Choose your Own Adventure! Parable Scavenger Hunt Cheat Sheet Clue #1 (Mt. 21:28-31) Clue #0 (give to students) Clue #12 (Matthew 21:28-31) Location: Clue #2 Clue #26 Clue #5 Clue #24 Clue #14 Clue #23 Clue #3 Clue #13 (Mt. 25:14-30) Clue #20 Clue #19 Clue #15 Clue #18 (Luke 10:25-37) Location: END Clue #29 (Luke 10:25-37) Location: END Clue #4 Clue #8 (Luke 10:25-37) Location: END Clue #27 Clue #25 Clue #7 (Luke 15:11-32) Location: END Clue #10 Clue #31 Clue #16 Clue #21 Clue #0 - Give to students: Clue #1 - Clue #2 - Clue #3 - Clue #4 - Clue #5 - Clue #6 - Clue #7 (end) - Clue #8 (end) - Clue # 9 - Clue #10 - Clue #17 (Mt. 20:1-16) Location: END Clue #6 Clue #28 LOCATION OF CLUES Clue #11 (Mt. 25:1-13) Location: END Clue #22 (Mt. 25:1-13) Location: END Clue #11 (end) - Clue #21 - Clue #12- Clue #22 (end) - Clue #13 - Clue #23 - Clue #14 - Clue #24 - Clue #15 - Clue #25 - Clue #16 - Clue #26 - Clue #17 (end) - Clue #27 - Clue #18 (end) - Clue #29 (end) - Clue #19 - Clue #30 - Clue #20 - Clue #31 -
#0 Your family owns a lawn service business. For the past two years, you ve been working for the business, helping your dad mow lawns all over town...often without pay! For the most part, it works out okay. But every once in a while, the family business conflicts with what YOU want to do. Take today, for instance. Your dad came up to you and said, We have a busy day on Saturday, and I need your help. Can you help with the mowing in the morning and in the afternoon? Here s the problem: You already were planning to go to the movies with your friends at the same time. What do you do? Tell your dad, Sure, that s fine, even though you don t really want to change your plans. Find Clue #1 Tell your dad, Sorry, I can t help you this Saturday. I already have plans. Find Clue #12 #1 When Saturday rolls around, however, you forget all about your commitment to your dad, and instead you have a great time with your friends at the movies. Big mistake! When you return home from the movies, your dad is waiting for you. He s received complaints from his clients, since no one showed up to mow their yards. You and your dad end up getting into a gigantic fight, in which you complain, I m not even getting paid for this work! Your dad doesn t say anything at first, but then he tells you to get in the car. He drives to the bank, where he shows you a special savings account that he set up for you. Every week, he puts your pay into this account, so that you can save for college. How do you respond? Read the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-31. Which do you think is more important, saying the right thing or doing the right thing? Are you more like the older brother or the younger brother? But that money is mine! I should have the right to make decisions about what to do with it! Find Clue #23 Wow, thanks for keeping up with it for me! Find Clue #2
#2 You and your dad begin heading home from the bank in silence. While driving down Airline Drive, you notice a familiar figure limping along the side of the road. As you get closer, you realize it s Sam Stewart, who goes to school with you. Sam s not the most popular kid at school, and he gets picked on a lot. To be honest, you ve never even talked to the guy! You wonder what he s doing here. What do you do? Ask your dad to pull over to talk to Sam. Find Clue #26 Say nothing, try to forget about it, and keep going home. Find Clue #5 #3 You feel like a millionaire, with your thousands of dollars to spend. There s no way you need to keep working for your dad anymore! You walk up to him one day and say, I quit! You can tell he s hurt that you don t want to work for him anymore, but he respects your decision. Meanwhile, you start lazing around in the afternoons and on the weekends. You hang out with your friends every night, partying and spending your money (and time) on things that are not good for you. Your parents watch you come and go, very much alarmed, but you don t listen to their advice, and soon they stop giving it to you. Eventually, your money runs out. What do you do? Apply for a job at the rival lawn mowing company across town. Ask your dad for forgiveness, and see if you can start working there again. Find Clue #16 Find Clue #7
#4 But you can t get the situation out of your mind...you keep thinking about watching Sam walk down the side of the road. And when you get to school on Monday, everyone s talking about what happened to Sam over the weekend. You notice that Sam is sitting by himself at lunch, looking pretty lonely. What do you do? Ignore the stares and whispers, and go sit with him at lunch. Find Clue #29 Sit with your friends as usual, but be careful not to say anything bad about Sam...and shoot him a smile every now and then. Find Clue #8 #5 As you continue heading home, you get a text from your best friend, asking if you ve heard the news about what happened to Sam. Apparently some other guys from your school beat Sam up earlier today. Your best friend is passing on the word because it s the latest gossip, and they seem to think it s funny. You know the guys your best friend is talking about; they pick on Sam all the time! What do you do? Ignore your friend s text, and try to forget about the whole thing. Find Clue #4 Ask your dad if you can head back to Airline to pick him up and take him home. Find Clue #26
#6 It s finally Saturday. You re up at the crack of dawn and head to work, still yawning. You work really hard from 5 a.m. to noon. At noon., Jimmy lines up all of the employees to pay you for the day s work. The guy in front of you just got here an hour ago, and Jimmy hands him $70 You re excited...you ve been working 7 times as long as that guy! Surely you ll get paid more! But when you get to the front of the line, Jimmy gives you a $50 bill and a $20 bill...same as the first guy! You re disappointed... surely your work was worth more than that? What do you do? Ask Jimmy about the discrepancy. Maybe he just made a mistake. Say nothing and go back home, feeling cheated out of your money. Find Clue #17 Find Clue #28 #7 You re planning out what you re going to say to your father. You know you ve made some horrible mistakes, and you have no idea how he s going to react. But when he hears you in the driveway, he runs outside and gives you a huge hug! Come on inside, he says. I m going to cook your favorite dinner tonight. What do you want? It s going to be great! You try to apologize, to explain, but he s having none of it. It s okay, he says. It doesn t matter what you ve done. I love you anyway. THE END Read the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11-32. What surprises you most about this story? Have you ever experienced unconditional love like this? How can you offer forgiveness, acceptance, and love to someone in your life who has wronged you?
