THEME: Olympics/Perservence
BIBLE VERSE: 2 Timothy vs. 7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
PROPS: Play/toy gold medals or Bible verse written on a gold circle and hanging from a yarn necklace.
LEADER: I just can't stop watching the Olympics. It is amazing to see how fast and strong the athletes are. What are your favorite events to watch? (Youth responses) Something I noticed when the athletes get interviewed is that they all share how it took hard work and sacrifice to get there. What kind of training do you think they do to get ready for the Olympics?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (work out, get up early for practices, eat vegetables, listen to their
coach.....)
LEADER: That's right, they exercise, eat right, and listen to their coaches who tell them what to fix and cheer them on when they do things correct. What is the reward for their hard work?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (gold medal, TV commercials....)
LEADER: When you stick it out through the challenges and hard work to get to the rward, that is called, "perseverence." The athletes perservere through all that training and hopefully get rewarded.
You know the Bible is full of stories of people who had to persevere through very difficult times and challenges. Let's learn one verse from 2 Timothy verse 7. Watch me for the motions so you can help me.
"I have fought the good fight," (make motions to show biceps, fists in air)
"I have finished the race," (raise fists in air higher and yell woohoo!)
"I have kept the faith." (bring hands down to cover the heart)
(Repeat with youth to practice the motions)
LEADER: I think we are in a race every day, a race to keep our faith strong. We have to face challenges every day like bullies, people we don't get along with, we get sick, or someone we love is hurting. We have to persevere through the challenges of our everyday lives. But there is good news! We can train our spiritual muscles just like an Olympic athlete trains. One way we can pump up our spiritual muscles is to wake up early and start reading God's word. What are some other ways we can train?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (pray, be nice to people, read the Bible, Sunday School...)
LEADER: Who are some of our coaches?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (Pastor, Sunday School teachers, people at church, parents...
LEADER: We don't win a gold medal for keeping our faith. What prize are we promised if we finish the race of life and keep our faith?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (eternal life in heaven, yoy, happiness, peace....)
LEADER: That's right. When we persevere, fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith, we receive eternal rewards and joy that can't be taken away from us. What a gift! So I have some gold medals to pass out to each of youwith our Bible verse so you can be reminded to pump up your spiritual muscles and keep the faith. Let's practice our verse and motions one more time and this time the congregation can help too.
(Repeat verse with motions and close in prayer)
BIBLE VERSE: 2 Timothy vs. 7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
PROPS: Play/toy gold medals or Bible verse written on a gold circle and hanging from a yarn necklace.
LEADER: I just can't stop watching the Olympics. It is amazing to see how fast and strong the athletes are. What are your favorite events to watch? (Youth responses) Something I noticed when the athletes get interviewed is that they all share how it took hard work and sacrifice to get there. What kind of training do you think they do to get ready for the Olympics?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (work out, get up early for practices, eat vegetables, listen to their
coach.....)
LEADER: That's right, they exercise, eat right, and listen to their coaches who tell them what to fix and cheer them on when they do things correct. What is the reward for their hard work?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (gold medal, TV commercials....)
LEADER: When you stick it out through the challenges and hard work to get to the rward, that is called, "perseverence." The athletes perservere through all that training and hopefully get rewarded.
You know the Bible is full of stories of people who had to persevere through very difficult times and challenges. Let's learn one verse from 2 Timothy verse 7. Watch me for the motions so you can help me.
"I have fought the good fight," (make motions to show biceps, fists in air)
"I have finished the race," (raise fists in air higher and yell woohoo!)
"I have kept the faith." (bring hands down to cover the heart)
(Repeat with youth to practice the motions)
LEADER: I think we are in a race every day, a race to keep our faith strong. We have to face challenges every day like bullies, people we don't get along with, we get sick, or someone we love is hurting. We have to persevere through the challenges of our everyday lives. But there is good news! We can train our spiritual muscles just like an Olympic athlete trains. One way we can pump up our spiritual muscles is to wake up early and start reading God's word. What are some other ways we can train?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (pray, be nice to people, read the Bible, Sunday School...)
LEADER: Who are some of our coaches?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (Pastor, Sunday School teachers, people at church, parents...
LEADER: We don't win a gold medal for keeping our faith. What prize are we promised if we finish the race of life and keep our faith?
YOUTH RESPONSES: (eternal life in heaven, yoy, happiness, peace....)
LEADER: That's right. When we persevere, fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith, we receive eternal rewards and joy that can't be taken away from us. What a gift! So I have some gold medals to pass out to each of youwith our Bible verse so you can be reminded to pump up your spiritual muscles and keep the faith. Let's practice our verse and motions one more time and this time the congregation can help too.
(Repeat verse with motions and close in prayer)