Leader Guide

Game

When we hear about people doing bad things, we may think they deserve judgment—anger—revenge—or rejection. Hold up the signs as you say each word. However, that’s not what God wants. Does anyone remember our SuperTruth? “God wants us to show mercy.”

Hold up the Mercy sign. Let’s play a game about showing mercy.

Divide the children into two equal teams and have them line up single-file behind the starting line. They should turn their backs as the sixth-grade helpers quickly shuffle all eight card stock signs, five with words and three blank, then place them facedown on the floor at the opposite end of the room. The cards should be in random order, far apart from each other so children must walk several steps between each one.

When you say “Go,” the first player for each team walks quickly to the cards and turns them over one by one until a player finds the “Mercy” card. That player then holds it up high toward their team, and that team shouts the SuperTruth together: “God wants us to show mercy.” Both players then go to the end of their team’s line. The team whose player found the Mercy card receives one point.

Have the teams turn their backs as the sixth-grade helpers quickly gather all the cards, shuffle them, then place them facedown on the floor as fast as possible. The next player from each team takes a turn. Repeat until all children have taken a turn. The team with the highest score wins. To keep the game moving quickly, instruct the volunteers to rearrange cards as fast as possible.

You may make the game more challenging by varying the mode of travel to the cards for each turn, such as hopping on one foot, skipping, walking backward, using blindfolds as their teams shout instructions, walking sideways, balancing a book on their heads, bouncing a ball, etc.

Conclusion: Even though God saw all the evil that the large city of Nineveh did, His response was to show mercy. We need to show mercy to others, too—the same mercy God gives us each day!