A Youth Group Program

Valentine's Youth Group

February 14, 2010

Welcome: Welcome the youth to this time of celebrating Valentine's Day with the church family built around love.

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-10, 19-21

God's Love and Ours

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^[b] into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for^[c] our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Theme: We love because he first loved us. And we follow the Great Commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself"

Games:

Heart Ring Toss: Supplies: the heart shaped bracelets, and a wooden kitchen spoon. Have the youth split into pairs. Pick one to be the thrower and one to be the catcher. Game explanation, "Sometimes it feels like someone flings our hearts around. In those times we need someone else to look out for us, and help catch our heart and give it back. In daily life, we have Jesus who does this for us. We also, as we care for one another, have the chance to do that for our friends, and neighbors. This game will be an active reminder of how we are given to care for one another in love." Game play: Have pair face one another at about 8 feet apart. Give the thrower 5 heart bracelets, and the catcher the wooden spoon. The goal is to try and catch as many of the thrown bracelets on the wooden spoon. You might offer a prize to the team that catches the most bracelets.

Heart Drop: Supplies: A chair, a bag of chocolate hearts, and a #2 can. Game Explanation, "During the course of life there are many ups and downs in caring for one another. There are times when our heart just drops out. (You might tell of a time when your heart just sank - when you encountered a homeless person, when your child was sick, etc) We hope in Christ, and have the vessel of faith to catch our heart when we fall. This game is an active reminder of what happens when we hope in Christ." Game Play: have each student stand on the chair, facing over the back of the chair, with the #2 can placed at the bottom, and each student holding 5-10 candy hearts. The goal is to get as many of the hearts in the can as possible, while standing fully upright, sticking the arm out and dropping the candy into the tin. Leave all candy in place, as the students play. Keep track of how many each student gets in the can. Offer a prize of candy to the winning student. Game Lesson: After all students have dropped their candy from height, there will be a mess of candy around the can. Remind them that we talked about how if our hope is in Christ, we will always have our candy secured by God. Tell the students, "Christ acts like this (pick up all the candy that has fallen outside of the tin and place it all back in the tin). Christ even helps pick up the pieces when we miss the target of faith, and hope"

Orange Pass: Supplies: Oranges. Divide the group into teams of 5-10. Have them line up shoulder to shoulder. Hand the orange to the person in the front. Game Play: The goal of the game is to pass the Orange from the front of the line to back of the line. No hands may be used, and the orange is to be passed from person to person trapping it between chin and upper chest. Consider a prize for the winners.

Candy Care: Save this game for when the students pass out the Valentines. Provide a bunch of the SweetHearts Canddies with all the little sayings for Valentine's Day. Have the students pick one for each other student and give it to the other students when Valentines are passed out.

Writing Valentines: Supplies: Pens, Valentines (or supplies to make Valentines). Have the youth make Valentines for each student present at youth group that day. Set them aside once done until the time for passing the Valentines

Dinner Prayer:

Offer a prayer for dinner, and for the love that has gone into the preparation and care of the students this day.

Dinner:

Highs and Lows:

During dinner, have the students share around the circle, seated about the highs and lows of the week.

As a group ask the youth to tell a high and a low of the week. (My general plan with this is a maximum of three highs and lows, and that you must have at least as many highs as lows. Such that let’s say Jeanne has three things that were lows that she wants to share, she also needs to share three highs. A student can share more highs than lows.) Prayer.

Passing of Valentines:

Have the students pass out the Valentines they made earlier, and pass out the Valentines from the Leaders as well. Make sure the students also play the Candy Care Game, at the same time they are passing out the Valentines to the other students present.

Benediction:

Numbers 6:24-26 (New International Version)

²⁴ " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep you;

²⁵ the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;

²⁶ the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '

New International Version (NIV)

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