Monday, May 11, 2009

activities for John 15: vines and other tangled thoughts 2

After you've done the sensory when kids are young, here are some thinking activities for older kids...

-do you know what role grapes and wine played in Biblical culture?

How 'bout verse 12. Who is the human person who has loved you best? Pick one thing they did or said that made you feel loved and do it for someone else.

Explore the difference between friend and servant.

What kinds of simple activities can you create to explore someone choosing you as opposed to you choosing them? Explore someone sending you as opposed to you sending them. What's the difference between a parent or teacher or coach choosing you and you choosing them? The point isn't to have answers but to explore answers. The point is to explore the imagery of the text.

Explore hate. Did anyone ever hate you because you did something good or because you did the right thing? Did you ever have someone treat you badly because they didn't like your friend or your brother or your cousin or your parent? Did you ever hate someone because you hated their friend or relative? Did anyone ever dislike you "for no reason"?

How about verse 22. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin." Does this mean my actions aren't wrong until someone says so? Or it's not wrong until God says it's wrong? And how do you feel when someone comes along and tells you you're doing it all wrong? Is that what this passage is about or is there more here?

Here's another picture from that chapter: Here's the spirit of God - most trustworthy of all your buddies saying, "Dad and I want you to know that this Jesus guy isn't lying to you. This Jesus guy is ok. Listen to Him. He's telling you the truth..." Jesus said this but He also said that the people who spent time with Him would be able to say this too.

Is there a tie-in between vines and all the other things Jesus was talking about here? That's not a question for kids. That's a question for you!

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