Rules of the Game!
Children's sermon
Object: Pieces you might use, like dice, a spinner, a ball, or any other “unusual” things you might find. I used a beanbag, a shoe, and a piece of paper.
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The Activity: The idea is to begin by having the children play a game that has no set rules, no set goals, and is about as confusing as you can make it. When questions arise, rather than answering them directly, give them another task to perform to keep the game going. The script will show one way I did that, but you can change it however you choose. Depending on how many children and how much time you have, you might divide them into two teams and have some or all of them take a turn, or do as I did and just ask for volunteers to play the game. Also, if it helps, it is perfectly okay to have a couple of “plants” in the congregation ready to shout out the rules you would like to use.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But, before I tell you the story, I have a game I would like us to play, okay? (Let them respond.) Great! To get started, we need two volunteers to play the game. Who would like to give it a try? (Let them respond and pick two players.)
Who would like to go first? (Pick a child to begin with and hand them the bean bag.) Great. It’s your turn. Go ahead! (Let the child respond, and encourage them to do “something” with the bean bag. Have fun with this.) Nice job! That is worth five points! It’s your turn! (Give the bean bag to the second child and repeat the same thing that you did with the first.) That’s great! That one was worth ten points! Excellent! So, it’s ten points to five points and now we will play round number two of our game!
But, you look a little confused. Is there a problem? (Let them respond.) Are you confused about how to play the game? (Let them respond.) Do we need better rules? (Let them respond.) Okay, I think we can fix that. (Turn to talk to the congregation.) We need some help with our game. For those of you who have a favorite game you like to play, would you please tell us one of the rules of that game you play? Just one rule? (Let the congregation respond and pick one of the rules they offer. I picked the rule that players must always spin the spinner to play.) Okay then, one of the rules of our game is that you should always spin the spinner before you play. So let’s remember that as we play round number two!
For this round, you need a shoe. Here you go. (Hand the spinner and the shoe to the first player.) It’s your turn! (As before, let the child respond, and encourage them to do “something” with the shoe. Have fun with it. The more confusing, the better.) Okay, nice job. That was worth seven points! Now it’s your turn. Remember the rules! (Hand the spinner and the shoe to the second player and repeat what you did with the first player.) That was great. It was worth fifteen points! So now the score is twelve points to twenty-five points. Now let’s play round number three, okay? (Let them respond.)
You still look a little confused. Are the rules of the game still confusing? (Let them respond.) That’s no problem. Let’s see who can help us. (Turn to the congregation.) Who can help us and tell us another rule from your favorite game? (Let the congregation respond and pick one of the rules they offer. This time I picked the rule that players must keep their eyes closed.) Okay, let’s play round three and remember the rules. You should always spin the spinner before you play, and you need to wear a blindfold.
In round three we will need a piece of paper. (Hand the first play a piece of paper.) And you will need these to play. (Give the first child the spinner and the blindfold to put on.) Okay, it is your turn. Go! (As before, let the child respond, and have fun encouraging them to do “something” with the piece of paper.) That was great! You get twenty points this time! Now it’s your turn. Do you remember the rules? (Let the second child respond as you give them the blindfold to put on and hand them the spinner and piece of paper.) Ready? Go! (Repeat the encouragement fun.) Nice job! That was worth fifteen points!
You know, you guys still look like you are kind of confused about our game. Are you? (Let them respond.) It was pretty confusing, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.)
Well, one day, Jesus was with his friends and saw that they were really confused, too. He asked them what was wrong and they said there were so many different rules they had to follow they just didn’t know what they were supposed to do. They said that the Pharisees told them rules, and the Sadducees told them rules, and the priests told them rules, and the rabbis told them rules and there were so many different rules they didn’t know what God wanted them to do.
So Jesus said, “You are my friends, so I will tell you what the rules are that God wants you to follow. God wants you to love each other.” His friends said, “That’s all?” Jesus said, “Yep, that’s the rule God wants you to follow.” How do you think Jesus’ friends felt when they heard that? (Let them respond.) It probably felt good to not be so confused anymore, didn’t it? (Let them respond.)
