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I am often asked to suggest merry entertainments for modern children at “parties”, so here is a few suggestions from my childhood based upon ever-popular Biblical themes. All provide education and entertainment but all are better if some preparation goes into them.
1. The Bears and the Children. - 2Ki:2:23-25
This game can be played indoors or out, but is best played outside. The children are divided into the smaller ones and the larger ones. Make sure that are more younger ones. You should dress as Elisha – you’ll need a “bald wig”.
The idea of the game is that you will tell the younger ones that they should follow you and there is a prize for the boy or girl who shouts the loudest insult. At the same time, the older children are dressed in bear costumes; told that they must hide and that as you pass they should leap out and terrify the young ones. You should tell them that there is a prize for the “bear” who is the most savage and can, by any means, catch a child and cause him or her to scream the loudest.
The better the disguises and the more “surprise” the “attack” the more fun is created.
2. Find John the Baptist’s Head - Mark:6:25
This is best in a darkened room. The children are brought in one by one. You are dressed as a Biblical King Herod The Great and sit on the largest chair you have. The chair should be draped in something to make it look like a throne. You should have, on the table, 3 of those large stainless steel food domes on silver plates. The first child is pushed into the room with the instruction to “Approach the King”. As he gets to a a certain point, you say “You have asked for a present, and I, King Herod, have granted you your wish – remove the cover from one of the presents… But let God guide you in which you choose!”
The child will then take a lid off their “present”. Beneath two of the covers are sheep’s heads (which you can obtain from any reasonable butcher) and under the third is a friend whose head pokes through the table.
If the child chooses a sheep’s head, then use your smart phone’s Bluetooth to play the recording of “My soul was damned I am a goat destined for Hell – help me!” For the full effect, ensure that the recording are loud and dramatic – you can add sound effects as appropriate, e.g. the sound of tortured souls
If the child chooses John The Baptist’s head, then the friend calls out as if from the grave, “You are a Child of Christ – Heaven awaits after Death.”
Also ensure that an adult is on the other side of the door and will open it as soon as the child sees the wonder of the Bible and does not run into the door in panic.
3 Nail the head. Jug:4:21 tells the wonderful story of the death of Sisera, the captain of the king of Canaan’s troops who was killed by Jael, who drove a nail through his head so hard that it fixed his head to the ground.
A largish tent is erected in a darkened room or at night. In the tent there is placed a dummy which is then covered. Each child is told that he has a special mission from God. He is to creep into the tent armed with a hammer and a long nail and kill Sisera without waking him.
The amusing part is that the child will accomplish this easily but, you will be hidden in the darkness, disguised as a sort of Zombie Sisera, inside the entrance to the tent, as the child does this. When the child tries to make his escape, you, with one of those “fake-nail-though-the-head” set ups and a lot of fake blood will howl, wail, and scream “Why!”
I am told that their faces are a delight to behold.
4. Abraham’s Sacrifice. Gen:22:9 (for the boys) or Jephthah’s daughter -Judges 11:30-1, 34-5 (for the girls)
Both are similar. The idea is to select the most nervous from among the boys or girls. You will tell them that a pastor is coming to show them some wonders while the others are studying the Bible. In fact the others are all “in on the act” and will be hiding and watching. The Pastor will arrive, again disguised as a prophet, and take the child away to a place in the garden where an “altar”, complete with brushwood, has been built. The Pastor will explain that the child is to “help with the barbecue and can light it.”
Suddenly, the Pastor will pretend that he is hearing God’s voice and with a sort of blankly obedient expression and calling out typical he will take the child, bind it and draw a large knife, and carry the child to the altar as if to sacrifice.
Please ensure that there is a couple of adults to prevent the other children from laughing too loudly or crying out.
At the last minute, as the “mad Pastor” plunges the knife down. He will suddenly stop. (Ensure that the Pastor is quite normal before choosing him – we don’t want a repeat of the 1954 episode.)
The child is released and is indeed not only allowed to start the fire, but also to slit the throat of the nearby goat with the Pastor’s big knife. The goat can be gutted and butchered in the Biblical style and then barbecued.
5. Turning the Other Cheek - Lu:6:27-29 I see this as a sort of Godly version of the godless “Milgrim” experiment but seen from the point of view of God and the “victim” - this gives an insight into suffering and how to obey. The idea is quite simple:
Some of the larger children are told that God wants them to play the part of robbers, cheats, and liars (it can be a little disturbing how readily some take to this) and during the course of the day will band together and threaten and rob the others one by one while they are alone. The “robber gang” should be responsible and record faithfully how much money, and how many belongings and articles of clothing they have been able to remove from the “Christian” without too much difficulty. The winner will be the child who has lost most but complained least. “Active cooperation should be rewarded.
6. Egyptians, Jews, and Slaves. In Exodus 5 Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Jews go. Pharaoh not only refuses but punishes the Israelites by telling his overseers, "Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves", but still requiring the same daily output of bricks as before.
This is a simple game and the foundation of the godless “….. experiment”: Half the children are Egyptian soldiers and half are Jewish slaves. You secretly tell the guards that they must make the slaves perform some impossible tasks (large quantities of mud are always popular) and if the guards fail to do this, they will change places with the slaves. You then secretly tell the slaves that they must complain about everything – not to you but to the guards and each other.
The main entertainment here is watching how the two parties interact. Guards tend to band together and treat the slaves like animals and the slaves tend to be resentful and dishonest and betray their comrades.
The game does not end here – the righteousness of owning slaves - i.e. doing it properly - is then demonstrated when the slave owners are Jews: One child plays the Jew and chases the others until he catches each one. He may then (symbolically) nail his slave's ear to a door (Ex:21:6).
