Insight

Washed clean - an Easter youth group discussion starter

2009-03-28T22:00:00+00:00

‘Washed clean’ involves a simple chemical reaction which provides a great object lesson for young people. It can be used as part of an Easter presentation and provide a stimulus for further group discussion.

It’s important to practice this first and build your confidence in the science, to allow you to focus on the talk. I have included a simple outline talk as a basis for creating your own presentation.

For the demonstration you will need a large clean glass bowl, 1.5 litres of water, tincture of iodine, spray starch, photographic fixer, a clean white cloth, a piece of clear plastic and a table on which to conduct your science!

Tincture of iodine is readily available from most chemists. Spray starch from a supermarket. Photographic fixer is available from good photographic stores or can be purchased on-line. In the UK, Ilford rapid fixer (ammonium thiosulphate) is a good choice.

PREPARATION

Before your presentation cut out a large heart shape from the white cloth. This has to be submerged in the water, so scale the size of the heart appropriately.

The cut another heart shape (the same size) from a piece of thin clear plastic. Use a paperclip or staple the two hearts together, so that the cloth retains its shape when wet. Spray the cloth heart with the starch and leave to dry.

Dilute some of the concentrated fixer solution by 1 part to 4 parts water (20% volume) and have it ready beside your demonstration.

PRESENTATION

What’s so special about Easter? Why did Jesus die on a cross? What does it mean? Was it a big mistake? Is it important? How does it affect me?

Place the glass bowl on the table and pour in the water from a jug.

Christians believe that God created us to know him, to be connected to him, to have a friendship with him. This was to be perfect, like clear water, pure, unspoilt and unpolluted.

But mankind turned away. Our pride led us to think we were self-sufficient, we rebelled against God’s ways of living, and in our selfishness we threw God’s love back in his face. And we're still doing it today.

Pour some of the tincture of iodine into the bowl and gently mix. The iodine turns the water an opaque brown colour.

This has blurred our understanding, polluted our relationship and broken the connection to God. It has spoilt our lives and it makes us unacceptable to a holy God.

Place the cloth heart in the bowl. The starch reacts with the iodine and the heart turns black. Remove the heart.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to change it and the consequences our rebellion and sin, the penalty we pay, is complete separation from God in life and in death.

Ref: Isaiah 59: 2, Isaiah 64: 6, Mark 7: 21-23, Romans 3: 23

Jesus dying on a cross was no accident, not some terrible mistake. In his life, his death on a cross, his return from the dead, God himself provided the solution to restore a broken relationship.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5: 6, 8

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4: 10

Pour in the clear solution of diluted photographic fixer until the liquid in the bowl becomes clear again.

The proof that God loves us is seen in death of Jesus. What we can’t do ourselves, God has done for us. Only the death of Jesus could satisfy the need for justice and demonstrate God's love and forgiveness. Jesus’ life was a sacrifice made by God himself to secure our freedom from the penalty of sin.

Place the blackened cloth heart in the bowl and watch it turn white again. Washed clean!

This is the good news of Easter. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5: 17

Ref: 1 Peter 1: 18-19, Romans 3: 23-26

DISCUSSION IDEAS

If you want to follow your demonstration with a small group study, check out different creative ways you can do this with the free downloadable eBook ‘Creative Bible Study Methods for Youth Leaders’

Or, explore the meaning of words used in any Bible text you may have referenced in your talk. For example,

What does ‘redemption’ (redeem) mean? How does this apply to what Jesus did? What does this mean for me?

To buy back, to repurchase
To rescue, ransom, or liberate from captivity
To pay an equivalent for a debt
To deliver, rescue or save in any manner
To make amends for, to atone for
To deliver from sin and its penalties by a sacrifice made for the sinner

What does ‘justify’ mean? How does this apply to what Jesus did? What does this mean for me?

