racers on a starting line and race them down a makeshift ramp. Your ramp can be a long table propped up on one end, or even a wide board or two. Have challenges or race all at one go.
LEGO Chopsticks – Place two bowls in front of each team: one filled with LEGO blocks, and the other empty. Give the youth one minute to move as many LEGO blocks as they can from the full bowl to the empty bowl using only the chopsticks
LEGO Identity – Give each group an assortment of peices with the instructions to build something that represents them as a group.
LEGO Me – Have youth select a specific lego piece that represent them as an individual and explain it’s significance. Then have them use all the pieces to build one object.
LEGO Memory – Before the game, build a structure with Legos (the more complex the structure, the more difficult the activity). Then put the youth in small groups, each group with a bag of Legos (each bag contains the same size, color, and quantity of Legos and has identical stock as that of the structure you built). The group has to exactly replicate the structure you already built. But, the structure to replicate is located outside the room or behind a screen, only one person from each group may look at the structure at a time. They cannot draw or take a picture of the structure to communicate it – they have to use their memory. Each team can look at the structure as many times as they want, but only one person can look at it at a time. The first to replicate the structure – exactly with the same size and color Legos wins.
LEGO on a string – Have the youth form a circle, facing inward, with one youth in the middle. String a LEGO piece with a hole in it on a long piece of string and then tie the ends of the string together. Place the string inside the circle and have each youth hold it with both hands . The idea is to pass the LEGO around the circle from hand to hand, unnoticed by the youth in the middle . He tries to guess where it is by pointing to the hand he thinks is holding the LEGO. If he is correct, the LEGO holder goes to the middle and the guesser takes his place in the circle . The youth in the middle must keep guessing until he locates the LEGO.
LEGO Scavenger Hunt – Hide an assortment of LEGO bricks and the youth search for them. You can award point values to the different brick colors and have them compete for a high score.
LEGO snapshots – Take pictures of simple LEGO structures, and have the youth try to duplicate it from the picture only. You might need a photo from more than one angle to get all the pieces.
LEGO Tongue Tower – To win this game, the a youth must first put a tongue depressor (or plastic spoon) in their mouth then build a tower of five loose Legos on the tongue depressor (still in their mouth) and then keep the LEGOS balanced for ten seconds.
Lose the LEGOS – Tape an empty tissue box the rear of each player with the opening facing away from the player. You can do this with team representatives or individually if you have enough tissue boxes. You can also have timed trials to determine the fastest. Once the tissue box is taped on, the time will start and the player must shake their rear to be the quickest to get all of the LEGOS to come out of the tissue box.
Quickest LEGO Builders – Get a brand new small box of legos, with a picture on the front of the completed set, for each team. Pass it out to the teams and on go they must build the set. Quickest to do so wins. You can also find blueprints for a variety of lego projects at www.letsbuilditagain.com
Strongest LEGO Bridge – Give each team of youth a set amount of time to build the strongest bridge. Then line up and test them. You can use ziplock bags filled with rice (250grams), soft wrist weights or anything which will not damage your floor when in falls. Amazingly they have been known to hold 5kg (11.02 pounds) so make sure you have enough weight to test them.
Tallest LEGO Tower – See which team can build the tallest tower in a predetermined time limit without the tower falling over.
What am I? – Divide the youth into teams and supply each team a pile of Lego parts that include pieces to make cars, trucks and people. Have everyone write down a name of a person, place or thing on a small slip of paper (tell them not to show anyone else). Ask each youth to fold his or her slip of paper and place it in a hat. Mix the slips of paper and ask one member from each team to randomly select one slip of paper. Tell the team member not to show the paper to his or her teammates. Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes and tell the team member who chose the slip of paper to build whatever was on that slip of paper. It is up to his or her teammates to guess what he or she is building based on his or her creation. No talking or gestures are allowed. The first team to correctly guess the right answer wins that round.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Debrief

What do we need that will help us turn a pile of pieces into a specific shape?
Do you have to build exactly what is on the LEGO box or in the instructions?
Can we use the pieces to build other good things as well?
(If it has step by step instruction) Do you have to follow the instructions?
What is the advantage of instructions?
How does a photo, an example or instructions help?
What could have happened if we didn’t follow the manual?
How did the groups go about assembling their Lego project? How did each person participate?
What was frustrating about this activity?
Why was it difficult/easy to communicate instructions?
What are other situations that happen in your life where you have to rely on others to communicate information or instructions to you?
How do you make sure that you understand them completely? What can you do as the person with the information to get your message across to others?
How do you know where a brick belongs and how it fits into the overall plan?
Is it sometimes possible for more that one brick to fit in the same?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

