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Creative Teaching Ideas

Fright Night

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How do we deal with fear? If you think about it, the Bible has quite a few scary stories suitable for any fright night. In this one, God takes Ezekiel to a valley filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of dry human bones, they grow flesh and skin and then come back to life as a vast army. Zombie Apocalypse or an all powerful God who has power over life and death?

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What You Need

No supplies are needed for this lesson, but if you want to decorate the meeting room with a lot of skeletons which are easy to find during the Halloween Season. Scatter them about the room and also bone shaped pieces of paper covering the floor.

Discussion Starters

  • Divide the groups into teams and ask them to make a list of everything that comes to mind when you think about Halloween?
  • Most of the things on the list are probably things that are scary or that are related to death.
  • What are some things you are afraid of?
  • What are some of the things that frighten you?

What to do

Turn off the lights and read this scary Bible story.

Read Ezekiel 37:1-10

If you think about it, the Bible has quite a few scary stories suitable for any fright night. In this one, God takes Ezekiel to a valley filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of dry human bones. God tells Ezekiel to command the bones and the and suddenly the bones begin to move. The legs, arms, ribs, come together. They form skeletons. They grow new tendons and skin. And army of dead men rises up. Then God tells him to speak again and those bones, now covered in flesh, come back to life. Imagine how you would feel to simple stand in a valley filled with dry bones. How would you feel? Then to see them begin to grow flesh back on the bones, yet still be dead. Then come to life?

If we admit it, most of us would be pretty afraid.

COMMON FEARS

  • What are some other things that people are afraid of all year long?

There are hundreds of things that people are afraid of and there are even names for many of these fears. They are called phobias.

GAME #1

One fun idea is to have teams of youth write what they think the definition is. Then each team votes on the definitions. The team whose definition gets the most votes wins 1 point. Any team with the correct definition wins 2 points. Any team that votes on the correct definition gets 1 point.

Top 10 Fears

  1. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders.
  2. Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes.
  3. Acrophobia – The fear of heights.
  4. Agoraphobia – The fear of public places
  5. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs.
  6. Astraphobia – The fear of thunder and lightening.
  7. Trypanophobia – The fear of injections.
  8. Social Phobias – The fear of social situations.
  9. Pteromerhanophobia – The fear of flying.
  10. Mysophobia – The fear of germs or dirt.

Here’s some others from the hundreds of fears

  • Demophobia – The fear of crowds.
  • Musophobia – The Fear of mice.
  • Arachibutyrobphobia – The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
  • Gephyrophobia – The fear of crossing a bridge.
  • Belonephobia – The fear of needles.
  • Claustrophobia – The fear of confinement in closed places.
  • Lyssophobia – The fear of insanity.
  • Hydrophobia – The fear of water.
  • Climacophobia – The fear of stairs, elevators, or escalators.
  • Ailurophobia – The fear of cats.
  • Hypengyophobia – The fear of responsibility.
  • Thalassophobia – The fear of the sea or ocean.
  • Panphobia – The fear of everything.

Game #2

Point to one side of the room as you call out each situation. Youth must go to the side which is MORE frightening to them.

  • A room full of spiders – or full of snakes
  • Stand on the edge of a cliff – or crawl through a dark narrow cave
  • Flying in a plane – or Crossing a bridge
  • Dogs – or Cats
  • Swimming in the Ocean – or taking the Elevator / escalator
  • Getting an injection – or going to the dentist
  • A white mouse – or blue cheese
  • Speaking in Public – or People speaking behind your back
  • Thunder and Lightning – or a completely dark night
  • Germs – or hospitals
  • Brussel Sprouts – Liver and onions
  • In a room with a wasp buzzing around – or eat a chocolate-covered ant.
  • Roller skate – or ice skate
  • Walk through a cemetery in the middle of the night – or ask someone for a date for the first time.
  • Take a difficult test – Witness to someone at school

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

  • Tell us about a time when you were the most afraid you have ever been?
  • What happened? What was the end of the story?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

But what does the Bible Say about Fear?

I’ve been told there are 365 “Fear Nots” in the Bible – one for each day of the year. Regardless of how many there are, it is obviously something that is common to all of us. That’s why God mentions it so often.

Here are some Bible verses about fear. What lessons can we learn from them?

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'”
Romans 8:15

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'”
Hebrews 13:5-6

“The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1

“The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Psalm 118:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?”
Psalm 56:3-4

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:4

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28

What do you do when your fears seem to be stronger than your faith?
Have you ever allowed fear to stop you from doing something?
Are there any areas in your life that are being limited because of fear?

