Play “Who Am I?”


While driving in the car, choose one person to be “it.” Tell “it” to think of a person who is a:

• famous person in history –George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, etc.
• family member – Aunt Susan, Grandma Jane, etc
• cartoon character
• Bible character

The other people in the car must ask “it” questions that can only be answered with a yes or no. The first one to figure out the identity of the person gets to be the next “it.” Some good questions: Is this person alive now? Did this person live during Bible times? 
Is this person a man?

For younger kids: pick a person and give them clues about the person (making the first clues more general and getting more specific as you go). Give them time after each clue to guess the person. I lived in Old Testament times. I am a man. I had three boys. I built a big boat/ark. 
You can guess a person’s identity by the things you know about them.

Ask: What do you know about Jesus?

What’s Behind Your Name?

Discuss the meaning of each child’s name. Tell your children if you named them after a specific person or had a special reason to give them the name you did. Look up the meaning of each child’s name. ( behindthename.com is a good site to find the history of a name).

Ask: How does this name fit your personality? (Are you a strong leader (Richard) or a helper (Sandy)?

In Bible times, a person’s name told a lot about them. Before Jesus was born, the angel gave Joseph special instructions on naming Jesus. Look in Matthew 1:21 to find out why He was to be named Jesus. (Jesus’ name told what He came to earth to do— “to save His people from their sins.”) His name told who He was!

Who’s in that Picture?

Look through an old photo album and try to identify the people in the pictures (especially pictures of grandparents, aunts, uncles when they were younger). Talk about family resemblance. (Do you think Aunt Mabel looks like Grandma?) Talk about character trait resemblance (Aunt Mabel is kind just like Grandma is).

When Jesus came to earth, He looked like His Father. In fact, Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Ask: How many character traits of Jesus can you list?(kind, loving, joyful, strong, wise, obedient, etc.) You can tell that Jesus was God by the things He did and what He said.
Can people tell that you are a Christian by the thing you do and say?

Interview

Tell your child that to know a person you first learn things about that person.

Help your child come up with a few questions and let him or her “interview” a grandparent or other relative. (What was your favorite toy/game? What did you like about school? What is your favorite food? What were your chores as a child? What pets did you have? How did you learn about God? Tell a courtship story.) Videotape the interview if possible.

We can know about Jesus by reading the Bible.

Ask:
What do we know about Jesus from the Bible? (He is kind; He helped people; He loved children; He was obedient to His Father’s will; He was willing to take the punishment for sin by dying on the cross; He had no sin; He is wise and fair, etc.)

Family Tree

Make a simple family tree. Draw a simple tree and add names and/or pictures of your relatives. (Or let the kids draw a picture of each one.) You can download a simple family tree template, add names online, and print it out at www.familytreemagazine.com.

Talk about the people (good characteristics, of course) as you add them. Give children a sense of identity and belonging to their relatives.

Many times family members look or act like other family members (Aunt Janie laughs like Grandma or Uncle Johnny is tall like Grandpa.) When Jesus came to earth, He looked like His Father. In fact, Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Ask:

•    How many character traits of Jesus can you list? (Kind, loving, joyful, strong, wise, obedient, etc.) You can tell Jesus was God by the things He did and what He said.
•    How can you look like Jesus? (By being kind, loving, joyful, wise, obedient, etc.)

Matching Game

Make a simple matching game to learn (or review) some of the characteristics Jesus has that we want.

Write each characteristic (kind, loving, gentle, strong, wise, obedient, etc.; the number you choose will depend on your kids’ ages) on two index cards with a pencil (a pen may show through if you buy the cheap ones like I do). Put them all face down and mix them up. Take turns trying to find a match. When a match is found, let the child finding it hold it until the end of the game. If no match is found, turn the cards back over and let another person have a turn. The one with the most matches is the winner.