Tag Archives: Shepherds

Game Ideas

Christmas: An Unexpected Gift

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We are attracted by extravagantly wrapped gifts with red bows and colorful paper. In this game, participants will try to guess the objects that have been wrapped up as Christmas gifts. But the gifts are probably not what they will expect – they are simply things that are very ordinary. The gift of the first Christmas was not wrapped the way the world expected either. The Jews wanted a mighty warrior with a sword in one hand and King’s crown in the other. But instead, God sent an innocent, defenceless, vulnerable baby – just a seemingly ordinary baby boy.

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What You Need

  • Wrap up several Christmas gifts that are ordinary objects. Some ideas are toilet paper roll, box of tissue, toothpaste, a pencil, a comb, a bar of soap, an ordinary drinking glass, an ice cube tray, a battery, a can of food, etc.)

Preparation

  1. Get the gifts and wrap them up nicely. Wrap them well, maybe in more than one layer of paper so that they are not easily opened and so that the youth cannot easily take a peak.
  2. Place a tag with a number on each gift.

What to Do

  1. Give everyone a piece of paper and pass the gifts around.
  2. Have them write down what they thing each gift is according the numbers on each one.
  3. The youth who correctly guesses the most objects is the winner.
  4. You might choose to award the gifts to the winner.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

Unfortunately, because of the world’s expectations, the gift of God was unnoticed by most! There was no special welcome, no special preparations, no grand entrance and in fact there wasn’t even room for him in the inn nor a real bed to sleep in.

This is still true today. We welcome the excitement, the expectation of wonderful gifts, the idea of Christmas cheer and celebrations, but most people are unwilling to welcome the Christ Child into their hearts. He’s not really what most people are looking for during the Christmas season.

The people God first told about the birth were shepherds. In general, the shepherds were the poor, the jobless, the powerless, the less educated, the uncultured, maybe even the outcasts. Often when we buy gifts for others, we reserve the best gifts for the special people, the ones who will surely give us something in return, the ones who are our favorites. But the gift of Jesus was first announced to the shepherds, those without titles, those who could return little.

God had given the world a gift it didn’t think it wanted or needed, and certainly not as expected, and he presented the gift to a group of people who weren’t the powerful, the rulers, or those most looked up to. It was a seemingly ordinary gift, in an ordinary wrapper, given to ordinary people.

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

The Shepherds
Read Luke 2:1-20

  • Why do you think the angels appeared to the shepherds and not someone else?
  • Could the shepherds have chosen to accept or decline the angels invitation? What did they choose to do?
  • How long do you think it took them to decide?
  • Why do you think it was important to them to see the Baby Jesus first hand?
  • Why did the shepherds drop everything to go find out about some baby? Why were they so excited?
  • What does this baby mean to them?
  • What does this baby mean to us?
  • Why was the birth of Christ Good News?
  • What are some lessons, truths, attitudes, and responses can we learn from the shepherds?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • Do you still find a sense of wonder when you consider God’s gift to the world, or has it lost its luster?
  • What are you hoping for this Christmas?
  • How can you have a deeper first hand experience with Christ this Christmas?
  • What can you do to help others see the true gift of Christmas this year?

SCRIPTURES

  • Luke 2:1-20

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Shepherds and Sheep: Ezekiel 34

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God often uses the metaphor of a Shepherd and a sheep in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. It was something that the people were familiar with. We might not be as familiar with shepherds and sheep today, but the metaphor is still a powerful illustration of leadership as well as our common behaviors in the church. Ezekiel 34 is full of lessons on leadership and how we treat each other. It’s all full of promises. While these promises were initially given to the children of Israel, they also hold important truths for us today as God’s Children.

What to do

Following is a list of characteristics from the Ezekiel 34:1-31. These can be used in several ways.

