Tag Archives: discipleship

September 11, 2009 · 5:11 am

Kingdom Tag (GAME)

Time
15 minutes (or more, depending upon how many rounds of tag you play)
Description

This game illustrates evangelism in a high-energy, fun way through a game of tag. It’s a very quick game, so you will probably want to play it several times. The game works best with larger groups of kids, but it can still be played with small groups.

Optionally, you can play the game outdoors with water (for “baptizing”), but if you do, it needs to be okay for the kids to get really wet!

Scriptures

Matthew 28:18-20

Materials

OPTIONAL: Paper or plastic cups for each child
OPTIONAL: A tub or bucket of water
Bible

Preparation

OPTIONAL: Fill the tub with water (You only need the tub of water and the cups if you plan to do the “baptizing” option.)
Practice the script.

Procedure

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

“Today, we are going to talk about the last words that Jesus said before he rose back into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.”
“Last words are important.”
“If a leader is leaving his followers, and he has one more opportunity to talk to them, he’s going to say something important, don’t you think?”
“Sure he is…and Jesus was no different. He had something very important He wanted to say to His disciples.”
“So, He had over 500 of His followers meet Him at the Mount of Olives, and He said this to them.” (Ask volunteer to read Matthew 28:18-20.)
“What did Jesus tell them to do?” (Answer: go and make disciples, baptize them and teach them)
“So, one of the most important things Jesus ever said to His followers was, ‘Go, Make Disciples, Baptize Them and Teach Them.’”
“Do you think this is still important for us to do as followers of Jesus today?” (Listen for responses.)
“Sure it is!”
“It’s just as important today as it was when Jesus originally said it.”
“We need to tell as many people as we can about Jesus, so that they can go to heaven, too.”
“And the neat thing is, every time a new person becomes a follower of Jesus, they can then tell all their friends and family about Jesus, too!”
“Now, there are millions and millions of Christians in the world.”
“If all the Christians were telling as many people as they could find about Jesus, how long do you think it would be before the whole world knew about Him?” (Listen for responses.)
“Not too long, huh?”
“Well, let’s try this out.”
“We are going to play a game, called Kingdom Tag.”
“It’s played like regular tag, but there are a few differences.”
“First, you start with one person who is ‘IT,’ and that person represents a Christian.”
“Everyone else represents someone who doesn’t know Jesus, and each person can live in different parts of the world.”
“If you get tagged by the Christian (the person who is ‘IT’), you become a Christian, and then you are also ‘IT!’”
“Then, instead of running away, your new job will be to try to tag other people.”
“They will then become Christians, too, and their new jobs will be to tag other people.”
“We will keep playing until everyone has been tagged and becomes a Christian.” (If you want to do the “baptizing” option, then anyone who is “IT” should run and get a cup filled with water. They tag people by “baptizing” them with the water.)
“Every few minutes, I’ll ask you to raise your hand if you still haven’t been tagged yet, so be honest and raise your hand if you still haven’t been tagged.”
“Does anyone have any questions about how to play the game?” (Answer questions.)
“Okay, I’m going to need one volunteer to be it.” (Select volunteer. Then define what is out-of-bounds and where they are welcome to run and hide.)
“I’m going to give you a five second head-start before I let the Christian go.”
“Ready? Go!” (Count to five slowly before letting your “IT” person go. Every few minutes, ask everyone to raise their hands who has not been tagged. The game is over when everyone has been tagged. If it goes quickly, play several rounds, if you like. Then, call the kids back to talk about the Debrief Questions listed below.)

Debrief Questions

What did you think about the game?
How long did it take to tag everyone? Does that surprise you?
Why do you think it happened so quickly?
Could we do the same thing by sharing about Jesus with other people we meet?
How did you know if someone had already been tagged or not?
Is that anything like how hard it is to know if someone is a Christian in real life?
So what do you think we should do if we can’t tell if someone is a Christian or not?
What will you commit to doing this week about sharing Jesus with other people?

Finding God’s Path

Time

30 minutes

Description

This object lesson teaches about the challenges involved in seeking God’s will as we do our daily walk.

Materials

Masking tape
150 note cards
A marker or something to write with
Answer Keys for Facilitator and Volunteers (attached)
(Optional) A prize for the winner

Preparation

· Using the masking tape, mark off a grid with five columns and 20 rows (see Answer Keys at the end of this lesson for an illustration).

o If you have access to a tiled floor, you can just use the tiles as your grid.

