New Year’s Game: S’mores Stuff It

Topic: Build Your Life on a Solid Foundation

DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON

Bible: Matthew 7:24-27

Use this game as an opener for a New Year’s lesson about building your life on a solid foundation.

SUPPLIES

Graham crackers

Marshmallows

Hershey chocolate bars

Table big enough to build S’more towers

Toilet paper

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Divide preteens into equal teams (of 5-10 players) and line them up.

Put tables on opposite area from preteens and put the S’mores ingredients on table.

One at a time each preteen will race to the table.

At the table, players will assemble a S’more – graham cracker / chocolate / marshmallow / graham cracker.

Players then completely eat their S’mores (have some leaders available at the tables to make sure the S’mores are completely swallowed).

The next preteen will then run down and do the same.

Continue the same process for all players.

Since the game involves eating something, you will probably have some students who don’t want to play.

Designate those players as the toilet paper throwers.

Their job is to stand 10-15 feet away from the players who are racing to and from the tables and throw rolls of toilet paper at the (no head shots).

If hit, the player has to run back to their destination (either the line or table).

The team that has everyone finish first wins.

Optional – award the winning team with a fun prize (ex: pack of Skittles, Twizzlers, etc.)

After the game, discuss these questions:

What was fun about the game?

What was difficult? What was easy?

Do you like S’mores? Why or why not?

After the game, say:

In the game, the stronger the bottom S’more piece was, the quicker you were able to make and eat the S’more.

Sort of like when building a house, it is important to build the right foundation.

The definition of foundation is “the lowest load-bearing part of a building”.

Basically, it is the bottom of a building that holds all the weight and makes it strong.

If the foundation of a house is bad, then the rest of the house is in big trouble.

Since it is the beginning of 2015, I challenge you to focus on building your life on a strong foundation this year.

Now is the time for change!

When it comes to your relationship with Jesus, if you don’t have a good foundation things will be harder.

In fact Jesus tell us how important it is to build a good foundation is in Matthew 7: 24-27.

Have preteens look up verse and have a volunteer stand up and read it out loud.

Read Matthew 7:24-27.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Say: The rock foundation Jesus is talking about is God and the truths He had been telling everyone about.

The sand foundation Jesus was talking about was what the religious leaders had been teaching at the time, which was more about following laws, rules and rituals.

One of the most important things we can do to build a foundation is believe what he says is true and put it into action.

When do this, the second sentence of the verse tells us what will happen.

Re-read Matthew 7:25.

“Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”

Say: When hard times come, bad things happen, we feel like our lives are about to fall apart.

However, when we put into action God’s truths, we’ll be okay.

Bad stuff will happen in our lives, but we will stay strong because God will be holding us up.

He will help us through the bad stuff.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What does it mean to build a strong foundation in God?

What are some things that you worry about?

How do you handle these things?

How can you build a better foundation in God in 2015?

What is one thing this week you can work on personally to strengthen your foundation with God?

Have preteens get into groups of two and pray for each other.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON