Game Ideas

Thanksgiving Tailfeathers Icebreaker

November 13, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Description

Who’s the biggest Turkey?

Game Teaching Point / Purpose

See the game Clothespins for Teaching Ideas

Game Materials

At least 2 Clothespins for every participant.
Craft feathers

Game Preparation

With a glue gun or piece of adhesive tape, attach feathers to both legs of each clothespin.

Game Play

Give every person two clothespins (Turkey Feathers) as they enter.
When everyone has their turkey feathers, tell them you’re giving them two minutes to get rid of their feathers. The only way for participants to get rid of the feathers is onto pin them to someone else.
Chaos results as everyone tries to get rid of their feathers!
Award a prize to the person with the least number of feathers. The person with the MOST feathers is the official TURKEY!

Icebreaker Variation

As a variation, use this as an icebreaker activity for your next Thanksgiving Party or Thanksgiving Celebration. After playing the game, each person must state one “Fun Fact” about themselves for each feather they are wearing. If they have no feathers they only have to say ONE thing about themselves.

Take It to the Next Level

While we don’t carry clothespins with us through life, we do carry our sins. Sometimes they pinch us in uncomfortable places. Sometimes we don’t even realize they are there. But the sins carries with them pain and suffering.

Jesus suffered the ultimate pain and suffering on the cross as he bore the penalty for our sin. Ultimately that penalty is death. He chose to bear the consequences for us. He did not run away from sin, but said place all your sins on me and I will carry them for you. (Let everyone take their clothespins off and stick them to a cardboard cross.) While pain and suffering still accompany sin in our lives, the penalty of death has been removed for those who will trust in Christ.

And that’s something we can all be thankful for.

Bible Scripture References

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
1 Peter 2:24

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21

Closing Song

Thank You For the Cross
Mark Altrogge

Thank you for the cross, the mighty cross
That God himself should die for such as us
And everyday we’re changed
Into Your image more and more
Yes, by the cross we’ve truly been transformed

And we’re so amazed
And we give You praise
That you would save us at such a cost
And we’re so amazed
And we give You praise
For the power of the cross
For the power of the cross

See the game Clothespins for additional Teaching Ideas

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 Thanksgiving celebration as well as other familiar holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all the various holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Announcements

Once Lost, Now Found: Creative Scavenger Hunts

November 13, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Announcing…..

“Once Lost, Now Found: Creative Scavenger Hunts”
http://www.CreativeScavengerHunts.com

On any given day, there are hordes of people going to the Creative Youth Ideas website looking for Scavenger Hunt Ideas. In fact, it’s one of the most searched for phrases people type into the search box on my website.

I’ve put a few ideas on the website and a few hints “on how to conduct a successful Scavenger Hunt”, but for the past one year I have been working to create a one-of-a-kind resource to help youth groups plan their own scavenger Hunts.

Game Ideas

Turkey Toss

November 12, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Game Description
How much corn can you feed the turkey and fatten it up for Thanksgiving.

Game Teaching Point / Purpose
Just for fun

Game Materials

Candy Corn in a feed bucket. (You can also use a paper cup for each pair)
Alternatives: popcorn, Cranberries, fish crackers, M&M’s etc

Game Preparation
None

Game Play

Have the youth form pairs and choose who will be the “Turkey” and who will be the “Farmer”.
Give each pair an equal amount of candy corn.
Pairs must face each other at a distance of about 5 feet.
On your signal the Thanksgiving turkeys must start making turkey sounds: “Gobble, Gobble, Gobble.”
The farmer then must toss the candied corn to the Thanksgiving turkey, one piece at a time.
If the turkey successfully catches the corn in his mouth, the pair is still in the game.
If the turkey does not successfully catch the corn in its mouth, the pair Is eliminated from game play.
Increase the distance between the remaining participants then let the farmers toss another piece of corn.
Continue to repeat the activity until only one winner remains. If all pairs fail, then those turkeys that successfully caught the corn at the last distance are recognized as the winners or repeat until one pair succeeds.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan not only your next Thanksgiving celebration, but also games, activities, and meaningful discussions for many familiar holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the various holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Game Ideas

Turkey Feather Relay

November 7, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Introduction to the Thanksgiving themed game
which team can move their Turkey tail the fastest?