The word ‘justify’ is a legal term which means ‘to declare not guilty’. While borrowed from the legal system, it goes far beyond what any human court can do. A human court may extend mercy to someone who has been found guilty. But no human court may actually declare a defendant not guilty after he or she has been convicted of a crime. Yet this is exactly what God has done for us. However, God is not just ‘letting us off.’ In the sacrifice of Jesus the demands of the God’s justice were fully satisfied. The heart of justification can be remembered by the phrase ‘just as if I’d never sinned.’

Or, prepare a series of small group ‘open’ discussion questions. For example,

What do you think the Bible means when it talks about sin?
What do you think are the consequences in the world of a broken connection to God?
Is there anything we need to do in response to the death of Jesus? (1 John 1: 8-9, John 3: 16-21)
Why do you think the resurrection of Jesus is so important?

REFLECTION

Build a simple wooden cross from 2 pieces of wood.

Give everyone a nail. Ask them to hammer their nail into the cross to represent getting rid of things they know to be wrong in their lives and laying them at the foot of the cross.
OR
Invite each young person to take a stone from a bucket you filled earlier. The stone represents the weight of something they no longer want to carry in their lives. In the quietness invite them to put the stone down at the foot of the cross.

MORE EASTER IDEAS AND TALKS

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10 more icebreakers for your youth group

2009-02-27T19:00:00+00:00

Icebreakers, used wisely, can create a great atmosphere and provide momentum for further participation and learning. Icebreakers adapt and evolve through each generation of youth leaders. Most have come to me by word of mouth from friends, colleagues or just seeing them in action.

The icebreakers below include simple ‘getting-to-know-you’ activities, active and more physical games and some word games.

CROSSWORD NAMES

Give a pen and paper to each young person in your group. Ask them to write their first name in capitals, in the middle of the paper. Each person then moves around the room, inviting others (including leaders) to attach their name, where the first letter matches a letter on the paper. The names are then added like a branching crossword puzzle. The person who is able to attach the most names in the given time is the winner. This activity works well in larger groups or summer camps / holidays where people are meeting for the first time.

DRAW

Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Allow 5 minutes to draw a picture that conveys who they are without writing any words or numbers. At the end of 5 minutes the leader collects the pictures. Show the pictures to the group, one at a time, and have them try to guess who drew it. Each artist can then explain how their work expresses who they are.

FREEZE FRAME

Based on the party game of musical statues. Invite the young people to quietly move around the room and await your instructions. As they are walking the leader calls out the name of a sport, for example, golf, soccer, rugby, swimming, parachuting, polo, basketball, horse racing etc. When they hear the name they must stop immediately and hold a still ‘freeze frame’ illustrating or acting out the sport.

Take a photo of the most life-like or descriptive ‘freeze frame’ in each round for future display :-) You can play variations to the game by shouting out emotions, job titles or even animals.

TIME BOMB

Invite the young people to sit (facing inwards) in a circle. You will need a small foam or tennis ball to be the ‘bomb’. A young person is selected to start with the ‘bomb’. He then has to call out someone’s name and throw the ‘bomb’ to them. That person has 2 seconds only to say someone else’s name and throw the ‘bomb’ to them.

You leave the game if you hold the ball for too long, don’t say someone’s name before you throw, or do such a poor throw it cannot be caught by the next person. A very simple game but it can get very fast and furious. Try it with 2 ‘bombs’!

TAKE THE TREASURE

Invite the young people to sit in a large circle. Place a chair in the middle. On the chair place the treasure. A set of keys works really well. Ask for a volunteer to guard the treasure from thieves and give them a rolled up newspaper. Unfortunately, they have to do this while being blindfolded!

Once the guard is in place beside the chair, a thief is quietly chosen from the circle. They must attempt to sneak up to the chair and without alerting the guard, snatch the treasure.

Meanwhile, the guard listens for the thief and trys to swat him with the newspaper baton. If the thief is swatted, he must return to the circle. If he succeeds in stealing the treasure and returning to the circle, his prize is to become the new guard.

For more icebreakers download the free eBook '40 icebreakers for small groups'

CHOCOLATE CHOMP

Another old party game, but still lots of fun. Ask everyone to sit in a circle on the floor. In the middle of the circle place a large bar of chocolate on a plate, a knife, a fork and three items of clothing – gloves, scarf and a cap. (Don't forget to remove the wrapper from the chocolate!)

