November 7, 2011 · 8:48 am
Time
10-15 minutes
Description
This object lesson teaches that when we try to do ministry in our own power, we may be able to spread light for some time, but we will eventually burn out. Only by continually renewing our power source (i.e., by allowing ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit) can we continue to be strong in ministry over the long term.
Audience
Scriptures
You can choose from the following Scriptures depending on how you want to reinforce your lesson.
- 2 Samuel 22:29 (“You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”)
- Job 29:3 (“…his lamp shone on my head, and by his light I walked through darkness!”)
- Psalm 18:28-29 (“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning…”)
- Proverbs 20:27 (“The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord…”)
- Matthew 5:14-16 (“You are the light of the world…”)
- Luke 12:35-48 (“…keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return…”)
- Ephesians 5:18-20 (“Do not get drunk on wine…instead be filled with the Spirit…”)
Materials
- Two identical lamps – the kind that burn oil and have a wick
- Matches or a lighter
- A bottle of oil for the lamps
- Table to put your lamps on
- Bible
Preparation
- Set up the two, identical lamps on the table at the front of the room.
- Fill one lamp with oil, but leave the other dry.
- Try lighting both wicks to make sure they will light quickly during your lesson, then blow them out. (You will probably need to dip the dry wicks (both of them) into the oil so that they will light quickly.)
- Place the bottle of oil somewhere nearby but out of sight.
- Practice the script.
Procedure
Use the following script and instructions (or modify to suit your needs):
- “So often, people burn out in ministry.”
- “They get exhausted meeting the daily needs of the people they serve.”
- “So, they try harder and work longer.”
- “They skip meals and go without sleep.”
- “They sacrifice time with their families and friends.”
- “They stop spending time with God each day.”
- “In fact, this is often one of the first things to go on their daily schedule.”
- “The harder they work, the less effective they become, but the work is so important that they don’t know what to do except double their efforts.”
- “Everything becomes a crisis, and this further drains their resources until they have absolutely nothing left to give.”
- “Their bodies or minds or emotions break down (or a combination of these), and they have a collapse where the good work they have been doing comes to a grinding halt because they are no longer able to keep it going.”
- “Sometimes they will be able to return to their ministry after an extended healing time, but often, they have ruined themselves for the work and have to find something else to do.”
- “The have killed the goose that laid the golden eggs by trying to get too much out of to too quickly.”
- “They are like this lamp.” (Point to the lamp with no oil.)
- “What do you think is wrong with it?” (Acknowledge responses.)
- “Right! it has no oil.”
- “What happens to a burning wick when it has no oil?” (Acknowledge responses.)
- “Exactly! It burns out. The wick itself catches fire, and even though it can provide light for some period of time, it will eventually destroy itself by providing the light.”
- “What’s different about this other lamp?” (Acknowledge responses.)
- “Yes, it has oil, and when the lamp has oil, the wick doesn’t burn – the oil does!”
- “In fact, as long as you keep putting oil in the lamp, the wick will never burn up!”
- “Amazing, right?”
- “Here’s the point of the illustration. The oil represents the Holy Spirit (as it so often does in Scripture).”
- “You are the wick.”
- “Unless you regularly refill your oil, you will burn yourself out.”
- “But if you spend time with the Lord everyday and do the things that He tells you to do, your light in your ministry will come from Him and not from you.” (Open the dry lamp, and fill it with oil. Then, replace the wick, and relight it if necessary.)
- “And His flame will never be exhausted!”
- “Allow yourself to be filled with God’s Spirit very day, and you will never run out of light.”
- “And be careful…some ministries and certain times in your ministry will require more of God’s Spirit than others.”
- “If you are doing a really big work with the Lord, you will need to spend more time with Him each day to get enough of His Spirit.”
- “The brighter you want His light to shine, the more oil you need in your lamp.”
- “During those times, pray more, confess more, give thanks more, praise more and work less!”
