Game Night!!

With only 5 ZG'ers tonight, we had game night and pizza and brownies.  It was fun playing Guesstures and just getting to hang out with a handful of the kids tonight and get to see their sillier sides.

James 4:6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Tonight we talked about pride and humility again.  It seems as though God keeps drawing us back to this topic.  I don't think we can ever learn enough about it though.  Pride is a biggie for most of us and humility is something learned and practiced.  We're not born with it.

We used two magnets to illustrate James 4:6 to the kids.  We tried to place the magnets together by pushing the sides with the same polarity together. The magnets kept jumping away from each other. We even let the kids try.  We explained that God's relationship to the proud is the same as the relationship between the two magnets and that people with a heart full of pride cannot get close to God.

We showed some movie clips then about pride.  We watched clips from The Karate Kid (again) and Groundhog Day.  We asked the kids if they saw themselves in either of those clips.

Then we talked about humility.  We Blindfolded one of the kids.  Then we had a second one clasp their hands behind her back. We instructed the one who was blindfolded to feed the other some chocolate pudding. We allowed the person being fed to speak out loud to direct the person feeding them...the first time!  The second time we did this exercise, we don’t allow the person being fed to give any instructions at all!  Messy!

We reminded the kids once again that none of them is greater than another and we all need each other and are called to put others before ourselves.

Romans 12:3-10 - For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

We finished by watching some humility clips from Bruce Almighty, Fireproof, and Mean Girls then and asked the same question.  Do you see yourselves in any of these clips?

Biblical Wisdom or Worldly Wisdom?

After reading James 3:13 to 4:6 tonight, we tackled the topic of wisdom.  First, we gave a few of the kids a piece of wood and several long nails.  We asked one of them to use a hairbrush to hammer one of the nails into the wood.  Next, we asked one of the kids to use a spoon to hammer a nail into the board.  One more we told to take their shoe off and use it to try and hammer a nail into the board.  Obviously all attempts failed!

We broke the kids into groups of two then and passed out an exercise called Biblical Wisdom or Worldly Wisdom.  One the left, were the first halves of "wisdom", either found in the Bible or not.  On the right, were the last halves to finish those wisdom phrases.  The kids had to first match up the phrases to complete each piece of wisdom.  Then they had to put a "B" next to the phrase if they thought it came from the Bible or a "W" next to the phrase if they thought it was a worldly saying.  For example...Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me...Two heads are better than one...If at first you don't succeed, try, try again...Saved by the skin of your teeth...You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...Cleanliness is next to godliness...Don't count your chickens before they hatch.  You get the picture!  You'd be amazed which of these (and many others we tackled) are actually found in the Bible, like saved by the skin of your teeth in Job 19:20!  The kids were surprised by more than a few!

The point is that, sometimes we receive what we believe to be wisdom from others, books we read, the actions of others in similar situations...when in reality, what we've received is just a bunch of "hooey" the world passes off as wisdom.  True wisdom can only be found in God's Word and in listening to, memorizing, and obeying it.  

Back to our wood demonstration, we gave one of the kids a hammer then and asked him to nail the nail into the wood.  Amazingly, it worked way better than the hairbrush, spoon, or shoe had.  See what happens when you use the right tools to get a job done?  In the same way, we should only use God's Word as a tool in discerning what is wisdom and what is not...wisdom that dictates our words and actions in all kinds of situations!

Now we have demonstrated this to the kids before.  We have talked to them over and over again about how the Bible is the only tool they need for their lives.  By now, we get some yawns, some sighs, and even some eye rolls.  Some of the kids we know are even thinking, "How can the Bible really help me solve ___________________________________?"  We don't know everything these guys are going through and some solutions may seem impossible to them and they may wonder how the Bible can ever apply to their circumstances.  So what did we do?  What we always do in ZG...we watched a movie clip!!

We watched a clip from The Karate Kid (the first one).  It's where Daniel has worked for days and days sanding Mr. Miyagi's deck, waxing his car, and painting his fence (up and down and side to side).  He's tired, his arm hurts, and he can't figure out for the life of him how any of this applies to karate.  When told to come back the next day for more work (training in Mr. Miyagi's eyes), Daniel loses it and decides to tell Mr. Miyagi just how he feels.  It's then that Mr. Miyagi shows Daniel exactly how what he has learned over the last few days of seemingly mindless work has actually trained him in several key karate defense moves.  "Paint the fence!  Up and down!  Side to side!  Wax the car!  Sand the floor!"  The light goes on for Daniel then and he realizes for the first time the wisdom behind Mr. Miyagi's lessons.