What spiritual lessons can we learn from LEGOS?
What could happen if you don’t follow the instructions?
How is this like the choices we have in life?
Were you created with a purpose?
What other projects or things have you done that require an instruction manual?
Are there instructions for us to follow in life? As a Christian?
What are some of the world’s instructions? Those from the Bible?
How is a lego set like the body of Christ?
How is the Bible like an instruction manual?
How is Christ a model for us to follow? (1 Corinthians 11:1)

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

A LEGO manual shows how each piece fits together to form the completed shape and the order or sequence.

How is a lego set like the body of Christ? the youth group?

made up of many parts.
Christ is the cornerstone
The parts fit together to make a whole
if one part is missing, the whole suffers – to be complete they need each other
no piece, is more important that the others.
some relationships are closer than others
together they form a picture / object
they didn’t have the instructions or a picture on a box so it was sometimes difficult to know what they were forming
different people acted as leaders to help them form the picture
The pieces support each other
there are different connections – shapes – that connect each
each piece is different / unique
Each piece is identified by where it fits into the whole
Some pieces are easily identified but not more important

MAKE IT PERSONAL

How can we learn where we belong in the church and the role we each should fill?
After this activity, ask each youth to take back their LEGO piece as a reminder of the lessons.

SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 – “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
1 Peter 2:4 – “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual housea to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

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Game Ideas, Object Lessons

Volleyball Christians

August 12, 2014 kensapp Leave a comment

A common summer game is beach volley. But you don’t have to be at the beach to enjoy the sport. You don’t even have to be outside. Besides the official rules, there are also an infinite number of variations and other games that use the volleyball net, ball and court. And after you have played a game, there’s a lesson on what it means to be filled with the things of God so he can use you for the purpose he created you for.

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Volleyball variations

NOTE: If you want to make these games a little less intimidating and a bit easier, use a beach ball to replace the volleyball.

