9. Want To
Form groups of four. Give one person in each group a balloon.
Say: The person with the balloon has the job of inflating, tying off, and then popping the balloon. The rest of you: Your job is to keep the person from popping the balloon. When I say “go,” start! Go!
After three minutes, have everyone sit and discuss these questions: If you were able to pop your balloon, what strategy worked for you? What strategies worked for the rest of you who kept the balloons from being popped? For those of you with the task of blowing up the balloon, how much did you want to succeed but things got in your way? Explain.
Read aloud Romans 7:14-25. Say: This is a tough passage of Scripture, but Paul is saying that he wants to do right, but he keeps doing wrong. It’s not that his “want-to” is broken; something stands in the way.
Ask: How is that like or unlike the game we just played?
Read aloud Romans 7:24-25. Say: If we had had helpers in this game, we might’ve been able to succeed. What does this verse say about the helper we have to do right in life?
Say: Let’s thank God for Jesus, who helps us do right! Close in prayer.
Gary Lindsay
Hudson, Massachusetts
