Nine Toothpicks

A warm-up game for all ages

Each player is given five toothpicks. Then the leader offers six more to anyone who can make them into nine toothpicks. All eleven toothpicks must be used. This is quite a puzzle until someone discovers that by laying the toothpicks so as to make the word N I N E  he/she has used all eleven toothpicks.

Amoeba Game

Amoebas: Group members face outwards and all link arms. The task is for the whole team to complete an obstacle course without breaking the chain.

Tangles : This game is great with a large group and works well either right at the start of a program or right at the end. It works well both outside and inside in a larger space.

Choose between 2-5 people who stand outside a large circle of children (and or adults). Emphasize that no one is to let go of their hands and also that you are to move slowly and gently. Everyone joins hands except those standing outside circle. The leader then takes one side of the circle across to the other side and takes the children under the arms of the other side. The rest of the circle then proceeds to tangle up their arms by going under or over other arms until the leader calls everyone to “freeze”. The children on the outside now have 3-5 minutes (depending on group size) to untangle the circle back to how it started. It’s important to keep reminding people not to let go and to co-operate with the “untanglers”.

Variation: You could play this game as a competition beween two groups and time the “untangling”.

Share Prayer Ideas

• Share teaspoon prayers… Give everyone a teaspoon and explain that a short way (abbreviation) of teaspoon is TSP.

TSP prayers include Thanks God , Sorry God , Please God

• Hand of prayer…

Pointer finger- reminds us that our lives should point to God to thank and praise Him.
Tall man (finger ) -The biggest finger reminds us to pray for people
who are leaders …ministers, Sunday school teachers, teachers, Prime Minister/President…
Ring finger – reminds us to pray for people you know who need prayer…parents, family, friends, missionaries, sick people.
Little finger- reminds us to pray for ourselves, to ask God to be with us , to help us and to give us what we need to love and obey Him.

• Silent hands confession

With short silences and closed eyes move through this three-part confession.
Fists should be clenched to help bring to mind wrong things we hold on tightly to .
Turn fists downwards and open hands as a sign of letting go the things we are sorry for and repent of.
Turn hands upward, with palms open, as a mark of receiving God’s forgiveness.

• Arrow Prayers ( You will need cardboard arrow-shapes; pens)

Sometimes when you’re in a difficult situation, feeling frightened or nervous, there’s no time to kneel and pray or to wait for a quiet time at the end of the day; you simply have to shoot an arrow prayer to God right away. Try to give your group some examples of when they might want to pray instant on-the-spot prayers. For example: whe you’re facing a fierce dog, when you’re nervous about reading something out loud. Talk about Nehemiah’s short prayer in Nehemiah 2:4-5 before he spoke to the king. Give all the children a cardboard arrow shape and encourage them to write the words of Psalm 31:22 along the shaft as a take home reminder that God hears even the shortest prayers.

Healing the Blind Man- John 9

Last Sunday I organised an  all-age worship service which picked up the themes of blindness and sight, darkness and light.

Here are some of the resources that I used -

John 9 Bible Reading -  The Blind Man (Powerpoint (54 mg)  Mp3 based on Scripture Union’s filmstrip -also available as Awesome DVD)

The life of Jesus was told through the eyes of Matthew and John. But how were his actions viewed through the eyes of three flies? Find the answer in this quirky 2D animation.  R U Smarter than a Fly? Max7.org

Ronnie Puppet script : Light up my life from Eliab.com

Open Shut Them..give little blink (rewritten song- used after the children’s talk)

The Blind Man  web search

Confession & Assurance of Forgiveness Doc

A Family

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.
- Ogden Nash

Getting Started With Puppets

So you’ve found your puppets or made your puppets. You know that you’d like to use them with your group, but… what exactly are they going to say ? You’re not quite ready yet to launch into a full scale puppet play.

Why not begin by making an announcement or introduce someone to the children ? Your puppet can add interest or humour to a flat part of the program.

Practise your announcement using short sentences and appropriate language for the age-group of your hearers. Remember puppets need to move in the mood and the emotion of the words they are saying. Have a minimum of narration and a maximum of dialogue.
Try these ..

BEGINNINGS…. The puppet(s)

> Enter excitedly when they hear the leader mention a key word. e.g.