· Number twenty of your note cards 1-20. (Do this twice.)

· Letter five of your note cards A to E. (Do this twice.)

· Tape these next to the outside borders of your grid. The numbers are for the rows, and the letters are for the columns. (See the Answer Keys for an illustration.)

· Place a large “X” on 25 of the remaining note cards. (Make sure that the ink doesn’t show through the paper.)

· Write the word “SIN” on 20 of the note cards. (Make sure that the ink doesn’t show through.)

· Using the “Answer Key – Facilitator’s Copy” page as a model, tape the 25 “X” note cards and the 20 “SIN” note cards face down in the appropriate spaces of the grid. (Only tape one edge, so that it is easy for kids to lift the note card and look for the “X.”)

· Tape the rest of the blank note cards face down in the empty grid spaces. Make sure that they look like the marked note cards so that kids will not be able to tell from looking at them which have an “X” and which do not.

Procedure

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

· “As we do our best to follow the Lord on the path that He has planned for us, it is often difficult to know what His will is and what next step He would have us take.”

· “One of the things that can help us is getting advice from godly people, like your parents or leaders in the church.”

· “We are going to do an activity that will help us understand this way of seeking God’s will in our lives.”

· “This grid represents the path that God has set before you.” (Point out the grid.)

· “Each square/rectangle in the grid represents a step that you could take.”

· “There are three types of steps indicated by the note cards that are taped face down in each space:

o Some of the note cards have an “X” on them. This is God’s best path for you, where you will receive His full blessing.

o Some of the note cards are blank. This is an okay step to take, but it’s not God’s best for you. You can still experience His blessing, but it won’t be as strong.

o Some of the note cards have the word, “SIN,” written on them. This is a step that leads you to do something you shouldn’t.”

· “To help you make the right decision which step to take, you will be able to get advice each turn from one godly person.”

· “I need four volunteers to help me by being our godly people.” (Select volunteers, and share the following instructions. If you don’t have enough kids to use four volunteers, you can give a volunteer more than one Answer Key and have him/her use their best judgment when giving advice.)

· “Each of these four volunteers is a godly person in your life – someone you can go to for advice about what the next step in your walk should be.”

· “Before you take a step, you can pick one (only one) and ask for his/her advice.”

· “Each of them will have an Answer Key for the grid.” (Hand out a different Answer Key to each volunteer, and ask them not to let anyone see it – not even the other volunteers.)

· “Their Answer Keys are all different. No one has all the correct answers, so who you choose to get godly advice from will be important.”

· “When you ask one of the volunteers for their advice, they will tell you what space they think you should step to using the column letter plus the row number. For example, ‘Space A-3.’”

· “If they don’t have any information for you on their sheet, they will simply say, ‘I don’t know,’ and you will have to guess which space to step onto.”

· “Once you touch a space in the grid, your choice is final.”

· “You should bend down and flip up the note card so that you can see what is on the other side.”

o “If you step on a space with an “X” note card, you get to go again.”

o “If you step on a space with a blank note card, you get to hold your place, but you cannot go again until everyone else has had a try.”

o “If you step on a space with a “SIN” note card, you lose your turn and have to start over after everyone else has had a try.”

· “Leave the note card flipped over so that others will benefit from your experience.”

· “The first person to step on the “X” space on Row 20 wins! (Blank spaces will not count as a win.)”

· “What questions do you have?” (Answer any questions. Then start the activity.)

Debrief Questions

Once the activity is complete, award a prize for the winner if you would like. Then, gather the kids and debrief with the following questions before ending the lesson.

o “How was this activity like trying to figure out God’s will for your life?”

o “How did you feel when you asked a godly person (volunteer) for advice, and he/she couldn’t give you any?”

§ “How is this like real life?”

o “How did you feel when you asked a godly person (volunteer) for advice, and he/she gave you the wrong answer?”

§ “How is this like real life?”

o “How did wrong answers make you feel about asking that person for advice the next time around?”

o “How do you know when to trust people’s advice and when not to?”

o “Why do some people have good advice to share about some things but not about others?”

o “What difference would it have made if you had been able to ask more than one godly person for advice before you took a step?”

o “What lessons can you take away from this activity?”

