Leader Guide
Bowling Game
- Evil Cards
- Four tennis balls or any small balls of the same size
- Permanent Marker
- Whiteboard and marker; or chalkboard and chalk to keep score
- Eraser
- Scissors
- Fourteen empty water bottles
- Painters tape or masking tape
- Two volunteer “pinsetters”
- Bibles or the Superbook Bible App
Make two copies of the Evil Cards Pattern.
Cut apart the two sets of seven cards.
Tape each of the 14 cards onto 14 empty plastic water bottles; they are the “bowling pins.”
Using the marker, write “Love” on two balls and “Mercy” on two balls.
Mark or tape a line on the floor. Set up both sets of “bowling pins” in a triangular pattern about 8–10 feet from the line. Make sure the cards face the line. Leave about 5–6 feet between the two sets of bottles—see illustration.
Did David respond to Saul’s evil deeds by doing evil things back? No, he responded with good. He showed love and mercy.>
That’s right! David continued to submit to Saul and obey him even when he tried to kill David! David put the matter in God’s hands to judge. So how do we respond to evil works?
Read Romans 12:21:
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
We are not to be influenced and defeated by evil; we must defeat evil with good. David could have refused to obey Saul’s commands and also killed him. Instead, he chose to show love and mercy.
Hold up one set of balls so children can see “love” and “mercy” on them. Now, your job is to conquer evil with good. What are some evils we may conquer? Here are a few common ones we may face in our lives. Read the cards: Revenge, Anger, Jealousy, Insults, Persecution, Slander, Hatred.
Divide the children into two equal teams. One child may need to play twice. Try to combine older and younger children on both teams.
The teams will form two separate lines behind the line or mark.
Have each pinsetter stand behind one set of pins. Their job is to gather the balls and reset the pins after each player’s turn. They also will shout the score to the scorekeeper after each player has rolled twice. Each pin knocked down is worth one point
Teams play at the same time. Each player rolls twice—unless they knock down on all pins on their first try, as in bowling.
Once they roll both balls, they will quickly go to the pinsetter, retrieve the two balls, and give them to the next player on their team.
Play until each child has had a turn. Tally the score. The team that conquered the most evil (knocked over the most pins) wins.
Conclusion: Wow, you conquered a lot of evil with good! When we are faced with evil, we may be tempted to respond with evil; however, God calls us to respond differently. David refused to harm Saul. He trusted God to protect him and to punish Saul if He chose to do so. That is the attitude we need to have, too. We must always strive to respond with the goodness of God that the Holy Spirit produces in us!