Students will discover why sticking to their commitments matters.

 

For this exercise, you’ll need 20 Solo cups, 2 2-foot square pieces of cardboard and two large playground balls. As students arrive, have the supplies set up at two stations in front of the group. Select two students to participate in this “Minute to Win It” style game. One creative way to select your two students is to place a Post It note under two chairs before students arrive and have them look under their chairs. The two students in those chairs are your contestants.

 

Tell the contestants that they will have 1 minute to try and balance their cardboard square on top of the ball and stack as many cups as they can on the cardboard in a pyramid shape. This will obviously be difficult if not impossible for the students to do. If you want to make it slightly easier, wrap a towel around the base of the balls so that they don’t roll. The students will still have a difficult time, balancing the cardboard, but at least the ball won’t roll around!

Give a small prize to the student who can stack the most cups on the cardboard before the 1-minute time runs out.

 

Say: “Here’s a dumb question, but what would have made building a pyramid out of the cups easier to do in this contest? (ANSWER: Having a more secure base or foundation to build it on, like a table or the floor.) You know, that applies to just about anything we try to build – even relationships. We all have relationships in our lives that we are building. Some of them are friendships, others are work or school-related, and, yes, some of them are romantic. Today, we want to talk about a key element in building relationships that WORK. Let’s check out this song by Deraj and see what this looks like.”

 

Play “Hold You Down”, by Deraj. Have students use the listening sheet to write down the elements of a good relationship that they hear from the video.

 

Ask: What qualities in Deraj’s marriage did you hear in this song that make for a great relationship?

 

Say, “You all gave some good answers to this, but I want to tie them up into one single word that really brings them together. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “Now, these three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” When we hear that we tend to focus on the word “love” because it is, after all, the “greatest.” But, look at the word “remain.” This word actually ties all these into one important idea. It is the “foundation” (just like in the game) that all great relationships are built on. When something remains, it’s always around. It’s not affected by circumstances or situations. In other words, there is COMMITMENT. Let’s look at this word and see three qualities that make it such a valuable part of ANY relationship we have.”

 

Have three students read the following verses, then you briefly describe the situations behind each of them. Have students follow along with their talk sheets.

 

DEPENDENCE

Peter is committed to Jesus because of his FAITH and his utter DEPENDENCE on Jesus to provide eternal life. Peter’s commitment is a heart issue. Commitment involves knowing in our HEART that this person is worth investing in.

• How do we display faith in our commitments to people we have relationships with?

 

DETERMINATION

Ruth is committed to Naomi because of her HOPE in Naomi and her God. She is DETERMINED in her mind to not leave Naomi. Commitment involves making up our MINDS to stick it out no matter what.

• What types of mental commitments do we need to make in order to have a successful relationship?

 

DILIGENCE

Because Jacob truly LOVES Rachel, the seven years go by really fast in his mind. He was DILIGENT in serving her dad so that he could have a life with her. Commitment involves doing the hard WORK of making the relationship successful.

• What are some ways we serve people that strengthen those relationships?

 

Say, “In any successful relationship, there must be commitment. That commitment involves levels of FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. How can you grow in these qualities to strengthen your relationships with others? Let’s pray and ask God to show us which of these areas we need His help.” Close in prayer.