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Filed under Abundance, Annointing, Failure, Hardship, Holy Spirit, Motivation, Object Lesson
Tagged as Burnout, empty, exhaustion, filling with the Holy Spirit, fire for ministry, ministry, passion
August 25, 2011 · 3:57 am
Time
10-15 minutes
Description
This Challenge teaches what happens to us is not as important as how we respond to what happens to us. If we trust God with even our “unfortunate” events and circumstances, He can use everything for our good. Participants will tell a story and take turns making the events of the story either “fortunate” or “unfortunate.”
Scriptures
- Genesis 37-50
- Proverbs 3:11
- Romans 8:28
Materials
- Challenge Card (The file for printing is called, “JJ – Fortunately-Unfortunately – Challenge Card (CHALLENGE),” and it can be found on the Lesson and Material Downloads page at www.teachingthem.com. This can be printed in black and white on regular paper. There are two Challenge Cards per page.)
- Ziplock bags – any size – 1 per group
Preparation
- Print out the Challenge Card document.
- Cut the Challenge Card document in half (each half is identical), and put one in each Ziplock bag (one per group).
- Practice the script.
Procedure
Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):
- “We’re going to do a group Challenge today.”
- “It’s called, “Fortunately-Unfortunately” and it’s part of the Joseph’s Journey Series.”
- “First, I’ll need to divide you into groups.” (Divide the participants into the number of groups for which you have prepared kits.)
- “Each group will have a Ziplock bag with a Challenge Card.”
- “When I tell you to go, open your Ziplock bags, and read the Challenge Card.” (Allow them to read the Challenge Card.)
- “This challenge is about how God can make good things come out of bad situations.”
- “We’re going to play a short game called, “Fortunately – Unfortunately.”
- “First, we have to select the person who will start the game. I want everyone to hold up one finger.” (Make sure everyone holds up a finger. Then have them do the following.)
- “Now point that finger straight up in the air as high as you can make it go.”
- “I’m going to count to three. When I say, ‘three,’ I want everyone in the group to point at the person you think should start the game.”
- “Ready? Okay, One….Two….Three!” (If any groups end up with a tie for the number of fingers pointed at different people, have them do it again until the tie is broken.)
- “Alright, this person is going to start you off by telling the first part of a story.”
- “They will tell you about 15-20 words about any topic they want, but the story has to start with, ‘Once upon a time…’”
- “For example, ‘Once upon a time, there was a man who liked to eat pickled porcupines…’”
- “Then, that person will stop right there, and the person on their right will pick up the story where they left off.”
- “But before they tell anymore of the story, they have to say, ‘Unfortunately…’ and then share something unfortunate about the situation or person.”
- “They will tell about 15 words of why things are so unfortunate, and then they will stop.”
- “The next person will pick up the story where they left off, but he/she will start by saying, ‘Fortunately…’ Then they will tell us what is so fortunate about the situation.”
- “This keeps going with each person alternating their stories to be ‘fortunate’ or ‘unfortunate.’”
- “You will keep going around your group until I say to stop, so you will probably have several tries at making up ‘fortunate’ and ‘unfortunate’ parts of the story.”
- “The only other rule is that you can’t kill anyone in the stories.”
- “Does anyone have any questions before we get started?”
- “Alright, those of you who were picked to start, begin your stories!” (Allow three to five minutes for storytelling, then ask them to finish the part they are on and turn their attention back to you.)
- “The point of this game is that there are always two ways of looking at the things that happen in our lives. You can view almost anything as either fortunate or unfortunate.”
- “If you search for it, even something very bad can have a fortunate side, particularly if you are willing to trust God with it.”
- “Romans 8:28 says, ‘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.”
- “The Scripture says that God will works in ‘some’ things for our good, right?” (The kids should answer, ‘NO!’)
- “Oh, it says, God works in just the fortunate things, right?” (The kids should answer, ‘NO!’)
- “In just the things where we make good decisions?” (‘NO!’)
- “What does it say? …God works in ALL things for the good of those who love Him.”