Answer Key – Facilitator’s Copy

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Sin	X		Sin		1
2			X	Sin		2
3			Sin	X	Sin	3
4			X	Sin		4
5			X	X	X	5
6					X	6
7		Sin	Sin	X		7
8		X	X	Sin		8
9	X					9
10	X	Sin	Sin			10
11	X	X	X	Sin		11
12				X		12
13			Sin	X	Sin	13
14			X			14
15			Sin	X		15
16					X	16
17				X	Sin	17
18			X	Sin		18
19			X			19
20		Sin	Sin	X	Sin	20
	A	B	C	D	E

Answer Key – Volunteer #1

	A	B	C	D	E
1		X				1
2			X			2
3				X		3
4			X			4
5						5
6						6
7						7
8						8
9						9
10						10
11	X	X				11
12						12
13				X		13
14			X			14
15				X		15
16						16
17						17
18						18
19						19
20						20
	A	B	C	D	E

Answer Key – Volunteer #2

	A	B	C	D	E
1		X				1
2			X			2
3				X		3
4			X			4
5			X	X	X	5
6					X	6
7				X		7
8						8
9						9
10						10
11						11
12				X		12
13				X		13
14						14
15				X		15
16						16
17						17
18						18
19						19
20						20
	A	B	C	D	E

Answer Key – Volunteer #3

	A	B	C	D	E
1		X				1
2			X			2
3				X		3
4				X		4
5				X		5
6				X		6
7				X		7
8			X			8
9			X			9
10			X			10
11			X			11
12						12
13				X		13
14				X		14
15						15
16					X	16
17				X		17
18			X			18
19			X			19
20				X		20
	A	B	C	D	E

Answer Key – Volunteer #4

	A	B	C	D	E
1		X				1
2			X			2
3				X		3
4						4
5						5
6						6
7						7
8						8
9						9
10						10
11			X			11
12				X		12
13						13
14						14
15						15
16					X	16
17						17
18			X			18
19						19
20						20
	A	B	C	D	E

Answer Key – Statistics

This page is just for the facilitator’s information and may be useful during the debrief. It shows how many of the “godly advisors” had correct and incorrect answers for each space.

	A	B	C	D	E
1		4				1
2			4			2
3				4		3
4			2	1		4
5			1	2	1	5
6				1	1	6
7				2		7
8		0	1			8
9	0		1			9
10	0		1			10
11	1	1	2			11
12				2		12
13				3		13
14			1	1		14
15				2		15
16					2	16
17				1		17
18			2			18
19			1			19
20				1		20
	A	B	C	D	E

1 Comment

Filed under Christianity, Daily walk, God's Will, Hands-on, Obedience, Object Lesson, Trust

Tagged as activity, advice, blessing, Christianity, Daily walk, discipleship, finding God's path, Game, God's Will, godly people, godly steps, learning from experience, mentoring, missteps, mistakes, Obedience, Object Lesson, sin, Trust, wisdom, wise counsel

October 19, 2008 · 5:52 pm

God Loves Variety

Time

20-25 minutes

Description

This object lesson teaches about how God created us all differently. It uses a little bit of water science to illustrate the different music God put in each of us.

Materials

Ten identical glasses or jars
Red, blue, and yellow food coloring (optional)
Fork, spoon or something else you can tap the glasses with to get a musical note
Water for the jars
Scotch tape or masking tape
Sharp marker
Note card
Table for the display

Preparation

· Fill eight glasses/jars each with a different amount of water, and set them up on a table at the front of the teaching area. Space them evenly apart with enough room to tap their sides in-between them.

· Fill the last two glasses with the exact same amount of water, and set them aside for later use in the lesson. Do not color the water in these two.

· Test the sound of each jar by lightly tapping it on the side or rim with the fork, spoon or other implement. Each glass/jar should make a distinct sound like the different notes on a scale.

· Use the food coloring to make the water in each jar a different color. You can arrange them in the colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet – but you will need one extra shade of color for the eighth glass. (Optional)

· Number the glasses/jars by putting a piece a tape on each one and writing the number on the tape. The fullest glass/jar is #1, and the least full glass/jar is #8. The number goes on the teaching side of the glasses so that the child will be able to see it to play the music.