It does get confusing sometimes when people tell us so many different rules they think we should follow, doesn’t it? Sometimes they say, “You shouldn’t talk to that person or sit with them.” Or they say, “Let’s make fun of them because they are so much different than we are.” Sometimes we just don’t know which of the rules we should follow, do we? (Let them respond.) Well, the next time you feel confused, just remember what Jesus told his friends. He said there is only one rule God wants us to follow. Who remembers what that rule is? (Let them respond.) To love each other! To take care of each other and help someone we see who needs help. That is what God asks us to do.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that God did not create us to worry about a bunch of rules, but God created us to follow him and love and take care of each other the way God loves and takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
* * *
The Activity: The idea is to begin by having the children play a game that has no set rules, no set goals, and is about as confusing as you can make it. When questions arise, rather than answering them directly, give them another task to perform to keep the game going. The script will show one way I did that, but you can change it however you choose. Depending on how many children and how much time you have, you might divide them into two teams and have some or all of them take a turn, or do as I did and just ask for volunteers to play the game. Also, if it helps, it is perfectly okay to have a couple of “plants” in the congregation ready to shout out the rules you would like to use.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But, before I tell you the story, I have a game I would like us to play, okay? (Let them respond.) Great! To get started, we need two volunteers to play the game. Who would like to give it a try? (Let them respond and pick two players.)
Who would like to go first? (Pick a child to begin with and hand them the bean bag.) Great. It’s your turn. Go ahead! (Let the child respond, and encourage them to do “something” with the bean bag. Have fun with this.) Nice job! That is worth five points! It’s your turn! (Give the bean bag to the second child and repeat the same thing that you did with the first.) That’s great! That one was worth ten points! Excellent! So, it’s ten points to five points and now we will play round number two of our game!
But, you look a little confused. Is there a problem? (Let them respond.) Are you confused about how to play the game? (Let them respond.) Do we need better rules? (Let them respond.) Okay, I think we can fix that. (Turn to talk to the congregation.) We need some help with our game. For those of you who have a favorite game you like to play, would you please tell us one of the rules of that game you play? Just one rule? (Let the congregation respond and pick one of the rules they offer. I picked the rule that players must always spin the spinner to play.) Okay then, one of the rules of our game is that you should always spin the spinner before you play. So let’s remember that as we play round number two!
For this round, you need a shoe. Here you go. (Hand the spinner and the shoe to the first player.) It’s your turn! (As before, let the child respond, and encourage them to do “something” with the shoe. Have fun with it. The more confusing, the better.) Okay, nice job. That was worth seven points! Now it’s your turn. Remember the rules! (Hand the spinner and the shoe to the second player and repeat what you did with the first player.) That was great. It was worth fifteen points! So now the score is twelve points to twenty-five points. Now let’s play round number three, okay? (Let them respond.)
You still look a little confused. Are the rules of the game still confusing? (Let them respond.) That’s no problem. Let’s see who can help us. (Turn to the congregation.) Who can help us and tell us another rule from your favorite game? (Let the congregation respond and pick one of the rules they offer. This time I picked the rule that players must keep their eyes closed.) Okay, let’s play round three and remember the rules. You should always spin the spinner before you play, and you need to wear a blindfold.
In round three we will need a piece of paper. (Hand the first play a piece of paper.) And you will need these to play. (Give the first child the spinner and the blindfold to put on.) Okay, it is your turn. Go! (As before, let the child respond, and have fun encouraging them to do “something” with the piece of paper.) That was great! You get twenty points this time! Now it’s your turn. Do you remember the rules? (Let the second child respond as you give them the blindfold to put on and hand them the spinner and piece of paper.) Ready? Go! (Repeat the encouragement fun.) Nice job! That was worth fifteen points!
You know, you guys still look like you are kind of confused about our game. Are you? (Let them respond.) It was pretty confusing, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.)
Well, one day, Jesus was with his friends and saw that they were really confused, too. He asked them what was wrong and they said there were so many different rules they had to follow they just didn’t know what they were supposed to do. They said that the Pharisees told them rules, and the Sadducees told them rules, and the priests told them rules, and the rabbis told them rules and there were so many different rules they didn’t know what God wanted them to do.
So Jesus said, “You are my friends, so I will tell you what the rules are that God wants you to follow. God wants you to love each other.” His friends said, “That’s all?” Jesus said, “Yep, that’s the rule God wants you to follow.” How do you think Jesus’ friends felt when they heard that? (Let them respond.) It probably felt good to not be so confused anymore, didn’t it? (Let them respond.)
It does get confusing sometimes when people tell us so many different rules they think we should follow, doesn’t it? Sometimes they say, “You shouldn’t talk to that person or sit with them.” Or they say, “Let’s make fun of them because they are so much different than we are.” Sometimes we just don’t know which of the rules we should follow, do we? (Let them respond.) Well, the next time you feel confused, just remember what Jesus told his friends. He said there is only one rule God wants us to follow. Who remembers what that rule is? (Let them respond.) To love each other! To take care of each other and help someone we see who needs help. That is what God asks us to do.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that God did not create us to worry about a bunch of rules, but God created us to follow him and love and take care of each other the way God loves and takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
