Object Lesson - Stretched by God

Object Lesson
- Stretched by
God
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com
www.CreativeObjectLessons.com

There is going to be a tug-of-war
in our spiritual life because God is
always in the process of
transforming us. Change causes
tension and we are stretched. This
week's lesson uses rubber bands
for games and as an object lesson
on the topic of being stretched by
God.

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Rubber Band Games
Rubber Band Face – Youth compete
by stretching a rubber band over their
heads and open their mouths so that
the rubber band is stretched between
their teeth and below their ears.
Without using their hands, they must
move the rubber band down their
faces so that it ends up around their
neck. They will need to use their
tongue, lips and teeth and lots of chin
wriggling to make this happen. be
sure to have a camera because the
distorted faces are hilarious. (You can
also place the rubber band on the
upper lip just below the nose for a
different variation)

Rubber Band Face – Youth compete
by stretching a rubber band over
their heads and open their mouths
so that the rubber band is stretched
between their teeth and below their
ears. Without using their hands, they
must move the rubber band down
their faces so that it ends up around
their neck. They will need to use
their tongue, lips and teeth and lots
of chin wriggling to make this
happen. be sure to have a camera
because the distorted faces are
hilarious. (You can also place the
rubber band on the upper lip just
below the nose for a different
variation)

Rubber Band War – Set up two
fortresses in a classroom using
folding tables turned on their sides
about 8-10 feet apart. Put a line of
masking tape down the middle of
the playing field between the two
tables. Give two teams tons of
rubber bands (you can buy them by
the bag at office supply stores).
Teams try to hide behind the
fortress, but can jump out and run
around as long as they stay on their
side of the dividing line. If anyone
gets shot by a rubber band, even
from their own team, they are out of
the game.

The last team standing (or
crawling around the floor)
wins. Rubber bands must be
shot directly in order to get a
person out. Simply tossing
them over the table doesn’t
count. Stress the importance
of honesty. Try different
configurations with your
tables to keep it interesting.
Use thin rubber bands so they
don’t hurt too much or cause
injuries.

Rubber Band Targets – Hang
aluminum pie tins from string
across one end of the room. Use
a marker to label them with
different point values. When hit
with a rubber band they will
make a definite sound. Give
each youth 5 to 10 rubber bands
to shoot from the other side of
the room. Highest score wins.

Rubber Band Pass – The objective of
this youth group game is to pass the
most rubber bands to the end of
your team’s line as possible in a
given amount of time. Divide into
teams and give every team member
a plastic drinking straw to place in his
or her mouth. (You can also use dried
spaghetti in place of a straw) Once
the straw is in the mouth you cannot
adjust it or touch it with your hands.
The first person on each team places
a rubber band on his or her straw,
then using the straws only must pass
it to the second person in line, and
continue until it reaches the end of
the line. Only one rubber band can
be on a straw at a time.

Rubber Band Man – You’ll need a lot
of rubber bands for each team. Give
each team 1 minute to place as many
rubber bands as possible on their
rubber band man (or woman). A
rubber band on the rubber band
man’s hands or arms is worth 1
point. The feet and legs are two
points. Face is 3 points. Hanging it on
the ears doesn’t count. The neck is
not allowed. The team with the most
points wins. Use different size rubber
bands to make the game more
interesting. Be prepared for some
outrageous photos.

Rubber Band Rope Jumping –
Loop a number of rubber bands
together tightly until you have a
larger one (You can select the
length you want). Teams then
compete to see who can make the
most jumps using the rubber band.
Rubber Band Limbo – This game,
is like the traditional game of
limbo, except that the string of
rubber bands replaces the pole.
The rubber bands are stretched at
progressively lower levels and the
youth try to pass under it.

Loop Groups – Tie a number of
rubber bands together to form a
big loop about the size of a hula
hoop. Ask the youth to stand in a
circle and hold hands. Then have
one pair of youth release their
hands and reach through the loop
circle and then re-connect hands.
The ring of rubber bands must
travel in a clockwise direction and
return to the initial starting
position without anyone letting go
of the hands on either side of
them. The youth must stay in one
location while the rubber band
loop moves around the circle.
Fastest time wins.

Rubber band wrestling – This
game is played between pairs of
youths. They must sit at a table
facing each other, and resting their
right hands on the table. They then
hook their fingers together with
their thumbs raised up in the air. A
rubber band is then placed around
the two thumbs. On “go” they
each try to capture the rubber
band without dropping it by
wiggling their thumbs. The side
with the most winners can be the
winning team or you can have
successive play off until you have a
single winner.