All games are instructive and there are deep lessons here that point towards obeying God. I must say they left their mark on my mind and I am a better person for that.
1. The Bears and the Children. - 2Ki:2:23-25
This game can be played indoors or out, but is best played outside. The children are divided into the smaller ones and the larger ones. Make sure that are more younger ones. You should dress as Elisha – you’ll need a “bald wig”.
The idea of the game is that you will tell the younger ones that they should follow you and there is a prize for the boy or girl who shouts the loudest insult. At the same time, the older children are dressed in bear costumes; told that they must hide and that as you pass they should leap out and terrify the young ones. You should tell them that there is a prize for the “bear” who is the most savage and can, by any means, catch a child and cause him or her to scream the loudest.
The better the disguises and the more “surprise” the “attack” the more fun is created.
2. Find John the Baptist’s Head - Mark:6:25
This is best in a darkened room. The children are brought in one by one. You are dressed as a Biblical King Herod The Great and sit on the largest chair you have. The chair should be draped in something to make it look like a throne. You should have, on the table, 3 of those large stainless steel food domes on silver plates. The first child is pushed into the room with the instruction to “Approach the King”. As he gets to a a certain point, you say “You have asked for a present, and I, King Herod, have granted you your wish – remove the cover from one of the presents… But let God guide you in which you choose!”
The child will then take a lid off their “present”. Beneath two of the covers are sheep’s heads (which you can obtain from any reasonable butcher) and under the third is a friend whose head pokes through the table.
If the child chooses a sheep’s head, then use your smart phone’s Bluetooth to play the recording of “My soul was damned I am a goat destined for Hell – help me!” For the full effect, ensure that the recording are loud and dramatic – you can add sound effects as appropriate, e.g. the sound of tortured souls
If the child chooses John The Baptist’s head, then the friend calls out as if from the grave, “You are a Child of Christ – Heaven awaits after Death.”
Also ensure that an adult is on the other side of the door and will open it as soon as the child sees the wonder of the Bible and does not run into the door in panic.
3 Nail the head. Jug:4:21 tells the wonderful story of the death of Sisera, the captain of the king of Canaan’s troops who was killed by Jael, who drove a nail through his head so hard that it fixed his head to the ground.
A largish tent is erected in a darkened room or at night. In the tent there is placed a dummy which is then covered. Each child is told that he has a special mission from God. He is to creep into the tent armed with a hammer and a long nail and kill Sisera without waking him.
The amusing part is that the child will accomplish this easily but, you will be hidden in the darkness, disguised as a sort of Zombie Sisera, inside the entrance to the tent, as the child does this. When the child tries to make his escape, you, with one of those “fake-nail-though-the-head” set ups and a lot of fake blood will howl, wail, and scream “Why!”
I am told that their faces are a delight to behold.
4. Abraham’s Sacrifice. Gen:22:9 (for the boys) or Jephthah’s daughter -Judges 11:30-1, 34-5 (for the girls)
Both are similar. The idea is to select the most nervous from among the boys or girls. You will tell them that a pastor is coming to show them some wonders while the others are studying the Bible. In fact the others are all “in on the act” and will be hiding and watching. The Pastor will arrive, again disguised as a prophet, and take the child away to a place in the garden where an “altar”, complete with brushwood, has been built. The Pastor will explain that the child is to “help with the barbecue and can light it.”
Suddenly, the Pastor will pretend that he is hearing God’s voice and with a sort of blankly obedient expression and calling out typical he will take the child, bind it and draw a large knife, and carry the child to the altar as if to sacrifice.
Please ensure that there is a couple of adults to prevent the other children from laughing too loudly or crying out.
At the last minute, as the “mad Pastor” plunges the knife down. He will suddenly stop. (Ensure that the Pastor is quite normal before choosing him – we don’t want a repeat of the 1954 episode.)
The child is released and is indeed not only allowed to start the fire, but also to slit the throat of the nearby goat with the Pastor’s big knife. The goat can be gutted and butchered in the Biblical style and then barbecued.
5. Turning the Other Cheek - Lu:6:27-29 I see this as a sort of Godly version of the godless “Milgrim” experiment but seen from the point of view of God and the “victim” - this gives an insight into suffering and how to obey. The idea is quite simple:
Some of the larger children are told that God wants them to play the part of robbers, cheats, and liars (it can be a little disturbing how readily some take to this) and during the course of the day will band together and threaten and rob the others one by one while they are alone. The “robber gang” should be responsible and record faithfully how much money, and how many belongings and articles of clothing they have been able to remove from the “Christian” without too much difficulty. The winner will be the child who has lost most but complained least. “Active cooperation should be rewarded.
6. Egyptians, Jews, and Slaves. In Exodus 5 Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Jews go. Pharaoh not only refuses but punishes the Israelites by telling his overseers, "Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves", but still requiring the same daily output of bricks as before.
This is a simple game and the foundation of the godless “….. experiment”: Half the children are Egyptian soldiers and half are Jewish slaves. You secretly tell the guards that they must make the slaves perform some impossible tasks (large quantities of mud are always popular) and if the guards fail to do this, they will change places with the slaves. You then secretly tell the slaves that they must complain about everything – not to you but to the guards and each other.
The main entertainment here is watching how the two parties interact. Guards tend to band together and treat the slaves like animals and the slaves tend to be resentful and dishonest and betray their comrades.
The game does not end here – the righteousness of owning slaves - i.e. doing it properly - is then demonstrated when the slave owners are Jews: One child plays the Jew and chases the others until he catches each one. He may then (symbolically) nail his slave's ear to a door (Ex:21:6).
All games are instructive and there are deep lessons here that point towards obeying God. I must say they left their mark on my mind and I am a better person for that.
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