Children & youth ministry

Seven Eleven

Come up with a category such as “Tropic/Hawaiian items”. The player must come up with the names of 7 items in 11 Seconds.
If the player wins, give them a prize. If he loses, pick another contestant. This can go on as long as you want it to.

[e-mail]

Prickly Coconut

Derived from the traditional children’s game “Hot Potato”

1.  Have all the youth sit in a circle facing each other except for one who will be the caller.  The caller closes his or her eyes and the rest of the players pass around the coconut.  As the youth are passing around the coconut the caller says "coconut" over and over again. 

2.  At any time he or she wants the caller says "prickly coconut".  When the caller says "prickly coconut" whoever is holding the coconut leaves the circle.  This is why the players want to toss the coconut to the next player in the circle as fast as they can.

3.  The game is over when there is only one person left in the circle.  The remaining player becomes the caller in the next game.

Hula Hoop Contest

Each participant has a hula-hoop and try to hula longer than the other contestants.
Tidal Wave

Separate group into teams of 5-10. Each group needs to stand in a line with everybody’s arms linked, and they must remain linked through the whole game. Place a hula hoop on one persons arm, that person has to wiggle their whole body through the hoop and pass it on to the next person, and on down the line. The first team to get their hula-hoop free at the other end wins.

Bobbing for Apples

Youth will bob for apples that have been placed in a large tub of Hawaiian punch. They must use only their teeth to pick up the apples and place them on a towel next to the tub.

Musical Chairs, Hawaiian Style

Line up alternate facing chairs, one less than the number of children playing. The players move round the chairs while the Hawaiian music is playing. When the Hawaiian music stops they have to sit down on a free chair, the player without a chair is out, take away one chair each time, repeat until you have 2 players and 1 chair the one to sit down first is the winner. http://www.partygameideas.com/birthdaypartygames.htm

DEVOTION
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13

As Christians we are to be united

Hawaiians use the term “Ohana” which means we all stick together. Ohana was used in the movie “Lilo and Stitch” when the older sister tells Lilo “Ohana” we all stick together, even those outside of the family, the whole community, and I will even go as far as saying as a youth group.

Without us being united we will not be effective witnesses.

Closer than a Brother

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). In Scripture, God often provided such a friend in the form of a servant, a colleague, a mentor, or a protégé. (Austin 1)”

If we will live like Hawaiians do and live by Ohana, our youth groups, our churches, and our communities will be united. You never known where you will find that friend that will stick closer than a brother.

Works Cited

Austin, Lynn. “Build your Bible Power”. Christian Reader, September/October 2000.
[e-mail]
Holy Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.
http://www.partygameideas.com/birthdaypartygames.htm. Accessed April 15, 2003
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson019.shtml. Accessed April 15, 2003
http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/erachi/page9.html. Accessed April 15, 2003
http://www.bbyo.org/bbg/ideas/mixers.html. Accessed April 15, 2003
http://www.Funandgames.org Accessed April 15, 2003
“Lilo and Stitch.” © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. 2002

Joe Skeens

THEME: Water Night

INTRODUCTION

Does it feel good to get wet everybody?! It is hot out here isn’t it!!? I tell you what, there is nothing more refreshing to me then when I come home from a hard day’s work, and I’m all sweaty, and hot, and sticky, and I get an ice cold glass of water (holding cup of ice water in hand) with lots of ice and I take a big drink.(drink about half of the glass of water). But this is what’s real refreshing right here. When it is really hot outside and I feel like I am going to pass out, I take a glass of ice water with lots of ice and here is what I do.(dump the freezing cold ice water down the inside of your pants in the front). Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooo! Boy does that feel good. That is really of refreshing.

How many of you have ever seen that “Sierra Mist” commercial where the guy comes walking down the stars and it is hot? His air conditioner is obviously broken as he walks to his freezer soaked and wet with his own sweat! He then pulls his boxers out of the freezer. They are frozen stiff as a board and covered with ice. He puts them on and as he pulls them up he makes a noise that really lets you know what it is like. “Ooui,” and then, “Ahhh.”(facial expressions). Then the guy’s voice comes on and says, “Yeah, it’s kinda like that.”

This commercial is designed to set apart “Sierra Mist” from all other lemon lime drinks. The point they are trying to get across is that nothing is as refreshing as “Sierra

Mist.” “Ooui!” “Ahhhhhh…” “Yeah it’s kinda like that.”

Well likewise I am going to share with you a commercial about a water that is not just water. This water will refresh you like no other water. In fact this water is so refreshing that you will drink it once and never be thirsty again. And this commercial is found in none other than the Bible.
John 4:4-15. This woman went to the well to draw water very often. Perhaps even every day. It was hot and she probably got really tired walking all the way to the well, drawing water, and going all the way back home in the blazing hot sun. Naturally the woman was very excited when she heard that Jesus could give her this water that would refresh her and she would never thirst again. She could drink this water and it would give her eternal life.

Everybody is out here in the sun having a good time, but we all know that when we leave here today we will sooner or later be thirsty again. We had a great time and were soaked in water for hours and hours, but we will still get thirsty again. This water that we have played in today will only offer a temporary solution to the heat.

This woman was drinking the same water that we are drinking, but Jesus knew that this woman was thirsting in another way. She was thirsting in her spirit. Her life was thirsting. She was thirsting for more than what she was getting from her life now.

Vs. 16-18. This woman was thirsting for a fulfillment in life. She was drinking water, but she wasn’t drinking the water that Jesus had to give her. She tried to quench her soul’s thirst with love, but she had five different husbands and none of them could stop her life from thirsting. She still felt empty. Throughout her life she would realize that her husband could not fulfill that thirst show she would find another one. He couldn’t help her either so she found another one and another one. They all failed her. She remained thirsty until she met Jesus.

Jesus knew about the woman’s thirst. He knew about the sin in her life and he exposed it. But he did not just expose it to condemn her or embarrass her. He offered her His water which is forgiveness and eternal life.

John 3:16

1 John 1:9

Some of you are thirsting in your lives because you are empty, without hope and full of sin. You may be having problems with your family, but they cannot quench the thirst. You may be trying to quench that thirst in other ways. Through friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, drugs, alcohol, pornography.

You may feel empty and without hope. You don’t know if your life has any meaning, but today God wants you to try his living water. A water that is like no other water. One that you will drink and never thirst again. When you drink this water it will be like, “Ooui!” “Ahhh…” and “hallelujah.” “Jesus Water. Yeah, it’s kinda like that.” If you want to try this “Jesus Water” then say this prayer with me.

AFTER THE MESSAGE:

Give each student a bottle of water with a label on the front that says, “Jesus Water” to remind them of the commitment they made.
Theme: The theme will be water. These games will be played outside during the summer.