play Archives - Page 11 of 18 - Jesus Without Language

Most bible passages and stories depict very ordinary people experiencing a very extraordinary God, but this one is quite the opposite. A secret king in waiting, living a very ordinary life, is spotted as a good musician and brought before the king to soothe his woes. These games look at the power that music held and the willingness of David to serve.

Name that tune

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Can be seated

A super simple game that just requires any musician or a CD of backing tracks, at a push you could just hum the melody of songs. Play in teams, if you have plenty of children, have them call out or write down the answer.

Link to David being a very skilled musician.

Name-beat

All Ages

Small group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Can be seated

For this game, you will need the children’s names written out. Look closely at the child’s name and turn them into a drum beat by counting the number of lines in each letter. Have the children start by clapping their names – e.g. KATE = 3324, ADAM = 3234. Once you have worked out a child’s beat, have the whole group join in, then move to the next child’s name. Most music relies on a sense of rhythm and the majority of us are blessed with this skill, though some children may struggle, so try to work as a group to ‘mask’ this.

I can serve by…

Under 7’s

Any size group

No Setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Split the children into small groups (with an adult if they are younger) and hand out paper and pencils. Each group has one minute to write down how many ways they can make someone smile. Dependent on time, have the kids demonstrate some of their suggestions, and /or challenge them to do at least 5 before they go to bed tonight.
Link to : Serving doesn’t need to be complex, David’s task was to ‘lift Saul’s mood, and bring him peace’, something we can all do for each other.

Restoring Saul

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Puzzle meets treasure hunt meets musical statues, this is a game full of familiarity, best played after the story has been told. Print the picture of Saul shown here and the outline page. Cut along the lines to form pieces and hide those around the room. Tell the children that this is a game of musical statues with a difference, when the music plays they can hunt for the pieces of Saul, but they must freeze when the music stops. As each piece is found, place it into the outline. When completed, stop the music and ask how Saul felt after hearing David’s music, draw the expression on his face.

Musical chairs

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

If restoring Saul seems just too much work, play a simple game of musical chairs, talk about how the chair gives us comfort and stability, a safe place to rest, and how David’s music did the same for Saul.

The Pharisees and Sadducees, two groups we love to paint as the bad guys, but amongst the bad apples were men seeking God, even if they were misguided. These games don’t play them as the bad guys, but rather as questioners, inquisitive about Jesus, even if their motivation wasn’t in the right place.

Riddles – Tough questions naturally link into riddles, if the kids have any of their own get them to share, if not then try this list https://www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-do/activities/10-easy-riddles-for-kids of 10 easy riddles for children.

Too many rules – For this game you’ll probably need a whiteboard or a big sheet of paper to write the rules. tell the children they can help you make the rules for the game. start with these 3 rules. 1. each child must take it in turns to say a nursery rhyme or equivalent. 2. each child must try and follow as many rules as possible. 3. if the child completes the task they may add another rule.(example, first child recites “Hickory dickory dock” then adds the rule you must hold your thumb to your nose, second child recites “Incey Wincey Spider” then adds that you must use a squeaky voice …etc)

(more…)

The boy with the picnic in the story of the feeding of the 5000 is just one seemingly insignificant character in a sea of people, but his courage to offer what he could fed everyone. These games link to the story, the idea of sharing and the significance of one.

Falling Dominoes – grab a set of dominoes or jenga blocks or anything you can make a domino tumble line with and give the kids 3 minutes to set out as long a domino tumble as they can make. Split it into teams if you want to make a competition.

Divide and share – Sit the children in a circle or round a table and give each child a piece of paper. Ask them to fold it in half as many times as they can. 8 is the limit. Talk about how small we managed to make the piece of paper by keeping it together. Now get them to open their piece of paper up and tear it in half, placing one half in the middle of the circle. Repeat this until you have just a tiny piece of paper. How many times did they tear their paper when they give it away?