- “Sometimes when ‘unfortunate’ stuff happens to us, it’s God’s discipline in our lives, because the Bible says in Proverbs 3:11: ‘My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.’”
- “But that means that even when God is disciplining you for your sin, He is doing it for your good!”
- “And it’s even better if you admit that you sinned and ask for forgiveness. Then God can really use it for your good!”
- “He uses EVERYTHING that happens in your life to be a blessing to you!”
- “So, even when something happens that looks bad, it’s a great idea to praise God for it. That shows that you trust Him to use it for your good.”
- “It’s less important what happens to you than how you respond to what happens to you.”
- (When you are finished, have them answer the Debrief Questions below (also on their Challenge Cards). The Rhyme Time is to help them recognize that God can use everything to bless them and prepare them for His good work.)
Debriefing Questions
- Do you think the things that happened in Joseph’s life were fortunate or unfortunate? Why?
- Are there things in your life that looked unfortunate at first but turned out to be fortunate?
- How could you look at bad things in your life in a positive way?
Rhyme Time
God has a purpose, a plan and a dream; My present struggles are not what they seem!
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Filed under Abundance, Attitude, Challenges, Daily walk, Expectations, Failure, Hardship, Joseph, Paradigm Shift, Scarcity
Tagged as adversity, attitude, Bible lesson, failure, Joseph, outlook, perspective, Romans 8:28, setbacks, stimulus-response
August 18, 2011 · 11:47 pm
Time
10-15 minutes
Description
This Challenge makes the point that we can make a choice to honor God even if difficult situations. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, but he was such a trustworthy slave, that Potiphar put him in charge of everything in the house. When Joseph was accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison, the prison warden soon put everything under Joseph’s authority, because Joseph was so faithful in how he handled his responsibilities. Participants will plant flowers in a mixture of gravel and water jelly crystals to show that you can still bloom when you are in a bad place.
Scriptures
- Genesis 37-50
- John 4:10-14
Materials
- Water Jelly Crystals – (You can order them from Steve Spangler Science for approximately $40 plus shipping and handling. (2.27 kg (5 pounds)
Item #: WSAC-900) Order early, because they may take up to two weeks to receive. It’s important that the crystals are clear and not colored. You can find these crystals at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1283.
- Challenge Card (The file for printing is called, “JJ – Bloom Where You Are Planted – Challenge Card (CHALLENGE),” and it can be found on the Lesson and Material Downloads page at www.teachingthem.com. This can be printed in black and white on regular paper. There are two Challenge Cards per page.)
- Small, potted flowers (preferably seedlings with some leaves but before they bloom, but this is flexible) – 1 per person
- Small, clear, plastic cups – 1 per person
- Gravel – enough to fill each plastic cup about ¾ full
- Ziplock bags – gallon size – 1 per group
- Scoops or large plastic spoons – 1 per group
- Gallon jug of water – 1 per group
Preparation
- Divide the water jelly crystals evenly so that you have the same amount for each group, and place them in Ziplock bags.
- Add a scoop or large plastic spoon to each bag for scooping out crystals.
- Add enough plastic cups for each person in each group.
- Divide the gravel evenly among the groups, and put it into a bag or some other container for each group.
- Set aside enough flowers for each person in each group.
- Print out the Challenge Card document.
- Cut the Challenge Card document in half (each half is identical), and put one in each Ziplock bag (one per group).
- Practice the script.
Procedure
Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):
- “We’re going to do a group Challenge today.”
- “It’s called, “Bloom Where You Are Planted” and it’s part of the Joseph’s Journey Series.”
- “First, I’ll need to divide you into groups.” (Divide the participants into the number of groups for which you have prepared kits.)
- “Each group will have a Ziplock bag with a Challenge Card, cups, water jelly crystals, and a scoop or spoon.”
- “Each group will also have some flowers, gravel and water.”
- “When I tell you to go, open your Ziplock bags, and read the Challenge Card.”
- “You will then take the small seedlings out of their planter and shake off the soil so that all you have is the plant with exposed roots.”