In closing, we gave the kids some situations they may face at home or at school...disobeying their parents, being tempted to go along with the crowd, getting the last word in an argument.  Then we asked them to think of Biblical wisdom that could help them figure out a solution to their problem...Ephesians 6:1, 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 3.  These were easy examples of course, but we encouraged the kids that the wisdom on how to handle even life's biggest dilemmas can be found in  God's Word.  And the more of it they read and study and memorize, the more wisdom will be revealed to them.

The Pumpkin Gospel

Tonight's lesson was simple enough.  Many kids have seen this demonstration using a whole pumpkin, but we thought it would be a good reminder, especially this time of the year.  It's one of my favorite object lessons.  It goes like this...

The Lesson

Sometimes people ask what it is like being a Christian.
I’d like to tell you that it is all fun and easy.

But I’m a Christian.
I’m supposed to tell the whole truth.
And here it is.

It is fun to be a Christian because I am God’s child and God loves me. And it is never too hard for me because God helps me.

But sometimes it is pretty hard to be a Christian.
I think I can use this pumpkin to help explain.

We all start out like pumpkins.
We’re out in the garden along with all the others.
God is always walking through that garden asking if any of us what to belong to Him.

When we say ‘yes’ to God, he picks us up out of the garden.
(Use damp cloth to clean the dirt off the pumpkin.)
And he gently washes away the dirt.

That feels really, really nice.
(Pick up the knife.)
But there is more to be done.

You see, dirt was not the only thing we brought with us from the garden.
(Cut around the top of the pumpkin.)
Some of what we brought back requires surgery and that can hurt.

(Lift off the top.)
While we were out there in the garden, some things grew inside us.
(Take out a few seeds and hold them out to be seen.)

Sometimes the others were not fair to us.
(Take out more of the seeds.)
We became angry and the seed of bitterness started to grow inside.

(Continue to take out seeds as you talk.)
Sometimes others let us down or hurt our feelings.
We began to feel sorry for ourselves.
And the seeds of rejection started to grow.

We try to get even with those who hurt us.
The seeds of unforgiveness and violence begin to grow inside.

(Remove the last of the seeds.)
Yes, all of this cleaning up hurts a bit.
But if we won’t let God clean all of this out, it gets infected.
And then we really have problems.

Christians who won’t let God clean out all the junk from the pumpkin patch are really miserable.
They have spiritual infections and they can spread them to others.
(Wipe the inside with the cloth.)

(Carve the face on your side of the pumpkin.)
I’m learning to hold really still and let God take care of anything that needs cleaning!
Sure it hurts sometimes.
Put the light inside the pumpkin and light it
And sometimes I wonder what God is trying to do!

(Turn the pumpkin around for the group to see.)
Then God reminds me that He has a wonderful plan for my life.
He wants the beauty of Jesus to shine through me so others can see the way to Jesus.

That’s what we are, you know.
We are not really better than those poor pumpkins who are still in the garden.
We are just a whole lot better off because Jesus has taken us out of the darkness and into His wonderful light.

(Turn the lights off.)
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill can’t be hidden.
Also, people do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead, they put it on its stand.
Then it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine in front of others.
Then they will see the good things you do.
And they will praise your Father who is in heaven.*

Please pray with me.
Father God, thank You for asking us to be Your children.
Father, we want to be more like Jesus.
We want others to see Your light shining in our lives.
Help us to open our hearts to You.
Take away all our bad attitudes.
Give us Your light and love inside.
We’re asking this in Jesus’ Name. Amen

Don't Be A Firestarter!!!

James 3:3-12 - When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Oohhhh, the places we could have gone with this lesson!!!  This was one week we had no shortage of object lessons for the kids.  We did our best to narrow them down, but couldn't pick just one.  So here goes!!

We started with a game to get the kids moving and hyped about our lesson.  Each youth was given a Styrofoam cup with their name on it.  The cups were put on the last few rungs of a ladder.  The kids stood on the other side of the room and used rubber super balls to try and knock each other's cups off the ladder.  Whoever knocked a cup off, they were able to move their own cup up one rung on the ladder.  If your cup got knocked off, you had to start back over on the bottom rung.  The object of the game was to make it to the top of the ladder.  The lesson?  Sometimes, in order to make ourselves feel better than others, we feel the need to knock others down with our words.  We use gossip, name-calling, lies, and boasting.  We talked about how the kids felt when their cups were at the top versus at the bottom of the ladder.  Yes, John and I wore helmets as we were the ones retrieving balls and moving cups.

