Leader Guide
Strength Game
- Bibles or the Superbook Bible App
- Disposable cups—10 for each group of 3 to 5 children
- Sheets of paper—3 per group—you may use the 10 balls from Lesson 1
- Optional: if cups are large, you may substitute rolled-up socks for the paper balls
- Optional: masking or painters tape to mark a “throw line”—adjust as necessary so children can succeed
On a table, build a pyramid of ten cups—four on the bottom, three on the next row, two on the next, and one at the top—to show children what to build.
Peter believed he would defend Jesus and even die for Him! But Peter found out that he did not know his own heart. The strength he stood on was based in himself and not God. The Bible tells us not to think too highly of our own strength.
Read 1 Corinthians 10:12:
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.
Peter was weaker than he thought. When Jesus was arrested, Peter became so afraid for his own safety that he denied knowing the Lord. Yet this wasn’t the end for Peter, and failure isn’t the end for us! Jesus called out to Peter and restored him. God will use the sifting and testing process to refine us and help us grow better and stronger than before! This is what our game is about; to grow and become better than before!
Create teams of 3 to 5 children. Adjust teams according to class size, room size, and supplies available. Smaller teams allow more participation. Place teams in the corners and middle area as needed, allowing ample space to play the game without interfering with other groups.
Give each team ten cups and three sheets of paper to crumple into balls, or three pre-crumpled balls. Show the children the pyramid you built out of cups. Tape or place a mark on the floor for each team, and have each team put an upside-down cup on the floor approximately 8 to 10 feet from the mark. Adjust distances as desired. The players must stay behind the mark when throwing. Teams will all play at one time. This is a race to be the first team to complete ten rounds. Each team will add another cup per round, until all ten cups are in play for the tenth round.
For each round, a player on each team gets three throws to try to knock down the cup/s. If that player cannot knock them down, another player gets three throws, etc. Once all the cups in that round are knocked down, another player on the team quickly puts the original cups back in place and adds an additional cup to the structure. This represents how—after we are knocked down or fail in life—we grow and mature to become better than before!
Continue in this fashion until a pyramid of ten cups is built—4 cups on the bottom, 3 cups on the second row, 2 cups third row, and one cup on the top row. The first team to do this wins!
Conclusion: That was fun! Each time the structure was knocked down, it was built back up or restored to be better than before! Peter was knocked down and humbled by his failure. Jesus called out to him and Peter became better, stronger and bolder in God’s strength. Jesus will always forgive and restore us, just like Peter. God wants us to grow from our failures and to be refined so we are better than before! We can then help and strengthen others in difficult times.