- “This represents Joseph, who was taken out of the good soil of his home and family.”
- “Next, take a handful of gravel rocks and a handful of water jelly crystals, and mix them together.”
- “Then, put them into your clear, plastic cup.”
- “This represents the bad soil that Joseph was planted in when he was sold into slavery by his brothers and then again later when he was thrown into prison for something he didn’t do.”
- “Plants can’t usually grow in rocks, because they need nutrients from the soil and something to hold the water when it rains.”
- “That’s why we added water jelly crystals. They hold water and help the roots to get the refreshing water that they need to grow.”
- “So here’s the secret reason why Joseph was able to continue to grow even though he was in a bad place.”
- “God was with him.”
- “The water jelly crystals represent God’s presence in Joseph’s life.”
- “Plants need normal water to thrive, but people need LIVING WATER, which is God’s Word and presence, to thrive.”
- “Jesus says in John 4:10 that we can ask Him, and he will give us living water.”
- “Then, He says in John 4:13-14 that ‘Everyone who drinks (regular) water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water (Jesus) gives them will never thirst. Indeed, the water (Jesus) gives them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”
- “That means that if you depend on Jesus, you will have eternal life with Him in heaven.”
- “Put your finger into the gravel and water jelly crystals and make a hole for the seedling to be planted in.”
- “Then, plant the seedling in the gravel, and move the gravel and water jelly crystals around the root.”
- “Finally, add some water to about halfway up the cup.”
- “Now, let’s set these aside. We’ll watch them during the week (or weeks) to see if they thrive in their new soil. They may even bloom!”
- (When you are finished, have them answer the Debrief Questions below (also on their Challenge Cards. The Rhyme Time is a reinforce to help them remember that if they continue to trust God, He will make even difficult situations a blessing for them.)
Debriefing Questions
- Do you think the flower will bloom where you planted it? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Joseph was able to succeed in difficult situations?
- How could you “bloom” when you find yourself in a difficult place?
Rhyme Time
If we trust Him and obey,
God makes bad things go OUR way!
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Filed under Abundance, acceptance, activity, Challenges, Character, Choices, Coping skills, courage, Daily walk, Hands-on, Hope, Joseph, Object Lesson, Overcoming obstacles, Scarcity, struggles, Transformation, Waiting on the Lord
Tagged as attitude, bloom where you are planted, brothers, Challenges, coping, Egypt, flowers, growth, Joseph, mindset, outlook, perseverence, Pharoah, Potiphar, Potiphar's wife, prison, rocks, seedlings, seeds, sin, slavery, Steve Spangler Science, strategy, temptation, water jelly crystals, worldview
July 15, 2011 · 6:44 pm
Time
10-15 minutes
Audience
Children, Teens, Adults
Description
This object lesson teaches about how God brings good things out of bad and uses the metaphor of turning lemons into lemonade.
Scriptures
Materials
- Lemons – enough for everyone to have a wedge after you cut them up and 5 or 6 for you to juice at the front of the room
- Lemonade – enough for everyone to have some (I recommend Capri Sun Lemonade pouches for the ease of preparation, distribution and clean-up.)
- Knife (to cut the lemons)
- Juicer (manual or electric)
- Bowl or Ziplock bag to hold the lemon wedges
- Cup or bowl to catch the juice
- Sugar (1 cup should be enough for the amount of lemonade you are making)
- Water (approximately 2 quarts)
- Pitcher (one)
- Spoon (for stirring the lemonade)
- Table to work on
Preparation
- Slice lemons into wedges.
- Set up all your materials on a table at the front.
- Enlist a few helpers to help you pass out lemons and lemonade at different times during the lesson.
- Practice the script.
Procedure
Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):
- “How many of you have tasted a lemon before?” (As you talk, juice five or six lemons into your cup or bowl, and have someone pass around the lemon wedges to everyone in the audience.)
- “Why don’t we all take a taste of the lemons you’ve been given.” (Demonstrate what you want them to do, and observe them tasting their lemons. Comment on the sour faces.)
