Even Eagles Need a Push

Even the greatest and most powerful have weak moments. At such times, they may need a push before they stretch their wings and fly.

Golden and bald eagles are among the largest and most powerful birds in the world. Eagles are symbols of strength, bravery and courage — and proud independence. But their independence must be learned.

As young eaglets, the nest is comfortable, safe, and secure. But if the eaglets are to survive on their own, they must leave the comfort of the nest and learn to fly! To convince the eaglets that it is time to leave the parents make the nest uncomfortable by tearing up the bedding with their talons, allowing the sticks and sharp ends to be exposed.

The mother eagle then beats her wings at the eaglets, harassing them, and driving them forward. Cowering before such an attack, the little eaglets climb up on the edge of the nest, only to be pushed over the side by the mother eagle. The eaglet falls, its wings struggling to catch the air currents, but flopping out of control due to inexperience.

Just before the eaglet crashes upon the rocks below, the mother eagle swoops down, catches it on her back, and soars upward into the sky. Much relieved, the young eaglet feels safe, until suddenly, without warning, the mother eagle dives downward, depriving the little eaglet of its grip. Once again it finds itself plummeting toward the ground.

Repeatedly the eaglet is dumped then rescued until it learns to catch the rising air currents and ride the winds. Its wings strengthen and soon the eaglet soars high above the earth, taking on the character of a true eagle.

Unfortunately, some eaglets refuse to use their wings and fly. Eventually, the mother eagle soars high one final time with the eaglet on her back, and with a wild screech of disappointment and pain, she dives out from under it and flies away, leaving it to its fate — either “fly or die.”

Have you become too comfortable? Do you have a “fly or die” attitude. It’s time you gave your life a push and stretched your wings! If you never stretch your wings, you will never fly to greater heights.

“”Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles”
– Isaiah 40:31

The Lord uphold all those who fall
and lifts up all those who are bowed down

Copyright 2003 by Ken Sapp


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Easter Egg Spoon Relay

easter_egg1.jpgMaterials
1. A Hard-Boiled Easter Egg for each team. You might also have a few eggs as spares in case some or dropped and mutilated beyond use.
2. 2 Spoons for each team

Game Objective
Place the egg on the spoon and run to the opposite end of the room and back without dropping it.

Game Preparation
1. Divide the group into teams of an even number. If one or more teams is short a player, have a person on those teams go twice to even out the number.
2. Provide the egg and spoon to each team.

Game Play
1. Teams must place the egg on the spoon and run to the opposite side of the room and back.
2. If the egg is dropped, they must return to the starting line and begin again.
3. If the run is completed successfully the egg is passed to the next person who has the second spoon who then also runs the relay. The first person then passes the spoon to the next person in line and goes to the end of the line.
4. The first team to have all members complete the relay is the winner.

Variation
Use plastic spoons and have the participants hold the spoon in their mouths. As the egg is a little bit heavy this makes the game exceedingly more difficult.

Variation
Use a raw egg for messy fun!

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Easter “Who am I?”

eastereggs.jpgGame Materials
Hollow Plastic Easter Eggs, paper, pencils.

Game Objective
Match the fun fact with the person

Game Play
1. Pass out an Easter Egg to each person.
2. Each participant writes one fun fact about themselves e.g. “My favorite color is red”, “My favorite movie is.”, etc. on a piece of paper and insert it into the Easter Egg.
3. Put all the Easter eggs in a bowl.
4. A leader pulls one egg out, reads out the answer, then participants try and guess who’s egg you have.
5. The participant that guesses correctly gets the egg. The person with the most eggs wins.

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Empty Chair, The

chair2.jpgA man’s daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “I guess you were expecting me,” he said.

“No, who are you?”

“I’m the new associate at your local church,” the pastor replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”

“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?”

Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.

“I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man. “But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head..”

“I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, ‘I’ll be with you always.’ Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.”

“So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”

The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon.

“Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked.

“Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, In fact, beyond strange–kinda weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed.”