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears”
Psalm 34:4

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

“Be still and know that I am God”
Psalm 46:10

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Psalms 56:3

“Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes’
Psalm 112:1, 7-8

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • What understandings about fear do you get from these verses?
  • How can you deal with fear based on what you have learned?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • Have you ever been afraid to do something that God would want you do? Explain.
  • How can you live life more courageously for God, know what you have learned about fear?
  • How can you put these verses into practice?

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Object Lessons

Trick or Treat? – Sharing the Gift of Salvation

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This youth activity uses Halloween candy as a discussion starter for the topic of evangelism. The Gospel is often called the “Good News” and it is something we should be excited about sharing with others. But like the popular Halloween phrase “Trick or Treat?” we sometimes wonder if evangelism is a trick or a treat? Is it something that frightens us, that we are tricked into doing, or are so excited about the Good News that we can’t help but share it with others.

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What you need

  • A bag of candy (As Halloween is just around the corner, you can easily get a variety of candy in individually wrapped snack sizes.)
  • a Bible

What to do

  1. Play some games with the youth as an icebreaker, preferably sitting in a circle.
  2. Once you have played a few rounds of a popular icebreaker game, simply reward one of the youth with a big bag of candy, preferable one of those who did not win any of the games. Describe and show the contents of the bag of candy to the youth and then simply reward it to one of them.
  3. If youth ask why the particular youth got the candy, simply explain that it is yours and you just wanted to give it to someone – not because of anything they did, but simply because of who you are – a good person.
  4. After you have given the candy to one of the youth, join the circle and stare expectantly at the person with the candy with your hand held out to receive a piece. Without saying anything, encourage other youth to also stare in expectation to get some candy.
  5. When the youth offers to share the candy, affirm them and thank them. (If the youth never offers to share, tell them that now is the time to share the candy, as if it was planned and they had forgotten.)
  6. Once everyone has some candy, debrief.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Debrief

To the Youth receiving the candy

  • How did it feel to be given the big bag of candy, even though you were not a winner in any of the games?
  • How did it feel when everyone stared at you expecting you to share the candy?
  • What made you decide to share?

To the Rest of the Youth

  • What were you hoping would happen when you saw the big bag of candy?
  • How did it feel to see someone else get something good when you received nothing?
  • Once the candy was given to someone else, what did you then hope for?
  • How would you have felt if the candy had not been shared?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

Read Acts 4:18-20

  • How was Peter and John’s sharing Jesus similar to (person’s name) sharing the candy with the rest of the youth?
  • What was Peter and John’s motivation for sharing?
  • How is salvation a gift? (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-10)
  • How is does the experience with the candy, relate to us receiving the sweet gift of salvation?
  • How would keeping the candy to yourself be like not sharing Jesus with others?
  • How is the Gospel Sweet? Why does the popular hymn begin with “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound?”

One of the definitions of GRACE is

God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

Jesus left the glory of heaven and suffererd through the agony of Calvary, dying on a cross to pay the penalty of sin in our place, so that God could give us the gift of eternal life. It is not something we deserved, but an undeserved gift. When we put our trust in him, we accept the gift and he calls us to share the same opportunity with others.

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • What are some of the gifts we receive as a child of God?
  • How can we share those gifts with others?
  • What is the greatest gift you could give to someone?
  • How can we share the gift of salvation with others in words?
  • How can we share the gift of salvation with others in actions?
  • Why do we need to share in both words and actions? (Romans 15:18)

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • What is your favorite thing to talk about (share) with others?
  • Why do we find it easy to talk about things that we love, but difficult to talk about the Saviour we love?
  • What is something that you can do this week to share the gift of salvation both in words and action?

Additional Scriptures

Acts 4:18-20
“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'”

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (NASB)
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith•and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Matthew 5:16
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

1 Peter 2:12
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Romans 15:18
“For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience•by word and deed,”

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.

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Object Lessons

The Helmet of Salvation

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Today, helmets are more commonly associated with sports and motorbikes, but in the New Testament period they were primarily known as a critical piece of a soldier’s armor. The helmet protected the soldier’s head in battle. In Ephesians 6 when Paul talks about spiritual battle he mentions the helmet of salvation as a piece of our spiritual equipment. While a breastplate protects the heart, a helmet protects our brain, our thinking. The following activities and object lesson serve as a look at the helmet of Salvation and its meaning for youth today.