Next, I showed the kids my Magic Gossip Box.  It had a hole in each end.  I put a small screwdriver in one end and pulled a large one out of the other.  We did this with several objects before telling the kids that this is a great example of rumors and gossip.  Often what we say about others, as it spreads, grows and gets bigger and even distorted from it's original version.  We talked about how this can hurt the person who is being talked about as the rumor comes full circle.

Then I gave one of the kids a tube of toothpaste and asked them to squeeze it all out into a bowl.  They passed the bowl to someone else then and we gave them a plastic knife and asked them to put all of the toothpaste back into the tube.  Impossible of course, just as our words are impossible to take back once we speak them.

We next showed the kids a few YouTubes.  One was a newscast on a recent community wildfire that destroyed homes, took lives, and ruined hundreds of acres of forests and property.  The next YouTube was of animals being tamed and trained to do all sorts of crazy tricks.  Both YouTubes were meant to illustrate James' words in James 3.  We discussed how our tongues can spread just as much destruction as that wildfire and how it's harder to tame them than it is to tame and train wild animals.

We ended our object lessons with a movie clip tonight from The Pacifier.  We LOVE this movie.   This funny scene jumpstarted a discussion about displaying self control in the face of peer pressure, bullying, or temptation to shoot off one’s mouth or show off one’s “skills”.

Navy SEAL Shane Wolf (Vin Diesel) is assigned to protect the five kids of another agent.  Lt. Wolfe has just brought the Plummer kids to school. The arrogant Vice Principal Murney, “The Murninator,” has established his dominance as well as his disdain for these students. Lt. Wolfe is observing them at a distance in the school yard when he sees the oldest boy, Seth, getting pushed around by some jocks. 

We asked the kids to raise their hands if they'd ever been picked on and keep them raised if they'd ever been tempted to shoot off their mouths to the person who was picking on them. Some of the kids admitted to following through and shooting off their mouths!

In this scene, Lt. Wolfe intervenes when he sees Seth getting picked on. We picked it up there and observed how he responded to ‘The Murninator’s’ taunts.”

Jocks: Yeah, you little punk! Where’s your babysitter now, huh?

(Lt. Wolfe pulls Seth out of the way. )

Lt. Wolfe: Enough.

Vice Principal Murney: All right, you heard the lady. Let’s break it up, guys. Come on. Hmm?

(To Wolfe) Relax, Popeye. Boys will be boys, huh? Anyway, it’s kinda good for the Creeper (referring to Seth). Gives him a chance to punk up. Learn to defend himself. 

Wolfe: Six against one? 

Murney: Well, ya know, the odds are never pretty. But look at it as, like, a preparation for him…you know, the naked streets of Bethesda can be so dark and dangerous. Right, Creeper? 

(Wolfe holds Seth back.) 

Murney: You’re pretty quick there, frogman. I, myself, happen to be a black belt. That’s why they wanted me to be the coach of the wrestling team (strikes a karate wannabe pose, yells, and snorts). Sensei. You know what that’s called, homeboy? Total control. You alright? Hmm? Tell you what, maybe sometime you can pop by the wrestling class and, uh, show the boys how a couple of pros do it. What do you think? I’ll go easy on you. 

Wolfe: I’m on duty. 

Murney: You’re on duty. Oh, that’s right, you’re a babysitter. So it’s kinda like “doo-doo” duty. Don’t worry about it. We’ll do it on a day when you’re not washing your hair. (To Seth) And I’ll see you in class. (back to Wolfe) At ease. (Walks away smugly.)

We discussed the clip then and talked about bullies and people who brag about their abilities and tear others down to build themselves up.  We also talked about how Lt. Wolfe responded to Murney's taunting him and how we as Christians are to respond as well.

We read Proverbs 18:21, 26:4, 21:23, 15:1-2, 13:3 to tie Scripture into all we'd shown the kids tonight.  We told them to remember what they'd learned and keep it at the forefront of their minds every time they opened their mouths.  We encouraged them to never be firestarters!!