Monthly Archives: February 2010

Drama Ideas

Missing

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“Missing”

Based on this verse in Matthew 28:4: “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men”

Cast: 3 guards

If technically possible, start sketch with a flash of light or stage pyrotechnic explosion, and/or sound effect of explosion, earthquake, etc.

Scene: A garden; the guards are lying on the ground, 2 of them perfectly still, and one (Guard 1) shaking slightly.

Guard 1 (slowly gets to his feet, still shaking and looking around in fear; walks over to Guard 2 and shakes him) Wake up, wake up.

Guard 2 (jumps to his feet, bolt awake, thinks the angel is still there) I’ll be good, I promise I’ll be good…(breaks off when he realises that the angel has gone, and turns to Guard 1) Did you see it, I mean him, I mean that, that BEING…?

Guard 1 I’m not sure, I think we must have imagined it.

Guard 2 (looking behind Guard 1) Well, we didn’t imagine THAT (pointing) – look, the stone’s been rolled away.

Guard 1 Oh no – you know what that could mean – someone’s stolen the body!

Guard 2 We’d better check – I’ll wait here while you pop inside.

Guard 1 No way – you go inside!

Guard 2 Not me!

Guard 1 Well one of us has got to do it…unless (they both turn and look at Guard 3, who is still lying on the ground, then look at each other, give each other a grin and a thumbs up sign, and walk over to Guard 3)

Guard 1 (bending over Guard 3) Oh Theo, wakey wakey…

Guard 3 (starts sucking his thumb) Oh mummy, please can I have another 10 minutes in bed…

Guard 2 (Tiptoes up, leans over and shouts in his ear) NO!

Guard 3 (jumps up) Whoa, what, where, who, when, why, how…..Oh it’s you two. I was having the weirdest dream – there was an earthquake, and an angel, and a rolling stone, and…oh! (breaks off as he realises, looking around, that it wasn’t a dream)

Guard 2 Now Theo, we were just wondering if you’d be kind enough to pop over here (they start to guide him towards the tomb – which is offstage)

Guard 1 Just have a quick peek inside, and we’ll be right behind you.

Guard 3 Hang on, wait a minute, I mean…aargh! (they push him offstage)

Guard 2 Now I’m sure the body will still be there – that angel chap was only here for a moment, and I didn’t see him go inside, and besides he’d have needed some help to carry the body away…

Guard 1 Yeah, I mean it’s not as if he could have got up and walked away, is it?

Guard 2 Now that WOULD be unusual…!

They both laugh, as Guard 3 walks back on. They’re still laughing, then they catch sight of the expression on Guard 3’s face and stop laughing immediately.

Guard 3 (points back inside the tomb and finally stammers) It’s EMPTY

All freeze.

USED BY PERMISSION

The script may be used freely (ie. printed, copied and acted out in church services or other free events) with no permission required, or royalties due. However, it remains Copyright © 2000, Mike Burn and may not be published or sold without prior permission of the author at http://www.familyworship.org.uk

 


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…

Creative Teaching Ideas

Youth Sunrise Service

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Description
An Easter sunrise service for a family or youth group is a great way to do something a little different this Easter.

Resources

  • Bible
  • Blanket to sit on
  • Breakfast – Prepare a simple breakfast of boiled eggs, Hot cross Buns, rolls, juice, etc. Add a little fun to breakfast by packing a breakfast for each person in an individual Easter Basket with each person’s name on it. You can even hide a prize in the bottom of each basket.)

 

Preparation

    • Scout around your general location for a special, quiet place from which the sunrise can be seen. Arrange transportation as necessary to the location.
    • Find and mark the Easter story in the Bible. (John 20: 14-18, Luke 24:1-12)
    • Choose one or two songs the whole family can sing about the risen Lord. You can bring along a portable music player with speakers, a guitar or sing without music. You might also want to create handouts with the words for each participant.

Find out the approximate time of sunrise for Easter Sunday from the newspaper. [You can use this online link or earthtools to find out according to your longitude and latitude]

 

What to Do – Easter Morning

  • Set your alarms so that you have enough time to get up and get ready. You might want to set clothes and other things aside the night before so you can just grab them and run in the morning.
  • Get up early enough in the morning to get everyone to your chosen location before the sun comes up.
  • Encourage youth to dress appropriately for the weather and comfort.
  • Spread out the blanket(s) and encourage everyone to take a seat on the blankets
  • Before the sun comes up, read the account of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and possibly other women going to Jesus’ tomb and what they experienced.
  • As the sun starts to peek over the horizon, sing or play a victorious song.
  • Then thank God with your eyes wide open for the Resurrection and share what the resurrection means to you. A good outline for your short testimony is: 1) This is what I was, 2) this is what happened, 3) I cried out, and 4) this is what He’s done…You might also invite some of the other youth to share.
  • Share a simple breakfast together with the food you have brought. [One of the defining acts of Jesus’ ministry was table fellowship.]
  • Head back to your homes with enough time for everyone to get dressed in their new Easter clothes and go to church.

 

Added Meaning

  • Study the Biblical events leading up to Easter (Matthew 26 and 27) the week before you have the Easter Sunrise Service.
  • If you are doing this with your family, or in a church locking, the night before Easter, talk about how the disciples must have felt on the Saturday night before the Resurrection; how Jesus’ mother must have felt; what Mary Magdalene and those who had known Jesus were feeling.

 

Adapted from “Let’s Make a Memory” by G. Gaither & S. Dobson”

 

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Creative Teaching Ideas

Easter Communion

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Description
Do something special with your family or with your youth group this year by having an Easter Communion with them.