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What you need

Collect a variety of helmets:

  • Cycling Helmet
  • Motorcycle Helmet
  • Batting Helmet
  • Cricket Helmet
  • Climbing Helmet
  • Hard Hat
  • Fireman’s Helmet
  • Skateboarding Helmet
  • Hockey Goalie Helmet

If helmets are difficult to come by or you need bigger numbers, you can also add a collection of hats in addition to at least one real helmet. Around Halloween it is also quite easy to find a variety of interesting hats like those for a fireman, policeman, etc.

  • baseball hat
  • chef’s hat (toque)
  • winter hat
  • cowboy hat
  • birthday hat
  • sombrero
  • straw hat

You can also make paper hats from a sheet of newspaper. Simple instructions can be found here.

When I was young we used KFC Chicken Buckets as hats.

Icebreaker Games with Hats

Musical Hats

Similar in concept to musical chairs, place the youth in a circle and give them all hats except one. The person without a hat removes the hat from the person immediately in front of him/her in the circle and places it on his/her head. When your hat is removed you grab the next one. The game continues until the music stops and the person without a hat is removed from the game. Remove one hat from play, shrink the circle and keep playing until there are only a few winners left.

Alternatively, everyone except one is given a hat to wear. Play some upbeat music and when the music stops, everyone tosses their hats in the air and quickly grabs a new one and places it on their heads. The last youth to get a hat is removed from game and play continues until there is only one youth left.

Hat Towers

Place a large pile of hats in the center of the room. Divide into 2 or more teams. The teams choose one member and try to place as many hats on the person’s head as possible. The youth with the most hats on their head after a set period of time wins the game for his or her team.

An Object Lesson with a Helmet

  1. Get two small pumpkins, that can be strapped inside a bicycle or motorcycle helmet. (Small watermelons or cantaloupes also will work.)
  2. Set up a tall ladder on a hard surface covered with a tarp.
  3. Have the youth use permanent markers to draw faces on the pumpkins and give them names.
  4. Use the chin strap to secure one pumpkin inside the helmet. Leave the other one without any protection.
  5. Climb the ladder and talk read the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-17.
  6. When you finish it drop both pumpkins at the same time.
  7. If your ladder is tall enough one will be smashed and the other will be fine.
  8. Then ask the youth explain how this relates to the “Helmet of Salvation”

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Debrief

  • What happened?
  • Why?
  • What can we learn from this?
  • What are some activities that need helmets? Why?
  • What are some of the characteristics of helmets?
  • What does a helmet do?
  • What purpose did helmets serve in the Roman army?

Here are some common answer to characteristics of hats:

  • Different Hats have different purposes.
  • Protects head
  • Keeps hair out of the food
  • Identifies your team
  • Shade your eyes
  • Keeps your head warm
  • Some hats are ceremonial

Key point: A soldier’s helmet protected his head and gave him confidence that he was safe from the enemy’s attack.

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

  • How is our hope of salvation like a helmet?
  • In what way does salvation protect our mind? Our thoughts?
  • How does salvation protect our thoughts?
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 is similar to Ephesians 6. How does it give more meaning to the helmet?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • How is our hope of salvation a protection against, doubts, discouragements, despair, bad thoughts, and temptations?
  • How does the hope of salvation give us courage in our daily living?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • Have you put on salvation? If not, now is the time.
  • What are some of your personal doubts, discouragements, despair, bad thoughts, and temptation for which you need protection? Which one is biggest in your mind right now?
  • How can the hope of salvation give you courage to face these with confidence?
  • What will you do different this week, because of the hope of salvation?

Additional Scriptures

1 Thessalonians 5:8-11
“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”

Ephesians 6:10-17
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Romans 8:37-39
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Isaiah 12:2
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

1 Peter 1:3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,”

Isaiah 59:17
“He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.”

Philippians 4:7
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

2 Corinthians 10:5
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

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…

Get Icebreakers ebookIcebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

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.

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Youth Ministry

Face Paint Recipe

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With Halloween just around the corner, a lot of churches are looking for alternatives for their children and youth. Many churches have fall carnivals, or harvest festivals. One popular activities for church carnival events with children is face painting.

Here’s a recipe for facepaint for those who might be interested.

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon water
1-1/2 teaspoon cold cream.
A few drops of food color

Mix all the ingredients together in a small paper cup, using a toothpick. If the mixture is too thick to paint with, thin with a few drops of water. The paint can be applied with a paint brush for small areas or you can spread it all over your face with your fingers.

Idea: While the paint is till wet, you can add some glitter to your design.

 

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Halloween or Fall Festival event as well as a variety of other common holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for some of the familiar holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection