This is one of my favorite lessons, because it is fun and engaging, with a little spirit of competition thrown in! Make sure you have really prayed about it, and let God lead you through the teaching. Feel free to change anything and I hope God uses it to bless you as much as He blessed me. This lesson tends to last from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
Supplies:
- Long rope to be used for tug-of-war
- Colorful tape to be used to create path on floor
- Blindfold
- Get a friend and you can make a pass
- Get a few more friends and you can make a team
- Even MORE friends and you can make a conference
- Even MORE friends and you can have a LEAGUE!!
Christianity is not meant to be done alone. It is not an individual sport, but rather a team event utilizing the strengths of many to achieve one goal. We must recruit a friend, and another, and another and start a team to win the game for Christ!
Christians Need Each Other:
- The book of Acts is all about the first church getting started
1.) ACTIVITY: Ask 1 preteen to pull rope against you (exactly like tug-of-war). Tell the class that the preteen is symbolic of a Christian, and you are symbolic of sin. You are like sin tugging on their heart, trying to pull them away from God.
- After you beat your volunteer ask them to sit down, and mention how you (the sin) were stronger than the 1 Christian trying to resist you.
- 1 Corinthians 14:26
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
- Address the significance that these things “must be done for the strengthening of the church”
- Extra Verse: 1 Corinthians 14:37-38
• This is a great verse to discuss the significance of accepting and acknowledging your gifts given to you by God!
- 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.28And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?31Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
- Address the significance that each one [preteen] is a part of it . We are all parts of one body, each of us with unique gifts (remind preteens of previous verse).
- Hebrews 3:13
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
• Focus on the need to encourage each other daily (maybe ask “have any of you encouraged anyone here yet?”)
- Romans 15: 5-6
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Focus on the ability for Christians to come together to glorify God
- Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
• Focus on the need for Christians to lead, and guide each other
2.) ACTIVITY: Ask volunteer to walk along the path of tape laid out on carpet. But blindfold them.
• After your volunteer has failed to stay on the tape path (or “path of righteousness” ) ask for 2 more volunteers to help guide their fellow Christian.
- This next part begins the conclusion of the lesson and it is vital that you are passionate about this topic!
- Acts 4:29-31
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
• Focus on the significance of what God can do when groups of Christians work together. Especially the last part of 31, “and spoke the word of God boldly.” It is super important that you mention the ability for your preteens to be able to do the exact same thing as the Christians in this passage!
• Paraphrase Acts 4:32-36. This is important to keep the passage in context in order to fully illustrate what God was doing with this early church.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:8
8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
• This verse is displays the awesome faith of the church in Thessalonica, as their faith in God has been testified “everywhere”. Focus on the amazing ability for God to use churches to perform tasks that would normally seem impossible!
3.) ACTIVITY: Ask the first volunteer to try to beat you at tug-of-war again. But this time ask them to invite 2 more friends, then ask those preteens to invite more until everyone in the class is holding onto the rope against you (they should be able to beat you [sin] much more easily this time!).
- Close with the demonstration that together Christians can overcome anything.
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