OPTION 1: WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Divide into two groups. If you have two people, each person will constitute one group. If you have only one person, the leader is the second person/group. If you happen to have a large group with more than 20 people, limit yourself to two groups.
Form two lines, with one person standing behind another. The person at the head of each line faces the person at the head of the other line.
One of the two at the front asks a question of the person they are facing. That person, instead of answering the question, asks a different question. For example, if the first person asks, “What day is today?” the second person can’t answer with, “Sabbath.” Instead, a response with a different question could be, “Why didn’t you tie your shoes?”
The two people at the head of both lines go back and forth until one doesn’t ask a question or simply pauses or cracks. To make it more challenging, questions cannot be repeated.
When a person messes up, they go to the back of their line and the next person takes on the winner at the head of the other line.
If a person wins three times in a row, that person respectfully goes to the back of their own line and play resumes with the next two people.
OPTION 2: NATURALLY PRESERVED
What is the shelf-life for different kinds of candy? Did you know that hard candies like lollipops and butterscotch candies last for a year at room temperature? Candy corn lasts about nine months when sealed and 3-6 months after the package has been opened. Milk chocolate and white chocolate lasts 8-10 months. Dark chocolate lasts 1-2 years if wrapped in foil and stored in a cool, dark, dry place. For more on the shelf-life of candy, go to https://www.bestfoodfacts.org/halloween-candy-shelflife/
This week’s lesson includes the deception by the Gibeonites who presented moldy bread they claimed was fresh out of the oven when they left from the far country. Test fresh/preserved food options for Youth Sabbath School today. Offer an assortment for your participants to choose from. Keep in mind that candy has often been produced weeks or months before it appears on shelves in stores.
If you want to offer something other than or in addition to candy, here are some other options:
- Freshly baked bread
- Homemade bread left in the open for one week
- Preserved bread purchased a week ago
- A donut purchased on Friday
- A donut purchased a week ago
Give the youth an opportunity to choose one item. If they choose candy or fresh food, they can eat it—but make sure the youth don’t eat any food that is spoiled or was not properly stored. Note which items they choose.
TRANSITION
As we consider this week’s lesson, you might recall this statement often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” Joshua and the leaders of Israel were fooled by the Gibeonites. They made a treaty without consulting God. And the consequences were far-reaching for many. What shall we do about those types of situations today?
