A-49 Up and Down Years

“Torn & Rewritten” Scroll Relay

Theme: Foolish King Destroy's God's Word (Jeremiah 36)

Supplies: long strips of paper, pens, scissors

How to Play:

• Divide children into two teams. 
• Give each team a long strip of paper (their “scroll”).
• Write one short message: "Babylon will destroy Jerusalem" on each roll of paper.
• One child in each team plays “King Jehoiakim” and is given scissors.
• Teams race to rewrite their scroll each time Jehoiakim cuts a piece off.
• Eventually, the student with the scissors should cut the final piece up.
• Remove the scissors and provide another sheet of paper to each team. This time, the teams are to write the message large enough to fill the entire strip of paper.

Discussion:

• Ask: Did Jehoiakim's destroying the message prevent God's word from coming to pass?
• Today, we may try to destroy God's word by refusing to listen to it or making fun of His messengers.
• Will ignoring, mocking, or disobeying God's word keep it from coming to pass?

A-48 From Crisis to Crisis

“The Pride-O-Meter” Balloon Challenge

Theme: Uzziah's pride (2 Chronicles 26)

Supplies: balloons, cups, beanbags, simple spelling words

How to Play:

• Give one child (or adult) a balloon.
• Have the other children complete specific tasks (spell simple words correctly, stack cups, toss bean bags, etc).
• Every time the task is completed correctly, blow more air into the balloon.
• Continue until the balloon pops.

Discussion:

• Who gave Uzziah the ability to make good decisions?
• What things do we take credit for instead of giving the credit to God?

A-47 Elisha's Closing Ministry

Option 1: Half-Hearted vs. Wholehearted

Theme: The Last Arrows (2 Kings 13:14–21)

Supplies: $1 bills to equal the number of pieces of scrap paper (or whatever amount of money you can afford). You could also substitute with cookies or other items.

How to Play:

• Ask a child to wad up your pieces of scrap paper and throw them to the ground while saying, "The chariots of Israel and their horsemen." Don't tell them how many to do or how excited to sound.
• When the child stops, give them one dollar bill for every piece of paper thrown down while saying the phrase.

Discussion:

• Ask: If you had known that you would earn a dollar for every piece of paper wadded and thrown while reciting the phrase, would you have done more? Would you have been more enthusiastic?
• Today, we will learn about a king who was told to do something very similar. Unfortunately, the consequences for him were much higher. 
• It is important to enthusiastically obey God, even when we do not understand why He has asked us to do something!

 

Option 2: Good News Relay

Theme: Sharing good news (2 Kings 7)

Supplies: None

How to play:

• Get into a circle or a line.
• Whisper into the first child's ear, “The camp is empty and there’s food for everyone!”
• They whisper it down the line—last person shouts it aloud.
• Compare how the message changed or stayed the same.

Discussion:

• The lepers ran to share good news. They did not get anyone else to share the news, they ran themselves to tell everyone in the city!
• Do you tell others about the good things God has done? 
• Why is it important for you to share the good news rather than asking someone else to share it for you?

A-46 Elisha's Faithful Ministry

“Fix the Stew!”

Theme: Poisoned stew made safe (2 Kings 4:38–41)
Supplies: Bowl, paper slips (with “ingredients” written on them — good and bad), spoon

How to Play:

• Write good “ingredients” (love, faith, kindness) and bad ones (anger, selfishness, lying).

• Kids draw slips from the “stew pot” and read them aloud.

• Everyone decides if that’s a “good” or “bad” ingredient for a Christian life.

Connection: Just as Elisha fixed the stew, God can take what’s wrong in our hearts and make it right again.

“Room for Elisha”

Theme: The Shunammite woman makes a room for Elisha (2 Kings 4:8–10)
Supplies: None or paper and pencil

How to Play:

• Ask kids to imagine Elisha is coming to stay at their house.

• They quickly draw or describe what they’d put in his room to make him feel welcome.

Connection: The Shunammite woman showed hospitality and kindness. We can make “room” in our lives for God and others, too.

“Spotless!”

Theme: Naaman’s healing (2 Kings 5)
Supplies: Small whiteboard or paper, washable marker, tissue

How to Play:

• Ask kids to name ways people “get spots” in their lives (sin, lying, jealousy, etc.).

• Draw dots on the board to represent each “spot” of leprosy the kids name.

• Then “wash” them away with the tissue to show God’s forgiveness.

Connection: Just like Naaman’s skin became clean, Jesus can wash away our sins and make our hearts clean.

A-45 The Call of Elisha

“Pass the Mantle”

Theme: Elisha receiving Elijah’s mantle and mission
Supplies: A coat, scarf, or towel to act as the mantle

How to Play:

• Have the children sit in a circle and pass the mantle around while music plays.

• Alternatively, children could be in a line and pass the mantle back and forth; this could also work with children sitting in different rows of chairs.

• When the music stops, the child holding the mantle says one way they can serve God or help others (like Elisha did).

• The child who shared should now be removed from the line/circle/chairs.

• Continue until everyone has shared.

Connection: Elisha took up Elijah’s mantle and carried on his work. God calls each of us to serve Him, too. 

“Double Portion Challenge”

Theme: Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit
Supplies: beanbags or small balls

How to Play:

• Divide kids into groups of two, and each group will toss one beanbag back and forth. The goal is to catch the bean bag without dropping it.

• Next, add a second bean bag to each group (double the responsibility!). They have to toss them back and forth at the same time without dropping them. 

• See who can keep both in the air the longest.

Connection: Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit—more power to serve God. When God gives us responsibility, He also gives strength to handle it.

“The Call to Follow”

Theme: Elisha leaves everything to follow Elijah (1 Kings 19:19–21)
Supplies: Paper, markers, painter's tape

How to Play:

• Give each child a piece of paper to write or draw one thing they love to do. 

• Use painter's tape to tape each of the papers to the wall in a line.

• Have them “walk away” from the papers as you read: “Elisha left his oxen and ran after Elijah.”

• Ask: “Would it be hard to leave something you love behind knowing you would never be able to do it again?”

Connection: Elisha left his work and home to follow God’s call. Sometimes serving God means letting go of good things to do something greater.

A-44 Fearless for God

 

“The Gentle Whisper” Listening Challenge

Main point: God speaks in a still small voice (1 Kings 19).

You’ll need:

• A few noisemakers (clapping, stomping, shakers)

• A smart phone or iphone with a whispered voice pre-recorded giving directions to a hidden object.

• A gift bag (or paper lunch bag). Inside the gift bag have a rolled piece of paper tied with a string. On the paper should be written 1 Kings 19:11-13.

How to play:

1. Before the kids arrive, hide the gift bag.

2. Pre-record your voice giving directions on where to find the gift bag. The recording should say the same directions over and over for 30 seconds.

3. Choose one child to be Elijah. Explain that he has 30 seconds to find the gift.

4. Tell the remaining kids they need to start clapping, stomping, and hissing as soon as you say "go" and they are to continue until you hold up your hands and say "stop."

5. Say "go" and play the directions while the kids are making noise.

6. After thirty seconds, have them stop.

7. Ask "Elijah" if he was able to hear the directions.

8. Now tell them to be completely still and have Elijah listen to the recording again and this time he should easily hear it and find the gift bag.

9. Have Elijah (or a teacher) read the message in the gift bag.

10. Discuss how Elijah didn’t hear God in the noise, but in the whisper.

Questions:

• What do we have today that makes "noise" in our lives that keeps us from hearing God?
• How can we remove "noise makers" out of our lives so we can hear God speaking to us?