Children & youth ministry

GAMES

1. Call Ball(Remember the Titans). Divide the group into five teams of five. Each team should pick a name of a local high school football team, and each team member picks a number between one and five . One team starts out being “it” and bounces the ball on the floor and then against the wall. Just before they bounce it on the floor, they call out another team’s name. If the person drops it or doesn’t catch it in time, they are out. The team with the most players left at the end of the game gets 50 points. Each team also gets 10 points per member left, and the first team out gets 10 points. The team with the most points at the end of a tournament wins. (E. O. Harbin, 114)

2. Toy Toss(Toy Story). Number of players per team should be no less than five. Each team has one minute to build a fortress out of chairs and sheets. Each team moves to the right. Each team is supplied with two medium sized ball(a kickball or soccer ball), and ten sponge balls or koosh balls. Each team has one minute to destroy the other team’s fortress. After one minute, the team can send one member to retrieve as many toys as possible and bring back to the team base. But that team member has to wear shoes on their hands, and flippers on their feet. Points are as follows:

-100 points for each chair knocked over

-100 points for each blanket torn down

-50 points for each toy retrieved

-10 points to the team who finishes last

3. Space Ship Send-Off (Jimmy Neutron). Divide group into teams of ten. Each team has five minutes to create a space-worthy structure that will carry their “Jimmy” doll safely to earth. Supplies should include, but are not limited to the following:

-shoe box

-Kleenex box

-masking tape

-duct tape

-card board

-old t-shirts

-a plastic bag

-plastic/Styrofoam cups

-tin foil

-plastic wrap

-shoe laces

-ribbon

The stage can serve as a space station that will send the ships back to earth(the floor). Have a mission control team of adult volunteers that will serve as judges. The Jimmy doll has a mission to safely return a rare water sack to earth(a water balloon-filled to capacity). Points are as follows:

-100 for safe return of Jimmy and water sack to earth

-50 points for safe landing of either Jimmy or water sack

-50 points for longest flight time

-50 points for longest flight distance

-35 points for most creative

-35 points for most realistic/ practical

-25 points for using all materials

-25 points for using the least materials

4. Team Basketball Bash(Like Mike or Space Jams). You will need a sharp pin, or clean nail at the end of a volleyball pole. Fill a punching balloon ¾ with air and ¼ with shaving cream. Tie off the balloon. Several players from each team gather around the pole and the referee throws the balloon into play. When the referee yells “Bash”, each team member can only use one hand. The team who hits the balloon on the nail first wins.(McCollam, Junior High Game Nights. 28)
5. King of the Ring(Lord of the Rings). Place four hula hoops on the floor in a square shape. Place the hoops about six feet apart. (This can also be a team building game.) Four teams of up to ten people each choose one hula hoop to stand in. You cannot have more than thirteen people in the same hoop at the same time. Once a team member makes it to the next hoop, they can go back to the last hoop and step on the ground between. However, on the way over they cannot touch the ground between. Each team has to work together from hoop to hoop until all members are safely back to the original hoop. The team that accomplishes it first is the king of the ring.
6. Busting Loose(Count of Monte Cristo). You will need four poles, such as volleyball poles or portable basketball poles. Wrap toilet paper, streamers and masking tape from on end to the other about two feet from the ground. Have two poles set up at on end of the room and the other two at the other end. Have both teams start on their knees, back to back in the middle. Have them turn to a partner on their team, still back to back, and grab hands. On the referee’s signal, the teams scurry towards the designated “wall” and try to break through without using their hands, and still on their knees.

SHORT MESSAGE

For the illustration, have a fake five dollar bill and a real one and an imitation cookie and a real one. Have two volunteers come up. Show the first volunteer both bills quickly and then ask which one they want. Then ask the second volunteer which cookie they want. No matter which one they want, give them the real one. And explain that there was a real one and a fake and that it was hard to tell the difference because they both looked the same.