Leader: I know someone who is quite rude.

Puppet: Food, did I hear someone say food ??

> Enter shyly, disappearing when people call out.

> Introduce yourself.

> Ask for a riddle and give the answer ” toothpaste” to any riddle asked. It will set up an opportunity for some interesting dialogue.

> Enter looking for something, then look surprised when you find it. Look even more surprised when you notice the audience are there watching you!

> Come in complaining. you have a problem, or are looking for help.

MIDDLES… The puppet(s):

> Listen carefully to the leader and then ask dumb questions.

> Listen to one another.

> Make an announcement.

> Give directions to people to do things, look for something etc.,

> Make up a song (using a well known tune) , limerick or rap to advertise the event or person.

ENDS … The puppet(s)

> Excuse themselves to prepare for the announced event.

> Ask to be shown the direction to the toilet and excuse themselves with great embarrassment.

> Suggest that it’s time to go and look for another riddle, song, book etc..

>Suggest that it’s time to go and visit Grandma for afternoon tea or another food related activity (we all know how much puppets like to eat !).

Remember practise in front of a mirror or a friend to gain confidence with your movements and dialogue. Soon you’ll be improvising and ready for some simple scripts.

See also 20 ways to use a puppet.

20 ways to use a puppet to teach a memory verse.

Make Your Own Sliding Puzzle

Try this neat little program for making and sending a sliding puzzle of your photo or drawing to a friend.

http://slidingpuzzle.net

Sliding Puzzle – Free online Sliding Puzzle player

Don’s Puzzle

Just left click on the pieces to move them.

Jailhouse Rocks!

JAILHOUSE ROCKS! ( Acts 16:22-34)

Drip, drip, drip. The weary jailer watched the water slowly run into the green slimy puddle at his feet. He slumped on a stone seat, deep in the basement of the Philippian jail. It had been a hectic day. At least now the troublemakers were under lock and key in D-cell.

D-cell – D rats, D damp and D dark. They’d certainly know they were in prison! They were much worse off than he was. At least he had a job. He had to feed his young family somehow.

Drip, drip, drip. Sometimes he’d wish there was more to his life than the same insults, freezing cold, monotony…¦

Suddenly loud singing echoed along the stone corridor. The jailer gave a wry smile – full marks for trying. This was a change from the usual screams and insults. What they lacked in quality they certainly make up for with volume. He’d let them go on for a bit before he shut them up. The jailer buckled his sword on and paced up and down the small room, carefully avoiding the growing puddles.

Drip, drip, drip. Rumble, rumble, CRASH! THUMP!

The floor shook. The jailer didn’t know what hit him! One moment he was walking, the next he was flat on his back, overwhelmed by thunderous bangs, loud screams, crashing rocks and timber. He struggled to his feet and retrieved the lamp which had spun across the floor. The tremors and sounds meant only one thing – an earthquake.

The prisoners! He struggled past stones which had caved in to get to the prisoners cells. He could faintly make out the closest cell door. It lay wide open, hanging off its hinges.

His throat tightened. Sudden panic hit him like a shock.  “They’ll escape ,they’ll all escape! It was my watch. I’ll be held responsible.” He grabbed his sword. He knew what he had to do. A swift end was better than the death the Romans would give him. They were unforgiving when it came to escaped prisoners. He drew his blade and held it against his throat.

An urgent voice from the shadows shouted, “No wait. We are all here! We haven’t escaped!”

In the half- light the jailer could make out the burly figure of the man named Paul with his mate Silas at his side – the singers from D-cell.

“What must I do to be saved?’ the jailer cried out as a quake again shook the walls. Paul’s reassuring eyes met the terrified jailer’s gaze.

“Believe in Jesus,” was Paul’s confident reply.

“How?” the puzzled jailer asked. There was something about these men, ,they were impressive – so assured, so safe. He wanted to be like that.

The jailer was laughing as Paul and Silas crowded around the small table with his wife and children. He couldn’t explain it, but a deep longing, a thirst for peace had been filled by that word “believe”. Whatever lay ahead could not shake him. His life was complete. He had Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Nothing else mattered.

© Don Stott, http://eliab.com ,2006