It’s easy to trivialise or minimise the importance of the temple to the people of Jerusalem. We often mistakenly consider it to be a large building and ignore the gigantic structure that it stood on. The whole setup was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world and bigger than 30 football pitches in size. The idea of it being removed or destroyed must have seemed impossible. Here are a few suggestions to get the wiggles out and learn though play as you launch into this lesson.
Part of the picture
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Give each child a piece of paper with a squiggle on it. Have them complete the picture. You could also do this with a piece of jigsaw puzzle and have them verbally describe what is missing.
Link: The disciples only saw a tiny bit of the whole picture; they couldn’t imagine the temple not playing a big role.
Don’t wobble the structure
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Play a balance/stacking game like Jenga®, bottle balance or stacking chairs. You can make your own version of many of these games if needed.
Link: The temple was impressive, but it would fall.
Lean on me
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Have the kids get into pairs and sit back to back. Interlock arms and push against each other to stand up. They must not use their hands. Add one person to the group each time they are successful.
Link: God asks us to lean on him, not on the things we build in this world.