Each person in the circle takes a turn at rolling a dice. On throwing a six they run to the middle of the circle, put on the items of clothing and try to eat as much chocolate as possible. However, they can only cut it with the knife and pick it up with the fork. As soon as someone else throws a six, they run to the middle, put on the gloves, hat and cap, and take over. Continue until all the chocolate is eaten. Prepare for mayhem!

For more food icebreakers take a look at Fantastic food night.

BALLOON SHAVING

Select three couples. Have the male member of each couple sit down on a chair with the neck of an inflated and knotted balloon between his teeth. A towel draped over his front is also a good idea! The balloon is then covered with shaving cream and his female partner then attempts to shave it off with a razor blade (take care!).

This is a game of suspense and tension - and that’s just the audience! The game can end without a balloon burst and you can give the girls the option to burst the shaved balloon with a pin. They always think the explosion will mess up the guy, but... play the game to see what happens.

For more balloon icebreakers take a look at Balloon bonanza.

FOOT SIGNING

Give each young person a felt tip marker and tell them they have two minutes to get as many signatures on one (bare) foot as possible. When the time is up, go around and count them, to find the winner. Remember not to emphasise the winning but the fun. Laughs are guaranteed!

For more icebreakers with feet take a look at Foot party.

WORD LINK

This is a word association game. Ask the group to sit in a circle. The first person starts with any word they wish i.e. red. The next person repeats the first word and adds another word which links to the first i.e. tomato. The next person repeats the previous word and add another word link i.e. soup, and so on. To keep this moving, only allow five seconds for each word link. See how many linking words your group can get.

OBJECT STORIES

Collect together a number of objects and place in a canvas or dark coloured plastic bag. The objects can include everyday items i.e. a pencil, key-ring, mobile phone, but also include some more unusual ones i.e. a fossil, holiday photograph, wig!

Pass the bag around the group and invite each young person to dip their hand into the bag (without looking) and pull out one of the objects. The leader begins a story which includes his object. After 20 seconds, the next person takes up the story and adds another 20 seconds, incorporating the object they are holding. And so on, until everyone has made a contribution to your epic literary tale. Let imaginations run wild!

WORD PLAY

Perhaps more of a brain-teaser than an icebreaker. Divide the group into teams and display the doodles / graphics on a flipchart or PowerPoint presentation. Each graphic represents a well-known phrase or word. Give a couple of examples to illustrate to the group what they need to do. The team with the most correct answers wins the quiz.

Download the Word Play graphics. If you wish, add your own brain-teasers. You can probably find many more online.

MORE ICEBREAKERS AND GAMES

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Servant leadership - more food for thought

2009-02-27T12:00:00+00:00

'Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.' J. Donald Walters

'Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.' St. Augustine

'You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.' Anthony J D'Angelo

'Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' Winston Churchill

'But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.' Jesus the Christ

Lost at sea - a team building game

2009-02-06T22:00:00+00:00

Another ‘pen and paper’ group survival game and a team building activity to encourage interaction and teamwork among your young people. The chances of ‘survival’ depend on their ability to rank the salvaged items in relative order of importance.

You have chartered a yacht with three friends, for the holiday trip of a lifetime across the Atlantic Ocean. Because none of you have any previous sailing experience, you have hired an experienced skipper and two-person crew.

Unfortunately in mid Atlantic a fierce fire breaks out in the ships galley and the skipper and crew have been lost whilst trying to fight the blaze. Much of the yacht is destroyed and is slowly sinking.

Your location is unclear because vital navigational and radio equipment have been damaged in the fire. Your best estimate is that you are many hundreds of miles from the nearest landfall.

You and your friends have managed to save 15 items, undamaged and intact after the fire. In addition, you have salvaged a four man rubber life craft and a box of matches. Rank the items correctly and you will survive until rescue comes. Make too many mistakes and...

Download (pdf) the complete 'Lost at Sea' team building game.

