Leader Guide
Game
- Eight small round balloons plus extras
- 16–18 ounce plastic party cups—one for every two children plus extras; smaller cups will not work well
- Paper plates—one for every two children plus extras
- Permanent marker
- Bible or Superbook Bible App
- Four boxes or containers large enough to hold four balloons
Write the SuperTruth on the board: “I will show mercy and kindness to all people.”
Write the SuperVerse on the board. Matthew 5:44:
“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
Blow up the balloons not too full, then tie closed.
Use the permanent marker to write LOVE on two balloons, PRAYER on two balloons, MERCY on two balloons, and KINDNESS on two balloons.
Place one set of the four balloons, each with a different word, in a box. Place the other set of balloons in another box. Leave the other two boxes empty.
Look at the SuperTruth and SuperVerse on the board. Raise your hands to name four things we should do for others, including our enemies. Love them, pray for them, show them mercy, and show them kindness.
Hold up balloons as you talk. In this game, we will pass balloons to the end of the line and then drop them in boxes that represent other people, including your enemies. The balloons represent the love, prayer, mercy, and kindness that we should give our enemies. That sounds really easy doesn’t it?
Yes, I thought so, too; that’s why we will pass the balloons down the line using only cups and plates. This passage from our Bible story will give you a clue about why we are using them. Read 2 Kings 6:21–22:
When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?” “Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.”
Why are we using plates and cups? To represent giving food and drink to our enemies.
Divide the children into two equal teams. If teams are uneven, a leader may play.
Team members stand side-by-side about an arm’s length apart, with the two teams facing each other several feet apart.
Give the first player on each team a plate and the second player a cup. Alternate this way until every player has a plate or cup.
At one end of each team, place a box holding a set of four balloons that say LOVE, PRAYER, KINDNESS and MERCY.
Place an empty box at the other end of each team.
Say, “Go!” The first player on each team scoops up a balloon using only the plate (no hands) and carefully passes it to the next player’s cup. Players cannot touch the balloons with their hands during the game.
Players pass each balloon until it reaches the end of the line, where the last player drops it into the box.
As soon as the last player drops a balloon into the box, the first player starts passing the next balloon. A team may only pass one balloon at a time.
If a balloon falls to the floor, players can only use their plates or cups to scoop it up and resume play. Two players may work together to capture a stray balloon.
The first team to finish passing all four balloons wins!
Play additional rounds as time permits.
Options:
After the first round, players switch cups and plates so they use a different item to pass balloons in the next round.
After the first round, reverse the direction of play so balloons are taken from the second box and passed back to the first box.
As soon as one balloon goes to the second player, the first player can begin passing another balloon so all four balloons are in play at the same time.
Conclusion: Good job in treating your enemy as the Bible tells us to! It isn’t easy to show God’s love to our enemies and those who persecute us. We must have the help of the Holy Spirit to be successful.