Elastic Bull’s Eye – You will need loop
of rubber bands tied together into a
circle and one “target” (non-elastic
string loop) for each group. The
group must release the stretched out
rubber band in such a way that the
elastic falls inside the target (inside
the bulls eye). Divide the youth
group into teams of 4-8 and supply
each group with one loop of rubber
bands and one “target” (non-elastic
string). Each person in the group
holds onto the elastic with two
fingers and then the group backs up
so the elastic is stretched out in a big
circle (people are spaced evenly from
each other).

Place the target in the center of the
circle. The group must now release
the elastic simultaneously and in
such a way that the elastic falls into
the target. Most number of success
in a given time wins. Rules: The
group must keep the loop stretched
just before the release. The group
must release the loop
simultaneously. The stretched loop
must be kept parallel to the ground.
The target must stay in the center of
the circle. The loop can only land
inside the target as a result of the
simultaneous release of the loop by
the group (example: the elastic
cannot be thrown by one person)

Focus Ring – You’ll need a large thick
rubber band that is a bit smaller than
a tennis ball for each team. Each
team will also need two empty
plastic soda bottles. Finally you will
need about 3 ft or 1 meter of string
for each team member. Tie the
strings to the rubber band in a
radiating pattern so that the rubber
band is in the center of all the
strings. Place the tennis ball on top
of one of the empty soda bottles as a
pedestal. The objective it to pull on
the strings and use the rubber band
to move the tennis ball on top of the
other.

Each person in the group holds on to
at least one string (depending on the
size of the group, some will have
more than one string). The
participants spread out like spokes of
a wheel, holding on to the end of
their string. Rules: Each participant
gets to operate at least one string.
Participants must hold onto the end
of the string and no other place.
Participants must stay at a distance
of at least the length of a stretched
out string (very important). If the ball
falls the group must start again. If
the pedestal falls over the group
must start again. The group is
successful when the ball is balanced
on the pedestal.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
One of the key characteristics of a
rubber band is that it is stretched.
In fact, a rubber band isn’t much
use unless it is stretched.
• What are some things that we
use rubber bands for?
• Why are the rubber bands
ideal for such tasks?
• What happens to a rubber
band after it is stretched many
times?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
Just as a rubber band becomes more
useful when stretched, God also
stretches us to make us more
effective and use us more fully for his
glory. When stretched you expand
your usefulness to God.
See the scripture section below for
verses that talk about us being
stretched in the Christian walk.
Stretching means trusting God in
moments of stress, tension, pressure,
and discomfort. Sometimes it is
painful and sometimes merely
uncomfortable.

MAKE IT PRACTICAL
There is going to be a tug-of-war in
our spiritual life because God is
always in the process of
transforming us. Change causes
tension and we are stretched. But
in these times God is moving us
forward into the likeness of Christ.
When God stretches us, He is not
making us somebody we do not
want to be. He is actually stretching
us to be the person He created us
to be.

• When a muscle is regularly
stretched it becomes more
flexible, versatile, efficient,
strong, and growing. What
difference would it make in
your Christian walk if these
characteristics were also true
of you spiritual life?
• Consider also the opposites of
those qualities. How would
your spiritual life be different
if it was characterized by
inflexible, limited, ineffective,
atrophied, weak and brittle?

• When a muscle is not
regularly stretched it
atrophies or shrinks. How
does this relate to spiritually
exercising our faith?
• There is always a purpose to
being stretched. How do we
cooperate with God and
grow in the stretch?

MAKE IT PERSONAL
• How is God growing and
stretching you right
now?
• Do you tend to
cooperate and hear
what God is doing, or
pull away when you are
being stretched
• How can you personally
cooperate with God
when he is stretching
you?

SCRIPTURES
• Philippians 3:14 – “I press on
toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
• Isaiah 54:2 – “Enlarge the place
of your tent, And let them
stretch out the curtains of your
dwellings; Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords, and
strengthen your stakes.”
• Philippians 3:13 and 14 –
“forgetting those things which
are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are
before, I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus.”

• Matthew 12:13 – “Then He
said to the man, “Stretch out
your hand!” He stretched it
out, and it was restored to
normal, like the other.”
• James 1:2-4 – “Consider it all
joy, my brethren, when you
encounter various trials;
knowing that the testing of
your faith produces
endurance. And let
endurance have its perfect
result, that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking
in nothing.”

• 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No
temptation has overtaken
you except what is common
to mankind. And God is
faithful; he will not let you
be tempted beyond what
you can bear. But when you
are tempted, he will also
provide a way out so that
you can endure it.”
• Philippians 4:13 – “I can do
all things through Christ who
strengthens me”

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Object Lesson - Stretched by God

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