Extreme Bible Drills

3 New Twists of an Old Competition
Author: Stephen Benefield

Using games is a great way to help information stick with your students. That’s probably why so many Sunday school teachers, youth pastors, and other people who work with kids and teens use Bible drills. In addition to helping people to become more adept at finding passages in their Bibles, they can also generate some excitement in a particular class or gathering. Here in Cambodia, we use a variety of games and activities with all ages (even the adults) to keep people involved, learning, and smiling.

But one of the problems with games is that if they are overused, people will lose interest. If you have quit using Bible drills because they seem too old and stale, here are three fresh versions which may liven up your next class, youth meeting, or even family devotions.

1. Grab-the-Object Bible Drills
The basic idea: The first person to find the verse, identify the object in the verse, and grab the object from a table in front of the room wins the round.

The details: Find verses which have easily obtained objects in them. (For example: a cross, a stuffed animal sheep, a key, a candle, a Bible, bread, etc.) When you call out the verse to the class, instead of standing and reading the verse, they have to look for what object is mentioned in the verse, and then run up to the front of the class and grab the right object. The first person to grab the correct object wins that round and obtains a point for their team. In order to keep the students guessing, put many items out on the table which are not found in any of the verses.

2. Elimination Bible Drills
The basic idea: When a player wins a round, they get to eliminate a player of their choice from the other team, until one team is out of players.

The details: This version of Bible drills needs an equal number of players on each team. If your have a large class, it is best to only play with a few selected players so the game doesn’t go too long. We always have people who are new and don’t really want to play, but they enjoy cheering on their side or their team.

Ask each side for volunteers to represent their team. We usually use 4 players per team, and it takes about 5 minutes to play. If you have the space, it is fun to have the players from each team sit in the front and face the audience. If you don’t have the room for that, just leave them in their seats. Proceed to call out the Bible drills in the traditional way, but each time a player wins a verse, they get to select a player of the opposite team to eliminate from the game. This goes on until one team has lost all of their players.

Beating Post High School Challenges

Beating Post HS Challenges
By Cary Schmidt (published by permission)

Have you ever seen a train wreck? There’s not a much more vivid metaphor than the unbridled collision of several tons of moving metal resulting in twisted steel, broken glass and an industrial disaster of gargantuan proportions. Too often we see high school graduates celebrate their graduation night and start down the tracks of adulthood only to wreck their lives just a few miles from the train station!

This is the time of year we see our graduates “commence”—begin their adult lives, their post-high school years; so I thought it would be appropriate to consider the top three challenges facing every graduate. It could be stated that these are the first big and immediate tests that confront a young adult immediately after high school. If they pass these tests, they avoid the bad decisions that can lead to a spiritual train wreck. Perhaps these thoughts will be helpful to you as you prepare graduates for adulthood!

1. The Challenge of a Job—Exodus 20:9-10 says, “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God.” God created us to work and expects us to lead productive lives. (Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”) And every young adult is excited about having that first job! Mine was making Big Macs at McDonalds. What a joy. And yet, so many young people allow their job to become their first spiritual downfall—often within a few weeks of high school graduation. How?

They Work at the Wrong Place—even in a tough economy, starter jobs are pretty easy to find—especially for hard working, honest, and clean-cut young people. It’s amazing how many Christians will take jobs at places that a Christian has no business working. No amount of money is worth corrupting your heart and mind, so teach young adults to be selective about work environments. It is possible to work in the world without “eating the king’s meat.” For every Christian, there ought to be some places we just wouldn’t work, no matter what.

They Work at the Wrong Time—the first test of a new job is Sunday work. How is it that we can toss God and His church aside for $7.50 an hour? One of the greatest reasons young people fall away from God after high school is that they stop attending church because of work! But for those who honor God’s commands and protect Sunday, God always provides for their needs in a better way. I’ve watched it hundreds of times over the years—God always takes care of those who protect His day and who stay deliberately and faithfully involved in their local church.

They Work for the Wrong Purpose—some young people view their new job as nothing more than a way to meet new friends and buy clothes or iPods, while others see it as a temporary means to a more important end and a way to be a witness for Christ. Those with a higher purpose—pursuing the will of God—always keep their job in check and view it as an opportunity to facilitate God’s will in other areas.

2. The big challenge is that of friends. Daniel chapter 1 is one of the greatest lessons on friendship in the entire Bible. Because one man took at stand, three others stood with him—regardless of the rest of the crowd. And in the end, all four of them ended up 10 times better than everyone else in the realm! What a huge lesson on carefully choosing friends and being willing to walk away from the wrong crowd.

After graduation—those who choose the wrong crowd basically choose the wrong life! It’s that simple.

Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Nothing changes more rapidly after high school than friendships! A new job, less time with youth group friends, and college brings a whole new world of associations into the life of a young adult. This is a wonderful opportunity that brings with it some danger for those unprepared. Essentially, every graduate needs to understand how to draw a careful line between friends and acquaintances—defined as follows:

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

By Pastor Dave Peterman

We need to let the reality of what is read hear to sink in. Joshua represented the generation of people that were led out of the land of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. This was the generation that witnessed the plaques upon Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. The Generation of the elders that outlived Joshua, these were the children of them that died in the wilderness, these are the ones that crossed the Jordan into the Canaan land THESE WERE THE MEN OF WAR! God gave them that land! Who was this generation that knew not the LORD neither the works of the LORD?

Judges 2:6-12 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

Note: who it was that saw the walls of Jericho fall, saw the inhabitants of AI defeated, stood on the necks of their enemies… The generation of the elders were men of war, and they warred well! But what about the “other generation”? They were too young to be present at the battle and had to stay at Gilgal!

Joshua 4:13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

Joshua 8:1 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:

Joshua 10:7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.

Joshua 10:24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

Joshua 11:7 So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.

They were mighty men of valour but were not men of vision for the generation to come!

I. The Tragedy of a lost Generation

Some Observations:

I do not aspire to be a great leader in “fundamentalism”, nor should I! I believe the greatest thing I can ever aspire to be a good PASTOR! I thank God tonight, that He has called me, and enabled me to be YOUR PASTOR! As pastor, I can’t help but to take notice of some tragic things, not in fundamentalism, not in Christianity as a whole, but IN THIS CHURCH. Those are the tragedies of losing and weakening of a generation of young people! We have lost many, and some that remain are weak. We must ask ourselves WHY?! If we do not come to grips with what has happened, we are doomed to repeat it is subsequent generations! It is not enough for us to WAR WELL, but we must also WALK WELL and WIN THE HEARTS OF THE NEXT GENERATION!

10 Things Teens Won’t Tell You

10 Things Teens Won’t Tell You
By Cary Schmidt (published by permission)

Have you noticed that teens are tight lipped? For a myriad of reasons—usually intimidation being the biggest—they really find it difficult to talk to adults at times. This is especially true with parents. In every home, there is a spiritual battle against authentic communication. Let’s face it—the devil doesn’t want parents and teens to truly open their hearts to each other.

But strong families resist this battle and conquer it. On the other side of the mountain of silence is a fertile meadow of healthy hearts. It’s a deliberate journey to get there, but it’s worth the effort. There isn’t a much sweeter experience in life than open, honest, heart-full communication between a parent and teen. When you have it, you gain a deep, satisfactory sense that this is what God intended in a family.

Malachi 4:6 teaches, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…” In an effort to turn your heart toward your children, I wanted to share the results of a simple survey I did with our students several years ago. These statements and quotes came from faithful Christian adults who grew up in godly homes and in our youth group. The quotes below is what they shared about why they stayed faithful God. This list is what your teens think, whether they tell you or not; and it’s a great place to start a conversation:

1. I know whether you are faking it or not. (Contradiction is extremely confusing.) Amazingly, teens can see straight through us. They know our hearts, they constantly evaluate our motives, our spirit, and our life. If it’s consistent, then they accept our faith as real. If not, then they struggle with the conflict and often reject our faith outright.

Quote: “The teens are encouraged to read their Bibles and I am sure some of them have never seen their parents even pray outside of church.”

Quote: “I don’t think my parents ever contradicted themselves. They live honest lives, which makes it easy to trust them.”

Quote: “Honestly, I can’t remember my parents ever faking it. They were very open and honest with me.”

2. I need to talk openly with you about our faith. (Make sense of my faith.) Teens have questions. That doesn’t automatically make them rebels. They simply need to make a legitimate connection between God’s principles and real life. Many parents see this as the church’s responsibility. And, in part, it is. But every parent must help their teens see the common sense behind God’s eternal truth.

Quote: “My parents were great at this – especially my dad. He would always be bringing up different spiritual issues and explaining to me why we believed it. Sometimes he would bring up different arguments that unsaved people give about some of the things we believe, and he would explain to us why these arguments were wrong.”

Quote: “I never had to bring up a conversation about God or what we believed. My parents were always using every chance they got to expound on why we believe what we believe- there’s a spiritual moral to everything in life.”

Quote: “I grew up in a great church with great Bible preaching (that left few holes to be filled). I didn’t go to my parents often with questions about our faith, but when I did, I receive a Bible answer.”

Becoming an Insightful Parent

Becoming an Insightful Parent
By Cary Schmidt (published by permission)
Becoming an Insightful ParentDiscerning Your Child’s Needs and Responding Biblically

Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Do you understand your children? Do you know how to interpret their behavior? Do you understand warning signs and know how to respond? Do you connect their outward behavior with the condition of their heart?

 In Hebrews 5:12-13 we read a challenge to believers to be skillful in the Word and discerning, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

The word discerning speaks of judicial estimation—the wisdom and ability to see what’s really doing on in a circumstance. This ability is something we should all desire in every area of life, but especially with nurturing of our own children. Frankly, the primary thing many parents care about is if their kids are “staying out of trouble.” But discerning parents desire to get beneath the surface and to understand what’s going on in they heart. Why?

