Youth Ministry Object Lessons: Jesus is the way

Materials
A compass

Learning Activity
1. As a small game, stand in the center of the room and let students arrange themselves in lines next to you to form a cross "+".
2. Designate one line of the cross as "North."
3. Designate the remaining three lines the other directions of the compass (East, etc)
4. Then using the compass, let youth / children rotate themselves so that the correct line is facing north. Ask them to freeze.
5. Move to another place in the room.
6. On your signal they are to reform the compass at the new location you have selected, pointing themselves in the correct directions of the compass. (To make it more difficult, stand in a doorway, next to a wall, squat under a table, etc.)
7. First line of the cross to get in the correct position wins, making sure they are all facing their respective directions of the compass.

Application
Ask the children to point to north at a given signal. Check who is right with the compass. Then try to confuse the youngsters by turning round, going to a corner or standing on a chair and asking where north is from those positions.

Whatever position we are in, a compass will direct us accurately to north.
And where ever we are, Jesus points us toward God.

Scripture Text
John 14:5-14

Visit our page for more Object Lessons at Object Lesson God’s Love

Object Lesson for Kids: Grains of Wheat

Materials
Set up a checker board or chess board with grains of wheat according to the following story.

Illustration
Some time ago there was a display at the museum of Science and industry in Chicago. It featured a checkerboard with 1 grain of wheat on the first square, 2 on the second, 4 on the third, and 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. A few squares down the board there were so many grains of wheat they couldn't fit on one square. Above the display was this question: "At this rate of doubling every square, how much grain would you have on the checkerboard by the time you reached the 64th square?" Ask youth how much grain they think that would be?

After they finish giving their answers, give them the correct answer: "Enough grain to cover the entire subcontinent of India 50 feet deep."

Debrief
Our faith may start out small, but as God uses it, the end result can be very large! 2 Corinthians 9:6

Application
Give each youth a grain of wheat and ask them to visualize it as a representation of some area where they need to trust God. They must take it home and place it in a prominent place where they will see it regularly and be reminded to pray.

Variation
Leave the board in place, but remove the grains of wheat and place them in a bowl next to it. Every time a prayer is answered youth must place a grain of wheat on the board and grab another grain of wheat to place with thier previous one at home. As prayers are answered the grains will grow and youth will have a visible reminder to pray and that God answers our prayers.

Visit our page for more Object Lessons at Object Lesson God’s Love

Youth Leadership Lessons: Teaching Children

I tried to teach my child with books
He only gave me puzzled looks
I tried to teach my child with words
They passed him by often unheard
Despairingly I turned aside
"How shall I teach this child?" I cried
Into my hand, he put the key
"Come, he said, play with me."

Visit our page for more Youth Bible Studies at Youth Ideas .

Youth Bible Studies: Seek Him First

To the same measure that we put ourselves at the disposal of God's cause,
to the same measure that we put God's will into practice,
so will we gain confidence in our personal life.
For we are promised, "Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all these things shall be added to you."
That is our faith, and it can answer every need of our time.

-Else von Hollander, January 1932

Visit our page for more Youth Bible Studies at Youth Ideas

Youth Ideas: Power of a Decision

There is something about life that, little by little, makes us forget all that is good. This can happen to anyone...and so we must look for a cure against it. Praise be that such a cure exists: the act of quietly making a decision. A decision stirs the mind from the slumber of monotony. A decision breaks the magic spell of custom and the long row of weary thoughts. A decision will bring blessings upon even the weakest beginning. A decision is an awakening to the eternal.

Soren Kierkegaard

Visit our page for more Youth Bible Studies at Youth Ideas .

Youth Ideas: Memos from a Child

• Don't spoil me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all I ask for ... I'm only testing you.
• Don't be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it .. it makes me feel more secure.
• Don't correct me in front of people if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk to me in private.
• Don't make me feel that my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.
• Don't be too upset if I say "I hate you." It isn't that I hate you, but only that I need your attention.
• Don't protect me from consequence. I need to learn the hard way.
• Don't take too much notice of my small ailment. Sometimes they get me the attention I want.
• Don't nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.
• Don't make rash promises. Remember that I feel badly let down when promises are broken.
• Don't forget that I cannot explain myself as well as I should like. This is why I'm not always accurate.
• Don't tax my honesty too much. I am easily frightened into telling lies.
• Don't be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose my faith in you.
• Don't put me off when I ask you questions. If you do, you will find that I stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.
• Don't tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real and you can do much to try to understand.
• Don't ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I discover that you are neither.
• Don't ever think it beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm to you.
• Don't forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be very difficult for you to keep pace with me but please try.
• Don't forget I love experimenting. I couldn't get along without it, so please put up with it.
• Don't forget that I can't thrive without lots of love. But I don't need to tell you all the time, do I?

Visit our page for more Youth Bible Studies at Youth Ideas .

Sermons for Youth: Is the Internet Harmful to Youth?

I recently read with interest about some recent research by the MacArthur Foundation into the use of the internet involving 800 youth and their parents over a period of three years.

Source: Facebook, MySpace Beneficial To Teens by By Mike Sachoff

While the internet most definitely has lurking dangers hidden behind many of the links, not to mention porn, predators, malware, misleading and outright untrue information, unsavory groups and more, there are also some very real benefits to youth.

Here are some of the conclusions:

• Youth who use social media such as MySpace and Facebook are developing important social and technical skills online that help them to be competent in the digital age. "The social worlds that youth are involved with have new kinds of dynamics, as online socializing is permanent, public, requires managing elaborate networks of friends and acquaintances, and is always on."
• The Internet provides a way for youth to interact and receive feedback from one another.
• Young people respect each other's authority online and are more motivated to learn from each other than adults.
• Online spaces provide unprecedented opportunities for kids to expand their social worlds and engage in public life
• Youth "learn on the Internet in a self-directed way, by looking around for information they are interested in, or connecting with others who can help them. This is a big departure from how they are asked to learn in most schools, where the teacher is the expert and there is a fixed set of content to master."
• In some cases the researchers found that parents and their children came together around gaming or shared digital media projects, where both parties found a common ground.

Your thoughts?

Visit our page for more Youth Bible Studies at Youth Ideas .