Category Archives: Youth

An Unfinished Work (QUICK DRAMA)


SCENE:       Alex is painting on a canvas mounted on an easel. The audience cannot see what is being painted, because the painting is facing away. Alex is deeply absorbed in his work and doesn’t notice when John enters.

JOHN:          Hey, Alex!  What are you doing?

ALEX:          Painting a self-portrait.

JOHN:          (Looking very skeptical…)  Really? It doesn’t look much like you.

ALEX:          Well, I’m not finished yet.

JOHN:          Hmmm…  I don’t think you’ll be able to make it work.  Maybe you could turn it into a picture of a monkey or something.

(Janet enters.)

JOHN:          Hey, Janet!  Take a look at this!  Don’t you think it looks like a monkey?

JANET:        No, but maybe it could be a penguin or something. What’s it supposed to be?

JOHN:          It’s supposed to be a self-portrait, but I wouldn’t tell anyone if I were you, Alex.

ALEX:          (Concentrating) It’s not done yet. I’m still working on it.

(Tony enters)

JANET:        Hey, Tony!  Come look at this penguin Alex is painting!

TONY:          That’s a penguin?  Looks more like a kangaroo to me.

JANET:        Oh, you’re right!  I see it now!

JOHN:          Better make it into a kangaroo, Alex.  It’s never gonna look like you.

ALEX:          (Pausing and looking at his friends) Of course it doesn’t look like me….yet.  It’s a work in progress. You shouldn’t judge a work of art before it’s finished. (Returns to painting with great concentration)

(John, Janet and Tony watch in silence as Alex paints.  After a few moments, their eyes grow wide in a look of surprise, and they all say, “Ohhhhhh…” in unison.”)

JOHN:          I see it now!

JANET:        That’s amazing!

TONY:          You turned that kangaroo into you!

(Alex stops painting, smiles big with satisfaction and takes the painting off the easel.  He then walks out of the room with his painting, being careful not to reveal it to the audience (unless you want to put an actual photograph on the canvas for effect).  John, Janet and Tony follow with “oohs” and “ahhhs” and other expressions of surprise and appreciation.)

END SCENE

NOTE:          The main teaching point of this drama is that we shouldn’t judge other people or even ourselves, because we are all a work in progress.  None of us matches the vision God has of what He knows we can be one day if we follow Him and obediently continue to do what He says in His Word.  If you don’t think this was clear, you may want to say it as you debrief the drama.

If you want to tie this to a Biblical story, you could use any of the following:

  • Moses, who was “slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 3-4)
  • Gideon, who the angel of the Lord called a “mighty warrior”  even when he was hiding from the Midianites. (Judges 6)
  • Isaiah, who was a man of “unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6)
  • Simon, who Jesus called “Peter” (the “rock”) even when He knew Simon would deny he even knew Jesus three times. (Matthew 16:13-20 and 26:69-75)

 

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Filed under drama, Gideon, Isaiah, Moses, Peter, self-image, Self-worth, Youth

Spiritual Frisbee Golf (GAME)


Audience

Children, Teens, Adults

Time

30-60 minutes (depending upon how challenging your course is)
Description

This outdoor game is a combination of two popular sports with a spiritual twist.  Participants will throw Frisbees (flying disks) toward nine different targets.  It’s a little like playing Frisbee; it’s a little like playing golf.  The flying disk represents God’s Word, and the targets represent the hearts of those who do not yet know Him.  This can be a fun way to talk about evangelism and the importance of the Body of Christ working together to introduce people to God.

Scriptures

  • 1 Corinthians 3:4-9

Materials

o  Frisbees or flying disks (one per team, preferably different colors – if you can’t find a Frisbee or flying disk, you could use plastic plates – the heavier kind)

o  Targets (nine per team, each set of nine in a different color.  The targets should be approximately 2 ft by 2 ft or a little larger.  You could use colored towels, squares of posterboard, pieces of fabric or even circles made out of rope.)

o  Notecards (nine per team)

o  A marker with a thick tip

o  Tape (one roll)

o  Prizes for the winning team (optional)

o  Bibles (one per team)

Preparation

o  Number the notecards one to nine for each team.

o  Tape the notecards to the nine targets for each team, i.e., each team should have targets numbered, one to nine.

o  Set out your targets (nine per team) over a large area, preferably with some obstacles (like trees, bushes, buildings, cars, etc) in the way.

o   It’s important that you don’t make it too easy for them.

o   Try to make each team have about the same difficulty as the others.

o   I recommend that you space your targets at least 100 ft apart so that it takes several throws to land the disk on the target.

o   You can put your targets in numerical order, or you can mix them up to create more difficulty.

o   You might want to put all your #9 targets in the same place so that it is easy for you to determine who the winning team is.

o  Divide participants into teams.


Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

  • “We are going to play a game of Frisbee golf.”
  • “If you aren’t familiar with a ‘Frisbee,’ it’s a flying disk that you pass to each other.”
  • “Many people in different parts of the world play Frisbee golf, which is like the game of golf but uses a flying disk instead of a small ball and clubs.”
  • “But this game of Frisbee Golf is a little different from how others typically play it.”
  • “We are playing ‘Spiritual Frisbee Golf.’”
  • “The Frisbee (or flying disk) represents God’s Word, and each of the targets that you will be aiming for represent the heart of someone who doesn’t know the Lord.”
  • “Your team members will take turns throwing the Frisbee (God’s Word) closer and closer to the target (the heart of a lost person).”
  • “When you get the Frisbee to successfully land on top of the target (the heart of a lost person), then you can start throwing the Frisbee toward the next target.”
  • “There are nine targets (nine lost people) for each team.”
  • “The first team to land their Frisbee on top of all nine targets will be the winner.”
  • “You can strategize as a team to decide how you will pass the Frisbee, but you have to make sure that every person on the team participates in the throwing.”
  • “That means that you have to take turns so that no single individual is doing all the throwing.”
  • “Billy Graham once said that it takes 20 people to lead someone to Christ.  The first 19 think they had nothing to do with it, but the 20th person couldn’t have led the person to Christ without the work the others did to prepare the soil of the person’s heart for the seed of God’s Word.”
  • “So you have to work together.”
  • “Each team has a different color for their set of targets.”
  • “You can’t see all the targets from here, so you will have to figure out where they are as you go.”
  • “Just remember that there are nine.”
  • “What questions do you have before we begin?”  (Answer any questions.  Then, give the signal to start.  After all the teams have finished, award a prize to the winning team if you like, and have the teams take some time to answer the debriefing questions below.)

 

Debriefing Questions

  • o What comparisons can you make between this game and getting God’s Word into peoples’ hearts?
  • o What obstacles did you have to overcome?
  • o What might these obstacles represent in our efforts to win people to the Lord?
  • o How did your team work together?
  • o How was this like how the Body of Christ should work together to win those who are lost?
  • o Read 1 Corinthians 3:4-9.  How does this relate to the activity?
  • o What will you take away from what you have learned?

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Filed under Body of Christ, Evangelism, Game, teambuilding, teamwork, Uncategorized, Youth

Taco Sauce Pickup Lines (ICEBREAKER)


Time

10-15 minutes
Audience

Teens and adults

 

Description

This icebreaker can be a fun way to start group activities.  It uses Taco Bell ® hot sauce packets, which have quirky quotes on each packet (supposedly things that the hot sauce might say if it could talk).  Participants will take turns drawing out a packet and pretending that the quote is a pick-up line they would use when meeting someone of the opposite sex.  (Word of caution: some of the packets can be a bit racy (unintentionally)….you might want to hand-pick the packets you want to use.)

Materials

  • A handful of Taco Bell hot sauce packets for each small group (of about 4-8 people)
  • Alternately, you could print out the photos of the packets that are available on the Lesson and Material Downloads page at www.teachingthem.com.  The file name is “Taco Sauce Pickup Lines – Packet Photos (ICEBREAKER).”
  • Bowls (optional)

Preparation

·      Get the taco sauce packets or print the file, and cut out the different packets so that each one is on a separate slip of paper.

·      Put the packets or the slips of paper into bowls (one per group).

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

  • “Does everyone here know what a pickup line is?”  (If someone doesn’t, explain that pickup lines are things that a guy or a girl might say to someone of the opposite sex that they are interested in when they first meet them.)
  • “Has anyone here ever heard a really bad pickup line?”  (Let several people share their bad pickup lines with the rest of the group.)
  • “Let’s do an icebreaker where we can practice some really bad pickup lines with each other.”
  • “I’m going to divide you into small groups first.”  (Divide participants into groups of 4-8 each, and give each group a bowl of sauce packets or paper slips.  Try to get an even mix of guys and girls in each group.)
  • “Okay, pick someone in your group to go first.”  (Allow them to pick the person who goes first.)
  • “That person should reach into the bowl and draw out a packet.”
  • “Then, he or she has to turn to someone in the group of the opposite sex and pretend to meet them for the first time using the pickup line on the packet.”
  • “Ham it up, and have fun with it!”
  • “Then, the turn rotates clockwise to the next person.”
  • “Keep going until you are out of packets.”  (Let them begin.  When they are done, you can ask them what their favorite pickup lines were from the icebreaker.  If you would like to use this as a teachable moment, you can ask the following Debrief Questions.)

 

Debrief Questions

  1. How did you feel whenever you were given one of the pickup lines?  …whenever you were the ones delivering them?
  2. Why don’t you think pickup lines usually work?
  3. What do you think is a better way to get to know someone new?

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Filed under Energizer, Fun, Funny, Humor, Icebreaker, Relationships, Youth