The heart is where Biblical values are formed—only when we understand their heart can we understand where they stand with God, and if their faith is authentic or merely an outward, temporary show.

The heart is where questions are contemplated—every child has questions, and Satan is good at exploiting these questions and providing false answers. Parents who get into the heart, unearth those questions so they can provide biblical answers.

The heart is where real relationships are cultivated—like the root system of a tree or healthy plant, it’s beneath the surface, face to face, eye to eye, and heart to heart, that a strong relationship and authentic closeness is built.

The heart is where spiritual battle is fought—the Devil is going after our kids hearts. He wants their emotions, their beliefs, and their attitudes. If we’re going to with the spiritual battle, it must be fought for the heart.

A discerning parent is constantly on a sacred pursuit of their child’s heart. Let’s examine ten keys to developing a discerning spirit with our children:

1. Understand God’s Word - the primary way that any of us grow in discernment is the Word of God. The principles of God’s Word provide a foundation of understanding. If you will become a discerning parent, you must become a student of God’s Word and of good parenting books that expound God’s Word.

2. Ask for God’s Wisdom - This is one of God’s great promises to us in James 1—that He will give wisdom to anyone who will ask in faith. Wisdom is the ability to see the real needs and know how to respond. It is the ability to see your child as God sees and to respond as He would have you to respond. Wisdom will help you know when they need to be sent to their room, taken out to lunch, or put to bed.

3. Pray with and for Your Children - nothing will help you understand where the heart is like prayer with someone. Make it a priority to pray with them each night before bed. Sense their heart toward you, toward the Lord, and toward the challenges of life through their response—physically, in prayer. So few parents actually do this, but it’s so powerful and so simple! This brief time of prayer will accomplish spiritually what weeks and weeks of human effort could never accomplish.

Four Weeks of Children's Church - ebook Giveaway

I am hosting a giveaway on my blog for two ebooks, Four Weeks of Children's Church. These books are written by a Fundamental Baptist and are an excellent resource for those serving in children's ministries. Please stop by my blog to check it out.

~Julia @ Teaching for Eternity

Learn From the Children

Kids Are Quick
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TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
(I Love this kid)
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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
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TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
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TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
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TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
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TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

Train Them Up Tuesday~Let Us Pray!

As I am sitting here thinking about children in general and how precious they are, I do not know what to write except my own thoughts. I think of Jesus when He said: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ----- How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings and ye would not!" Luke 13:34 No doubt Jesus heart was broken as He wept over His children that had no part of Him. I can see Him looking out over the city and seeing His children and knowing that they did not want what He had to offer.

So often, as children grow older and start making choices, we always take for granted that they will make the right choices in life. When they make the wrong choice we can see where it will lead and we cry out to God.

One wrong choice and downward they go until they don't want anything to do with the church or the principles that were instilled in them. They cast it all aside just for a time of pleasure. They drop Mom and Dad and don't want anything to do with them. Our hearts cry out, "Oh, child of mine, if only you knew how much you are loved, if only I could wrap my arms around you and you could see where you are headed."

Seems their life is one big party! If they could only see that nothing the world has to offer will satisfy~ but they keep seeking and getting farther away. That party leads to a life of alcohol and drugs. They find themselves involved in things that they never thought they would get into. Parent's hearts are broken but it doesn't seem to bother them one bit. They start finding other people to blame for their life of sin, not taking any responsibility for their actions. It seems we live in a world of the blame game. Always the other person wrong, never them. But someday that party will be over. All friends gone and they will be left alone with just them and God.

What do we do as they go further and further out? Do we have a responsibility to them? Yes, we have done what we could and now all we can do is pray that the Lord will put His Great Big Arms around them and do what He has to do to get their attention. What if it reflects on us as parents? Just keep praying and be willing to be a stepping stone for them to lead them back to God if that's what it takes.

Have you ever heard preachers say from the pulpit that if parents do their part that child will follow what he or she was taught? A number of years back a preacher that we love dearly made that remark. But it wasn't too long down the road that he got up weeping and said he was wrong. You see, it is different now. His child is the prodigal! I really appreciated him being so humble about it. But he knew from that day on what parents go through sometimes and that what happened was not his fault. He could sympathize!

Sometimes the Lord permits thing to come in our life so we can really know and feel what others feel. We can sympathize because we have been there.

I guess I am just rambling now, but what I am trying to say is not coming out right. We do have a prodigal. Our heart aches and longs to take that child and love and protect and take all the hurts and pains for them. But they made the wrong choices in life, not us. I know that all we can to is pray and depend upon the Lord to do what we cannot do.

Do you have a prodigal? Let's agree together to pray for each other and that love one that has lost his/her way. I know we serve a God that is able. He ached over his children! He wanted to get them under His wings! He even died on the cross for His lost children. But that is not the greatest part! He arose from that grave and is in heaven right now making intercession for each of His lost children. That gives me hope.

Kindly provided by Aliene here.