MORE TEAM BUILDING GAMES

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Moon landing - a team building game

2009-02-04T15:00:00+00:00

Team building activities can be simple games, creative problem-solving tasks, or ‘pen and paper’ group survival situations. ‘Moon Landing’ falls into the third category. Apart from the ‘fun’ challenge of trying to stay alive, it can help encourage communication, cooperation and decision making skills among your young people.

You are a member of a space crew scheduled to rendezvous with a mother ship on the lighted surface of the moon. However, due to mechanical difficulties, your own ship was forced to land at a spot 200 miles from the rendezvous point.

During re-entry and landing, much of the equipment aboard was damaged and, since survival depends on reaching the mother ship, the most critical items available must be chosen for the 200-mile trip.

15 items are listed as being intact and undamaged after landing. Your task is to rank them in terms of their importance for your crew, to allow them to reach the rendezvous point. The 'expert' answers were compiled by a team of scientists and engineers at NASA.

As the young people work together in a team, sharing thoughts and ideas, this should produce an improved score over the individual results. But will this be enough to survive?

Download (pdf) the complete Moon Landing team building game.

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Labyrinth - a team building game

2009-02-01T22:00:00+00:00

Team building games help young people develop a range of skills. They can be great fun, and beyond the more general learning goals, they can also be a useful entry point to teaching themes i.e. working together (the church), making choices (guidance), and trusting others (faith).

The aim of Labyrinth is for your group to work together to all find their way through the maze. There is only one correct path through the maze (created by you on your answer grid.) The path can go left, right, forward, or diagonally.

Create a 10x10 grid on the floor using masking tape. Mark the starting square with an ‘S.’ Each square needs to be big enough for a person to stand within it. If you wish to use a smaller grid, 5x5 is good option for younger groups.

Only one young person may enter the labyrinth at a time, testing each square to discover the correct path. After each move the game leader (you) indicates if they are standing on the correct path or have made an incorrect move...

Download (pdf) the complete Labyrinth team building game.

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Team builders - more than icebreakers

2009-01-31T10:00:00+00:00

Team building games and activities are great ways to help groups develop cooperation, decision making and communication skills. Team building exercises can be adapted for many different settings and public domain examples are found freely available across the web.

In the next few days I will post some of my favourites, used over the years in youth clubs, youth weekends, camps and as team building exercises with new groups.

A key part of these exercises is facilitating a time of group discussion after the activity. Remember to ask open-ended questions, helping the young people to reflect on what they have learned. Team building games can also provide a useful entry point to teaching themes for your group i.e. working together (the church), making choices (guidance), values and leadership.

Much depends on the role of the youth leader. A well planned and prepared activity, followed up with thought-provoking questions can be a significant learning experience.

Team building activities can be simple games, or involve creative problem-solving, or ‘pen and paper’ group survival situations. These games can challenge your young people’s values, cooperation, decision making and leadership skills.There are two classic types of ‘pen and paper’ survival games – selecting equipment and selecting people.

PLANE CRASH

This is an example of the 'equipment' scenario. The plane your group is travelling in crashes. You have to choose the 12 most useful items found in the wreckage. This is done individually, then as a small group together until consensus is reached. Your final answers are then scored against an ‘expert’ opinion.

Coming soon are complete outlines for ‘Moon Landing’ with answers scored against the judgment of a NASA team, and ‘Lost at Sea’ with expert opinions from the US Coastguard.

With this format group decisions are usually more accurate than individual ones, helping to illustrate the importance of cooperation and collaborative decision-making.

SHIPWRECKED

The second method involves the group role playing characters from the simulation. For example, your group has been shipwrecked and you are cast adrift on a life raft. Rations are very limited and in order for most to survive until rescue comes, the group has to decide to cast two members overboard. Who will survive? This can stimulate a powerful debate on values and prejudices.

After the role play, review the decisions made in each lifeboat. Discuss why you think certain choices were made. Why did you vote for...? How did you decide what value to place on people? Was there agreement or a wide difference of opinion? Did you listen to the arguments each person made, or had you already decided who would be set adrift? Do you think you made the right choices? What do our choices teach us about our values?