Thanksgiving Game Description
Youth will try to blow a turkey tail feather across the finish line in this active Thanksgiving Game.

Game Materials
Feather for each team (You can often get feathers from a craft store)

Game Preparation
Designate a start line and a finish line. (You can use string, tape or a even a chair that participants must go around at the opposite side of the room)

Game Play

Organise the participants into teams, which each team in a single file line behind the start line.
At the start signal, the first person on each team tosses the turkey tail feather into the air and tries to blow it up into the air and across the finish line.
Anytime a turkey tail feather touches the floor, the person must make loud gobble gobble sounds and take three large steps backward toward the start line. They can then toss the turkey tail feather up again and start moving forward.
The objective of this Thanksgiving game is for everyone to cross the finish line and return to the team. The trip back can either be a continuation of blowing the feather or a turkey dash back depending on how difficult you want the game to be.
When a player makes it back to the team the next person starts and the person who just completed the dash, goes to the back of the line and sits down.
Team members should cheer their teams on with the loudest gobble-gobble sounds as possible.

Variation
Give each of your teams a plastic spoon with the feather on it. The idea is to see who can run across the room and back again, keeping the feather on the ruler. If the turkey feather blows off, it must be replaced and three steps must be taken backward before the player can continue.

Take it to the Next Level
Scripture options: Psalm 91:4 We don’t have to be afraid because God covers us and protects us!
See also Matthew 23:37, Ruth 2:12, Psalm 17:8, and Psalm 36:7 fore references related to God’s protection under his wings.

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan not only your next Thanksgiving celebration, but also activities, games and meaningful discussions for a variety of other familiar holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the various holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Resource Reviews

Saul of Tarsus, The Apostle Paul

November 3, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Saul of Tarsus

“Few backgrounds could have better prepared Saul to be the chief persecutor of the early church. He was born at Tarsus–“no mean city,’ as he liked to describe it (Acts 21:39)–a major Roman city on the coast of southeast Asia Minor. Tarsus was a center for the tent making industry, and perhaps that influenced Saul to choose that craft as an occupation. Teachers of the Law, which Saul eventually became, were not paid for their services
and had to earn a living in other ways…

However, Saul said that he was ‘brought up’ in Jerusalem ‘at the feet of Gamaliel,’ the most illustrious rabbi of the day (Acts 22:3) and a highly respected member of the Jewish council (5:34)…In making that statement, Saul was describing a process of technical training in the Law that prepared him to become one of the Pharisees, the religious elite of Judaism. For many Jewish youth, the rigorous course of study began at age 14 and continued to
the age of 40.

Apparently Saul was an apt pupil. He claimed to have outstripped his peers in enthusiasm for ancestral traditions and in his zeal for the Law (Phil. 3:4-6). Probably through Gamaliel, he had opportunity to observe the council and come to know many of its principals and some of its inner workings.

So it was that he chanced to be present when the conflict between the council and the early church came to a head in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1). He had likely watched earlier encounters between the council and members of the Way, such as those with Peter and John (4:5-18; 5:17-40). But apparently the incident with Stephen galvanized his commitment to traditional Judaism and set him off on a mission to seek out and destroy as
many believers as he could (8:1-3).

Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles

“Ironically, Paul’s background not only prepared him to be the early church’s chief opponent, but also to become its leading spokesperson. Devout, energetic, outspoken, stubborn, and exacting, Paul became far more troublesome to the Jews than he had ever been to the Christians, not in terms of violence, but ideology. Indeed, he lived with a price on his head as his former colleagues among the Jews sought to destroy him (Acts 9:23-25,29; 23:12-15; 2 Cor. 11:26, 32-33).

Perhaps the chief irony of Paul’s life was his calling to be the ‘apostle to the Gentiles’ (Acts 9:15; Gal. 1:16; 2:7-9). Paul had been a Pharisee, the very title meaning ‘to separate.’ Some Pharisees even refused to eat with non-Pharisees for fear of being contaminated by food not rendered ritually clean. They also separated from women, from lepers, from Samaritans, and especially from Gentiles (or ‘foreigners’).

