Obedience is an important concept for our children to learn. Most children are taught to obey very early on. Unfortunately, obedience can become a drudgery if it’s not done out of love. God wants us to obey Him and keep His commands because we love Him and because we know He loves us. This kind of obedience will make for a wonderful relationship. Deuteronomy 11:1 says this: “Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.” Keeping God’s commands is essential for a fulfilled life. But saying we’ll keep His commands and actually obeying them is not always easy. Your kids will understand this a little more after playing this Bible school activity called “Keep His Commands.”
Here’s what you do:
For this game, you will need to prepare 3 sets of 10 ping-pong balls. On one set, write one of the Bible references to a command of God that I have provided you below:
- Matthew 22:37
- Matthew 22:39
- I John 5:3-4
- Exodus 20:3
- Exodus 20:7
- Exodus 20:8
- Exodus 20:12
- Ephesians 4:25
- Ephesians 6:10-11
- Philippians 2:3
Place these in a container from which you will pick. Disperse the other 2 sets of balls into 2 lunch bags – 10 in each. You will also need 2 cups or containers. Each one will need to hold 10 balls. Try to pick a container just big enough for the balls to fit. In other words, don’t pick a container with a lot of extra room after the balls are inside. You will also need 2 Bibles. You are now ready to play this game.
How to play:
Divide your class into 2 teams. This game has 2 parts to it. The first part involves a competition for looking up the Bible references on the balls. Have one child come up from each team. You, the teacher, will pick one of the ping-pong balls and read the reference. On the word “Go” the first child to find the Bible verse earns 50 points for their team. After a command has been read, you are now ready to begin the second part of the game.
Give each team captain a container and a lunch bag with the ping-pong balls inside. On the word “Go” the captain carefully transfers all the balls into the container and then passes all the materials to the next player. The second player transfers the balls from the container into the bag and then passes everything to the next person and so on down the line. Any balls that fall on the ground cannot be retrieved. The first team who finishes may not be the winner if the other team ends up having more balls. The team who finishes first receives an additional 50 points. Each team also receives 50 points for each ball that did not fall on the ground. After playing a round, go back to the first part of the game and pick a new ping-pong Bible reference to be looked up and read. Play several times. The team with the most points wins.
Before playing this game you might want to introduce this lesson in the following way:
Raise your hand if you have ever had to obey someone. (Wait for responses.) Sure. We have all needed to obey different people in our lives. For example, you need to obey Mom or Dad or a police officer. Now raise your hand if you’ve ever obeyed God. (Wait for responses.) I’m glad that many of you obey God. Do you think God wants us to obey Him grudgingly or out of love? (Wait for responses.) Yes. God wants us to obey Him because we love Him and we know He loves us. God gives you commands to obey to keep you safe and to help you have the best life you can possibly have. God is not a mean cranky old man who wants to make your life difficult. Obeying God’s commands should always be done out of love. Who would like to read Deuteronomy 11:1? (Wait for response.) Let’s play a fun Bible school activity to help us remember how important it is to keep all of God’s commands. It’s called “Keep His Commands.”
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