All Hit Volleyball – This game follows the rules of volleyball, except; every group member must hit the ball before it goes back over the net to the other team.
Ball Over – Divide the playing area in half with a line in the sand, a piece of string, or with markers on the side of the field. Teams are placed on each side and are not allowed to cross over to the other team’s side. Blindfold one youth and provide him with a whistle. When the whistle is blown play begins. The blindfolded youth can blow the whistle whenever he pleases. The object of the game is to keep the ball in the opposing team’s territory. One point is counted against the side that has the ball whenever the whistle is blown. The lowest score wins. For variation, have four or five players touch the ball before it can be returned to the other side. Or create a ‘no-man’s land’ along the dividing line. Teams, in getting the ball over, must bounce it into ‘no-man’s land’.
Double Dipped Volleyball – Start with two teams each on a side. These teams begin hitting the ball back and forth over the net. when they are ready to begin, they yell “start”. from that point on, when a player from one side hits the ball to the other, she must dash under the net to the other side. Every time a player hits the volleyball over the net they must dash under the net to the other team.
Battle Ships – This is like the board Game ‘Battle ships’ where you have to try and sink all the opposing team’s boats. First, you need a divider of sorts, about the height or a volleyball net or higher, so that each side cannot see the other (eg. a rope tied at each side of the hall and a large sheet draped over it or big boards put up in between). Next, have each side find a spot where they are not allowed to move from. When the game starts, each side is given a volleyball and then proceeds to try and hit the other team with the ‘bomb shells'(balls). If someone is hit with the ball, catches it or moves from their spot, then they sit to the side until the game is over. Note: each side needs people (runners) to fetch the ball once it has bounced and give it back to the Ships.
Bounce Volleyball – This is played just like normal volleyball, but the ball is allowed to bounce on the ground once before it is returned to the other side.
Chair Pass Ball – Divide the youth into two teams. A firm chair is placed at either end of the room or a designated outdoor playing area as a goal for each team. A person from each team stands on a chair as goalkeeper. The volleyball may only be passed from hand to hand. To score a goal, it must be thrown to the team member on the chair and caught by him. No running with the ball is allowed. Players are also not allowed to snatch the ball from other players. Change the goalkeeper after each goal is scored.
Challenge Volleyball – Allow the team who is serving to call a name of a person on the other team who would be out if the serving team won a point. Upon winning the point on a serve the person called is out. The team continues to call names and knock out players until the serve is lost. The other team upon gaining the serve may call back the lost players or knock out some of the other teams. This brings great intensity to a game, and a team may get down to one player and come back to win. We still play to 15. The players picked on are the athletic players and the less athletic can become the heroes. To play a quick game don’t allow knocked out players to be called back in.
Crazy Volleyball – Play Volleyball with four hits per side and a bounce on the ground considered a hit (it cannot hit the ground two times in a row). This makes it so anyone can have a chance of doing well with the added one bounce.
Island Volleyball – The objective of this game is to keep the ball in the air and off the ground for as long as possible. All players must have at least one foot inside a hoop at all times. Once a player has put a foot inside a hoop, he/she cannot change hoops until the next round. Any player within a hoop may hit the ball, but two players from the same hoop may not hit the ball consecutively. If players from the same hoop make consecutive hits, the score returns to zero. If a player steps out of a hoop during play, the score returns to zero. You may not hit the ball back to the hoop from which it came. Penalty – Score returns to zero. Scoring: Total number of consecutive hits before the ball hits the ground. If you don’t have a hoop, you can use circles of rope.
Maximum Score Volleyball – Instead of scoring a single point as with normal volleyball, the score is determined by the number of times the ball goes across the net to the other team. The normal rules of volleyball still apply.
No Jump Volleyball – Play a normal game of volleyball, but no one is allowed to jump before hitting the ball.
One Sided Volleyball – In this volleyball variation, all the youth start on one side of the volleyball net and no one is on the other side. The objective is to get everyone to the other side. Someone on the team hits the ball up to another player and then crosses under the net to the the other side. Every time someone hits the ball, they move to the other side. The last person hits the ball over the next and then the game begins again on the other side. Each time the team entirely crosses over they get a point. Anytime the ball hits the ground, play must start over, with people who haven’t touched the ball yet going first.
Sitting Volleyball – Using the rules and set up for volleyball along with a net set up inside. Place chairs in volleyball layout on each side of net. Have people sit in the chairs and using belts or some rope tie each person into the chair (going under the chair and over the persons lap). Then play volleyball.
Switch Sides Volleyball – This game follows the same rules as volleyball except that players rotate to the other team rather than to their same team. People become much less concerned about the score and more concerned about having fun, which is the entire point anyway.
Walleyball – In this indoor version of volleyball, set up volleyball net or a rope across the room so the top of the net is about 5 feet above the floor. (Choose a room with nothing breakable. Teams should be 20-25 youth per team as they must sit on the floor with their legs crossed in front of them. Because they cant’t move, you need to fill the play area with as many people as possible. Don’t worry about how many hits per side. For safety you may wish to use a beach ball instead of a volleyball. Variation: Hang a sheet so they cannot see what is happening on the other side of the net.
Watch the Net – Don’t have a a volleyball net to play this version of volleyball. Instead of two teams, split your youth into 3 equal teams, at least 4 per team. Choose 2 of the teams to play against one another just as you would in normal volleyball. With one team left, you add the twist. Have the last team stand within arm length of each other representing the net. The “nets” can only take 1 step forward or backward. The “net” can hit the ball anywhere on the court. If the “net” hits the ball out of bounds, re-serve. Now, when it comes down to game point and the ball is in motion, watch the net!

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Flat Volleyball – This should be the last game or the last round of one of the above games. Play the game with a volleyball that is flat – only partially inflated.

When this ball was created what was it’s purpose?
What was the ball expected to do?
What was it created to contain?
Why can’t can’t this ball fulfil that purpose at this time?
How could the ball get in such a situation?
What needs to happen for this ball to fulfil it’s purpose?
Could a volleyball be filled with water? Is water a bad thing? But would it then fulfil its purpose?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

As Christians we are also created with a purpose. For what purpose are we created?
What things do we fill the emptiness in our lives with?
When we were created, what did God intend for us?
What needs to be in our life for that purpose to be fulfilled?
What happens when we fill our lives with the wrong things (not necessarily bad things)?
Just like the volleyball, we may be empty, or we may fill our lives with other things, but this prevents us from being used to our full capacity for which we were created.

Blaise Pascal said that we have all been created with a God-shaped vacuum that only he can fill. We will only find true meaning and purpose when we let God fill our lives to accomplish his will here on earth.