So for Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles was a reversal of his life and a thorough repudiation of his background as a Pharisee. Perhaps three people proved invaluable in helping him make this dramatic change: Barnabas, who like Paul was a Hellenistic Jew and came from a Levite background–he embraced Paul and mentored him in the faith when no one else would come near him (see Acts 4:36-37); and Priscilla and Aquila, fellow tent makers–they joined Paul in business in Corinth and probably discussed the faith and its implications with Paul much as they did with Apollos (18:1-3, 24-28; see Rom 16:3-5).

Paul eventually became Christianity’s leading evangelist and theologian. But even as his status in the church rose, his perspective on himself changed. At first he saw himself as an important Christian leader, but then as ‘the least of the apostles’ (1 Cor. 15:9). Later he realized that he was capable of ‘nothing good’ (Rom 7:18) and was ‘less than the least of all the saints’ (Eph 3:8). Finally he described himself as the ‘chief’ of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15)–and threw himself on God’s mercy and grace.

The fearsome Pharisee of Pharisees became the fearless apostle to the Gentiles whose credo was,
‘To live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil.1:21).”

Source: The Word in Life Study Bible, pgs 1960-61.

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…

Drama Ideas

Letter to Zacchaeus

October 23, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

From Johanan, Collector at Magdala
to
Zaechaeus, Commissioner of Taxes at Jericho
Dear Zaccheus,

I have had Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, to dinner today, and a number of our friends came to meet him. I promised to let you know what happened, but I promised too much. I will tell you when I can, but it is only an hour since he went, and he has left me full of thoughts. As you know, I was rather nervous about the whole affair. First thing this morning, I would have given a good deal to stop the dinner altogether. You and I often say that our sort of people are no worse than other folk, but when I went over the invitations in my mind, I couldn’t help feeling that we were strange company for such a man as Jesus. I wondered what would happen if Reuben began talking the way he does sometimes, and I meant to give him a hint before the meal began, however, I did not get an opportunity, and as it happened, there was no need, Reuben wasn’t himself today.

Well, Jesus came. What is he like?

If you had asked me halfway through the dinner, I should have said that he was the nicest man I had ever met. But now I think, Oh, I don’t know what I think, except that I am not fit to touch his feet. Of course we were all very anxious to hear him talk. Reuben was hoping that he would give the Pharisees a dressing down, and made an opening for him, but Jesus never mentioned the Pharisees, and to tell the truth I believe we all forgot that there were such people. He seemed just as ready to listen as to talk, and what a listener he is. I have never met anyone who listens as he does. I happened to mention my boy, Benjamin, for we are wondering what trade to put him to, and of course we are rather anxious as there are not many openings for a publican’s son. Jesus was interested immediately, and asked me questions about the lad. He told me some things, too, about his own boyhood. I began to feel rather ashamed at last for you know it is very strange to meet some one who understands your own lad better than you do yourself. But does he understand boys!

I cannot tell you all the things we talked about. They were much the same kind of things you and I might speak of, but there was a difference. I found myself talking to him as though I had known him all my life. I began telling him – I can’t think how I did it – how I got into this business of ours, and I was explaining our difficulties and how impossible it always is to keep straight when everyone is trying to take advantage of you, especially in these hard times when the future is so uncertain and one must make provision while one can for wife and family. He just listened, and looked straight in my face as though he understood all I said – and all I didn’t say as well and as though he were sorry for us. He didn’t interrupt, or argue with me, but the more I looked at him, the more I wished I had never got into the cursed business and the more I wished I could begin again.

You will think it ridiculous, but as he sat there, I wondered why we were not all like him. We were all sick, and he alone was well. I remembered the time when you and I were boys together, and I felt that we had missed the road. If I had been alone with him, I think I should have made a clean breast of it, and asked him what to do. He could see that my feelings were getting out of hand. They say in the town that Johanan has no feelings, and I half believed them until today. But really the tears were in my eyes, and I had such a longing, and felt so helpless. And Jesus said to me, as though he understood everything. “Don’t be afraid, think it over again, and remember your Heavenly Father knows what you need. Don’t lose your life in trying to save it.” Do you see what he meant?