Author: Unknown
Source: Unknown


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Easter

10. You absolutely love the movie, “The Ten Commandments”.
9. You look really, really good in yellow.
8. You just went on a low cholesterol diet and didn’t want to waste all those eggs in the fridge.
7. You figure any Holiday that starts with a “Good Friday” can’t be all bad.
6. You love to bite the heads off chocolate bunnies.
5. It’s a good time to check out your neighborhood church and not be noticed.
4. You have this bunny suit you love to wear, but are too insecure to wear it without a reason.
3. Even though you don’t know what it is, you really like the sound of going to a “Passion Play.”
2. You figured since Jesus went to all THAT trouble to make it to the first Easter, you’d give it a shot.
1. As a Christian you celebrate the resurrection every other day, why not Easter too?

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Scattered Reminders of Easter

easter_thorn.jpgMaterials
This is a scavenger hunt type game. Hide the items from the Biblical Easter account around the room. Some should be easy to find and some more difficult. Place one on the snack table, one in a card at the table, one one a nametag, one painted on an egg, and so on! Give each person a piece of paper and a pencil, the first goal is to be the first person to locate all the items associated with easter and write their locations on the paper.

Choose from among the following items
* Gray fleece or a tiny donkey (Matthew 21:2-5)
* Palm branch (Matthew 21:8-11)
* A vial of perfume (Matthew 26:7-13)
* A lock of hair (Matthew 26:7-13)
* 30 silver coins (Matthew 26:14-15)
* A robe (John 13:4-11)
* A communion wafer or bread (Matthew 26:17-29)
* A communion cup (Matthew 26:17-29)
* Miniature praying hands (Mark 14:32-42)
* A watch or clock (Mark 13:37)
* Rooster or a feather (Luke 22:61)
* Piece of rope (John 18:12)
* A leather whip (John 19:1)
* A piece of scarlet cloth (Matthew 27:28)
* A crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29)
* A cross (John 19:16-22)
* Three flathead nails or regular nails (John 19:16-22)
* Dice (John 19:23-24)
* Vinegar (John 19:28-30)
* A spear (John 19:32-37)
* A split rock (Matthew 27:51, 54)
* Purple cloth (Matthew 27:51)


scavenger_hunts_ebook_sm.jpgCreative Scavenger Hunts: Once Lost, Now Found

is a 160 page e-book that explains everything you need to know to easily plan your very own scavenger hunt: Item Lists, Rules, Riddles, Safety Tips, Guidelines, Scoring, Tips for Facilitators and MORE! There are more than 50 complete ideas (scavenger hunts, photo hunts, video hunts, amazing race, etc.) to use at home, around the neighborhood, at the mall, in the park, on the beach, at church, and around town!

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Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Twas the Night Before Easter

Twas the day before Easter and all through the woods,
The bunnies were busy packing their goods.

The eggs were all colored so pretty and bright,
All things were “go” for the big, special night.

The baskets were waiting, all decorated with care,
In hopes that the Bunny soon would be there.

My little brother Sam was asleep in his bed,
While visions of Easter eggs rolled round his head.

And I in my pajamas with the cat on my lap,
I had just settled down for a quick little nap.

When outside the window I heard a great noise,
I sprang from my chair and jumped over some toys.

As quick as a flash to the window I flew,
I pulled up the shade and, OH, what a view.

The moon on the meadow cast a bright golden glow
And the wind blew the flowers to and then fro.

Then all of a sudden from out of nowhere,
Came some lively bunnies, hopping here, hopping there!

Leading the group with ears long and funny
Was a plump all-white rabbit…
That’s right…the EASTER BUNNY!

The bunnies hopped past, one, two , three, four,
The rabbit called out and then there were more.

“Come Peter! Come, Flopsy! Come, Benny! Come, Joe!
Now hop along! Hop along! Hop along! GO!”

So up on each doorstep the bunnies did hop,
With baskets of eggs. (Let’s hope they don’t drop)!

Just at that moment, on the porch down below,
Came the stomping of feet ‘Twas the rabbit I know!

As I stepped from my window I heard a loud sound.
Through the door came the rabbit with a leap and a bound.

He was furry and soft from his head to his feet.
To see him so close was really quite neat.

He was surrounded by eggs that had been carefully dyed.
Easter eggs galore he soon would hide.

His eyes were all twinkles, His nose was so pink,
And I can’t be too sure but I think he did wink.

He had a kind face and a big fluffy tail
That bobbed up and down like a boat with a sail.

