AYS BIBLE GAMES

 

Sword Drill

A sword drill or Bible drill is a classic game that is fun and doesn’t take much preparation to play. It’s the perfect game to fill time any time, and you can assess how well your group knows their Bible.

Make sure everyone in the group has a Bible. Make a list of Scriptures or simply pick them at random. Have the group hold their Bibles above their heads. Call out a Scripture, including book, chapter and verse (for example, John 3:16). The first person to read the verse wins that round. Award simple prizes to the winners.

Bible Win, Lose or Draw

Bible Win, Lose or Draw is loosely based on the TV game show. Make a list of Bible stories, keeping in mind that these stories will be drawn during game play. Cut the list apart and put the pieces of paper in a bowl.

Break your group into two groups. Supply each group with a drawing surface–either a large pad of paper or a white board. Flip a coin to find out which group draws first. Have a member of that group pick a Bible story from the bowl; this is the person who will be drawing. Give the first group one minute in which the person draws and the rest of the group guesses the Bible story being depicted. If the group guesses the story within the allotted minute, they are awarded 10 points.

Once the minute is up, if the team hasn’t already gotten the answer correct, the topic is then opened up to all groups, and the team that guesses the right answer is awarded 10 points. Award the team an additional five points if they can tell the place in Scripture where the story comes from. Continue the game by letting the next group pick a story and draw. The groups take turns back and forth until either time is called or the stories have all been used. The team with the most points at the end is the winner.

BIBLE MEMORIZATION

If your class is into memorization try this exercise: See how many different books of the Bible your group can memorize a verse from, you could have different students do different books.

GUESS WHO

Read a Bible story with the names left out and see who can guess the character or characters.

BIBLE VERSE BEE

This can be played individually or can be adapted to teams. If teams are chosen be sure each individual participates.

Start out with each one (or team) quoting a Bible verse. When a person can no longer think of one he has to drop out. They must be whole verses and no verse may be repeated. Keep going around till just one person is left.

TRIVIA QUESTION

Try asking your group a fairly difficult Bible question and let them find the answer and bring it next time you meet.

GUESS THAT CHARACTER

Get some adults to cooperate on this one. A few days before time give each one a name of a Bible character and possibly the reference in the Bible. Have them read over the story and be prepared to give clues about who they are.

When it’s time have them sit in front facing your group. They can dress to match the character if they want. The young people can then ask questions and try to guess who the characters are.

NAME CHAIN

Start at the back or front of the room and go around and have each student name a Bible character. The first student names a character then the next student has to name a character that starts with the last letter of the character given by the first student. Also you could just randomly call on students that had their hands up.

Example: The first student says Abraham. The next student then would give a character that started with the letter “M” like Michael. The next student would use “L” maybe Luke, then Ezekiel and so on. If the class is doing it as a group, see how long they can go without repeating a name or getting stuck.

Another idea is to divide into two groups. One side would start with a name then the other side would name a character and go back and forth till one side gets stumped. You may want to set a time limit on thinking of a name.

Here are a couple of lists to help you:
Alphabetized list of men in the Bible
Alphabetized list of women in the Bible

WHERE DO YOU FIND…?

The purpose of this exercise is to help the student remember where things are found in the Bible. Here are some references that can either be read by the leader or used as a Sword Drill before playing this game.
John 5:39 2 Tim. 3:16 Psa. 119:11 1 Pet. 2:2 1 Kg. 8:56

Read the Scripture but not the reference. The student then writes down whether the verse is found in the Old Testament or the New Testament. If he knows what book it is in he writes that down; do the same for the chapter and verse. Four points are possible for each verse if the student can give the full reference.
Be sure to match your verses with the age level of your group and their general Bible knowledge.

Example: The teacher reads- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If the student knows this verse came from the New Testament, he would write down “NT”. For the book line he would write “John”. But if he could not remember the chapter and verse he would receive a score of 2 points for that verse.