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

What are some of the purposes that God has for Christians?
How can we be filled with the things of God?
How do we get God in our Lives?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

The easiest way to find that purpose, is to yield to God. What is an area of your life that God has been speaking to you about yielding to him?
Ask God to use you this week in a way that glorifies him and gives you a clearer understanding of his purpose for your life.

ADDITIONAL LESSONS

When we think of volleyball there are a few keys to scoring: set, dig, block, serve, and rotation. When you think of each of these terms, how do they apply to us spiritually?

When the ball is hit over the net, three shots are expected for a team to score a point. The first is called the dig. Digging is grunt work. It usually involves getting on your knees and absorbing a spike from the other team.

DIG – I compare digging to the unpleasant, often painful, formation of a person’s character. A good dig puts the ball in play and allows a team to go on the offensive. So it is with a godly character. The youth who is sincere, honest, loving, and faithful puts himself in a position to influence others for Christ.

SET – The second shot is called the set. Setting is a strategic move, requiring precision and finesse, and it sets the stage for the spike. Time spent in God’s word is like this strategic set. We must train and discipline ourselves in the way of godliness.

SPIKE – After the dig and set and only then are we ready for the spike. The spike is an aggressive, powerful play to score for your team. It drives home our purpose with unmistakable certainty. A score could be victory over a habit, the start of a new habit, winning someone for Christ, or simply being God’s salt and light in the world.

SCRIPTURE

PURPOSE

Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Romans 12:1-6 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God•this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is•his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Colossians 1:27 – “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Philippians 2:13 – “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)- “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

FILLED

Ephesians 3:16-20 – I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”
Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”
Philippians 1:11 “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”

SET

Galatians 5:1 – “For freedom Christ has SET us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
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 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, SET your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”
Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has SET us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

SERVE

Matthew 20:25-28 – “Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Hebrews 6:10 – “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
1 Peter 4:10-11 – “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

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Game Ideas, Object Lessons

Broken Water Balloons

July 23, 2014 kensapp Leave a comment

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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Object Lessons

Setting Priorities for the New Year

January 7, 2014 kensapp Leave a comment

The beginning of the year is often the time when people set new goals and priorities for the year ahead. This lesson is adapted from an object lesson on priorities in our Creative Object Lessons ebook.

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You can find this as an illustration here.

An Object Lesson

What You Need

Marker than can write on plastic
Transparent plastic or glass jar
Ping pong balls (or golf balls)
Bag of rice
Two small plastic bags – You can use more but I prefer two.
Large sheet of paper, newspaper classified ads, or whiteboard

Advance Preparation

Place as many ping pong balls in the jar as will fit
Add as much rise as possible to fill the rest of the space
Empty the jar and place the rice into the plastic bags
Discard the ping balls that were not in the jar so that you only have those that fit.

What to Do

Ask the youth to list goals people might have for this new year?
List them on the newsprint or whiteboard so that all can see.
Pass out the ping pong balls and ask the students to write one of the goals for the new year on each Ping Pong Ball
Ask the students to choose three other things to write on the bags of rice.
Pour the bags of rice into the jar, reading each goals as you pour its contents into the jar.
Then do the same with each of the ping pong balls. These will not all fit.
Explain that if you do the small things first, you won’t have time for the important things.
Ask youth to decide which things on the ping pong balls are the most important and place them in the jar first. You might need to replace the labels on some of them or replace them with the leftover ping pong balls.
Then when you put the items for the rice in they will all fall into place and everything will fit.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

When it comes to setting goals, I sometimes hear two different opinions. I’ve heard people say we should not plan but should be led by the spirit in everything we do. I’ve heard others say that God gave us brains and wisdom to plan in advance and we must make concrete plans. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. We must make plans and be wise with our time, but at the same time our plans must not be so fixed that there is no room for God to add, change, or interrupt those plans for his will to be done.