Resources

  • An easy to understand Bible
  • One loaf of unleavened Bread
  • One cup filled with Grape Juice

 

What to do 

  • Read through the Biblical account of the Jewish Passover and discuss what it meant to the Jews in the Bible. (see Exodus 12).
  • Explain the significance of the use of unleavened bread when Jewish families remembered the Passover.
  • Read the Bible passages leading up to the account of Jesus sharing the passover with His disciples (John 13). You might also want to include Jesus’ last words to His disciples (John 14-16) and Jesus’ prayer for us (John 17).
  • Explain the significance of Jesus as the Passover Lamb as a sacrifice for each of our sins.
  • Discuss the significance of sharing His cup and what it means to us today (John 18:11).
  • Discuss what it means to be part of the Body of Christ. (I Corinthians 12)
  • Forewarn the youth that communion is to be a time of reflection and reverence before God in remembrance of what he has done for us.

 

SHARING THE ELEMENTS OF THE FAMILY COMMUNION
(If it is your conviction that only a clergyman / pastor / minister must administer communion, invite one to do so in the circIe of your family or youth group.)

  • Use one loaf of unleavened bread and one cup so that the family may share “One Body”
  • and “One Cup.” You can make this time more meaningful by sharing with each person with whom you break bread why you feel that person has been a gift from God to you. Jesus said “I love you” with a cross. We need to practice freely saying “I love you” to each other as well.
  • Thank God together for the gift of His Son, for God’s forgiveness through His Son, and for adopting each of us into His own family, making us sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters with the Lord Jesus, who brought us to the Father with His own Life.

 

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Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Game Ideas

Valentine’s Day Treasure Hunt

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Description
In this Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt, youth must find a series of valentine’s by following a set of clues. When they reach the final Valentine the youth will also find a very special Valentine Gift.

Resources
Buy a packet of inexpensive Valentines. These usually include a variety of simple valentines for youth and children to share with their school friends. If you want to have more than one hunt, you can different Valentine’s day cards in different themes or different colored envelopes and hide more than one set of cards. (i.e. great for more than one youth or teams of youth)

Preparation

  1. If you have more than one set of Valentine’s cards be sure the different themes are easily distinguishable from each other or indicate different teams with a different colored envelopes.
  2. Write a different love note on each valentine card (ten to 15 cards). You can also write one word per card and number them to form a single message of love.
  3. Hide the Valentine cards throughout the house or in other suitable places. As you hide each card, write a clue on the outside of the card to direct the youth to the next hidden card. These can be simple clues or riddles.
  4. Along with the last Valentine, include a small love gift like a box of chocolates, etc.

 

An important Rule
If you are hiding more than one set of Valentine’s day card, be sure to tell the youth that they may only touch their own cards. They may not take cards that belong to another team if they happen to find them.

What to do

  1. Divide everyone into two or more groups and give them a time limit with which to find the Valentine’s Day cards.
  2. Give the kids the clue to the first valentine and let them search until they have found all of them. Remember to tell them there is something special hidden with the last Valentine.
  3. The first group that returns with the all the cards AND the final gift within the limited time wins.

 


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Teaching Illustrations

Worst Defeat

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It was a dark and dreary day in 1916, a day well suited to the most brutally devastating rout in all of American football history.

One look at the two teams showed trouble ahead.

On the Georgia Tech side were semi-human monsters, gorilla-like behemoths trained by John Heisman, the man football’s highest award was later named after. Heisman was a fanatic. He would not let his Yellow Jackets use soap or water because he considered them debilitating. Nor could they eat pastry, pork, veal, hot bread, nuts, apples, or coffee. His reason? “They don’t agree with me,” he growled, “so they’d better not agree with you.” The Yellow Jackets, with eight All-Southern players, were intent on building their reputation. They lured lowly Cumberland to the game with a $500 guarantee.

The Cumberland team had several players who had never played football before. The official who accepted the offer had long since graduated and left the team in the hands of the team manager. Even the trip to Atlanta had been a disaster: Cumberland arrived with only 16 players. Three were lost at a rest stop in Nashville.

The game began. Georgia Tech scored 63 points in the first quarter, averaging touchdowns at one-minute-and-twenty-second intervals. Even after such a lopsided start, the rest of the game was filled with tension and drama! No one questioned who would win, of course. But could Cumberland players be convinced to finish the game? The manager, George Allen, paced the sidelines, exhorting the team to “hang in there for Cumberland’s $500.” They did, and with it collected the honor of the worst loss in American college football history: 222-0.

Cumberland also left posterity one of its most memorable football plays. A Cumberland kickoff returner fumbled, probably from sheer weariness. He yelled to a teammate, “Pick up the ball!” Replied his teammate, “Pick it up yourself! You dropped it!”

Cumberland was only in the game for the money. But Georgia Tech was in the game to WIN!
Cumberland was in the game to simply survive. But Georgia Tech was in the game to Win!

Cumberland was disorganized, but Georgia Tech organized everything to Win!
Cumberland was unskilled, but Georgia Tech developed their skills to Win!
Cumberland functioned as individuals. But Georgia Tech was a team united to win!

When it comes to the game of life, why are you in the game?

Are you focused on simply acquiring riches?
Or are you focused on living the Victorious Christian life?

Are you focused on simply surviving the game?
Or do you want to leave a legacy, to build your reputation as an ambassador of God?

You need to choose your goals in life carefully.
It is possible you may achieve your goals, yet lose the game.

Maybe the reason you feel defeated is because your goals are not the right ones!


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…