For a free pdf download of this resource click here
PREPARATION
Find a way to show video clips, gather Bibles, pens, paper, balls, prizes and wooden clothes pegs.
THE WAITING GAME
5 mins
Either get everyone into pairs or if your group is very large, invite a few nominated pairs to play. Ask one to stand in front of the other. The person at the back has a collection of balls. The pairs have 30 seconds to throw one ball at a time over the head of the person in front who needs to wait, anticipate and catch the ball. The pairs should be silent with no giving away when the ball has been thrown. The pair that catches the most wins the game. The game connects with the passage in helping think through waiting expectantly and with anticipation.
THE PARABLE VIDEO
5 mins
Use the video at this point in the session as a way of introducing the parable and creating an opportunity for discussion and conversation around it. The video is available at premieryouthwork.com/parablevideos
READ
10 mins
Read the passage from Luke 12: 35–48. Focusing on verses 35-40, create small groups and, using different coloured paper / post-it notes, invite them to write on green paper anything that surprised them and on blue paper to write anything that they think applies to their lives. Give space for feedback and sharing ideas.
DRESSED TO SERVE
15 mins
Say: Jesus calls people to wait for his return but was clear that this wasn’t an invitation to spend the rest of their lives twiddling their thumbs – he was calling activists. Jesus also has some exciting and revolutionary things to say about how he will return. The King of kings has baffled people by choosing a life of service instead of marching on a white horse and leading a battle. He shares with the disciples that even when he comes again, there will be no white horse, He will come ‘dressed to serve’. What an extraordinary and revolutionary king we serve! This has exciting meaning for our lives as we seek to be like him, and desire to become more Christ-like.
Divide clothes pegs equally among the group with at least three each. Invite people to write ideas on their pegs for how they could live in a way that serves others. Help your group to think about their immediate connections and also their global connections. This might include: not joining in with gossip, buying a gift for a friend, praying for the world, opening the door for others, buying Fairtrade or recycling your rubbish. Share the ideas around the group.
MUCH IS REQUIRED
10 mins
Read Luke 12:48b : ‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.’ This activity can be done individually or in small groups, according to your preference for the participants. With a piece of paper and pen, invite people to write down all the things they think God has ‘given’ and ‘entrusted’ to them. Help the group think about their strengths, gifts and material possessions (challenge them to write down everything they have in their bedroom!). This should be an impossible challenge as we have been given so very much! Invite some people to share their list with the group.
Say: When we look at these lists they are far from complete, we have been given in abundance. There is very little essential human requirement that we cannot access. We get clean water from our taps, we have the NHS if we get sick, we have free access to education, we are not living in an area of conflict – we are blessed with ‘much’. The Bible reminds us constantly that this stuff is not ours: it is God’s and ‘much will be asked’ of those with plenty. The very fact that we live in the UK puts us in the richest top ten per of people in the world; much will be asked.
CONTRAST
10 mins
Watch the two minute video of Nang, a 12 year-old girl in Laos from the Links section and then say: this is a girl not too far away from you in age but very far away from you in terms of lifestyle. What do you think Jesus would ask of us, who have plenty, as we dress for service of the world? We are compelled by this passage to find out what Jesus ‘requires’ and ‘asks’ of us. An answer can be found in Micah 6:8 - act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.
Give everyone another peg and ask them to write something they think they could do in service of girls like Nang. Ideas could include setting an alarm to pray for her, doing a fundraiser, signing anti-trafficking petitions and ensuring that what we buy is slave-free.
PEG OFF
15 mins
Find a large space and spread everyone at least an arm’s width apart from another person. Ask people to attach their pegs to the sleeves of their clothing. The aim of the game is to steal as many pegs as you can and be the person with most pegs on their sleeves, but of course while you are stealing a peg from someone, someone else is stealing yours. The winner is the person with most pegs at the end.
Ask people to pick one of their pegs that feels exciting or challenging. If anyone was left without a peg in the game, ask them to go and choose one off a generous friend. Pop all other pegs out of the way for now (you might want to come back to them next week and challenge them to another action). These pegs are commitments to serving others this week in whatever way they have chosen. Invite the group to stand in a circle, turn to the right and pray for the person in front – either silently or out loud.