1. Men of God make plans based upon the wisdom they have

Proverbs 6 affirms wise planning and working toward those plans.
Proverbs 13:16 “A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t and even brags about it!”
Proverbs 15:22 “Plans go wrong with too few counselors; many counselors bring success.”
Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Paul made plans (see Acts 15:36; Rom 1:13)
The disciples made plans (Acts 6:1-3)
Jesus made plans (Matt 10:5-15; 16:21; 26:17-19)
Jesus used plans as an illustration in his teachings (Luke 14:28-31)

2. God’s Word must be a guide for our plans (Psalm 119:9-16; Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Matthew 6:33-34)

3. Our plans must be sensitive and allow room for God to change those plans. (See Acts 16:6-7) James 4:13-14 reminds us that our plans are secondary to God’s. “Instead, you ought to to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that'” (v. 15). Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

Ultimately, God has one primary goal for each of our lives – to become more like Christ – Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 4:13; 22-24

What are some of the goals we should have as Christians in this regard.
What goals can we set that will help us to become more and more Christlike?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

What are some of your personal goals?
If you accomplish each goal, how will Jesus Christ be glorified?
How does each goal help you and/or others become more like Jesus Christ?

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES

Matthew 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

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Object Lessons

Tough Nuts to Crack

March 12, 2013 kensapp Leave a comment

All of us face tough situations in our lives. We could be having the time of our lives but when bad things happen, the good times are forgotten, and all we can see ahead of us is despair. Christ passed through the gates of Jerusalem triumphantly, people waved palm leaves, cloaks were laid at the feet of the donkey He rode on, the crowds cheered and welcomed Him. Barely a week later, the cheers turned to jeers, it was His cloak that was ripped from Him and it was a whip that greeted Him. This Easter themed object lesson uses a walnut to teach the youth that even in the darkest hour and hopeless situations, something good awaits for those who know the plan of the Master.

Resources

Walnuts, one for each youth
Fine tipped markers, one for each youth
Bibles

What to Do

Give each youth a walnut and a fine tipped marker.
Ask youth to think of some difficult situations Bible Characters faced that turned out for good. They can search their Bibles for more examples. (See Examples Below)
Ask the youth to think of difficult times that could end up working out for good for people today? (e.g. Failing a test might lead a youth studying harder and passing a class)
Then ask the youth to think a situation in their own life where something difficult turned into something good. Once they think of something, have them come up with a word, phrase or symbol that represents that situation.
Ask the youth to write the word of phrase or symbol onto the shell of the walnut.
Ask for volunteers to share the word or phrase with the rest of the youth and a little about what happened.
After the sharing, ask the youth to take their walnuts outside and do whatever it takes to crack open the walnut. (You could also provide a hammer or nut cracker if you wish).
When everyone has cracked the walnuts, ask the youth to collect all the pieces and return to the room. Encourage them to taste and eat the walnuts.

Biblical Examples:

Moses: Murder and ran away to desert – Exodus 2:11-22
Joseph: Sold into slavery – Genesis 37
Daniel: Carried off as a captive to Babylon – Daniel 1
Joseph: Accused by Potiphar’s wife – Genesis 39
Esther: Forced into a harem for a pagan king – Esther 4:14
Jonah: Swallowed by a whale – Jonah 1
Paul: Imprisoned in Rome – Philippians 1:12-14

Take It to the Next Level

How did you feel as you crushed the walnut that represented the difficult situation?
How is breaking open the walnut and finding something good inside similar to the difficult situations in life – when something good comes out of a bad situation?

Make it Spiritual

How is Jesus’ death on the cross similar? (Acts 4:27-28)
What good came out of Christ’s death? Resurrection?
How is Jesus’ resurrection like tasting the good meat inside the walnut?

Make it Personal

What does Christ’s death and resurrection mean to you personally?
How has Christ’s death made a difference in your life for good?
Psalm 34:8 tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good. How does this relate to the object lesson?

Make it Practical

What are some tough situations you’re struggling with?
How does Romans 8:28 and the Easter story give you hope and strength to crush these situations in your life?

Scripture References

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
– Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
– Rom 8:28 (NIV)

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”
– Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

Get more than 80 creative ideas for planning a Youth Easter celebration or Easter Party. You can immediately download my best Easter Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Easter activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Object Lessons

Gloves – The hand of God at Work Within Us

September 25, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

Finding one’s identity, purpose, and meaning in life are common struggles that every youth faces. They are seeking an answer to the question, “Why am I here?” In their search for purpose, they may try to find fulfillment in a variety of things, some good, some bad. But our purpose cannot be found in things. Our identity is found by filling the emptiness in our lives with Christ. When God’s Hand is at work in our lives, only then will we find true meaning and purpose. Gloves are a great object lesson to remind youth of this spiritual truth and a simplified version of this lesson makes a great Children’s Sermon.

