Balloon Game

Read Luke 15:20 (hcsb)

“So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.”

The verse tells us that the loving, patient father looked for his son to return. He spotted him when he was still a long way from home and ran to him! Close your eyes and picture the son—possibly shuffling along very slowly with his head down; ashamed, hungry, weak, and weary. He must have been fearful of his father’s reaction. Would he allow the son to live at home as a servant, or would he send the son away for leaving home and foolishly wasting all of his father’s money? Now imagine the father, looking down the road, hoping that his lost son will return—and then imagine the father’s great joy to see his son come into view! The son is about to be wonderfully surprised; the father isn’t filled with anger, he is filled with compassion!  

Now we are going to play a game based on this verse. 

Divide the children into two teams. You may have more teams for larger classes. Divide each team in half again: one half will be the “fathers” and one half will be the “sons.” Have the “fathers” stand directly across from the “sons” on their team behind the two outer marks or lines, similar to the setup for the Small Group Game. Give a balloon and a strip of paper to the first player on each “son” team.

Why is there a sad face on each balloon?

The balloons represent the son, who is sad, ashamed, and needing forgiveness for his actions. You must move the balloon to the line in the middle. The line represents the point where the father spotted his son a long distance away from home. Once you reach the line with your balloon, your teammate across the way, who represents the father, will quickly come to meet you at the line. The father will scoop up the balloon and carry it as you will both walk quickly to the father’s home. However, the “father” cannot leave from “home” until after the balloon reaches the line, so be sure to watch carefully! Once a “father” arrives back home, the balloon should be given to a Sixth Grade helper or another assistant, who should quickly take it to the next player in the “son” line.   

Now, the challenging twist to this game is how you move the Prodigal Son balloon to the line. As we said, the son most likely moved very slowly home. Because of this, you must use only the strip of paper to push the balloon forward on the floor. You cannot touch the balloon with any part of your body! If you do, you must return to the line and start over! Once all of the original players on one end have moved the balloon to the center, the half-teams will switch sides and start over: fathers become sons and sons become fathers. The first team to finish wins!

Conclusion: Great job everyone! Just like the Prodigal Son’s father, God is not looking for us to turn to Him so He can punish us for going astray. No, He waits patiently to forgive us, restore us, and welcome us home!