Materials
Various Fishing Lures/bait for different types of fish, fishing pole or net (no hooks for safety’s sake.)

Activity
A fishing line by itself won’t catch fish. Even a hook by itself isn’t going to ctach fish. Have youth try to identify the hook/bait to catch different types of fish. The youth that correctly matches the most lures with the fish they would attract is awarded a prize.

Materials
Use a stalk of celery, freshly cut on one end. Place it in a glass half full of grape juice or red-dyed water. Note that the celery will soak up the color through it’s stem, thus changing the color of the celery. You can use several sticks of celery and place them in various colors of dyed water. If you use food coloring then the stick will still be edible for a snack but be in unusual colors. You can even make black or brown that could represent drawing from a bad source.

Materials
Place a bowl of seedless grapes in the middle of the room. There should be enough grapes for everyone to have one. You may have additional grapes to be used as a snack.

Materials
Obtain the leaves from various trees and plants. Have some green leaves, some dried ones, big ones, small ones, different shapes, wilted ones, etc.

Activity
Have kids identify the plants from which the leaves come. You could number the leaves and then have kids identify each leaf by number. Reward the youth that gets the most correct.

Preparation
Select a location where there are several large trees growing. You might also need a ground sheet students can lie on. You’ll need several Bibles.

Materials
Make a list of actions that describes things that are ways to serve, ways that we please God (saints), things that give us peace, or things that are grace (undeserved gifts) from God

When Jesus talked with the woman at the well He began with water, compared that water to eternal life, and finally explained about the Messiah (John 4:1-26). He began with people at the level they were at and then stretched them and gently guided them to deeper spiritual truths and action.

Jesus spent time with His students. He called 12 people to be His closest disciples (Mark 1:17-20). He talked with them (Mark 11:20-25), rested with them (Mark 6:30-31), and shared the Last Supper with them (Mark 14:12-26).

Jesus’ parables, “earthly stories with heavenly meaning,” made spiritual truth clear by relating it to the everyday experiences of life. “The kingdom of God . . . is like a mustard seed” (Luke 13:19). People could relate to the stories because they were drawn from real life. He used a coin to teach about taxes (Mark 12:16-17). He used the stones of magnificent buildings to explain the intensity of the end of the age (Mark 13:1-4).

“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus Asked — perhaps because people find it easier to begin talking about other people’s opinions. It was an invitation to discussion. Jesus then asked the personal question: “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15) because he was never content to leave spiritual truth at the level of discussion of what others believed. Spiritual Truth must become personal if it is to change lives.