GLOVES

Resources

Collect a variety of gloves. Here are some of the possible gloves you could choose from:

baseball glove
welder’s glove
leather gloves
Winter gloves or mittens
boxing gloves
work gloves
Surgical gloves
Food preparation gloves
Kitchen gloves
Gardening Gloves
Fingerless Gloves
White Gloves
Cycling Gloves
Fur gloves
Sequined gloves
Goal Keeper’s Gloves
Catcher’s Glove
Golf Glove
Driving Gloves
Scuba Gloves
Ski Gloves
Washing Mitt
Wheelchair Gloves

You might also have on hand a variety of items to fill the gloves with. Here are some possibilities: marbles, golf balls, M&Ms, skittles, coins, sand, water, salt, beans, paper clips, sticks, straws, pencils, ice, jello, baby powder, etc. The possibilities are endless. These can be symbolic or simply for fun. Marbles could represent gems, golf balls can represent sports, paper clips – work, M&M’s sweets or desires, coins – wealth, aspirin or beer – drugs, condoms – sex.

You can also add a wacky game to this object lesson by planning to divide the youth into teams and providing a rubber glove for each team.

Preparation

Display the gloves in a way that all the youth can see them.
Have the items to fill the gloves readily available but hidden from sight. Have them hidden in such a way that you only need to reveal one at a time. Suspense and curiosity are great tools for teaching as the youth will be trying to guess what you will fill the gloves with next.

Wacky Game – Optional

Divide the youth into teams and give each team a rubber kitchen glove.
The youth must select one team member to put the rubber glove on over his (or her) head and pull it down over their nose and inflate it using air from his nose. Once the glove is filled with air so that it is inflated and stands up on top of the youth’s head, they must run to you while crowing like a rooster.
It is not only hilarious, but it is also fun for the youth. If you want to make it last a little longer, have it as a relay race between the teams of youth.

What to Do

Begin by showing the youth the various other types of gloves, and then ask the youth to identify the various types of gloves, the purpose for each, and who might use each of them?
Explain that the empty gloves are like the lives of youth. Both youth and adults try to fill the emptiness in their lives with different things.
Demonstrate by filling the gloves with various objects. As you go through each collection of items, ask the youth, “Is this what the glove is intended to be used for?”
After you go through the items, ask the youth what the emptiness in the glove is supposed to be filled with? Of course the answer is someone’s hand.
Ask the youth, what can the glove do by itself? Of course the answer is nothing.

Take It to the Next Level

Make it Spiritual

(Note you might share some of the things you tried to fill your life with before you accepted Christ as you share the following information: Every person tries to fill their glove (or life) with different things: like money, sports, drugs, sex, work, food, money, friends, family, or even church to find meaning. While some things are obviously bad, others aren’t necessarily bad things, but simply not what the glove (life) was created for. In fact some of the things are good in the right context, but become bad when they become the primary goal for our existence.

Explain that those things don’t allow the glove to be used the way it was created to be used.

You can use the example of alcohol as something that may seem fulfilling for a while, but in the end leaves you even emptier than before. (You can fill up a specially prepared rubber glove that has been slit at the finger tips so that all the liquid drains out.)

At the very end of your examples, put your hand in the glove, and show how it is now useful and can fulfill its intended purpose. Explain that a glove can do all sorts of things – pick up a book, wave good-bye, scratch my head, play golf, work, pat someone on the back. By itself, it can do nothing. But if I put my hand in the glove… [put it on]… this glove can do almost anything I want.

Different gloves are created with a different intended purpose. But a glove can do nothing once the hand as been removed. It is the same with our lives, in an of ourselves we can do nothing of lasting significance, but with God in us all things become possible.

Blaise Pascal said that we have all been created with a God-shaped vacuum that only he can fill. We will only find true meaning and purpose when we let the hand of God work in our lives to accomplish his will here on earth.

Make it Personal

What are some of the purposes that God has for Christians?

Make it Practical

The easiest way to find that purpose, is to yield to God. What is an area of your life that God has been speaking to you about yielding to him?
Ask God to use you this week in a way that glorifies him and gives you a clearer understanding of his purpose for your life.

Scripture References

Ephesians 2:8-10
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Philippians 4:13
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Colossians 1:27
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Philippians 2:13
“for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

2 Corinthians 3:5
“Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”

Ephesians 3:19-20
“and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”

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Devotional

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

August 8, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

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.

Go 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”

Destined to Win
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”

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