Easter Back to Back

March 20, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A variety of simple Easter images as designs to be copied. (You can also use simple Easter cards for the design.)

Some secular examples can be found here:
http://www.preschoolcoloringbook.com/color/cpeaster.shtml

Some Christian examples can be found here:
http://www.teacherhelp.org/easter.htm#coloring

Activity
1. Form teams of six or more people.
2. Instruct each team to sit in a line, one person behind another.
3. Youth may not talk, make any sounds, or communicate in any way except to draw on the person’s back in front of them.
4. Give the first person in each line a pencil and a piece of paper.
5. Show the last person in each line a simple image of an Easter object. That person must use his or her finger to draw the object on the back of the person in front of him or her.
6. This continues until the drawing reaches the first person in line. He or she must draw it on the piece of paper.
7. Have judges determine which team’s picture closest resembles the original picture.
8. If time permits, play more rounds, letting team members change positions if they wish.

Application
Things get distorted the farther we get from the source, especially when we have our backs turned on God. In todays world, too often the meaning of Easter has degraded to eggs, chocolate, and bunnies. But the true meaning of Easter could be summarised by John 3:16.

Debrief
1. What does Easter mean to you?
2. What are some of the things the world associates with Easter?
3. In what ways has the Bibical concept of Easter been distorted over time?
4. If you had to identify a single word to associate with easter, what would it be?
5. How can we promote the true meaning of easter with friends and family without alienating them?

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

Get more than 80 creative ideas for planning a Youth Easter celebration or Easter Party. You can immediately download my best Easter Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Easter activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Object Lessons

Jelly Bean Salvation

March 19, 2006 kensapp 6 Comments

Materials
Jelly Beans of each color below: Yellow, Black, Red, White, Green. You can choose to place all of one color together inside a plastic Easter egg, or place one of each color inside an egg.

Gospel According to Jelly Beans: The meaning and explanation for each color is as follows:

Yellow Jelly Bean
The yellow Jelly bean reminds us of Heaven. Do you know what Heaven is? Heaven is God’s home. Heaven is filled with the glory, the shining brightness of God. There is no night ther The Bible says, “God is The Light and in Him is no Darkness at all”(I John 1:5). The Bible tells us that in Heaven, the street of the city is pure, clear gold-like glass (Rev.21:21). God tells us many other things about His home. No one is sick there. No one is crippled or blind. No one ever dies. Every person in Heaven will be perfectly happy-always (Rev. 21:4-2Psalm 16:11). The most wonderful thing about Heaven is that God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus will be there. God made Heaven. He made you too. He loves you very much. Because he made you and loves you, He wants you to belong to Him and be with Him in Heaven someday. Jesus promised long ago, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 3:16; John 14:1-3).

Black Jelly Bean
There is one thing that can never be in Heaven. That is sin. Because you and I are sinners we want to have our own way instead of God’s way. Wanting our own way is sin. Doing, or saying, or thinking bad things is sin. Sin is anything that displeases God. Sin has caused sorrow and sadness in our world. God tells us in the Bible that all have sinned (Romans 3:23). All means every one of us.

This dark jelly bean reminds us of our sinful way (Proverbs 4:19). When it is dark, you stumble and cannot find your way. Because of your sin, you cannot find God. Your sin separates you from God, who is holy (I John 1:5). God cannot allow sin where He is. I am sure you can think of a sin which you have done. God has said that sin must be punished. The punishment for your sin is death-to be separated from God forever (Rev. 6:23). The Lord Jesus, God’s Son, said that if you die in your sin, you cannot go to Heaven where He is (John 8:21, 24). God knew there was nothing you could do to get rid of your sin. He knew you could not be good enough to please Him. But He loves you and He made a way for you to be forgiven.

Red Jelly Bean
The red jelly bean shows the way God made for you to have your sins forgiven-taken away. God loves you. He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, from Heaven to take the punishment for your sin (John 3:16). Wicked men nailed the sinless Son of God to the cross, but while He hung there God put all of your sins on Him. The Bible says, “…God bath laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). (Iniquity is another word for sin). All your bad temper, all your lies, your meaness-all your sin-was laid on the dear Son of God, and He suffered and suffered until He cried out with a loud voice and said, “It is finished.” When you finish a job, how much is left? Nothing. What did the Lord Jesus come to do? He came to save us from punishment for sin, didn’t He? And He finished the work. When He was nailed to the cross, what came from His hands, and His feet? His blood. God calls it the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and He says “…the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7). There is no other way, for God says, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sin]”-no forgiveness, no payment (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus not only died for you, but He was buried, and He rose again. He is a living saviour (ICorinthians 15:3, 4). God showed His love for you by sending His own Son to die for you. Now he says there is one way for you to be saved from your sin.

