Theme: Father s Day Title: Dads Say The Funniest Things Target Group: Mainly Church Background Age: 11-14 Aims: To think about the things dads say and what motivates them to say it. To recognise that God is motivated by love when he gives us rules, but he doesn t give up on us when we break them. Equipment: Print-outs: Bible Base: A4 sheets of card for Print-out; whiteboard or flipchart, coloured pens for whiteboard/flipchart Print-out 1: Famous Dads Print-out 2: And God Said... Exodus 20: 3 17; various other references Note to leaders: Throughout this session please be aware of, and sensitive to, those for whom this is a very sensitive issue. Some in your group may not know their fathers, some may not live with them, and some may have lost their fathers. Famous Dads (7 mins) Cut out the rectangles on Print-out 1 (Famous Dads) to produce 20 cards that can be used for a game of pairs. You might want to consider printing onto thin card, as this would facilitate the activity. The cards show the names of ten famous dads and their children. The aim of the game is to match the correct pairs father and child. Shuffle the 20 cards and lay them out face down on the table (if you have a big group you could stick them to the board). Split the group into two or three teams. Read out one of the sayings below. The first team to guess the name of the dad whose saying you ve read out is allowed to choose two cards. These are turned over, and if they match then the team gets ten points and another turn. If the cards don t show the correct father and child, then they are turned back over and another saying is read out. Play continues until all the cards have been matched. The winning team is the one with most points at the end of the game. Sayings of some famous dads: 1. D oh! Homer Simpson 2. Yabba dabba dooooo! Fred Flintstone 3. Donkey! Shrek 4. Turn to the dark side. Darth Vader Scripture Union 2008 Page 1
5. You re fired! Alan Sugar or Donald Trump 6. We will fight them on the beaches. Winston Churchill 7. You ve gotta eat ye spinach. Popeye 8. Deal or no deal? Noel Edmunds 9. Va va voom Thierry Henri 10. Lovely jubbly Del Boy or David Jason 11. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Neil Armstrong 12. Is that your final answer? Chris Tarrant 13. Crikey! Steve Urwin 14. I am the special one. Jose Mourinho The ten card pairs are: Homer and Bart Simpson; Fred and Pebbles Flintstone; Princes Charles and William; David and Brooklyn Beckham; Ian and Lucy Beale; Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker; Kirk and Michael Douglas; Shrek and the Triplets; Paul and Stella McCartney; and, Ozzie and Jack Osborne. My Dad Says That (7 mins) As a group, list some of things that it s common for a dad to say. There are some examples below if the group is having difficulty coming up with any. Write the sayings on the board (or some flip chart paper). When you can t think of any more, take two different coloured pens and highlight the sayings that are seen as nagging, and then the ones that are seen as encouragement. Some examples: It s like Blackpool illuminations in here. You did your best. I m not a taxi service you know. In my day I love you. Money doesn t grow on trees, you know. Stop crying or I ll give you something to cry about. No, we re not there yet. If you re cold, put a sweater on. What part of NO don t you understand? I m proud of you. Call that a hair cut? You re not going out looking like that! I ll give you something to do. As long as you live under my roof you ll do what I say. It doesn t matter. This room s a pigsty it looks like a bomb s hit it. As long as you tried you re hardest At your age This is going to hurt me far more than it hurts you. Do you need anything? Are you sure you don t need anything? Call that music? Would you like a hand? Because I said so, that s why. That s my girl! That s my boy! Scripture Union 2008 Page 2
Father God (10 mins) Introduce this next section by making the following points: The Bible describes God as our heavenly Father. The Bible is his words, written down for us. In just the same way as our dads warn us about certain things and tell us about their love for us, so does God, through the Bible. Some people think that the Ten Commandments are evidence of a God that nags and doesn t want us to have any fun. The Ten Commandments are written by a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be safe and get the most out of life. Read Exodus 20: 3 17 in the version given below. You must not have any other gods except me. You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands. You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly; the Lord will punish anyone who misuses his name. Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. Work and get everything done during six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest to honour the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities. The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honour your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is going to give you. You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbour. You must not want to take your neighbour s house. You must not want his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour. NCV (anglicised edition) text used with permission from Authentic Media Scripture Union 2008 Page 3
Ask the group how disobeying these laws might spoil their lives. Expect answers like: Envy might lead to burglary, as people want what others have. Unfaithfulness in marriage might lead to marriage breakdown and children being left without a mum or dad. If we lie regularly we might not be believed when we are in trouble. Remind the group that: These are God s ideals. He gave them to his people AFTER he has rescued them from slavery. Therefore, we do not get right with God by obeying them; not even if we keep all ten of them. God gave us them so that we would know how to live in relationship with him. We can t, or won t, live up to them, just like we often fail to follow instructions that we are given. However, God continues to love us and do everything he can to restore our relationship with him. The image of Jesus, God the Son, dying on the cross expresses so clearly the love that God has for us: the same God that sent his son to die for us gave us the Ten Commandments. And God Said (10 mins) Split into pairs. Give each pair a copy of Print-out 2: And God Said Each pair needs to work through the passages and decide whether they are rules (God s instructions on how to live) or rewards (God s promises to those that love him). Once they have completed this exercise, ask which shows God s love for us more the rules or the consequences? Try to have a discussion about this along the following lines: Ask why the rules were given? (So that we could get the most out of life.) Would God s love for us be complete if he didn t warn us that certain behaviour could cause us problems? If we only ever heard the negative commands that appear in the Ten Commandments, would we find it easier or harder to obey God? How do the rewards help us in living the way he intended? Both the rules and rewards show God s love and concern for us in equal measure. Both are given to show us that he cares and wants us to live life to the full (John 10:10). Without the rules, we could easily find ourselves in trouble. Without the rewards we might feel inadequate or full of guilt, constantly scared of God. Together, however, we have a perfect balance and can see God s love for us in its wholeness. Scripture Union 2008 Page 4
Thank You (3 mins) See Note to leaders at the beginning. Encourage the group to think about how they can express their gratitude to a father figure in their lives. Encourage them to write more in their Father s Day card than they might normally do. Close in prayer, thanking God for good fathers who are prepared to nag as well as encourage in their desire for the best for us. Also, thank God that he loves us even though we let him down, and that he has demonstrated this on the cross. Scripture Union 2008 Page 5
Print-out 1: Famous Dads Scripture Union 2008 Page 6
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Print-out 2: And God Said 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 5 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. Philippians 4 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11 19 love your neighbour as yourself. Matthew 19 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1 20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Colossians 3 3 Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her. 1 Timothy 5 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3 Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture Union 2008 Page 9