Leader Guide
Toss Game
- Bibles or Superbook Bible App
- String or rope, 20 feet long
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Two colors of paper, one sheet per child
- Optional: if playing on a carpet, 5 marbles per child may be used instead of paper
- Two bags to carry paper strips
Cut the rope or string into an 8-foot length and a 12-foot length.
Cut each sheet of paper into five strips about 1.5 inches wide, and separate the strips by color into the two bags.
Use the 12-foot piece of string or rope to make a heart shape on the floor.
Use the 8-foot piece of string or rope to make a circle in the middle of the heart.
Mark a line about 6 feet from the bottom of the heart.
Divide the children into two even teams. Give a bag of color paper strips to each team and instruct each child to take out five strips. The children will then crumple their own strips to make five small paper balls. Have each team make a single file line behind the mark.
The game we are about to play is based on our SuperVerse, 1 John 5:21. Let’s say it together:
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
As we have been discussing, nothing should take God’s place in our hearts. God must always be first! We all will have relationships and interests in our lives; however, they must not become a distraction that takes us away from God. The balls you made represent different things in our lives that we like to spend time doing. You are going to roll the balls toward the heart. You will score one point for each ball you place anywhere inside the heart except for the middle area. That is God’s area, and nothing must take His place! If a ball lands inside that area, your team loses three points!
Start the game by having the first player for each team roll or toss their paper balls toward the heart at the same time. Balls will be knocked in and out of the heart areas during the game. The score will not be tallied until all players have taken a turn. Tally the score and play another round if time permits. The team with the highest score wins.
Conclusion: Having hobbies, friendships and interests is not sinful. However, we shouldn’t allow these things to take God’s place in our hearts. We need to actively work to keep balance in our busy and full lives so that God is always first!