Leader Guide
Game
- Two small, unbreakable bowls—plastic, paper or metal
- Dry beans, rice, corn, or pebbles
- Broom and dustpan for cleanup
Fill the bowls to the rim with the beans, rice, corn, or pebbles. For a class with six or fewer children, have just one team with one bowl. For a class with more than thirty children, create additional teams and use more bowls.
In our Bible story, what did Jacob do the night before he met Esau for the first time after many years? Jacob wrestled God/Jesus in the form of a man for a blessing.
What was the outcome? Jacob prevailed and received his blessing. His name was changed to Israel.
Yes, Jacob had received a blessing before, but he got it by deceiving his father! This time, Jacob wanted GOD’s blessing, and he was willing to show God how important it was to him. Jacob wanted his family and descendants to be blessed. He also wanted the strength to meet his brother and bring healing to their relationship. Esau was approaching with 400 men, and Jacob was terrified. If Esau was still seeking revenge, Jacob had no chance on his own. Jacob placed such a high value on God’s blessing that he fought for it with all his might—all night long!
Let’s say the SuperTruth together: “I will do my best to keep all of God’s blessings.″
Divide the class into two teams. Have each team form a tight circle, with all children holding their hands behind their backs. Place a filled bowl in the hands—behind the back—of one player on each team. Explain that the beans, rice, corn, or pebbles represent blessings that they each have from God, and they should try their best to keep all of their blessings without losing any! Each player will try to keep ALL the blessings in the bowl while carefully passing the bowl to the player to the right, until the bowl goes all the way around the circle, back to the first player. At the end of the game, count the “blessings″ that were lost—beans that fell out of the bowl. The team losing the fewest “blessings″ wins.
If you have extra time, you may play again using these options:
- After the first game, pass the bowl around two or three times instead of once. Count the lost “blessings″ as before.
- Play more than one round and combine the scores of all rounds for each team to see who lost the fewest blessings.
- The team that passes the bowl around the circle first and then yells the SuperTruth gets ten points. Then, subtract two points for each bean that fell to the floor. The team with the highest score wins.
Let’s use Jacob as an example and persevere to keep the blessings that are promised to us in God’s Word. Jacob would not leave until He was blessed! We must never be careless about God’s blessings or take them for granted. God’s blessings are worth fighting for—and we want to share them with others!