White Jelly Bean
Tears cannot wash away sin. Prayers cannot wash away sin. Doing good cannot wash away sin. But the blood of the Lord Jesus can wash away all sin (Psalm 51:7; I John 1:7). This white jelly bean reminds me that you can be made clean from sin. Did Jesus die for everyone? (YES!) Is everyone going to Heaven? (No, because some do not believe that Jesus died for them. They have not received Him as their saviour from sin.) God’s word says, “…as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” (John 1:12). God has promised you when you receive the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you become a child of God. The Lord Jesus Christ died to save you from your sins. He wants to live in your heart and give you power to obey God. Are you sorry for your sin? Do you believe Jesus died for your sin? Would you like to receive Jesus today? You must decide. (Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. Question the person to respond carefully. Encourage them to express to you before they pray: why they need to receive the Lord Jesus; what the Lord Jesus has done for them; what they want to tell God. When dealing with a group, emphasize what each person must personally believe and receive the Lord Jesus. Give opportunity for prayer. If possible, question each person individually after the prayer to clarify the meaning of His decision. Where is Jesus now? Where are your sins? What took them away?) (Any one of the following verses can be used effectively in helping to know what God has done: John 1:12; I John 5:13; Rev. 3:20.) God promises to you when you receive Him, “…I will never\leave nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Ask Him to help you each day to please Him. When you do sin, tell God that you have sinned. He will forgive you right away (I John 1:9). Ask Him and trust Him to help you not to do it again. (Lead the person in offering a prayer of thanks).

Green Jelly Bean
The green jelly bean reminds me of the new life, everlasting life, you have received from God. The color green reminds me of things which are growing outdoors, like leaves, grass, flowers, and trees. when you receive the Lord Jesus as your saviour from sin, you are like a newborn baby in God’s family. The Bible tells you to “grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18).

(As the time permits, talk with the person about those things which help him grow as a member of God’s family. Explain you are not talking about growing taller or gaining weight, but the kind of growing which will help others know that he loves the Lord Jesus.

* 1. Listen to God- Learn God’s Word reading and memorizing it (II Timothy 2:15; Psalm 119: 11).
* 2. Talk to God. Pray (I Thessalonians 5:17).
* 3. Talk for God. Witness or tell others (Mark 16:15).
* 4. Worship God. Go to Sunday School and Church (Hebrews 10:25).

Blue Jelly Bean
Optional
Some will add a Blue Jelly bean to represent Baptism

Applications
1. Use the various colors of the Jelly Beans to present the plan of salvation.
2. Use this as a presentation of the plan of salvation for easter.
3. Instead of Jelly Beans, you can use balloons or other items of the different colors… even simply colored pieces of paper (sometimes known as the “Wordless book”) and beads for bracelets (sometimes known as the “Wordless Bracelet”)

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…

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Food for Thought

Waiting On God

March 18, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.

Author: G. Campbell Morgan

Teaching Illustrations

The Water Jar

March 18, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

“Then the woman left her water jar and went back into the city. She told the people, ‘Come with me, and meet a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could he be the Messiah?’ ”
-John 4:28,29

“Don’t miss the drama of the moment. Look at her eyes, wide with amazement. Listen to her as she struggles for words…And watch as she scrambles to her feet, takes one last look at the grinning Nazarene, turns and runs right into the burly chest of Peter…

Did you notice what she forgot? She forgot her water jar. She left behind the jug that had caused the sag in her shoulders. She left behind the burden she brought.

Suddenly the shame of the tattered romances disappeared. Suddenly the insignificance of her life was swallowed by the significance of the moment. ‘God is here! God has come! God cares…for me!’

That is why she forgot her water jar. That is why she ran to the city. That is why she grabbed the first person she saw and announced her discovery, ‘I just talked to a man who knows everything I ever did…and he loves me anyway!’

The disciples offered Jesus some food. He refused it–he was too excited! He had just done what he does best. He had taken a life that was drifting and given it direction.”

Author: Max Lucado
Source: “Six Hours One Friday”

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…

Food for Thought

Prayer of St. Patrick

March 17, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

I establish myself today in:

The power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to teach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The word of God to speak to me,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to lie before me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The hosts of God to defend me,
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who hears me.

Taken from “My Sacrifice, His Fire” by Anne Ortlund.