See the discussion starter 'Shipwrecked' for a complete outline.

Here are three team building games encouraging your group to work together to complete a challenging task.

AFRICAN RIVER CROSSING

Create an imaginary river by marking two river banks with rope or masking tape. Make it wide enough (20-25’) to be a challenge for your group to get from one side to the other. Distribute squares of cardboard (1’x1’ squares) to half of the group. Alternatively, you can use sheets of standard letter sized paper.

The aim is to get all of the group (or team) safely across the river. However, they cannot touch the ‘water’ and must use the rafts (cardboard squares) to cross. Rafts must be in contact with a human at all times or they will be swept away with the current.

Once the crossing has begun, the leader must remove any cardboard squares that are swept away by the current. Unfortunately the ‘river’ is also filled with crocodiles and if any team member touches the water they incur a crocodile penalty i.e. ‘lose a leg’ and they must complete the river crossing hopping on one foot.

The first attempt at crossing is usually hilarious to watch. Let the teams go a second time to build on lessons learned from the first crossing. Here are a few variations to try as well,

Cardboard squares can only go forward. They cannot move backwards.
No one can finish the crossing until everyone has left the starting “bank” of the river.

Remember to discuss,

What worked? What didn’t work?
Who provided leadership?
How did you work together as a team?
Was communication good or not?
Did the group support one another?
Did you learn anything from this activity?

EGG DROP

Allow 30 minutes for this activity. Divide your group into teams of 4-6. Supply each team with an equal amount of paper, cardboard, toilet rolls, bubble wrap, string, elastic bands, straws etc. Then give each team a hard-boiled egg.

The challenge is to see which team can make the best capsule and parachute for their egg to survive a drop from a great height (recommend 10-12’). The least impact damaged or cracked egg wins. This project can require some considerable teamwork and imagination. Of course, you can be really challenging, and invite them to try the exercise with a raw egg!

ALL ABOARD!

This activity can be run in a number of different ways. Basically the group has to cooperate to try and fit into an ever decreasing area. How far can they go?

Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have the young people (or each team) stand on the sheet. Easy! Once they have done this fold the sheet in half and challenge the group to repeat their previous success. Continue this process, making the sheet smaller each round. Eventually, it will become so small that your group (or each team) will require a great deal of cooperation, teamwork and ingenuity for everyone to get on without falling off the sheet.

Make sure your group are comfortable with this game as they will need to get physically close and support one another. Alternatively you can have two teams competing against each other – boys vs. girls.

MORE TEAM BUILDING GAMES

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Consequences - a youth group discussion starter

2009-01-19T11:00:00+00:00

A simple group discussion starter based on the party game of consequences i.e. his name/ her name/ where they met/ he said/ she said/ where they went/ what they did/ and the consequence was?

This exercise assumes your young people have some background knowledge about the life of Christ. Invite them to sit in a circle of 9 people and give everyone a piece of paper and a pen. If you have a large group, break into two or more circles.

Explain that you are going to play the game consequences and ask a series of 9 questions. They write their first answer at the top of the paper and then fold it so that the answer cannot be seen.

The paper is then passed to the person on their right. This is repeated for each question, until all 9 questions are asked. If someone can’t answer a question they simply write a question mark, fold the paper over and pass it on.

Where was Jesus born?
What was his job?
How old was he when he died?
How long ago did this happen?
Something Jesus did that people at the time liked.
Something he did which shocked people.
One thing that makes people want to follow him now.
One thing that puts people off from following him now.
One question you would like to ask him if you had the opportunity.

Don’t worry if the first four questions seem obvious. If your group knows the answers, they can show off their knowledge.

When everyone is finished, put all the papers in the centre of the circle. Ask each person to take a different one to the one they put down. Give a moment for them to open the paper and look at the answers. Go through the questions one by one, each time asking a few people to read the answers on the paper.

