Opening Activity
An icebreaker or something to get people focused as you begin.
OPTION 1: TARGET PRACTICE
Draw a simple target and give participants three shots at hitting the bullseye. Pretend that the participant is getting a ready-made family based on the characteristics they hit. Create a target (two options are available here, or create your own). This can be a dart board with darts, a Velcro target with balls that stick, or some other simple game device.
OPTION 2: PERSONAL COAT OF ARMS
This takes more time, is more involved, and can be quite personal. You will need a page with a blank coat of arms and colored pencils or markers to create some art on the sheet. Provide a blank coat of arms for each person. (This was also used as part of the February 23 materials for lesson option 3.) In medieval Europe, a knight would have a coat of arms on his shield. This would show his accomplishments and came to represent his identity. Those in the knight’s family would use this coat of arms to represent their family identity.
Download Personal Coat of Arms PDF
If you were to create a coat of arms for your family, what would you put on it? What would make a good symbol of your family—some type of animal, or a building, or a talent, or something else?
The blank coat of arms provided has four sections. Use each section to draw something to represent your family. Give each person in Youth Sabbath School a blank coat of arms and write in the description so participants can refer to it after you given them the following four examples. Feel free to substitute your own choices in place of these four. In the upper left, draw an animal that illustrates how you generally relate to one another within your family. In the upper right, draw a sport that you would all agree to play. In the lower left, create the picture of God you’ve learned in your family. In the lower right, draw the kind of food that is preferred at family gatherings.
You can choose to have people share one-to-one or in small groups, or you may prefer to keep something this personal a private matter unless participants choose to share later in Sabbath School.
TRANSITION: As we consider "Family Fiascos" today, don’t try to compete with the strange families and family situations in the Bible. Instead, realize that you’re not the only person who may have experienced family issues of one type of another. Some wonder why these stories of dysfunctional people are in the Bible. Perhaps we can relate to them, and trust in God who is bigger than our family and still very interested in it.