Game Ideas

Easter Bingo

March 17, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1. Bingo cards for each participant. Make Bingo cards using a grid of squares (5X5) and placing Easter related items in each square. Make each card different in the choice of items on it and the placement of the items. (Bingo cards are typically unique for each individual. There are also usually more items than spaces on the bingo grid so that not every card has all the items.)
2. Coins or markers to cover squares. Jelly beans work well. You can also simply allow them to mark on the cards.
3. Bingo items in bag to pull out. Write them on small peices of paper or ping pong balls.

Game Play
1. Pass out the bingo cards.
2. Give each child a supply of jelly beans for markers on the board. Ask them not to eat them until the game is over.
3. Draw one slip of paper at a time from the hat or box. Read the item aloud.
4. Ask participants to look for the item on their paper. If they find it, they should place a jelly bean over it. (Make sure each participant covers the free space.)
5. Play until someone gets five marekrs in a row either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The first person to do so must yell out “He is Risen” and wins. Check the grid to make sure the placement of the markers agrees with those that have been called out.
6. Repeat the game a few times or keep on playing the first game until each child has covered five squares in a row.
7. Let everyone eat the candy after the game is over.

Easter Bingo items related to the Biblical account:
Gray fleece or donkey (Matthew 21:2-5), Palm branch or a coat (Matthew 21:8-11), A vial of perfume (Matthew 26:7-13), A lock of hair (Matthew 26:7-13), 30 silver coins or 3 10-cent coins (Matthew 26:14-15), A strip of terry cloth fabric or towel (John 13:4-11), A communion wafer or bread (Matthew 26:17-29), A communion cup or grape (Matthew 26:17-29), , Praying hands (Mark 14:32-42), A watch (Mark 13:37), Rooster or a feather (Luke 22:61)
, Piece of rope (John 18:12), A leather whip (John 19:1), Small piece of soap (Matthew 27:20-24), A piece of scarlet cloth (Matthew 27:28), A crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29), A cross (John 19:16-22), nails (John 19:16-22), Dice (John 19:23-24), darkness or Black circle (Luke 23:44-45), sponge with vinegar (John 19:28-30), spear (John 19:32-37), A shattered or split rock (Matthew 27:51, 54), Purple cloth (Matthew 27:51), Clean linen cloth or gauze (Matthew 27:57-61), Spices (Luke 23:55-56), A stone and wax or paraffin (Matthew 27:65-66), an empty tomb (Matthew 28:5-8), Sign reading “King of the Jews”

Easter Bingo items NOT necessarily related to Biblical account:
Basket, Bells, Bonnet, Bunny Hop, Candies, Chicks, Chocolate, Chocolate Rabbit, church, Cottontail, Daffodil, Easter Card, Easter Egg, Egg Hunt, Egg Tree, Faberge, Hard Boiled egg, Hot Cross Buns, Jelly Beans, Lamb, Lilies, Marshmellows, New Clothes, Parade, Passover, Pastel Colors, Peeps, Pretzel, Rabbit, Ribbons, Spring, Straw, Sunday, Sunrise

Variation
1. Make the bingo cards using items from the Biblical Account.
2. As you tell the easter story, youth / children must cover the appropriate square every time they hear something that matches a picture on their card. Everyone will get to bing before you finish and you will have told the Easter story.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Food for Thought

Which Tooth?

March 16, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Two small boys walked into the dentist’s office. One of them said bravely, “I want a tooth taken out and I don’t want any gas, and I don’t want it deadened . . . because we’re in a hurry!” The dentist said, “You’re quite a brave young man. Which tooth is it?”

The boy turned to his smaller friend and said, “Show him your tooth, Albert.”

The world is full of volunteers like that. We’re anxious to have something happen — to someone else! We don’t mind God changing the world — as long as He doesn’t bring any pain into our lives.

Author: James Cammack, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Source: Parables From Outside Paradise

Children's Sermon

A Beautiful Tune

March 16, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1. Eight (8) glasses of the same shape and size to be placed on a large table. Glass dinner glasses or wine glasses work best.
2. Source of water. (Can be a bucket or large jug)
3. Bowl with small peices of shredded paper
4. Pencil
5. towel
6. Permanent Marker or marker that can write on glass (for preparation)

Preparation
1. Before the talk, number the glasses from 1-8 for easy reference.
2. Fill the eight glasses with water so that they produce a musical scale of a single octave. Use a piano, guitar or another instrument to tune the glasses (Add or remove water until you have got them right all at thge right pitch). Chck the pitch by lightly tapping each glass with a wooden pencil
3. Mark of a line on each of the glasses where the water level should be so that later all you need to do is fill them to the line
4. Set the materials out for the talk.

