Leader Guide
Game
- Four paper plates—two are extras
- Four ping pong balls or plastic golf balls
- Two medium boxes
- Four to six books
- Two rectangular tables—4–6 feet long
- Bible or Superbook Bible app
- Refer to Nicodemus Gone with the Wind Game Setup
Place two tables parallel to each other, leaving about 6 feet between them, enough for two players to maneuver safely at the same time. Place a box at the end of each table.
Gone With the Wind: Play a game to move balls with air.
In Large Group, you were asked to watch and listen for something Moses lifted up in the wilderness. What was it? A snake on a pole.
When the Israelites looked at the bronze snake, they were saved from the poisonous snake bites. Jesus said that in the same way, when He is lifted up for all to see, they will be saved from their sins and be spiritually reborn.
See if you can fill in the missing word in this verse: The wind _____ wherever it wants. (Blows)
Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:8:
Divide the class into two equal teams. One player may need to play twice. Have each team make a single-file line behind a table at the end opposite the box.
In this game, you will move the ball using a plate. Hold up the paper plate. It would be easy to move the ball by pushing it with the plate, wouldn’t it? But Jesus was talking about the wind. So, you will move the ball with the wind!
Demonstrate how to move the ball by waving the plate over and behind it as you explain the game. The object of the game is to move a ball from one end of the table to the other end and into the box. You will then quickly take the ball and plate back to the next player on your team. Be careful to keep it on the table until it gets to the other end. If the ball rolls off the side of the table or misses the box, you can pick up the ball and continue at the spot where the ball dropped off.
You cannot touch the ball with your finger, hand, or plate—if this happens, you must begin again. Only the wind can move the ball! The first team to have all its players finish wins.
If there is time to play a second round, place two to three books in different locations on each table as obstacles for the children to maneuver the ball around.
Variation:
- Play as above but to make things quicker and easier, remove the boxes. Players only need to make the ball roll off the end of the table.
- Play as above, but players must play with two balls at the same time.
- Play as a large group for smaller classes on one table for the fastest time for all to finish.
Could you see the wind? No.
We can hear the wind blowing and see the effects of it on the leaves of a tree or a flag, but we cannot actually see it. That is how God’s Spirit moves inside us and in the world.