OPTION 1: I Promise
Would you trust someone who told you, “I promise”? It might depend on who that someone was, and your history with that person. Use the “I Promise” handout or write the options on paper plates and have people prioritize the options according to:
- Who you would trust if they said, “I promise. . .”
- Who should trust you if you said, “I promise. . .”
OPTION 2: THE RANDOM SQUIRT GUN
Get a small squirt gun and fill it with water. Get a blindfold for the person who will use the squirt gun.
Invite those at Youth Sabbath School to stand in a circle with one volunteer in the middle who is blindfolded and holding the small squirt gun (filled with water). Ask them to promise to squirt just one time when given the signal to do so.
Before squirting, have the person in the middle turn around 5-10 times and then squirt just once and see who might get wet. Another option is to have the blindfolded person in the middle remain stationary while people standing in close proximity around the circle move to new positions.
If you have only 2-3 people in youth Sabbath School, you can have them line up against a wall rather than stand in a circle. To cover more area, you can have them stick out their arms to the side. For a larger group (10+), have more than one circle, or have people stand sideways so they take up less room.
After one person gets a shot, give another person the opportunity to do this also.
Be sensitive to those wearing light colors or clothes that shouldn’t get wet, or those don’t wish to be squirted with water. Give youth the option to watch rather than participate. (And be sure to notice if the person with the squirt gun breaks their promise of shooting only once, since today’s topic has to do with promises.)
TRANSITION
Some people take promises seriously, while others treat them so carelessly that they mean little or nothing to themselves as well as to others. In fact, some refuse to make promises. But God has made lots of promises. Should we? Let’s dive in to this topic today, and we’ll see whether or not we make any promises by the end, and what those promises might mean.