The first four factual questions can be covered quickly. If appropriate, add other pieces of information about the life of Jesus to help complete the understanding of your group. The later questions (5-9) are used to encourage a time of discussion. Use a whiteboard or flip chart to record the different answers.

For example, ask if anyone has a different point of view or opinion to a particular answer, and why? Does anyone want to add something else? Add your own comments to the discussion and ask supplementary questions. One of your group may like to say why they want to follow Jesus.

The responses to the final question could prompt a wider discussion on a particular topic or link to a follow-up session called, ‘Thing’s I’d like to ask Jesus?’

MORE DISCUSSION STARTERS

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Reflections on leadership - more food for thought

2009-01-19T10:00:00+00:00

‘The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.’ Harvey S. Firestone

‘As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.’ Bill Gates

‘Leadership is the transference of vision.’ Hal Reed

‘The only real training for leadership is leadership.’ Anthony Jay

‘He who thinks he leads and has no one following him is only taking a walk.’ Anonymous

The church - a youth group discussion starter

2009-01-15T10:00:00+00:00

A youth group discussion starter on the church. Exploring the New Testament images of the church and discovering the importance of each person playing their part in the life of the church. A themed night of icebreakers and activities can also be found in the earlier post The Body of Christ.

TOWER BUILD

Don’t say too much about the theme of the session at first. It is introduced through the object lesson that follows the tower build exercise.

Divide your group into teams of four. Explain the task is to work together to build the tallest free standing structure or tower they can with the materials provided. Give each team an identical selection of materials which they can use to build the tower. This can include a limited amount of,

Cardboard, newspaper, plastic straws, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks, plastic cups, paper plates, paper clips, cardboard tubes from toilet of kitchen rolls, tape.

Encourage each team to use all of the resources they are given and to involve everyone in the planning and building process.

Give each team 15 minutes to construct their tower. Then ask each group to step away from their free-standing tower to determine the winner. Depending on the size of your group, come back together as a whole (or divide) to discuss any lessons learned from the project.

How did you decide which way to construct your tower?
How did you make decisions?
Can you give examples of how you worked together as a team?
What role did each team member play in the process of building the tower?
What would you do differently to build a taller tower next time?
Did the team who worked best together achieve the best results i.e. build the tallest tower?

Introduce the theme of the session. Explain that the group will be discovering what the New Testament says about the church. The word ‘church’ in the New Testament never refers to a physical building, but always to a group of people who come together for a purpose. The church (people) is so important to God that he planned it from the beginning (Ephesians 3: 10-11) Are we part of a church (and the church) and playing our part on Gods team?

OBJECT LESSON - THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE

Show the closed knife to the group. Who knows what it is? Confirm it’s not just an ordinary penknife but a Swiss army knife. Why is it special? Because of the different tools you will find contained in the base.

The first Swiss army knife was created in 1897. Since then there have been many different variations but they usually include some of the following, a large blade, small blade, corkscrew, can opener, small screwdriver, bottle opener, wire stripper, punch, sewing eye, tweezers, toothpick, scissors, nail file and key ring.

All the tools are useful and all are different, but the great thing about the Swiss army knife is that all the tools are joined together as one unit to use whenever you need it.

This is an illustration of what a church is like. A group of people who love Christ, everyone different , everyone needed, and everyone with an important role to play. A team working together with Christ in command.

REFLECTION

Divide into small groups and read 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27 together.

Why do you think the Apostle Paul chose to compare the church to a body?
Is every part needed? What would happen if a part was missing?
What do you think you can do to play your part in the body?

Paul uses several different images or illustrations to describe what the church is like. Can you find them?

A body Ephesians 1: 23
A family Ephesians 2: 19-22
A temple Ephesians 2: 19-22
A bride Ephesians 5: 25-27
An army Ephesians 6: 12-17

What might these things have in common?
How does each help us understand the nature of the church?
Do you think ‘unity’ is important?
What can we do as a youth group to play our part in the body, the family, the army, the bride, the temple?

End by praying for your church and your part in it. Praise God for everything you receive through it. Pray for needs of your church and God’s church worldwide.

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