- “They are pretty sour, aren’t they?” (Continue juicing your lemons as you talk.)
- “They make you think twice before taking a second bite, I bet.”
- “You know, sometimes life is pretty sour. I bet this is not the first time you made that face.”
- “The truth is, bad things sometimes happen to good people.”
- “Sometimes it’s not your fault.”
- “You may not have done anything to deserve it, but you are suffering anyway.”
- “Maybe a bully picks on you or your brother takes your stuff or your sister tells a lie about you…”
- “Those could be pretty sour experiences, and they might make you want to make the same face you made a minute ago.”
- “But you know what? When life gives you lemons, God makes lemonade!”
- “Yep, He uses the bad stuff that happens to us to make us better. He doesn’t always take the bad stuff away. Often, He sweetens it.” (Pour the juice, water and some of your sugar into the pitcher and stir.)
- “One day, the same bully who picked on you may become your friend.”
- “Your brother took your old stuff, but you got something better.”
- “Your sister told a lie about you, but she apologized later.”
- “God takes lemons and makes lemonade.” (Taste, make sour face, add more sugar and stir.)
- “It may take some time for God to sweeten up your lemon juice, but I promise He will if you will trust him with your lemons.” (Taste and smile.)
- “Ahhh! That’s good stuff! How’s your lemonade?” (Show mock surprise when they protest that they only have lemons.)
- “What? All you’ve got are sour lemons?”
- “Let’s ask God to make those lemons into some lemonade.” (Signal some helpers to get ready to pass out lemonade as you pray.)
- (PRAY) “Lord, all of these kids have gotten some lousy lemons in their lives. Will you please take those sour lemons and turn them into sweet lemonade for each person in this room? We thank you for your faithful hand in our lives, and we give you every lemon that’s ever happened to us. We love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.” (Signal your helpers to pass out the lemonade.)
- “Now, let’s have some lemonade to celebrate what God’s going to do with our lemons one day.” (The Rhyme Time below can be used to reinforce the message of the lesson. You can also have a volunteer read Romans 8:28 to show how God promises to make all things work for the good of those who love Him.)
Rhyme Time
If we trust Him and obey, God makes bad things go OUR way!
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Filed under Abundance, acceptance, blessing, Bullying, Challenges, Change, Conflict Resolution, God's Plan, God's Protection, Healing, learning, Lesson, Object Lesson, Overcoming obstacles, Problem solving, Transformation
Tagged as All things, bad situation, bad taste, bad things, bad things happen to good people, brother, bully, Capri Sun, cheat, circumstances, God's children, good taste, good things, hurt, juicer, lemonade, lemons, lie, obey, Object Lesson, overcoming obstacles, Rhyme Time, Romans 8:28, sister, smile, sour, sweet, Trust, turn-around
July 4, 2011 · 9:58 pm
For summer camp this year, I’ve written ten Challenges (Bible activities for small groups and a leader to do together – sometimes in competition with other groups) and some large group lessons on the story of Joseph. They are all located on the Lesson and Material Downloads page (see the link at the top of the screen), and you can find them alphabetically in the list. They all start with the letters “JJ” for “Joseph’s Journey.”
Hope you can find some lessons that will be useful for you!