#8 Read Hmmm...I know you re trying, but being silent means that you are participating in the bullying! You re probably not alone... there are probably a lot of people in the cafeteria who haven t directly made fun of Sam or beat him up. But when he s sitting there, alone at lunch, he probably feels very alone! He may even think that EVERYONE in the school is against him! As you continue through the school year, you start to distance yourself from all of your friends...they spend way too much time making fun of people and gossiping. And one day, you find yourself sitting with Sam in the lunch room, anyway! To your surprise, you find that the two of you have a lot in common, and you end up making a great new friend! THE END the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. What could you have done differently for Sam? Are there ever any situations in your life where you can a Good Samaritan? What might it cost you to do the right thing in situations like that? #9 You get on facebook and send out messages to bunches of people...not just your best friends, but all those random semi-acquantances whom you don t hang out with normally. You end up with a really random, but awesome party! No one knows each other very well, but by the end of the night, you re all having a blast and have a ton of new friends! THE END Read the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14:12-24. How is this party different from most parties that you have been to? What do each of the people in the story represent? How can you apply Jesus advice in verses 12-14 to your own life?
#10 The people in front of you look at you like you re crazy. We don t have enough money to pay for us AND you, too, they say. Sorry. You can hear them muttering to each other, Can you believe those idiots? How could they forget to bring ticket money? You have no choice now but to send a few people to the car and hope they return in time! Find Clue #31 #11 Your friends return with your wallets, but by this time, you re at the end of a really long line. And not 10 minutes later, a voice is heard over the loudspeakers, This concert is sold out. You can t believe you ve missed the chance to see Taylor Swift all because of your own foolishness! THE END Read the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Do you tend to be more like the wise virgins or the foolish virgins? In the parable, who or what does the bridegroom represent? What should we be ready for? How can we prepare?
#12When Saturday rolls around, however, you re feeling so guilty that you call your friends and tell them you won t be able to go. You work hard for your dad all day long, and even though you re tired at the end of the day, you know he s glad you changed your mind. He really appreciates your help! Read the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-31. Which do you think is more important, saying the right thing or doing the right thing? Are you more like the older brother or the younger brother? Find Clue #20 #13 One year passes, and you continue working faithfully for your dad, putting the money in your stocks. Your dad asks how your college fund is doing, and to your surprise, it has almost doubled! Well done, says your dad! As a reward, he gives you permission to invite a bunch of friends to a party tonight. What do you want to do with your friends? Read the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Do you think this story is fair? What does it tell you about managing the gifts God has given you?? What would be a wise investment? Have a video game marathon at your house. Find Clue #19 Go see Taylor Swift in concert. Find Clue #15
#14 Read Your dad says, You re crazy! What were you thinking, burying the money in the ground? At least if you had kept it in the bank, it could have gained interest! What do you do? the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Do you think this story is fair? Why or why not? What does it tell you about managing the gifts God has given you?? What would be a wise investment? Realize he s right, and ask him to put the money back in the bank for you. Feel stupid, but take the money back from him, and start spending it! Find Clue #2 Find Clue #3 #15 Stage You call up a few friends, as well as your crush. They all say yes, so you all head over to the Century Tel Center, excited. For some reason, they didn t sell tickets to this concert in advance it s first-come, firstserved. By the time you and your four friends get there, the line is already out the door of the Century Tel Center but you think you may have made it just in to still get a seat! Now you just have to wait in line for several hours. The time passes quickly, since you re so excited. All of the sudden, though, you realize you ve left your wallet (with the money your dad gave you) in the car! How will you be able to get tickets without money? You mention your predicament to your friends, who all start scrounging around in their pockets, too, and they come up with a grand total of $2.63 --- NOT enough for Taylor Swift tickets. What do you do? Send one or two people from your group to the car to bring back your wallet. Find Clue #31 Ask the people in front of you if you can borrow some cash. Find Clue #10
#16 You go in disguise to apply for the job, and you pick an alias. (What fake name would you give?) Under no circumstances do you want this guy to realize who you are: he ll think you re spying for your dad! Just when you think you ve been found out, Jimmy (the boss) says, Ok, I ll hire you. He gives you some instructions...you ll get paid at the end of every day. He reassures you that he s a fair guy, and that as long as you work hard, y all shouldn t have a lot of trouble. Be here this Saturday, he says, at 5 a.m. sharp! Find Clue #6 #17 Jimmy says, I paid you a fair rate. $10 an hour...that s more than you d make at a fast-food joint, isn t it? But...you paid EVERYONE $70, you say. And I worked a lot longer and a lot harder than some of these guys. Look, Jimmy says, You shouldn t be concerned about what the other guys make. All you have to be concerned about is what YOU make. If I choose to be generous with my money, I have that right, don t I? Reluctantly, you agree. Still, it doesn t seem all that fair. Nevertheless, you head home $70 richer than you were that morning! THE END Read the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16. Why does this story seem so unfair to us? What does it teach you about Jesus values? How do you think this parable applies at school? At work? At home? At church?
#18 Good chocie! You and your dad help Sam out... he s in bad shape! Then you drive him home. You ve never really talked to him before, but you and your dad make small talk with him all the way home. When you reach his house, you tell his mom what happened and help him inside. