Leader Guide

Word Game

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. Hebrews 4:15:

Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because He was tempted in every way that we are. But He did not sin!

We may think we can hide our weaknesses, but God can see them all. We are going to play a game to reveal some common weaknesses that many people struggle with.

This is played as a class. For the first word, GREEDY, draw six blanks on the board, one for each letter. Have children take turns trying to guess a letter that is in the word—one guess per child per turn. If it is correct, write in the letter above the line/s and go to the next child. If the letter is not correct, write it at the bottom of the board so other children will not guess it again. Children may try to guess the complete word only on their own turns, with just one guess per turn. If it is correct, congratulate the children, fill in the blanks to write the word on the board, then ask, “Will Jesus forgive us if we—are greedy?” As children say “Yes,” erase the word, then draw blanks for the next word.

If children cannot guess a word in about 90 seconds, allow a few children to raise their hands and guess the word. Do not allow children to shout words while others are playing, as this takes away from the game experience. If no one guesses correctly, write in the word, then ask, “Will Jesus forgive us if we—?” As children say “Yes,” erase the word.

Options:

• To make the game easier, begin each round by filling in one or two letters of the word.
• To make the game longer, add your own words to the list.  

Word List and number of letters:

1. GREEDY—6
2. UNKIND—6
3. PROUD—5
4. SELFISH—7
5. HATE—4
6. ANGRY—5
7. LIE—3
8. CHEAT—5
9. BRAG—4
10. FEAR—4
11. CURSE—5
12. GOSSIP—6
13. BULLY—5
14. DISOBEY—7
15. STEAL—5
16. LAZY—4
17. IMPATIENT—9
18. FIGHT—5
19. DISRESPECT—10
20. SIN—3

Jesus knows all of our weaknesses, He does not need to guess or be given a clue! He knows all about us, just like He knew Peter. We are all human, and we all struggle with various sins and temptations. He understands our weaknesses, our struggles and temptations, because He faced them, too, when He lived on Earth as a human being. Jesus faced every temptation and did not sin!

Jesus forgave Peter and removed the shame he felt for his failure. Jesus will do that for you, too! None of us can beat temptation in our human weakness; we all need God’s help!

Let’s take a moment right now to ask God to forgive us for the things we have done wrong.  

Let’s pray. Dear Jesus, we confess that we have done things that we shouldn’t have. We have given in to certain temptations. Allow a few moments for children to think and pray silently. Thank You for dying on the cross to pay the price for our sins. Please forgive us, and give us Your strength to stand strong when we are tempted again. We love You, and we want to live for You. In Your name we pray, Amen.