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Filed under Abraham, Abundance, acceptance, activity, Agape Love, Annointing, Belief, Bible study, blessing, Challenges, Change, Character, Christianity, Comfort Zone, Coping skills, courage, Discipline, distractions, drama, exercise, faith, Fear, forgiveness, Future, Game, Games that Teach, God's dream, God's favor, God's Plan, God's Will, Hands-on, Healing, heart, Hope, Humility, Jesus, Joseph, Kindness, leadership, Lesson, Listening to God, Love, Obedience, Object Lesson, Overcoming obstacles, Pride, purity, Relationships, Repentance, Salt of the earth, sanctification, spiritual disciplines, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Health, Spiritual Warfare, Strengths, struggles, team, temptation, territory, test, tool, Transformation, Trust, unconditional love, Waiting on the Lord
Tagged as activities, activity, adversity, baker, bed, Benjamin, bitterness, bloom where you are planted, brothers, Canaan, center of God's will, Challenges, change, chief, Christ, comparison, cupbearer, dreams, Egypt, elevated, faith, favor, favorite, forgiveness, fortunately, future, get free, God's permissive will, God's plan, God's timing, God's Will, grace, groups, growth, grudge, hatred, humbleness, Humility, image, interpret, Israel, Jacob, jail, jealousy, Jesus, Joseph, journey, Judah, Leah, let go, let God, Levi, many colored coat, merciless servant, Messiah, move, moving, Naphtali, No more than we can bear, object lessons vacation Bible school, overcoming obstacles, patience, perseverance, Pharaoh, Potiphar, Potiphar Says, Potiphar's wife, prime minister, prison, promoted, Rachel, Reuben, rhyme times, Ruben, saving many lives, Savior, servant, shadow, Simeon, Simon Says, sin healing, slave, spiritual maturity, spotlight effect, teams, temptation, territory, test, time, tool, Trust, trust God when things look bad, type, unforgiveness, unforgiving servant, unfortunately, VBS, waiting on the Lord
April 20, 2011 · 8:48 am
Purpose
This activity helps participants to challenge silo mentalities by forcing them to work collaboratively to complete a task. The task is a painting task, in which each team (or individual) will only receive some of the colors they need to finish. In order to meet all the requirements of the task, they will have to negotiate for resources from other teams or individuals.
Setup
- Give each team (or individual, depending upon the size of your group) several colors of paint (poster paints work well).
- Teams or individuals should get different color combinations so that no one group or individual has everything that he or she needs. Recommended color combinations are:
- Team #1 – Black, white, red and yellow
- Team #2 – Black, white, blue and yellow
- Team #3 – Black, white, green and yellow
- Team #4 – Black, white, red and blue
- Give each team or individual enough paintbrushes for each team member to participate in the painting, a large sheet of paper (a flipchart works well for groups), something to mix their paint on (a piece of cardboard or a paper plate) and several small cups with water in them for rinsing the paint brush.
Timing
Explaining the Exercise: 5 minutes.
Activity: 20 minutes
Debrief: 15 minutes.
Procedure
- Tell participants that they are going to work in their teams to produce a work of art with the supplies that you have given them.
- To be judged successful, each team or individual must paint a picture of Noah’s Ark complete with the rainbow that was God’s promise never to flood the earth again. (You can choose another theme if you like; the only essential element is the rainbow, because it uses all the color combinations that will force the teams to break out of their silos.)
- The rainbow must be at least one-third of the picture, and it must contain all the colors of a rainbow (which can be remembered with the acronym ROYGBIV – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
- The picture must fill the paper.
- They will have 20 minutes to complete their paintings.
- (After they begin, observe how they solve the problem of not having all the right color combinations for the rainbow. You may want to bring out your observations during the debrief. When the 20 minutes are up, have the groups answer the debrief questions below. Then, discuss their insights as a large group. Emphasize the need to share limited resources so that everyone could succeed. This is not a competitive activity.)
Debrief
- How did you resolve the problem of not having enough colors to make all the colors of the rainbow?
- How willing were the other teams to share their paint with you?
- How willing were you to share your paint with them?
- Why was this difficult at times?
- How is this like sharing limited resources in the work environment?
- What could you do to make it more likely that individuals and groups would share their resources for the greater good of the organization?
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Filed under Abundance, generosity, Overcoming obstacles, Performance, Problem solving, Productivity, Resources, Scarcity, team, teambuilding, teamwork
Tagged as bargaining, Blue, color combinations, enterprise mentality, enterprise thinking, exercise, Green, Indigo, limited resources, negotiating, negotiation, Noah’s ark, Orange, painting, perspective, rainbow, red, ROYGBIV, sharing, silo mentality, silo thinking, Violet, Yellow
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