Image of the Invisible

Overview

• Icebreaker: Magical Pictionary or Sleight-of-Hand
• Bible Reading: Colossians 1:15-28, CEB
• Discussion Questions
• Active Learning Activity: Invisible String
• Prayer

Note to the Teacher

The key phrase in this scripture (for this lesson) is “Because all things were created by him: both in the heavens and on the earth, the things that are visible and the things that are invisible [...] all things were created through him and for him.” The sermon and lesson concern “ordinary magic – the invisible connection between us, around us, before us always.”

The icebreaker invites youth into the world of magic and fantasy as they play Pictionary or practice simple magic tricks. The discussion encourages them to consider the relationships they cultivate with their friends, family, teachers, other students, neighbors, strangers, and God. The activity demonstrates the connection the youth have with one another and invites them to think about the invisible connections they have to everyone in their lives.

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

Icebreaker (10 minutes): Games about extraordinary magic

Option 1: Magical Pictionary (No Tech, Low Prep)

Supplies: Whiteboard and markers or paper and pencils, Pictionary prompts

Prep work: Using small pieces of paper (or by cutting index cards in half), write prompts for Pictionary. The theme is “magic,” although you don’t need to tell them! Examples: Unicorn, Wizard, Witch, Dragon, Magic Wand, Tarot Card, Potions, Flying Broom, Cauldron, Crystals, Fairy, Genie, Pegasus, Mermaid, Phoenix, etc.

1. Split the youth into two teams to compete against each other.
2. Each team will send someone to the board to be the artist. (Everyone will take turns being the artist as the game progresses.)
3. Randomly choose a Pictionary prompt. Show it only to the artist.
4. The artists draw as fast as they can while their team guesses.
5. The first team to guess correctly gets a point.
6. New artists are selected with a new prompt.
7. The game continues until all the prompts are gone
8. If the game is tied at the end, devise a tie-breaker prompt for the win.

Option 2: Sleight-of-Hand (High Tech, High Prep)

Supplies: Deck of cards, cups, balls, coins, spoons, cell phones (optional)

Prep work: Before the lesson, look up simple magic tricks and practice a few if you don’t know any already. You can also use videos of magic tricks that reveal how they are done.

Perform a short magic show for the youth. Then, challenge them to try to figure out how the tricks work. Next, turn the magic show over to the students to see if they can figure out and practice the tricks themselves. Invite them to show off any tricks they know, or have them create some of their own.

Optional: Youth can use their phones to look up simple magic tricks that use the supplies provided. Give them a brief time to practice, then have a magic show where they show off their tricks to the class.

Bible Reading (5 minutes)

Our scripture reading comes from the epistles (letters) of Paul. Paul opens with a hymn (although we’re not sure if he wrote it himself or if he’s just quoting a hymn that was around in his time) about how Jesus is the first of all creation. Through Jesus, everything is reconciled with God. Now, we can be “a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame [...] well established and rooted in faith.”

Read Colossians 1:15-28.

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

Themes: Gratitude, Reflection on Relationships, Staying Present

Who is your favorite magical character or hero with superpowers? (examples: Elsa, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman)

If you could have any magical power or superpower, what would it be?

Gratitude is magical. “Gratitude reminds us of our connection [and] our reliance on those around us to make our lives meaningful.” Who are you grateful for? Why are you grateful for them?

Who are some people in your life that you love?

How do you show them, not just tell them, that you love them?

I want you – in your mind, you don’t have to say it out loud – to think about some people in your life who do these things for you:

• Someone who frequently tells you that they love you.
• Someone who frequently shows you that they love you.
• Someone who makes your heart pound in excitement when you see them.
• Someone whose friendship seems to be slipping away from you.
• Someone who blesses you and takes care of you.
• Someone who shapes your thoughts and beliefs.
• Someone who loves you, even when you feel unlovable.
• Someone who makes you who you are because they are in your life.

What are some thoughts and feelings you had when thinking about these people?

Now, I want you to think about yourself. Whose lives are you changing? Think about:

• Someone you frequently tell you love them.
• Someone you frequently show you love them.
• Someone who is always excited when they see you.
• Someone you could be more of a friend to.
• Someone you are a blessing to; someone you take care of.
• Someone whose thoughts and beliefs you help influence.
• Someone you love, even when they feel like they are unlovable.
• Someone whose life is better because of you.

What are some thoughts and feelings you had about yourself when thinking about these people?

Throughout our lives, we might struggle to be present in the moment and be grateful for the relationships we are cultivating with other people. Let’s try a grounding technique that can help us be present in a moment.

• What are five things you can see around you?
• What are four things you can touch?
• What are three things you can hear?
• What are two things you’ve tasted this morning?
• What is one thing you can smell or that you smelled this morning?

That’s a great way to check in with our bodies. What would be a good prayer to help us check in with God and be grateful?

Active Learning Activity (15 minutes): Seeing our connections to one another

Supplies: Balls of yarn

This activity will help students see the connections they have to one another. God could have put us in any time and place, yet God gave us this time and place with all the people who come in and out of our lives.

1. Students sit in a large circle.
2. Begin by holding the ball of yarn. Choose someone else in the circle and say something you admire about them or why you’re grateful for them. (Don’t choose the people on either side of you. Ideally, select someone across the circle from you.)
3. While holding onto the end of the yarn, roll it to the person selected.
4. Next, that person will choose someone else to talk about.
5. Each student selected must hook a finger onto the yarn before rolling it so they stay connected.
6. The game continues until everyone has a turn. (If you run out of yarn, tie the next ball onto the end and keep going.)
7. The last person will talk about you and send the yarn back to you.
8. Invite the youth to look at the shape they have made. Discuss how we are all connected because we are all doing life together. Encourage them to think about all the invisible strings that connect us to other people.
9. Close with prayer.

Prayer (5 minutes)

Close the session

Pray with the students, asking God to help us stay present and ground ourselves in our relationships with others.

You can 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.

Optional: Say the prayer that is found at the end of the Preaching Notes for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost:

The image of the invisible. Magic. Thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you who stand in for God from time to time, who carry the ordinary moments of our lives and make them rich and deep and full. It is the ordinary days that need cultivation and attention. Such days are what we harvest in our lifetimes. And that cultivation and attention is the ordinary magic of gratitude – first to God and from there into everywhere. Thank you for who you are. Amen I say, amen.

Supplies Needed:

• Ball of yarn
• Deck of cards
• Cups
• Balls
• Coins
• Spoons
• Maybe cell phones