Bible: Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)
Bottom Line: You discover your true identity by understanding who God is and by becoming who He made you to be.
- Index cards
Write each students’ name down on an index card—one name per card.
Place all of the cards in a bucket.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Say: Today, we’re talking about identity—who we really are.
This game is going to give us the opportunity to get to know each other a little better, and see how well we already know each other.
In this bucket, I have each person’s name written down on an index card.
I am going to pull out two index cards with names on them.
Next, I will turn my back to all of you and ask that each of you come up to me, one at a time, so I can show you the name on a card.
I will show some of you one name, and some of you the other name.
Do not tell anyone whose name you saw written down, or you will be out of the game.
When I say, “Go,” you will have 3 minutes to ask each other questions about the name they were shown.
The goal of this game is to separate yourselves into two groups—one group for each name.
Oh, and throughout this game, you cannot talk.
If you talk, then you are out of the game.
That means if the person you are trying to figure out wears glasses, then you will hold your hands up to your eyes to demonstrate that they wear glasses.
If they sing, then maybe you would pretend to hold a microphone—anything you can think of to identify the person whose name you saw without pointing to them.
Just do your best to impersonate the person whose name was on the card and form a group with the people who had the same person.
You will have 3 minutes to form your groups.
If you have not joined a group by the end of the 3 minutes, you are out.
I will then count to 3 and ask everyone in your group to say the name of the person whose name was on the card.
I will do this for both groups.
If you were not in the correct group, you are out—you need to be honest.
After we have eliminated the people who are out, I will draw 2 more cards and we will continue to play.
Continue to play as long as you would like, or until there are only a few people left, then declare a winning team.
You are assuming that the majority of people in one group will have seen the same name.
If you have a round where you can’t tell which group was which, then just do that round over again.
If many people are not being eliminated in each round, then lower the time allowance to 2 minutes per round, or one minute per round, etc.…
Ask: Was it easy or hard to guess who everyone was trying to impersonate in each round?
Allow a few responses from students.
It was interesting to see how you described each other without using words.
I’m going to tell you something today that you might already realize—You’re at the age that people are starting to ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
And they expect a real answer.
At your age, you can no longer say you want to be a “butterfly/cheerleader/doctor.”
When you were younger, that was cute—but now, your grandparents and teachers want to hear something more profound that lets them know you don’t plan on laying on a couch in your parent’s basement forever.
Ask: How do you feel when people ask about your plans for the future?
Do you have something to say, or do you just give them a blank stare?
Allow a few responses from students. Share your personal experiences of how you felt during that time in your life—did you know what you wanted to “be”?
Here’s the thing, people are going to ask you questions about your future plans for the rest of your life:
- Are you dating anyone?
- When are you getting married?
- Are you going to have kids? And then, when are you going to have more kids?
- When will you retire from your job?
It never ends!
But, there’s something important you need to remember throughout every stage of life—who you arehas nothing to do with what your career is, who you are married to, or how many kids you have.
Your identity, or how you view who you really are, should be wrapped up in who you are in Christ.
Maybe you’ve gone through some changes in your personal life, your family, at school, or in your friendships that have made you question what you’re all about.
Everyone works through some form of those feelings in their lifetime.
It’s actually very normal.
That might be why Paul (and possibly Timothy) addresses this topic to the Church in Colossae.
He’s reminding these believers that they have died to this life and now, their real life is hidden with Christ in God.
Ask: So, what do you think this verse means by, “hidden with Christ in God”?
Allow a few responses from students. Share how your own life changed when you made a commitment to Christ.
Our identity, our very own life, is no longer ours, but is found in who Christ is and what He has done—it’s an amazing gift to us.
No longer should we struggle to discover who we are, because our character and whole self is wrapped up in who Jesus is.
That is, unless you want to struggle—and some people choose to do so.
Ask: Why do you think someone would continue to struggle with identity, even after they have given their life to the Lord? How is that possible?
Allow a few responses from students. Share your own personal struggle with allowing God to help you with your identity in Him.
Answer: Because we are human, and throughout our lives we will continually have to make the choice to be who God wants us to be, and not just follow our own path.
The whole world is telling you who you should be.
We hear it on social media, and at times, it can seem to bombard us every time we turn around.
Your friends and loved ones have opinions about what decisions you should make, what career path you should take, and on and on.
And while we need their godly guidance, it really comes down to a choice you will make for your own life.