How to Play
Divide into teams. Each team can have 2-5 players. (Teams can be larger, but smaller teams allow everyone to be involved.)
Give each team a stack of newspapers and one roll of sticky tape.
The objective is to build the tallest free-standing tower with only these materials in 20 minutes.
Encourage each team to spend a few minutes to plan and strategize before diving into the actual construction.
When the time is up, everyone must stop working.
The team that builds the tallest free-standing tower wins.
Bible Lesson – Wise and Foolish Builders
Discuss
1. Did you enjoy this game?
2. How did you decide on the design or method of building?
3. Did your tower work out as planned? Why or why not?
4. Will you do it differently next time? Why or why not? How will you do it?
5. Do you know of any Bible passages that talk about people building towers or houses?
Say
There are a few Bible passages that talk about the building of towers or houses. For example, the Tower of Babel in Genesis and the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders in Mathew 7 and Luke 6.
Today, we will look at one of the many parables told by Jesus.
Read
Matthew 7:24-27
Discuss
6. Who are the main characters in this parable?
7. What did the two main characters do?
8. What happened after the two men finished building their houses?
9. What happened to the two men’s houses?
10. What was the difference between the two houses?
11. What did Jesus say the first builder is like?
12. What did Jesus say the second builder is like?
13. What is the difference between the two builders?
14. What is Jesus teaching us through this parable?
15. Are you more like the first or second builder?
16. How can you become more like the second builder?
Conclude
In this parable, Jesus compared a person who puts Jesus’ words into practice (i.e. obeys Jesus) with a person who doesn’t. If we are truly followers of Jesus, we must put the Bible into practice. We must obey Jesus.
Related Bible Passage
Luke 6:46-49
Bible Lesson – Tower of Babel
Discuss
1. Did you enjoy this game?
2. How did you decide on the design or method of building?
3. Did your tower work out as planned? Why or why not?
4. Will you do it differently next time? Why or why not? How will you do it?
5. Do you know there’s a Bible passage about a group of people who wanted to build a really, really tall tower?
Read
Genesis 11:1-9
Discuss
6. What did the people want to do?
7. Why? What were man’s motivation in building a city with a very tall tower?
8. Was God pleased with man’s motivation? Why or why not?
9. What did God do?
Conclude
Man’s motivation to build a city with a very tall tower was twofold:
(i) Man wanted to make a name for himself; and
(ii) Man did not want to be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
God was not pleased with both these motivations.
(i) Man should desire to bring glory to God and not to man himself; and
(ii) God wanted man to multiply and fill the earth. God said this to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 and again to Noah after the flood in Genesis 9:7.
So God thwarted their plans by confusing their language and scattering them over the face of the whole earth.
Variations
Instead of using newspapers, you can replace with any recycled materials, like bottles and boxes.
Alternatively, you can also construct the tower with spaghetti (or disposable bamboo skewers or chopsticks) and marshmallows.
Here is a variation of this game that you can adapt for Christmas celebrations and other parties before sharing the Gospel:
