Watermelons are almost synonymous with summer - cool, refreshing, and great on a hot summer day. Watermelons can also be used for a variety of fun, and sometimes messy games, though the cost could be a bit prohibitive for some youth groups. Here are varieties of games using watermelons as well as some ideas for spiritual lessons using this popular summer treat.
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Watermelons are almost
synonymous with summer –
cool, refreshing, and great on a
hot summer day. Watermelons
can also be used for a variety of
fun, and sometimes messy
games, though the cost could be
a bit prohibitive for some youth
groups. Here are a variety of
games using watermelons as
well as some ideas for spiritual
lessons using this popular
summer treat.
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Games Using Watermelons
Greased Watermelon – Grease two
watermelons down with butter and
jelly, then divide the youth into two
teams and have them line up across
from each other. Ask players to
wear disposable gloves to make the
game more challenging. The youth
must pass the watermelon to each
other in the lineup without
dropping it. If dropped, it must
begin again at the beginning. The
team that passes the watermelon
all the way to the end of the line
first wins.
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Seed Teams – To split into team, set
aside an equal number of
watermelon seeds and pumpkin
seeds and pass them out, 1 seed
per person. Everyone with a
pumpkin seed forms team one.
Everyone with a watermelon seed
forms another team. Add more
types of seeds for more teams.
Steal the Watermelon – (like Steal
the Bacon) Grease a watermelon an
place it in the center of a tarp. Each
team lines up facing each other
while you number them off on each
team. When you call a number and
that person has to grab the
watermelon and get it back to their
side of the tarp.
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Ultimate Watermelon – This is just
like Ultimate Frisbee . . . but with a
small watermelon. Each team tries
to get to the opposite end zone.
Instead of a kick-off, just have one
team start on their side of the field.
When a player catches the
Watermelon, they can take only 3
steps. Then they must throw/toss
it. Each team works their way down
the field, passing to each other
until a team scores. If the team’s
melon hits the ground, it’s the
other teams turn.
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If one team busts the watermelon,
the other team automatically
scores. (Have extra watermelons
available or seal the watermelon in
a heavy duty plastic bag first.) The
watermelon goes to the opposite
team of the last person to touch it
before it hits the ground. Defensive
players must give any person
already holding a watermelon at
least 3 feet clearance.
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Watermelon Artists – Cut
watermelons into slices and give
each youth a slice. Slices can be
small or large, depending upon the
object you plan to carve. If you
want many objects carved, you may
want to make them all small, such
as turtles, suns or birds. Write
down the object each youth will
carve on separate slips of paper
and give each player their slip to
read silently. Instruct each youth to
begin carving, but not to reveal the
object. Non-carvers can guess what
each object is to earn prizes for
themselves and the carver.
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Watermelon Carving Contest –
Carve funny faces in the
watermelons as you would a
pumpkin and award prizes for the
funniest face, best carving, most
creative, met unusual, etc. You
might want to have some plastic
utensils rather than knives or assign
an adult to handle the knives under
the directions of the youth.
Watermelon Eating Contest – Ask
the youth from each team to hold
their hands behind their backs,
using only their mouths to eat a
large piece of watermelon. First to
do so wins points for their team.
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Watermelon Head – Youth must roll
a watermelon down a plastic tarp
with their heads. First team that has
each member complete the task
wins. To make it more fun coat it in
shaving cream or whipped cream.
Watermelon Horseshoes Contest –
For this contest you need
watermelon rind cut across the
width of the watermelon to form
rings. These rinds can be made from
wounded watermelons, injured in
earlier games. All you need are rind
rings, not the fruit. The object of the
game is to toss watermelon rind
rings onto a stationary post. Score
the game as you would score
horseshoes.
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Watermelon Jigsaw Puzzle – Cut
several watermelons into slices and
pieces and mix them up in a bowl.
Have one watermelon for each
team. The objective of this game is
for youth to eat the watermelon
(red part), then using toothpicks,
be the first team to correctly piece
the watermelon back together
again into a whole watermelon. To
put it back correctly, youth will
need to pay attention to the
pattern on the outside. Variation:
Instead of toothpicks, you can also
use duct tape.
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Watermelon Pass – The first youth
in line takes the watermelon and
passes it between their legs to the
person behind them. The next
youth then takes the melon and
lifts it backwards, over their head
to the next person. It is really a
game of over/under, over/under.
This is repeated until the
watermelon reaches the end. At
this point, the watermelon is then
passed back up to the front in like
fashion (with everyone continuing
to face forward). The first team to
return the melon to the front with
their team sitting down in single file
fashion is the winner!
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Watermelon Race – Set a Start Line
and a half way point where each
team must roll their watermelon,
circle and then turn around and roll
the watermelon back to the
starting point. Once the youth
rolling the watermelon returns to
the starting Line, they tag the next
youth in line and they take their
turn roll the watermelon. The first
team to have all players rolls their
watermelons around the course is
the Winner.
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Watermelon Rolling Contest –
Players must roll small
watermelons toward specific soft
objects. Once the object is touched
by a watermelon, players can roll
watermelons toward the next soft
object, until the last goal is
reached. First one to the end with a
watermelon that still rolls, wins.
Some youth would rather take out
another player, than hit the soft
object next in line.
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Watermelon Seed Flinging
Contest – The youth must snap the
seeds off the finger, using only one
hand. This is done much like you
were playing marbles. The nail of
the thumb flips the seed off the
back of a curled index finger.
Watermelon Seed Spitting
Contest – In this contest, you draw
your line and give game players
their slice of watermelon. They will
eat their way to the seeds they spit.
Spitting needs to happen over an
area where you will be able to see
where the seeds fall. The player
who spits the farthest seed within
certain amount of time is the
winner.
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Watermelon Seed Spitting Target
Competition – Players focus on
hitting a target rather than going
for distance. Use a cup, bucket or
create a bullseye target, then as the
youth find seeds in their
watermelon they can step to the
start line, aim and try to spit the
watermelon seed into or onto the
target. They receive 1 point for
each time they land on or in the
target. Add up the scores and the
youth with the most points is the
winner. If there is a tie, do a sudden
death round until someone hits the
target and can be declared the
winner.
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Watermelon Smash (Suikawari) –
This is a party game often played
on beaches in Japan where
someone is blindfolded, given a
large stick, spun around to disorient
them and then directed to
smash/crack a watermelon. While
the aim is for the blindfolded
participant to find and crack the
watermelon on their own,
spectators may shout advice or
distractions.
Watermelon Water Polo – This is
played in a swimming pool which is
not too deep, but a watermelon is
used instead of a ball. It can also be
coated in Vaseline to make it more
difficult.
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Watermelon Games with a
Message
Watermelon Puzzle Relay – Cut off
the end of some watermelons and
remove the seeds and flesh so that
they have been cleaned out. (Be
sure to set it aside for eating later.)
Cut a different face in each
watermelon, but save the pieces
that you remove and set them
aside. Collect all the pieces you
removed from the watermelons
and mix them up and place them
on a trap or trash bag on the
ground at one end of a field. At the
other end of the field place the
watermelon for each team.
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Youth from each team must run
across the field grab one piece that
looks like it might fit the holes in
that team’s watermelon and
return to his team with the piece.
If the piece fits in the watermelon,
the next person can run to get a
new piece. If the piece doesn’t fit,
the next person on the team must
return it to the table at the end of
the room and collect another
piece to try. First team to complete
it’s watermelon wins the relay!
Variation: Play the game with the
relay runners blind-folded and the
team shouting directions.
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Teaching Point: Talk about how we
all have holes in our lives (an
emptiness) we are trying to fill.
Some people may try to fill it with
money, with relationships, with
various types of pleasures, etc. But
the only thing that can fill the
emptiness we have in our lives is a
relationship with God. Blaise
Pascal says we were all created
with a God-shaped vacuum that
only he can fill.
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Just as you had to align the pieces
with the various holes in the
watermelon, we have to align the
various areas of our lives with the
will of God. Only those things of
God which are aligned with his
plan for our individual lives, will fit
correctly and make us whole.
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Watermelon Seed Targets – Cut
different size holes in the top of a
watermelon and place it on the
ground at some distance from the
youth. Youth must toss
watermelon seeds into the holes in
the top of the watermelon for
points depending on the hole they
get it in. You’ll want to cut the
holes deep enough to catch a
seed, but not deep enough to
expose the inner red flesh of the
watermelon so that you can cut it
open and eat it later.
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• Why did you choose your
target?
• Some people chose the
smaller holes because
they were worth more.
Others chose the larger
holes because they were
an easier target.
• When it comes down to
real life, do you choose
your targets based on
value or upon which is
easier?
• What are your targets in
the Christian life? Are
they easy? Why do you
value these targets?
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TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
The Bible says in Galatians 6:7-9 that
we will reap what we saw. So if we
plant good things then that is what we
will reap. But if we plant bad things
then that is what we will reap. What
things are you planting in your life?
Those are the things that you will
reap. I hope that you all reap many
good things in your life because you
choose to plant the right things. Inside
a single watermelon are hundreds of
seeds, each with the potential to grow
a watermelon plant which can
produce several more watermelons
each containing hundreds of seeds.
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MAKE IT PRACTICAL
Read Matthew 13:3-23
• What are the four types of soil
mentioned and the results of seeds
sown?
• Again list the four types of soil, but
this time explain what each
represents.
• Why do some people choose not to
listen?
• Why do some people not want to
see?
• What is the main problem with the
rocky soil?
• What happens when trouble or
persecution comes? What are some
of the troubles and persecutions
that youth may face?
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• Of the troubles and persecutions
you listed, which ones do you have
the most difficult time dealing with?
• In what ways can a person sink roots
deeper in order to be better able to
withstand trouble and persecutions?
• What are some of the worries of
life?
• How can worries and the pursuit of
wealth and materialism choke out
the spiritual life?
• Of the worries listed, which ones
cause you to lose focus in your
relationship with God?
• What are the priorities in your life at
the moment?
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• Are you prepared to hear what God
wants to teach you? What are some
things he might want you to hear
during these studies?
• Are you really trying to understand
what God’s Word is saying and how
it affects your daily life? What are
some things God might want you to
understand this week?
• Are you willing to act, to make
changes, to live a life of obedience
to God’s Word that will be fruitful?
In what areas of your life might God
be calling you to obedience? In what
areas are you not living as a
Christian should?
• What can be done to make the first
three soils good soil?
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MAKE IT PERSONAL
• What soil are you and what do
you need to do to become good
soil?
• What heart changes do you
need to make to allow God to
plant his Word in your life?
• Are there some areas of your
life that have become hardened
like the path soil? Ask God to
help you break through that
hardness and to soften your
heart.
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• Are your spiritual roots too
shallow to withstand the
persecutions and troubles?
Make a commitment to sink
your roots deeper by spending
time with God.
• Are the worries and daily
activities of your life taking
away from God as your first
priority? Ask God to give you
the faith and commitment to
keep him first.
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• Ask God to make you good soil.
If you’ve never accepted Christ,
ask him into your heart. He
wants you to have a life that is
vibrant and fruitful. If God is
already in your heart, ask him to
make you more fruitful. Pray for
a specific area of your life where
you would like to be more
fruitful, more obedient.
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SCRIPTURE
Matthew 13:3-8 – “Then he told them
many things in parables, saying: “A
farmer went out to sow his seed. As he
was scattering the seed, some fell along
the path, and the birds came and ate it
up. Some fell on rocky places, where it
did not have much soil. It sprang up
quickly, because the soil was shallow.
But when the sun came up, the plants
were scorched, and they withered
because they had no root. Other seed
fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants. Still other seed fell
on good soil, where it produced a crop
a hundred, sixty or thirty times what
was sown.”
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Matthew 3:18-23 – “Listen then to
what the parable of the sower means:
When anyone hears the message
about the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and
snatches away what was sown in their
heart. This is the seed sown along the
path. The seed falling on rocky ground
refers to someone who hears the word
and at once receives it with joy. But
since they have no root, they last only
a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the
word, they quickly fall away.
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The seed falling among the thorns
refers to someone who hears the
word, but the worries of this life and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke the
word, making it unfruitful. But the
seed falling on good soil refers to
someone who hears the word and
understands it. This is the one who
produces a crop, yielding a hundred,
sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 9:36-37 – “When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion on them,
because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a
shepherd. Then he said to his disciples,
‘The harvest is plentiful but the
workers are few.’ “
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