Here are a couple of PDF files you can print out to help in this game:
Verses for “Where Do You Find”
Worksheet for “Where Do You Find”

What’s his Address?

Many Bible stories are familiar but we don’t always know where they are found at in the Bible. This exercise will help your group get familiar with finding where some of the people are located in the Bible. Read the name of the character and let the person or team tell which book it is found in. Also please note that the books listed here are where the main incidents took place, there may be references to the character mentioned in other places; use your own judgment.

Here are some more ideas on variations of this game. Try making flash cards with the Bible character instead of just saying the name. You could also incorperate this into the game above called “Where Do You Find”. Read a verse about the Bible character and let them guess where it was from.

David- I & II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles
Joseph of Arimathea- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Enoch– Genesis
Deborah- Judges
Joseph, son of Jacob- Genesis
Balaam- Numbers
Noah- Genesis
Dorcas- Acts
Naomi- Ruth
Priscilla- Acts
Lot- Genesis
Jacob- Genesis
Miriam- Exodus, Numbers
Rahab- Joshua
Sarah- Genesis
Esua- Genesis
Naaman- 2 Kings
Rachel- Genesis
Stephen- Acts
Paul- Acts
Abraham- Genesis
Abednego- Daniel
Agrippa- Acts
Gideon- Judges
Martha- Luke, John
Felix- Acts
Ruth- Ruth
Elijah- 1 & 2 Kings
Elisha- 1 & 2 Kings
Peter- 4 Gospels, Acts
Nebuchadnezzar- Daniel
Naomi- Ruth
Silas- Acts
Esther- Esther
Hamaan- Esther
Isaac- Genesis
Rebekah- Genesis
Meshach- Daniel
Abel- Genesis
Shadrach- Daniel
Moses- Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Solomon- 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles
Joshua- Joshua, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Incidents

Here is a variation to the above game. Only this time you give an incident that happened and the person or team can guess what book it is found in.

The fiery furnace—Daniel
The prophet fed by birds—1 Kings
Someone who told a lie and died for it—Acts
A young man thrown to the lions—Daniel
The faith chapter—Hebrews
The borrowed axe that floated—2 Kings
Noah and the ark—Genesis
A man waited 38 years beside a pool but never made it in—St. John
Jesus’ crucifixion—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
The man who used a mantle to get across a river—2 Kings
The birth of John the Baptist—Luke
The visit of the wise men—Matthew
The boy captive who became ruler—Genesis
The creation—Genesis
The visit of the shepherds—Luke
The fellow who traded his inheritance for a bowl of pottage—Genesis
The man swallowed by a fish—Jonah
David & Goliath—1 Samuel
The coat of many colors—Genesis
The boy who ran away from home—Luke
The Fruit of the Spirit Galatians
The armour of God Ephesians
Cain and Abel Genesis
The parable of the 10 virgins Matthew
Boaz Ruth
Nicodemus talking with Jesus John
The Ten Commandments Exodus and Deuteronomy

Matching Game

Match the character with the incident or place, etc. You can put these on index cards in 2 columns. Try fastening them with yarn to a sheet so you can turn them over easily. Have them numbered on one side with the name or incident on the other.

This game seems to work well with your group divided into two teams. Allow each team to work as a group. Choose which team goes first and have them pick a number in the first column and then find a match in the second column.

Moses—burning bush
Noah—ark
Achan—Babylonish garment
Rahab—scarlet cord
Elijah—chariot of fire
Esther—queen
Haman—gallows
Solomon—Proverbs
Judas—betrayed Jesus
Felix—Roman governor
Samson—300 foxes
NT—27 books
Daniel—lions’ den
Naaman—leprosy
Zaachaeus—Sycamore tree
David—sling
Joshua—Moses’ successor
Paul—missionary
Shadrach—fiery furnace
Jonah—whale
Joseph—coat of many colors
Esau—bowl of pottage
OT—39 books

Mother’s Day Matching Game

Match the mother and her child. You can put these on index cards in 2 columns. Try fastening them with yarn to a sheet so you can turn them over easy. Have them numbered on one side with the name on the other. The player or team would then call out a number on both sides and if they matched they would get a point.

