Materials
Bring a variety of items that involve air in some way. Possibilities are: balloons, a bicycle tire, a hair dryer, various types of inflatable balls (such as basketballs, soccer balls), an air pump, a water floatation device, an aerosol can, a fan, a paper windmill, soap bubbles, a super soaker water gun which uses air pressure, etc.
Activity
Ask kids to identify what all the objects have in common? The answer is that they all use air. While we can’t see the air, we know it is there because of the affects it has on each of these objects.
Application
After Jesus left earth, we couldn’t see him anymore. But he promised to be with us forever. He also promised to send a help John 14:16. We can’t see the helper but we can see the things he does, the affect that he has on us and other people. We know he is there by the things that he does. The same is true of the Helper, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God. Learn More…
Have a balloon carnival by having various games involving balloons:
1. BANG: Have a competition to see who can be the first to blow up a balloon until it pops.
2. AIR RACE: The objective is to have the balloon reach the other side of the room. Kids can only reach it by blowing up a balloon and letting it go. Where ever the balloon lands, they pick it up and fill it and release it again until someone reaches the goal.
3. BALLOON POP RELAY: Kids must grab an inflated balloon, race to a chair at the opposite end of the room and pop it by sitting on it. This can be very funny as some balloon refuse to pop easily and the kids are hopping up and down on them to pop them. First team to complete the relay wins.
4. BALLOON BUMP: Divide into two teams and give each team a different colored balloon. The team must hit the balloon in the air and not allow it to touch the ground. If a balloon touches the ground the other team gets a point. To add to the excitement, add more balloons.
5. BALLOON BUMP 2: See how many taps or how long a team can keep a balloon in the air without it touching the ground.
6. BALLOON VAOLLEYBALL: Set up a divider across the room and play a game of volleyball with balloons.
7. BALLOON STOMP: Using a small peice of string or a rubber band, tie a balloon to the shoe of each child so that it drags on the floor a few inches behind their feet. Then they must run around the room and try to pop each other’s balloons by stepping on them while also trying to prevent their own balloon from being popped. Last person to have their balloon unopopped wins.
Application
In the book of John, as Jesus prepared to leave the disciples they were afraid to be alone. Like an empty balloon they were a little sad and their spirits were deflated. Life seemed flat, joyless, empty. It had lost its bounce. But Jesus promised he would send a helper. (John 14:16-17) It wasn’t someone they would be able to see, just like you can’t see the air in a balloon, but they would be able to know the helper by what he does. This is the Holy Spirit.
You can’t see the air in a balloon, but it makes the balloon larger. It allows it to bounce and float. God’s Spirit, the Helper, the Comforter, can make us joyful instead of sad. And while we can’t see the Holy Spirit, we know he is there by the way he affects other things in our lives.
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Lesson
Magnifying glasses are fascinating and lots of fun. Let the children play with it for a minute – making their EYES big, looking at plants, etc. Point out that magnifying glasses are very useful. They are found in microscopes to help scientists & doctors see the “invisible,” and they are in telescopes to help us see things far, far away. The principle is easy – we look through them and can see things better.
Application
Questions are like magnifying glasses for our understanding. When we don’t understand, we ask questions and things become clearer. And just like in a microscope – sometimes the things we cannot see or understand become clear. We can see the “invisible”
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God. Learn More…
Materials
One slip of paper for each child containing a name of a famous cartoon character, movie star or character from a movie, Bible character, or historical figure; adhesive tape
Activity
As children/ youth enter the room, tape one of the nametags on their back. By asking “yes” or “no” questions youth must discover their identity as indicated by the slip of paper. You may restrict the number of questions they can ask a single person in order to encourage them to mingle more.
Variation
If you use an equal number of cartoon characters, movie personalities, etc. you can use these categories to divide the participants into groups.
Teaching Point
We learn the identity of God as we take our questions to him. The admonition of the preacher in Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 is that as children of God we need not have all the answers to life in order to live. Because we have a God who is a soveriegn Lord, we can trust him completely for our future. We can live our lives one day at a time, facing the perplexities as they come without falling into dispair. We can ask our questions of God as he is not threatened by them.
This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.
Creative Youth ideas: 1700+ Resources for youth leaders, pastors, ministers to help plan camps, retreats, and meetings using games, illustrations, Children's Worship, Bible Studies, object lessons, sermons, creative ideas,creative activities
