Leader Guide
SuperVerse Game
- Locust Card Pattern
- Two sheets of cardstock or paper
- Two timers: clock/watch with second hand, stopwatch, timer app
- Two assistants: adult or 5–6 grade volunteers to time the activity and to set cards out between rounds
- Scissors
- Two bags—cloth or plastic—with handles
- One sealable bag to hold card sets
Make two double-sided copies of the Locust Card Pattern in black and white or color, on cardstock or paper.
Cut out the individual cards from each sheet, shuffle, and place in a sealable bag.
Let’s say our SuperVerse. Matthew 11:11:
“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!”
Note: If you have a large class, you may make additional sets of cards, use additional assistants, and have more groups play at the same time.
Kingdom greatness is not about our own talents, knowledge, and natural abilities. In fact, as John said, we need to decrease so Christ can increase! We want to allow Jesus to work in our lives so we can be great for God! Jesus called John great because of his humbleness, truthfulness, and obedience to God. That is what our SuperVerse tells us.
Do you remember in the video what live food John caught and ate? Locusts.
Well, today we are going to hunt and catch locusts too! You’ll be happy to know we aren’t going to eat what we catch! These locusts have the words of the SuperVerse on the back. You will work in groups to find all of the locust cards to build the SuperVerse. Show the front and back of a card to the children.
Divide the children into teams of 2–3, depending on class size. Have all of the teams stand or sit at one end of the room. Select two teams to play first. Give each team a bag with handles. Place all 16 cards, “locust side up,” around the room in random order. Tell the children that they will be timed as they “hunt” the locusts, then “catch” only the eight different cards needed to build the verse. As they “catch” each card, they must determine if it is a duplicate card they have already “caught.” If so, they must leave it in place for the other team. Once teams have found eight different locust cards and placed them in their bags, they will return to where they started the game, dump out their cards, and place them in the correct order to build the SuperVerse, with the reference from Matthew 11 at the end of the verse. The group that has the fastest time wins. After both teams have finished and times are recorded, mix the cards up and place them around the room for the next two groups. Play more rounds with different teams racing against each other if time permits.
Conclusion: Good work on hunting those locusts! Remember that because of Jesus, we have the ability to do great things in God’s Kingdom! It is not up to us; it’s up to Him.