  1. Write the categories on the board and have a competition between teams. Randomly read phrases from the lists. The first team or team member to identify the correct category for the phrase scores a point. The team which correctly identifies the most phrases wins.
  2. Play a game such as “ring on a string.” or another game where a person becomes “it” When a person becomes “it”, they must correctly place one of the phrases under the appropriate category.
  3. Play a game of “Sheep in the field.” Sit in a circle. The first person says “one sheep ” the 2nd “lost in the field” the 3rd “Baa” Then the same phrases are used but with “two sheep” and each phrase repeated twice. The “three sheep” with each phrase repeated three times. This game must be done very rapidly if someone hesitates and breaks the rythem or makes a mistake they must correctly place one of the items below a category.
  4. Split the youth into groups and in a given time limit, have them list all the characteristics of the shepherds or the sheep in this passage.  After time is up have them call out the characteristics.  If more than one group lists the same characteristics they cross them off their list.  The team with the most unique characteristics (those from the passage not found by the other group) wins.

Here are some partial lists I created

1. Characteristics of God as Shepherd

  • He will rescue the sheep
  • He will search for the sheep
  • He will look after the sheep
  • He will rescue the flock from the mouth of the shepherds
  • He will rescue the sheep that have been scattered
  • His Sheep will be tended in good pasture
  • His Sheep will lie down in good grazing land
  • He will bring back the strays
  • He will bind up the injured
  • He will strengthen the weak
  • He will destroy the sleek and strong
  • He will judge between the sheep
  • He will judge between rams and goats
  • He will place one shepherd over the sheep

2. Characteristics of the leaders of Israel as Shepherds

  • They will only take care of themselves
  • They will not strengthen the weak
  • They will not heal the sick
  • They will not bind up the injured
  • They will not bring back the strays
  • They will not search for the lost sheep
  • Their sheep became food for the wild animals
  • They ate the best sheep
  • They are clothed in the best wool from the sheep
  • Their heep were like those without a shepherd
  • They will be held responsible as a shepherd
  • They will be removed by God

3. General Characteristics of sheep in general

  • Dumb
  • Tend to stay in flocks
  • Do whatever the other sheep do
  • Cannot defend themselves
  • Easily wander off and get lost
  • Need to be led to food & water
  • Dependent upon shepherd

4. Characteristics of the Fat sheep in the passage

  • Feed on the pastor and then trample the rest with their feet
  • Drink clear water and the muddy the rest
  • Shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with horns until they are driven away.
  • Plunder the flock.

Take it to the Next Level

Make it Spiritual

  • Who was the parable written to? 
    (While written to the children of Israel, many of the principles also apply to us as children of God.)
  • What are the main characters in this parable?
    (Sheep, rams, goats, wild beasts, Shepherds, God the shepherd)

Make it Practical

  • In this parable, different kinds of sheep are mentioned. Can you name them? 
    (Weak, Sick, Injured, Lost, Fat, Lean, sleek, strong. What does each represent?)
  • Pastor literally means shepherd. How is a pastor or leader like shepherd?
  • From this passage, what are the qualities of a good shepherd? What are some of the qualities of a bad shepherd? When it comes to leadership among your friends what qualities do you share with the shepherds? What are the ways leaders in the church might show the same qualities today? What are some actions that might be examples of each quality?
  • This passage also lists some activies or actions of the sheep. What are some things the sheep do?
    (Trample, Drink, Muddy the water, lie down, feed, shove, butting the weak, driving others away. What are some actions that Christians youth do today that could be represented by these?)
  • What are God’s promises to the flock?

Make it personal.

  • Of the different characters in the Parable, which one are you most like? Shepherd or leader? The different sheep? Weak, Sick, Injured, Lost, Fat, Lean, sleek, strong? What are your actions toward others in the flock?
  • If God were to share this story with you, what lesson do you think he would want you to take from it? How can you be more caring toward God’s people either as a shepherd leader or as simply another one of the sheep?

Scripture References

  • Ezekiel 34:1-31
  • Ezekiel 34:31 “You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.”