Overview

Icebreaker Connect the Dots or Dada Masterpieces
Bible Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29, CEB
Discussion Questions
Active Learning Activity: Earthquake-Proof
Prayer

Note to the Teacher

The key phrases in this scripture (for this lesson) are “You haven’t drawn near to something that can be touched, [...] but you have drawn near to Mt. Zion, the city of the living God” and “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” The lesson concerns how we “stand at the precipice of glory as we attempt to grasp something of the God we worship and the faith we follow.”

The icebreaker invites youth to create artwork that is open to interpretation and will be viewed differently by different people. The discussion encourages them to take a moment to reflect on their senses, how they experience the world, and how they connect with God. The activity symbolizes the chaos of life (through the “earthquake”) and the steadiness of their faith (how strong they build their towers).

Times are based on a fifty-minute lesson period but may be adjusted.

Icebreaker (10 minutes): Creating artwork that will be interpreted differently by different people.

Option 1: Connect the Dots (No Tech, No Prep)

Supplies: Paper, permanent markers, pencils or pens, a ten-second timer (optional).

1. Split students into pairs or small groups of three.

2. Give everyone two pieces of paper and a permanent marker.

3. Set the timer for ten seconds or count down from ten.

On “ten,” participants will draw random dots all over their papers, ensuring the dots bleed through to the paper underneath. On “zero,” they stop.

4. Using a pencil or pen, the youth will connect the dots in a way that makes sense to them and creates a recognizable object, animal, or artwork.

5. Then, they will trade the papers underneath (those with dots but no lines) with their partners without showing their creations on the top page.

6. The partners will then connect the dots as they see fit, creating their own art.

7. When both partners have finished, have them compare the two works of art.

8. Ask all the youth to show and explain their artwork.

9. If time allows, play again.

Option 2: Dada Masterpieces (No Tech, Low Prep)

Supplies: Magazines, paper, glue sticks, scissors.

Prep work: Google and print some examples of Dada artwork (optional)

Explain that Dadaism was an anti-art art movement during WWI. Its focus was to create nonsensical yet shocking art that could be interpreted in an infinite number of ways by those looking at it. It started when “Marcel Duchamp rejected all painting because it was made for the eye, not the mind.” “Dada had only one rule: Never follow any known rules.”

For more information, visit “A Brief History of Dada” or “What is Dadaism?”

Students create their own Dada artwork by cutting up magazines. Have an art show when they finish.

Bible Reading (5 minutes)

Our scripture reading comes from the Book of Hebrews, which was “written by an unknown hand to an unknown and scattered audience.” This passage is largely about the intangible but unshakeable nature of faith, how we are part of “a kingdom that cannot be shaken,” and how we should “serve in a way that is pleasing to God with respect and awe because our God really is a consuming fire.”

Read Hebrews 12:18-29.

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

Themes: tangible and intangible, human senses.

What things can we experience and learn about best by physically touching them?
Consider your other senses (smell, hearing, taste, and sight). What are some things we experience that cannot be touched?
Which senses are most associated with your strongest memories?
Have you ever considered hearing as being able to touch you from a distance? (a person’s voice or recording pushes air molecules until they physically touch the eardrum and bones in your ear, which vibrate)
Now, think about your mind. What can you imagine or feel that cannot be touched, smelled, heard, tasted, or seen?
Did you know that we have more than five senses? Here are a few more:

Close your eyes. Now, touch your finger to the tip of your nose. This is an example of proprioception, which involves knowing where your body is and how it moves.
You can open your eyes. Pinch your arm. This is an example of nociception, the awareness of pain.
Wave your arms in the air. This is kinaesthesia – our sense of movement.
Now stand up and stand on one foot (if you are able). Hop around. This is an example of vestibular perception – our sense of balance.
Now put your palm up to your mouth. Open your mouth wide and blow on your hand. Is it warm? Now, make a small “O” with your lips and blow. Is it cooler? This is an example of thermoception, which involves sensing temperatures. (The difference between hot and cold breath is simply the difference in the width or narrowness of the airstream.)
Now check in with your body. How do you feel inside? Are you hungry or nauseous? Tired or excited? Take a deep breath in and feel your lungs expand. Hold it. Now, breathe out slowly. This is interoception – our self-awareness and sense of our internal state.
I’m going to set a timer for ten seconds[or look at the clock for ten seconds]. When I say “start,” count ten seconds silently in your head. When you get to zero, raise your hand. I’ll raise mine when ten seconds have actually passed to see how close you all can get. This is an example of chronoception, the sense of the passage of time.
There is a debate about the number of senses humans actually possess. Some say as many as twenty or thirty. Touch, smell, hearing, taste, and sight are the five basic senses. Some people have synesthesia, where they involuntarily associate specific colors to letters, numbers, or sounds. Some people believe they possess ESP (extrasensory perception or “the sixth sense”), which allows them to see ghosts or predict the future. So far, there’s no evidence that ESP is real.

What was the most interesting part of this exercise?
What are some ways we experience and foster a relationship with God?
Do we experience God only through our senses, or is it something more? What do you think that something more is “that makes approaching God a wholly different experience?”

Active Learning Activity (15 minutes)

Create a structure that can withstand an earthquake.

Supplies: Popsicle sticks, liquid glue, paper, markers.

This activity will challenge students to make a tower that can withstand the forces of nature, symbolizing our unshakeable faith in moments of chaos.

Pair students or put them in small groups.
Using the provided supplies, students make a tower that can withstand an earthquake. Points are rewarded for creativity, design, height, and sturdiness.
They can use popsicle sticks and glue to build the frame of their towers.
They can use paper on the outside to decorate their buildings. Encourage them to be creative!
When they have finished, test the sturdiness of the towers one by one by putting them on a chair or table and shaking it.
Congratulate the ones whose structures survive!
If there is time, let others rework their designs and try again.

Prayer (5 minutes)

Close the session.

Pray with the students, asking God to help us stay strong in our faith.

You may also ask if anyone has any joys (things they want to thank God for) and any concerns (things they want to ask God to help with). Ask different students to pray over each joy and concern to encourage participation from everyone.

Supplies

Icebreaker (“Connect the Dots” option)