Well, the meal, ended, and I was bidding him goodbye at the door, when the girl, Rachel – perhaps you guess her trade came up to the door, and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, lest she should show that she knew me. But she had-eyes only for Jesus. Some of his friends drew back when they saw her, but Jesus said only this, “Don’t do it any more.” She stood gazing after him as he went, then covered her face with her hand, and ran down the street. As for me, I watched him until he was out of sight, and had hard work not to run after him. He is on his way to Jerusalem, and is to pass through Jericho. I mentioned you to him. Be sure to see him, Don’t let anything stop you.

Peace be with you.
Johanan
P. 5. Benjamin has just come in. You would love that boy, Zacchaeus. I must be a better father to him. Do you remember the first time you and I went up to the temple? We were Benjamin’s age. Do you remember how we all sang as we went up:

“Who Jail ascend into the hill of the Lord?
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.”

We have missed our way, Zacchaeus, but I think, since Jesus was here, that God has not altogether cast us off. Do you think we could begin again?

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Announcements

Halloween Party or Fall Festival

October 20, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Pagan holiday or Evangelistic Opportunity? The decision is yours….

Rather than debate the issue, I am going to provide some things that could be done as part of a Christian alternative either as a family or as a church or youth group. (For the rest of you, many of the ideas involving pumpkins and other things could also be used at Thanksgiving or any time during the year for that matter.) And many of them are VERY evangelistic in nature!

Most of the ideas can be found on the index I created in October 2007
Halloween Alternatives for Christians

Here are some other’s not in that list:
Pumpkin Picasso
Sleepy Hollow
Fall or Harvest Festival
A Halloween Message
Pumpkin Patch Relay

May your harvest Festival be a harvest of souls into the Kingdom of God!

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 Alternative or Fall Festival, as well as games, activities, and meaningful discussions for a variety of other familiar holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Game Ideas

Sleepy Hollow

October 19, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Introduction
Can you play the wacky game without losing your head?

Game Description
How quickly can you pass the hat around the circle? While you may not lose your head playing this game, the head to head play is wild and fun!

Game Materials
1 hat for each team — Use cowboy hats for a western theme, baseball hats for a sports theme, etc., or simply find two of the wackiest hats you can.

Game Preparation
None

Game Play

Divide the group into two evenly numbered circles all holding hands.
Place a hat on the head of one player in each circle.
The objective is to pass the hat round the circle from head to head without releasing your hands.
The team which passes the hat round the circle first wins the game.

Variations
For a more difficult variation, play it with only right hands, or do not allow the use of hands at all!
For Halloween or a fall festival, use your favourite mask or hat from a costume!

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 Alternative or Fall Festival, as well as ideas for activities for other common holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Devotional

Early One Morning

October 18, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Early one morning I rushed straight into the day,
too much to do, no time to pray.

Problems overcame me, heavier each task,
“Why doesn’t God help me?” He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted great joy, but the day grew quite bleak.
“Why didn’t God show me?” He said, “You didn’t seek.”

I wished to enter God’s presence, used all the keys at the lock.
He gently chided, “My child you didn’t knock.”

I rose early this morning, and paused before day.
I had so much to do, I needed to pray.

Author Unknown

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Humor

Wacky Warning Labels: Personal Hygene

October 17, 2008 kensapp Leave a comment

Dial soap
Directions: Use like regular soap

Deodorant
Do not use intimately.

Tampax Tampons
Remove used tampon before inserting a new one.

A sticker on a toilet at a public facility
Recycled flush water unsafe for drinking.

Hotel Shower Cap
Fits one head.

A rock garden
Eating rocks may lead to broken teeth.

A box of birthday cake candles
DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity.

Curling Iron
For external use only!

blanket from Taiwan
Not to be used as protection from a tornado.

Curling Iron
Warning: This product can burn eyes

Taiwanese shampoo
Use repeatedly for severe damage

Conair Pro Style 1600 hair dryer
WARNING: Do not use in shower. Never use while sleeping.

A flushable toilet brush
Do not use for personal hygiene.

A hand-held massager
Do not use while sleeping or unconscious.

A container of underarm deodorant
Caution: Do not spray in eyes.

A massage chair
DO NOT use massage chair without clothing… and, Never force any body part into the backrest area while the rollers are moving.

Icebreakers 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.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

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