| The main element in the parable of the 10 bridesmaids is not the bridesmaids but the oil for their lamps. This craft ties into that by letting the youngsters associate oil with revealing but as the lamps would have illuminated and revealed the world in the dark. |  |
This passage is sometimes called the 10 virgins or the 10 bridesmaids: what we know about this is that they were young girls. A gaggle of girls waiting with the bride would probably be quite a fun, if not exhausting, way to spend an evening, it’s not surprising they fell asleep. Here is a selection of games that tie into various elements of the story, choose the one that would best suit your group, age range and setup.
Under 7’s
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Play ‘hide the object’ with use a torch or glow stick. How easy was it to find? Was it easier to find when the room was brighter? Did its light make it easier to discover?
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
A printable pairs game available by clicking on the image. Play classic pairs or use the scoring system written out on the page to try to beat your opponent.
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
If you have access to a water friendly space, this is a fun game. The aim is to float a candle in a container by filling it with water. You may not touch the candle, though you can blow it off the top of the container. Give each child a cup they can fill with water and have them run back and forth from the water source. Make it a bit more challenging by making a few small holes in the base of the container!
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
When the music stops, someone knocks on the door and the groom arrives, but don’t let him find you sleeping. Each pair of kids shares a dice, taking it in turns to roll. If they roll a 5 or 6, they fall asleep — sit/lay down. A roll of 1 or 2 wakes both people up — kneel/stand up. Make sure you have a third person to randomly stop the music or set a timer if you only have 2–3 kids. As a group game, all those asleep are out for the next round.
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
This classic game, also called “when I went to grandma’s” is a memory game listing all the things you’d take with you. Take it in turns to recite the whole list of items in the bag before listing a further item. How many can you remember?
| Those 10 bridesmaids lamps slowly ate through the oil until the light goes out, that’s what this craft shows quite clearly, a reminder to keep oil in our spiritual lamps. The verse is from the CSB translation. |  |
This story is very simple, but the more you know about the culture of Jewish weddings, the easier it is to understand the odd reaction of the groom at the end. The wedding, started with a betrothal, usually years before. The woman would remain at her father’s house and the groom would be expected to prepare a place to live for his new wife, this could mean literally building a new house. Once everything was ready, the groom would set out for his bride, typically mid-week. The grooms party would collect the bride from her father’s house where the physical part of the marriage would take place, often while the guests partied outside the door. The whole wedding would then make a procession to the grooms house, this was frequently done at night and special torches and lamps would be made. The celebration would continue for days after, and the crowd may have been pretty huge. So imagine the groom, slightly tipsy, finding a group of girls arriving after the doors been locked. Why should he let them in? If they are friends, they have shunned the main event, if not, then they are interlopers hoping for a few days of free food and wine.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Main Passage : Matthew 25
Jesus’s friends asked what the end of time would be like. Jesus knew that only the father had all the details, but he wanted his friends to have just a glimpse, and so he started to tell many parables to try to give them some ideas.
“There were 10 bridesmaids” said Jesus, he saw the disciples sigh, they knew they wouldn’t get a straight answer. “These bridesmaids were waiting with the bride for the wedding” he continued
“They could be waiting a long time!” shouted a voice, and the other disciples chucked. It was true. The groom could be collecting the guests for the party that would follow him collecting the bride. Sometimes the bride and her friends would wait hours for the groom to arrive with the party.
“5 of these bridesmaids were wise and bought extra oil for their wedding lamps, but the other 5 did not. The night got late and in the warm room the girls started to fall asleep.”
The men were laughing out loud now, all those girls in their fancy clothes falling asleep on the rugs. While the groom was enjoying the time with his friends and family a little too much!
“In the middle of the night, the sound of the shofar horn woke the girls. The groom was banging on the door asking to be let in. Quickly they got up, straightened their clothes and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish bridesmaids had burnt almost all their oil and begged those who were prepared to share their extra. The wise bridesmaids knew that was a bad idea. They would not have enough oil to last all night if they gave it away now.
The foolish bridesmaids left to find more oil, and when they returned to the brides house, there was nobody there.
The party had danced their way across the town to the grooms house to continue the celebration. As the last person from the large crowd had reached the door, they had locked it shut behind him.
When the foolish bridesmaids came to the party, the groom sent them away, they were too late, the door was locked already.”
Jesus was telling his friends to be prepared because they would not be told the time the end would come
| Jesus openly criticised the Pharisees long threads upon their garments. These long threads are religious symbols but the Pharisees would make them super long, impractically so, to show their great piety. They joined a long list of criticisms that Jesus accused the religious leaders of. There is a lot of symbols and cultural references in Matthew 23 but this one is quite clear and carries a very simple message – God doesn’t look at the outside but at our actions. |  |
This passage about the religious hypocrites holds such a lot of symbols, but all of them have at their root the idea of pride. This is reflected in these games, each taking the ideas from a slightly different angle.
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
This mirroring game takes two people facing each other, but they are going to copy each other’s actions in reverse: i.e. if one moves left, the other will move right. Have both people start by sitting down on chairs. As one person moves to become bigger/taller, the other moves to become smaller/shorter — generally this is if one person leads at first. Talk about how Jesus reversed the importance we place on people in this passage.
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Hide each letter of the word ‘hypocrites’ in your space, have the kid(s) find the letters and reconstruct the word. For younger kids, they can just find the letters and place them on the written word to fill it, older kids can try to work out what the word is from the letters.
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
The Pharisees made their tassels impractically long, this game ties into this. You will need to set up a series of obstacles the kids need to pass through and lay out some oversized clothing. The first time through the obstacles, the kid(s) can go without any extra clothes, but the second time round they have to choose one item to wear. Talk about how their new fashion choice hindered their movement.
Ages 7+
Small group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Walk around your space looking for symbols. Print out some symbols to ‘hide’ if you don’t think there are enough naturally around you. (road signs, power symbols, play, pause, a cross, a company logo, a flag etc).
Under 7’s
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
This traditional game links so well to the idea of saying one thing and doing something different. The leader gives an instruction and the children perform it… but only if the leader uses the words ‘Simon says’ before the instruction… Get it wrong and you are out!
| The idea of the servant being the greatest is one that Jesus revisits in many passages, this little split pin craft looks at how not only the servant is the greatest but often the authority is also the least. It’s based on Matthew 23:11-12 where Jesus says “The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” |  |
Here are the images you need for the hero’s attributes linked to the Religious Hypocrites (Matthew 23).
Each hero set contains a high quality graphic of the character, a take home bible card and a colouring page.
The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(Please note : Some images have no watermark but are not copyright free, they are only intended for classroom use.)
English
Extra’s – (English Only).
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