(more…)

The lesson on Little James is all about being selected. Rather than give you a lot of ideas there is only one provided here. This game is one that is worth revisiting as you work your way through the apostles series, plus the more you play the more tactical the game gets.

Alternatively, play a game that requires ‘selecting teams’ or link back to the Apostle crowd by using a game such as the Memory match cards.

Included – The aim of the game is to get through as many cards as possible while getting to know the group you are playing with. Shuffle the cards and then choose a player. Have the player turn over the top card and choose a person that the card applies to, that person is now in their group and can stand behind the player and assist them. Turn the next card and choose another child. You must to choose a child that fills a given description to move onto the next card. If you reach a card that does not apply to anyone not already in the group your turn has ended. Remove the final unfulfilled card, shuffle and chose another player.

(more…)

Mary Magdalene is a great character, sometimes seen as the female Apostle she is the first witness of the resurrected Christ. These games link into various parts of the story, the way she mistook Jesus as a gardener, her role in the group, the oils she bought for a task she never fulfilled and more. Some of these activities are more suited to the start of a session, while others would work better later on.

Who am I? – This is a classic game involving a blindfold and lots of people trying to disguise their voice. Have the child playing ‘Mary Magdalene’ sit in a chair blindfolded, point to one other child and get them to call out “Mary Magdalene” – Can the child with the blindfold tell who it is?

Smell bags – Mary goes to buy oils to anoint the body at the beginning of this story. Use some kind of container, a cloth bag works the best but cardboard boxes with salt shaker holes are just as easy. Then find some familiar smells, shampoo’s, perfumes, soap, chopped vegetables, spices, cleaning products, candles, fruit, flavoured crisps, etc. Either place ‘the smell’ inside the container or onto a tissue inside the container and get the kids to identify it.
(more…)

This story of Judas is crammed full of symbols, objects, and motivations to bounce off. From the silly to the deep and reflective there is a real mix of ideas here that can be used to springboard your group into one aspect of the story for discussion. One thing the games don’t do is vilify Judas.

The coin hunt – Explain to the children that Judas has lost the 30 pieces of silver and needs to find them all before he can go and give them back! Hide the coins round the room and have the children find them. If you don’t want to use real coins then pictures of circles wrapped in silver foil work well.

No not me – Have all the children sit in a circle, close their eyes and place their hands behind their backs. Walk around the outside of the circle and gently place a token (a sweet works well) in the hands of one child. Go round the circle and allow each child to ask one other child a question – either ‘do you have it?’ or ‘does your neighbour have it?’ the child then needs to either reveal their hands or reach to feel their neighbours hands. Linking into the ideas who would betray Jesus wasn’t obvious to the rest of the group and that Jesus had to be identified by a kiss.
(more…)

The story of Boaz and Ruth contains a few details that are both common and yet very significant. The idea of claiming, the importance of shoes, and the companionship of marriage are all themes found in the following game suggestions.

Walking shoes – This game works best with younger children and those with smaller feet. You’ll need a pile of adult shoes and a basic start and end line. Split the shoes into 2 piles (one from each pair) and have the kids take turns ‘walking’ the shoes from the start to the end line. Each child can take up to 4 shoes per turn (hands and feet) but each must walk across the floor, no carrying.

Match cards – Head over to this post and print out some flip and match card especially for this lesson. The set contains 7 sets of shoes alongside one Boaz card and one Ruth card… because they obviously made a pair!

(more…)

These cards are always fun and so versatile! This little flip card ‘match up’ game is perfect for quiet play, basic craft or an extension activity. It features period relevant shoes not modern shapes which could lead to discussions about comfort and protection.

Includes 1 card of Boaz holding a shoe, 1 card of Ruth, and 7 sets of shoes.
(Ruth and Boaz are a match for each other!)

(more…)

New Testament

Old Testament

Resource Type

Season

Name that tune

Name-beat

I can serve by…

Restoring Saul

Musical chairs

Advertisment