Game

You Decide: Play a game of obedience and choices.  

It must have been difficult for Joy to remain silent when Chris planned to disobey his mother’s request and only shop at one store.

Why did Chris’s mother want him to go to several stores? To give her more time to prepare for his birthday party.

Have children line up single file, straddling the lines with one foot on either side of the line, facing the leader. Leave as much room as possible between the children.

Right now you are straddling the line; that means you have one foot on either side of it. This represents when we can’t decide if we should trust and obey God, or if we should depend on our own understanding. This is not a good place to be. God wants us to trust Him with all our hearts—all of the time.

Now, I want you to move to the right side and shout our SuperTruth! “I will put my total trust in God and obey Him!” 

Good! You just made a choice to trust and obey God instead of straddling the line any longer. Here is how the game is played: I will shout commands and end each one saying either “to the right” or “to the left.” You will immediately jump to the correct side—or stay on the same side—and do the command. If you jump to the wrong side or stay on the wrong side, you must sit out of the game for one command before returning.

Have another leader control when children return to the game.

Game play options:

·    For younger children or those with special needs, play just for fun—no one is removed from the game when an error is made.

·    Eliminate players from the game as they err. The last child standing wins. 

·    For older children, play several rounds, then divide each team in half and have them face each other. Game play is the same but the difficulty level increases as children see those facing them move in the opposite direction!   

Use the commands below or add your own instructions. You may repeat the same command twice in a row to try to trick the players.

·    Clap your hands as fast as you can—to the right.

·    Sit on the floor—to the left.

·    Stand up—to the right.

·    Jump up and down three times—to the right.

·    Do five jumping jacks—to the left. 

·    Shout the SuperTruth—to the right.

·    Hop on one foot—to the right.

·    Wave hello—to the right.

·    Touch your toes—to the left.

·    Hum a tune—to the right.

·    Pat your back with both hands—to the left.

·    Shout, “Trust God!”—to the left. 

·    Spin around two times—to the right.

·    Reach for the sky—to the right.

·    Bounce an imaginary balloon up and down—to the right.

·    Raise your arms to your sides to make the letter “T” for trust with your body—to the left.

·    Run in place—to the left.

Let’s end with a command you will need to think carefully about:

·    Turn and face the right side—to the left.

Conclusion: What was the most difficult part of the game? Children answer.

Did you ever just copy what other people did? Children answer.

Why is that not a good idea? People can make wrong choices.

Every day we will need to decide to trust and obey God or to depend on our own understanding and go our own way. To trust and obey God is always the best choice.

Now, let’s learn more about trust and obedience in today’s teaching time.