Hannah—Samuel
Rachel—Joseph
Eve—Cain
Leah—Reuben
Rebekah—Esau
Ruth—Obed
Bathsheba—Solomon
Leah—Judah
Eunice—Timothy
Rebekah—Jacob
Elisabeth—John Baptist
Eve—Abel
Mary—Jesus
Sarah—Isaac
Salome—James
Leah—Levi
Mary—John Mark
Hagar—Ishmael

COUPLE MATCHING GAME

You can put these on index cards in 2 columns. Try fastening them with yarn to a sheet so you can turn them over easily.

This game can be played around Valentine’s Day. The group can be on teams but each one must guess individually. No writing anything down or giving hints.

Abraham- Sarah
Moses- Zipporah
David- Michal
Jacob- Rachel
Isaac- Rebekah
Boaz- Ruth
Zacharias- Elisabeth
Aquila- Priscilla
Joseph- Mary
Ahab- Jezebel
Adam- Eve
Ahasuerus- Esther
Elimelech- Naomi
Elkanah- Hannah
Lapidoth- Deborah
Lot- Lot’s Wife
Philip- Herodias

BIBLE SCAVENGER HUNT

This exercise is to encourage your students to search the Scriptures. They should put down a Bible reference for each “item” they are hunting for. There is more then one answer possible for some of the items.

If you want to divide up into teams try giving the “even” numbered items to one side and the “odd” numbered items to the other. Or just see which team gets all of them first.
1. A shepherd.
2. A verse with only 2 words.
3. Two men who did not die.
4. Roll call of the heroes of faith.
5. A verse with 90 words in it.
6. A man with no parents.
7. A chapter with 176 verses.
8. A tax collector.
9. A lightweight axe.
10. A cupbearer.
11. A harp player.
12. A chapter with only 2 verses.
13. A slave.
14. Heart attack victim.
15. A woman with make-up.
16. Two people involving coats.
17. A leper.
18. A fisherman.
19. A snake-bitten man.
20. A snake on a stick.

Scripture references to “Bible Scavenger Hunt” Some may have more than 1 answer.
1. A shepherd. 1 Sam. 16: 11 (David); Gen. 30:31 (Jacob); John 10:11 (Jesus)
2. A verse with only 2 words. Jn 11:35
3. Two men who did not die. Gen. 5:24 (Enoch); 2 Kings 2:11 (Elijah)
4. Roll call of the heroes of faith. Hebrews 11
5. A verse with 90 words in it. Esther 8:9
6. A man with no parents. Gen. 1:27 (Adam)
7. A chapter with 176 verses. Psalm 119
8. A tax collector. Matt. 9:9 (Matthew); Luke 19:2 (Zacchaeus)
9. A lightweight axe. 2 Kings 6:6
10. A cupbearer. Neh. 1:11 (Nehemiah)
11. A harp player. 1 Sam. 16:23 (David)
12. A chapter with only 2 verses. Psalm 117
13. A slave. Gen. 37:28 (Joseph)
14. Heart attack victim. 1 Sam. 25:37 (Nabal)
15. A woman with make-up. 2 Kings 9:30 (Jezebel)
16. Two people involving coats. Gen. 37:3 (Joseph); 1 Sam. 2:19 (Samuel)
17. A leper. 2 Kings 5:1 (Naaman); Num. 12:10 (Miriam); Matt. 26:6 (Simon)
18. A fisherman. Matt. 4:18, 21 (Peter, Andrew, James, John)
19. A snake-bitten man. Acts 28:3 (Paul)
20. A snake on a stick. Num. 21:8