· On the note card, write the sequence of numbers for playing the songs (see final page of this document).

· Practice the script and using the glasses/jars to get just the right notes.

Procedure

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

“For this activity, I’m going to need a volunteer.” (Take volunteer from the group.)
(To volunteer…) “Look at the table, and tell me what you see.” (Listen to response, and comment.)
“What do you notice is different about all these glasses/jars?” (Listen to response, and comment.)
“So, they have differently colored water in different amounts, right?”
“I think they may have another difference, too. Take this fork (or spoon, or whatever), and lightly tap the side of a few of the glasses/jars.” (Allow child to tap two or three glasses/jars.)
“Did you hear that? They made different sounds!”
“Does anyone know why that happens?” (Listen for responses, and comment. You may need to offer a fuller explanation…)
“Tapping the glasses/jars makes them vibrate, and the vibration produces a sound. The water slows down the vibrations, so the more water, the slower the vibrations will be. A slow vibration gives us a low note, and a fast vibration gives us a high note.” (If you are using jars with a small opening, you can also demonstrate that if you blow across the top of them, they will produce sounds, as well. However, the effect will reverse. The jars with the least amount of water will give you the lowest notes, and the jars with the most water will give you the highest notes. That’s because you are vibrating the air this time and not water or the jars.)
“Let’s see if we can play a song with them.” (Lay out the notecard for the song(s) you selected in front of the child, and help him or her to play the song(s).)
“That’s fantastic! Can we get a round of applause for our virtuoso musician?” (Lead applause.)
“Now, what do you think would happen if al the glasses/jars had the same amount of water in them?” (Take responses from group. Then bring out the two extra glasses/jars that have the same amount of water in them.)
“I think you’re right – they would all make just one note. Let’s test it.” (Have volunteer test the theory by tapping on the two new glasses/jars.)
“How fun is that? Could you play any songs if all the glasses/jars played the same notes?” (Take responses.)
“Nope, you couldn’t play any songs. Wouldn’t it be boring if all your music only had one note?” (Imitate what this would sound like by pretending to sing a song with only one note in it.)
“Isn’t it much better to have multiple notes to play?”
“Well, I think that is how God feels, too, and that’s why he made all of us so different from each other.”
“All of us are like different musical notes: we sound differently, we act differently, we look differently from one another, we like different things, we worship God differently, we pray differently, we have different talents and abilities…the list goes on forever!”
“And you know what? It’s OKAY! In fact, it’s glorious! It’s God’s plan!”
“One of the things I know about God is that He loves variety. I know that because of how different all of us are and how different all the plants and tress are and how different all the animals are…”
“God loves variety. He made you different from everyone else, and He enjoys you that way.”
“One of the traps we get into is wishing we were like someone else. ‘I wish I were handsome like him or pretty like her or rich like them or popular like those people…’”
“And then we look at ourselves and think, ‘I’m not as good as those other people.’”
“But let me tell you, that’s nonsense. The things that are different about you give God glory, because they show how creative He is.”
“So, even the stuff you may not like about yourself could be part of God’s purpose and plan in your life. It could just be His creativity at work.”
“Instead of not liking that part of you, you should ask God to help you see it the way He sees it. Then one day you will recognize how cool a thing it is!”
“You uniqueness is like your own special musical note that no one else can play.”
“So, anyone want to hear another song?” (Allow volunteer to play one to two more songs and then return to his/her seat.)

Notes for Songs

Mary Had a Little Lamb

321 2333 222 355

321 2333 322 321

Jingle Bells

333 333 35123

444 4433 332232 5

333 333 35123

444 4433 355 321

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

11 55 66 5 44 33 22 1

55 44 33 2 55 44 33 2

11 55 66 5 44 33 22 1

This Old Man

535 535 6543234

345 111 12345

522 4321

Tag Archives: discipleship

Finding God’s Path

God Loves Variety

Blog Stats

Top Posts

Email Subscription

Pages

Recent Posts

Archives

Blogroll

Tag Archives: discipleship

Kingdom Tag (GAME)

Share this:

Like this:

Finding God’s Path

Share this:

Like this:

God Loves Variety

Share this:

Like this:

Blog Stats

Top Posts

Email Subscription

Pages

Recent Posts

Archives

Blogroll