Jesus' Love Is Stronger
Group Activities
Sermon Title: "Jesus' Love Is Stronger"
Scripture Reading:Mark 1:21-28
TUG OF WAR:
Have the children divide into teams and play TUG OF WAR to see who is strongest. A variation of this game could be to let a team made up of a few children have a tug of war with the teachers. If they are unable to prevail, let them ask other children to join their team until they are able to win the tug of war.
RED ROVER GAME:
(An outdoor activity.) Divide the children into two teams and have the teams hold hands and stand facing the other team. One team will begin the came by having one of their team members call out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, let (name of a child from the other team) come over." The child whose name is called will run and try to break through the other team's line. IF they DO break through the line, they can choose someone from that team to join their team. If they can't break through the line, that child has to stay and become a member of the opposing team. After the game, let the children know that Jesus' love is stronger than ANYTHING that can stand in our way, no matter who may be against us!
LIGHTS ON/LIGHTS OFF:
Have the children move to an open area of the room. Tell them that they are free to move about the room as long as the lights are on. When the the teacher turns the lights off, the children must FREEZE where they are. When the lights are turned back on, they may continue moving about. Ask the children, "What makes the lights turn on when we flip the switch?" Discuss that when you turn the LIGHTS ON, it is because there is ELECTRICAL POWER connected to the switch. Compare that to the darkness in the world without Jesus' Light and HIS POWER!
CANNED STRENGTH:
Divide the class into teams of 2 or 3. One child on each team will hold a can of vegetables in each hand with their arms held straight out to their side. Tell the children that whenever their arms are so tired that they can't hold them out any longer, they can ask their team members to help them by supporting their arms. After the activity, point out to the children that with Help, they were able to do much more than they could on their own. Explain to them that Jesus is always there to help us when our load becomes heavy. HIS love is stronger than anything we face!
POWER PLUS:
Provide the children with construction paper and bright colored markers to form bubble letters. (Sample) Have the children write POWER PLUS - Jesus' love is stronger! Let the children use their own ideas how they would like to decorate their poster as a reminder that Jesus' Love is stronger than anything we face.
POWER ACROSTIC:
Let the class work on this together on a poster or the chalkboard, thinking of a word for each letter of P-O-W-E-R, that would help to explain Jesus' Love and power and strength! If this is too difficult for the children to do on their own, here is an alternative suggestion. Write the word POWER vertically down the left side of a poster board. Use each letter of POWER to create the acrostic P-UT JESUS FIRST, O-BEY HIS WORD, W-ALK IN HIS LIGHT, E-NJOY HIS PRESENCE, R-EJOICE IN HIS LOVE.
POWER BOOK MARKER:
After the above POWER ACROSTIC is completed, give the children a strip of construction paper, stickers, markers and glitter, to put the acrostic ideas on a book marker and decorate.
STRONG PUZZLE:
The children can draw pictures and write words from today's lesson on a large poster board about Jesus being STRONG.. Color every area of the board with pictures or crayons. Use a bright colored marker for the border. The teacher can then cut this puzzle into several pieces (more or less depending on the age of the class). Mix the pieces up and let the children put their STRONG PUZZLE back together, while talking about today's lesson and Jesus' Love being Stronger.
POWER SNACK:
Provide the children with several options of a healthy POWER SNACK such as a small apple, half of a banana, a small bag of mixed fruit and nuts.
Song: "My God Is So Great"
Words and Music (pdf)
MP3 Accompaniment Track
