JUNIOR HIGH GAME: BOREDOM BUSTERS

For our students, summer can be one of the most boring times of the year.

Sometimes they don’t see their friends very often, and they have gobs of time alone at home.

In an effort to find something to do to fill their time, students will often find that temptation is there waiting for them.

So, here’s a fun summer game that will remind students to focus their attention on God, so when they are bored, they don’t stumble in their faith.

Nick Diliberto, Junior High Ministry

P.S. – If you like this lesson, then you’ll want to check out the Massive Summer Bundle for Junior High. Save 94% on 3 1/2 years of junior high lessons and games. Includes a total of 27 series, including our 5 newest releases.

JUNIOR HIGH GAME: BOREDOM BUSTERS

Bible: 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

Bottom Line: When you are bored, focus your attention on God, so you don’t stumble in your faith.

SUPPLIES

• Plastic shopping bags (one per student)
• 2 Large buckets or garbage cans
• Water balloons (at least 200)
• Orange cones

OPENING GAME: BOREDOM BUSTERS

GAME PREP

This is an outdoor water game that will require a large grassy area or a parking lot.

Divide students into two teams of equal size.

Use the cones to create a perimeter for the game and designate two opposing sides where each team will stand.

Assign a team to opposing ends of the gameplay space.

Fill 200+ water balloons and divide into two halves.

Place half of the balloons in each bucket and give a bucket to each team.

Next, give each student a plastic bag and instruct them to hold onto it throughout the game.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Say: Summer is all about trying to enjoy being outside… and beat the heat at the same time.

So, in the game we’re about to play, we will do a little of both!

We’re going to play a game that is similar to dodgeball but with a twist.

Each of your teams has been given a bucket of balloons.

And each person on your team has been given a plastic bag.

When I say GO, you and your teammates will grab water balloons and try to pelt someone on the other team.

The other team will try to catch the balloons that you throw at them, similar to how dodgeball is played. 

If a balloon is caught, you will put it in the bag you’re holding.

If a balloon is dropped, you can only try and throw it at the other team – you can’t put it in your team’s bag.

Throughout the game, you can only use one hand – whichever hand is not holding the plastic bag – to throw and catch balloons.

The goal of the game is to have as many balloons as possible in your team’s bags by the end of the game.

The team with the most balloons – wins!

TEACH

Ask: If I asked you to choose whether your summer is typically fun or boring, what would you say? And why?

Allow a few responses from students.

As students, you spend about 180 days a year in school.

During that time, you develop a daily schedule that is probably similar to this:

• You wake up around the same time every day.
• You see the same friends at school every day.
• When you come home from school, you do the same thing every day: homework, a little social media time, maybe play some Fortnite, you eat, and go to bed.
• Then, wake up and repeat.

The first day of summer, your entire routine flies out the window.

Now, you are entirely in charge of what you do and don’t do every day.

That might mean that you sleep all day, spend hours on social media, and play Fortnite to your heart’s content.

And if your parents work, it could also mean that you have a ton of time by yourself with no one else around.

After a while, all of the things that you enjoyed doing in abundance, like sleeping in and playing video games, can become kind of boring.

You miss seeing your friends every day, and the truth is, you actually miss that routine of doing the same things every day.

Freedom from a routine can be exciting, but it’s also a time when temptation can find its way into your life.

And it’s typically when you least expect it, but almost always when you’re bored and undisciplined in your daily life.

Read 1 Corinthians 10:13.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. 

And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. 

When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

The truth is all of us are tempted from time to time – me, your parents, your siblings, friends… everyone in the world now and throughout history has faced temptation.

So, what can you do this summer when you’re tempted to do the wrong things?

Here are three things that you can do to combat boredom and help fight temptation:

1. Find something to do.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this phrase, “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.”

As followers of Jesus, the Bible says that we should always “think on good things,” or godly things.

When you’re bored, with nothing to do, it’s easy to let your mind wander and start thinking about things that aren’t God-focused.

That doesn’t mean that you woke up that day and thought, “I’m going to allow myself to sin when I’m bored.”

But it could mean that you didn’t make the conscious choice at the beginning of the day to follow God with your thoughts and actions.

One thing that can help you is to have things scheduled into your day, so you don’t have so much free time.

Set goals for what you would like to accomplish every day and even larger goals throughout the summer.

You can: Get better at playing an instrument, learn a new hobby or even a new language, learn to cook, develop skills in the sport you play, and the list goes on…

2. Spend time with other people.

Even if you’re sitting in your house all alone, you can still spend time with other people.

Keep in contact with a friend from church and school, on the phone or through social media.

Invite people to meet up at youth group or church services or activities.

Don’t allow yourself to feel alone in a world of billions of people.

Be cautious – if you don’t feel like spending time with other people and want to be by yourself, make yourself reach out to godly influences.

Often, those are the times that you need support from others the most.

3. Grow in your relationship with God.

The summer is a great time to get closer to God.

Because you don’t have mounds of homework or stress from school, you can invest in spending time at church, reading your Bible, and praying.

You can go for walks or sit outside and talk to God, study a passage of Scripture until you really understand it, and volunteer at church and spend time around people who will encourage you.

You don’t have to be bored this summer – it can actually be your best summer ever.

Just remember: When you are bored, focus your attention on God, so you don’t stumble in your faith.

[End Lesson]

P.S. – If you like this lesson, then you’ll want to check out the Massive Summer Bundle for Junior High. Save 94% on 3 1/2 years of junior high lessons and games. Includes a total of 27 series, including our 5 newest releases.