Activity
1. Allow eight of the children each to fill a glass with water from the container right up to the mark on the glass.
2. Help them to adjust the water level if it is too little or too much
3. After the glasses are filled, tell the class that the way to find out if the group had done a good job is to play a simple tune (such as “Doe A Deer A Female Deer” or “Mary had a little lamb”) by striking the glasses lightly with the pencil.
4. After playing the tune, praise the children for a job well done.
5. Now empty the glasses into the water container and repeat the whole process with another group of 8 children. 6. Again test the results by playing a tune.
7. You can repeat several times with different children, but for the last group you will do something different. When the last team comes on, plant a volunteer within it, whose job is to fill his/her cup not with water but with pieces of paper from the bowl.
8. Now, try to play a tune from the glasses. The tune will be missing one of the notes. One glass will be out of tune.

Application
1. Ask the class what was wrong with the music in the the last team (it did not sound right, something was wrong with it, etc.).
2. Ask the children to identify the cause of the problem and listen to their answers. Someone will likely answer that one of the glasses was filled not with water but with paper.
3. Affirm their answers and say, “You know, our God is big and wonderful, ready to give us all kinds of blessings; but we often feel empty, alone, and sad like those empty glasses. ”
4. “God is like this water. If we invite God to come into our lives, He can make a great difference in us. It’s like filling those empty glasses with water. When God is in our lives, he can use our lives to bring music and joy to others. ”
5. “But if we fill our lives with things other than God, such as toys, television, playing with friends, school that become more important to us than God, we will not bring music and joy to others. Instead we will bring dischord and noise. It’s like trying to play a tune from a glass filled only with paper. It’s no wonder we don’t feel much of God’s love and joy and wisdom in us. Watch carefully what you are filled with — God or the things of this world.”

Get Help on Your Youth Sermons

Creative Sermon Ideas
This 100 Page e-Book Includes All The Help You Need To Prepare Powerful, Life-Changing Youth Sermons That Will Turn Your Preaching Around And Make Your Youth Sit Up And Listen! Includes 7 Complete Sermons.
–> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…

Teaching Illustrations

Church Bells

March 16, 2006 kensapp Leave a comment

Massena, one of Napoleon’s generals, suddenly appeared with 18,000 soldiers before an Austrian town which had no means of defending itself. The town council met, certain that capitulation was the only answer. The old dean of the church reminded the council that it was Easter, and begged them to hold services as usual and to leave the trouble in God’s hands. They followed his advice. The dean went to the church and rang the bells to announce the service. The French soldiers heard the church bells ring and concluded that the Austrian army had come to rescue the town. They broke camp, and before the bells had ceased ringing, vanished.

Source: Unknown

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of Easter.

=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Inspiration

Butterfly, Botanist, or Bee?

March 15, 2006 kensapp 1 Comment

Contemplating life, a wise teacher gazed at a beautiful garden.

As he breathed in the wonderful fragrances and beheld the beauty of the garden, he saw a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. It spent a few seconds on the edge of a rose, then a daisy, and then a sunflower. The garden was a rainbow of fragrance and color, but the butterfly gained no particular benefit from any of the flowers there.

Next the teacher saw a botanist with a large notebook and an equally large magnifying glass in his hand. As the botanist carefully observed each flower, he filled a great number of pages with his notes. But after hours of meticulous study, most of what he learned was shut up in his notebook and forgotten.

Then the wise teacher observed a small bee. The bee enthusiastically entered a flower, was gone from view for a brief moment, and then emerged laden with pollen. It had left the hive that morning empty, but would return full, and in doing so would share his abundance. With that pollen, sweet honey would be made to sustain, not only himself, but the entire hive for the future.

The wise teacher pondered.

Some people are like butterflies, going from teacher to teacher, seminar to seminar, book to book. They are so very busy, and expend so much energy, but have little to show for their efforts. They remain unchanged in any significant way because they never really delve into things wholeheartedly. They’re content to simply flutter around the edges.

Others, like the botanist, may study in great depth but never apply what is learnt to their lives. Content to study, they know much, but receive little benefit. Striving for knowledge alone, they are unaffected by the knowledge they gain.

Our lives would be very different if we could only learn from the bee — visiting each flower with purpose and passion. To whole-heartedly dive in — to lose ourselves, to go into every opportunity with an open mind, determined to emerge fuller than when we began, to do more than simply flutter, to do more than simply take notes, but to take action. To joyfully give of our abundance so that others can make something sweeter, something that will sustain not only ourselves, but bless others as well.

How would the wise teacher see your life?
As butterfly, a botanist, or a bee?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
– James 1:22-25

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

Learn More…

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