Action Game

On Your Mark! Play a game about sharing time.

In the Superbook Adventure, why did Joy have trouble finding time for her old friends? Because she was doing so many things with her new Christian friends and the youth group.

In the Bible story, the religious leaders, or Pharisees, thought they were righteous––but they weren't really. They didn't think Jesus should spend time with anyone that they considered to be sinners. Yet Jesus knew that His mission was to save sinners! He spent time with His followers AND with people who didn't yet follow Him. And that is the goal in this game––balancing or juggling your time with other believers, and also with those who don't know Jesus yet. Joy "dropped the ball" with her friend Jolie. she totally forgot their movie night, and even worse, it wasn't the first time she disappointed her friend.
(Hold us a "Cross" balloon as you talk)
On this balloon is a cross. What group of people do you think the cross might represent? Christians, believers, followers of Jesus.

(Hold up the "?" balloon.) On the balloon is a question mark. The question mark represents people who do not yet know Jesus or believe in Him.
Your mission is to not drop the ball; I mean, the balloon. Volley the balloons in the air as you explain the instructions.

Each player will try to keep both balloons in the air at the same time for as long as possible. This represents juggling or balancing your time with each group of people. You will score one point for each bounce or hit while BOTH balloons are in the air. 

Appoint helpers to give the balloons to the players and count the number of hits for each player.

Make sure players give themselves plenty of distance from each other and objects in the room.

Two players play at the same time. Both players will have one of each balloon.

Write the two players’ names on the board. One point is awarded for every balloon “hit.”

You can only score points while both balloons are airborne.

Once one balloon hits the floor, scoring ends for that player. The second player keeps going as long as possible. Record the scores on the board, then have the same two children play a second round.

Add up the scores of the two rounds for each player and record them on the board.

Repeat with the next two children in line.

Optional Play:

1. If time permits, have a playoff with all of the winners and eventually declare a grand champion.         

2. For smaller classes, have one child play at a time. Use a timer to record each player’s time or the number of “hits” they have before a balloon touches the floor.

3. Play relay style by having the class stand in line, about an arm’s length apart. Each player must keep the two balloons aloft while passing them to the next player in line. When a balloon hits the ground, the player must stop, pick up the balloon and begin from that point. You may also divide the class in half and have two teams race as they relay the balloons two at a time down the line.

Close: That was hard! Awesome job! It isn’t an easy task to balance our time each day. Now, let’s learn more about how Jesus spent time with all types of people