A twitch of his nose and a flick of his ear
Was his way of saying “You’ve nothing to fear.”

He uttered no sound as he hopped all about,
Hiding the eggs and leaving no doubt,

That the Easter Bunny had come like he does every year…
Bringing baskets of happiness to children so dear.

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Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

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Easter Exchange

easter_egg2.jpgMaterials
Circle of Chairs

Game Play
1. Form a circle sitting in chairs and give (or allow each participant to choose) the name of something relating to the Easter story: crown of thorns, cross, nails, etc. “It” calls out two such items. The children / youth with these items try to exchange places before “It” can get one of their places.
2. If the person in the center is able to grab a seat, whoever is left without one must more to the center.
3. Forfeits (Optional)
* If the person calling the items calls something that no one has chosen, then they must do a forfeit.
* If the person in the middle is unable to get a place after 3 tries they must do a forfeit.
* If a person ends up in the center 3 times they must do a forfeit

For example of some of the easter items see Easter Bingo

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Easter Egg Teams

eastereggs.jpgMaterials

    1. Enough Easter Eggs for all participants to have 1 egg
    2. Easter Basket or a bag

Game Objective
Use Easter Eggs to separate your group into teams.

Game Preparation

  1. Determine before your event how many teams you want to have and how many people you want on each team.
  2. Choose one color of egg for each team.
  3. Make sure the remaining eggs are of equal numbers for each color.
  4. Place all the eggs you have selected into a bag and mix them up.

Game Play

  1. When participants walk into the party, allow them to reach into the bag or Easter Basket and grab one color of Egg to hold onto–not to eat!
  2. When everyone has arrived and you are ready to form teams, tell everyone to shout out their color until they find everyone else in their team.

Variations

  1. Combine this with Jelly Bean Salvation for a fun Easter Gospel presentation.
  2. Instead of real easter eggs, use hollow plastic easter eggs and combine this with Easter Egg Hunt for a meaningful lesson on the events surrounding Easter. You can also write the verses on the eggs with wax before you dye the real eggs.

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Bamboo

Do not become weary in doing good.

[A special Flash Presentation.]
Please be patient as it make take some time to load depending on the speed of your connection.

Prepare the ground, plant a small bamboo seed, water it, and fertilize it for a whole year, and… except for a tiny sprout…

Nothing Happens.

Continue to water it regularly, and fertilize it for a second year, and then to your amazement…

Nothing Happens.

You’ll peer at it from all sides to discern if perhaps from some hidden place, something is growing?

Nothing Happens.

Year Three… Water it, fertilize it, lovingly clear the weeds away, and then…

Nothing Happens.

How discouraging this becomes! You planted your seed with love and hope. You obtained the best soil. You watered it faithfully and gave it the best fertilizer. Your reward?

Nothing Happens.

Year Four… Water it, fertilize it, and continue to care for the precious seed you planted and…

Nothing Happens.

You look around, noticing all the other plants in the garden have grown in leaps and bounds, stunning the eyes with their vibrant growth and life, gladdening the heart! But from your precious bamboo seed?

Nothing Happens.

For four years you’ll see nothing, except a tiny shoot sprouting from a bulb, no bigger than it was the first year. You can sing to it, encourage it, challenge it, get angry and throw up your hands in frustration.

You’ll want to pounce on it and stomp the life out of it! Then just when you’re ready to call it quits and lay down your watering can… sometime during the fifth year….

GROWTH!

In the six weeks that follow, the Chinese Bamboo tree grows as much as three feet per day, until it grows to be NINETY FEET TALL!

Life is often like the Chinese bamboo tree. It is discouraging. We seemingly do things right, and nothing happens. We pay the price to prepare the ground, to plant the seed, and to faithfully fertilize and cultivate, to water and weed, and still we see no results…

Nothing Happens.

But during the long years when there are no visible results, the bamboo tree was developing a mature, long reaching root system that would sustain and nurture its explosive growth. This extensive network of roots takes four years to develop before the tender bamboo shoot ever breaks ground and heads for the sun.

For those who continue to do things right and are not discouraged, for those who are persistent, rewards will follow.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

Copyright 2005 by Ken Sapp


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…

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