Now let’s watch some movie clips to see if we can tell the difference between what’s real and the imitation. (Show various clips of scenery, stunts and characters. Prepare in advance about 3 real and 3 imitations of what is being shown.) Take an audience poll. Ok, so how many of you guys thought this first one was real? (and so on through all 6, then show them again and identify which were real and which were computer animated or enhanced.) We’ve all seen the stunts of people jumping into flaming buildings or holding their breath underwater for ten minutes at a time. Or what about the guy who gets attacked by a shark and comes out only with minor scrapes and one tooth mark?

But we all know most of that movie magic is not real. And some of us expect life to be like the movies. Girls, when you see that cute guy in class, you just know it’s a matter of time before he asks you out, right? Or guys, you see that cute girl, so you try to walk over to talk to her. But then, girls, we are surprised when that guy from class asks your friend out instead of you. Or guys, everything is going smoothly until you trip and spill your lunch all over that girl. We have all found ourselves at one point or another, wishing for some movie magic to happen in our lives. For something extraordinary or wonderful to come our way. We want someone who can be that sympathetic friend when we are crying, or that friend who always knows what to say and when to say it. A real, wonderful friend who will never move away or push us away. A real movie magic friend.

But the only one who can be that for us, the only person who can fill the deepest desire of our hearts is Jesus Christ. He decided to step out of the throne room of Heaven and leave a perfect world to step into ours. He wanted to give us something better than movie magic. He wanted to come so we could really know Him, not only as our Heavenly Father, but also as our earthly friend.

1. 
   Jesus came so we would not be far from God, and so God would not be far from us. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, read it).We see that Jesus’ whole point in coming to earth was to bring man and God closer together. Until Jesus came, people could only know God on a limited basis. In the Old Testament, it was like God would email some people, but when Jesus came, people got to have face to face conversations with Him. They got to see and hear how God related to every day life situations and what he thought about things like dinner, sports, cruises and other things besides just the Law. Jesus came to make God real to us.
   

2. 
   Jesus came so we could have an exciting life. (John 10:10, read it) Now, Jesus is not guaranteeing that our lives will be happy all the time when we decide to be Christians. In Matthew 5:45, Jesus said bad things happen to Christians and non-Christians. But when we live for Christ, math class isn’t just another nap time. It becomes a chance for us to encourage another student or show them a learner’s attitude. An ordinary day becomes extraordinary, because you never know when God is going to speak to you. Maybe he speaks to you through a commercial, or a movie scene, or a video game. And you see a spiritual parallel to a truth in God’s Word.
   

We are all looking for something to fill that need for purpose in our lives. Living without purpose is like driving without a steering wheel. You are in a car like everyone else, but you feel stuck. You just can’t seem to go anywhere. Then after sitting in the exact same place for years, you look for someone or something to give you a reason to get up in the morning. You want something stable that will help you through hard times, and be there to celebrate in the good times. And not even your parents are with us every minute of everyday. But Jesus said “I am with you always”(Matthew 28:20) and that he will “never leave you”(Deuteronomy 31:6).
3. Jesus came to show us he understands us. (John 11:35; Luke 10:21) Some people think of God as having only two emotions-serious and more serious. But Jesus went to weddings, where they danced a lot, and festivals and feasts. He was pretty much a party guy. But in the good sense. He used figurative language and exaggeration to make his point clear like we do today. Jesus knew how to have fun, and hang out with friends. Jesus was the Son of God, and he had friends. He had twelve guys who were with him for three years. And out of those twelve, he had three who were closest to him. He was the Son of God, and he knew the importance of friendship.

Jesus was also familiar with pain and hurt. He cried at the grave site of his friend Lazarus. In Luke 19:49, Jesus cried over a city of people because they were all far from God. So he knows how we feel. He might not have gone through the exact situations we face, but he does know how it feels to be betrayed by your best friend and loose someone you love. He knows about frustrations with parents and God’s will. He knows how we feel.

Jesus is the only one who can live up to the promise of perfection. No person in this world can be with us all the time and be what we need them to be in every situation. God gives us family, friends and pastors to encourage us and grow us. He will often use people to speak into our lives or give us a better perspective on problems. But only Jesus can give us that real relationship that we all want and need. Is it wrong or bad to want friendships or to be close to people? No, God’s Word encourages us to do so. But we must realize that only Jesus can meet our every need in the right way at the right time.