Goliath was born with a gift, he had the gift of size, but he didn’t realise that he was still tiny compared to the big powerful God of the Israelites, our God.
 

Alternative fashion – this is a beautifully silly activity involving clothes and shoes and any other apparel you can find in big and tiny sizes. split the clothes into bags. Have the children get into teams and choose a model from amongst them. Give each team a bag of clothes and tell them they have 5 minutes to prepare for a fashion show. Say that the clothes do not need to be used for their purpose – eg. baby socks could be ear-warmers.
 

Tap tap tag – Sit the children in a circle and have them lightly pace their left hand above the right hand of their partner. Start by passing a tap round the circle. The game starts when one person calls out the word Tag and a number, the person next to them must then call out ‘Tag’ and one number lower – this continues until the number 1. The person on zero then needs to jump up and swap places with the initially caller before the tag reaches that space. If they make it they remain in the game, if they don’t they are out. Link to passing the responsibility for battle.
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Being a crippled woman was tough, so was keeping the rules of Sabbath. These games can be used to explore the various issues around the story, from the bondage of sickness to the validity of rules.
 

Every seven – Sit in a circle (preferably on the floor) and explain that this game is about finding a Sabbath day of rest. Have a leader assign a place of work (hospital, classroom, home, garden etc) and then going round the circle the children need to call out a related action and have the group mimic it. Every seventh child shouts rest and the group lay on the floor. eg. place of work = playground, child 1 run (stand up on spot run for a few steps, group mimics), child 2 skip, child 3 play football, child 4 blow a whistle, child 5 play tag (tags person next to them), child 6 climb, child seven rest (children rest until leader calls out new location.
 

Bent over – This is a two team race. Have your children put their right hand on their left knee, bandage in place for older children if desired. Then get your children to line up according to their new height. Starting with the tallest, pass a ball along along the row asking the participants to pass the ball over their heads, once at one end have the participant run to the front of the line and repeat until the tallest is again at the front.
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Matthew is a wonderfully simple character, he lives a bad life and turns it around when he meets Jesus. Any games that involve maths, discovery, or following links well, as do games linking to the idea of sickness and health. If you have a relevant favourite game already, do consider using that first.
 

Count up – this popular drama game involves counting as a group. Players call out ever increasing numbers, anyone can call the next number but if 2 people call at the same time then you must restart. Surprisingly difficult. Link to counting is easy but working with people can be hard.
 

Coin Hunt – a hide the thimble / egg hunt style game using real coins of a very low value or cardboard coins. Hide at least 2 coins per child and let them keep what they find. At the end of the game ask if the effort was worth the reward. Link to finding the biggest reward in discovering Jesus.
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Tent making is a lovely springboard topic so hunt out those old sheets and play some typical camping games if you have any. If you have access to a tent why not take the whole lesson inside one, even a makeshift tent will really set the atmosphere.

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Professions – a simplified charades game. Cut up the profession cards provided and place them into a bag. Have the children pull out a card and act out the profession. Sounds and words are allowed for younger groups.
 

Timed Tents – divide the kids into teams of five or less and challenge them to make a tent. Provide chairs, a single sheet, pillows and a few decorations. Be clear they have a time limit of five minuets, use a visible timer. Let the children sit in their tents for the story or continue to improve them in the activity time.
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Eutychus never actually say’s a word in his encounter with Paul, apart from knowing he was young and sleepy we know very little about him. These games therefore link to sleep and falling.
 

safe landing – a bit like playing sand boules this is a throwing game where you aim for a target. Use small balls or soft coits and create a soft target using a small pillow. If you have a large group then work in teams. Make the game harder for older kids be creating a window they must fall through. You can do this simply using the back of a chair.
 

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Wakey Wakey faces – you may want to use the printout for this game. The idea is that the youngsters need to collect the parts of the face to wake up their character. Split the youngsters into 2 teams and have them stand in their team area. Complete your faces as a relay race, with only one team member able to run at a time.
 

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Nicodemus has a lot of different facets to the story, the friendship that continues throughout Johns gospel, the leader who hides from his peers and the two key verses about rebirth and Jesus’s mission.
 

Matching the body – Using magazine pictures cut the head from the body of the models. Place the heads on one side of the room and the bodies on the other. Have the children match the heads and the bodies. Include at least one baby picture. Link to craft and Nicodemus being confused.
 

Sneaking through the city – Adaptation of the game ‘Hot lava crossing’ featured in the homefront magazine (May’13 issue, page 12). Lay out a grid on the floor using printer paper. Have the same grid printed on a single sheet of paper and mark out a route from one side to the other. Keeping the route hidden have the children navigate one step at a time, on route you are safe, off route you are discovered. Link to Nicodemus’ journey to find Jesus.
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Cain is both the hero and protagonist of this story and we are concentrating on him. These games therefore are supposed to lead to conversations of consequences, protection, and grace.
 

Under the flag – Take as large a flag as possible for this activity, a sheet connected to a broom handle with safety pins will suffice. Have the children stand in a circle around the flag bearer. wave the flag above their heads, slowly get lower and lower, then higher and higher. If the flag touches you then you are out.
 

Marble run – give each participant a tube, cardboard, pod noodle, taped paper etc. the idea is that the children transport a marble safely through the various tubes. Either round a circle or with fewer children across a room.
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Rather than 3 play posts for the Witnesses to the crucifixion lesson the games are listed here – if you want more games connected with Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter then click here for the last Easter theme lesson. This lesson has 3 heroes, (the soldier, Salome, and the disciple Jesus loved) ideally you would choose one or split your group into 3 and each cover a different hero. I’ve tried to include games than link with all three
 

Obstacle race – It’s been a while since I fell back onto this traditional game, but the journey to the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, or getting through the crowds to see Jesus, can easily link in.
 

Shadow charades – set up a sheet or screen and a bright light to play charades. this version allows letters to be made to spell out words and ties into the idea of standing in the shadow of the cross.
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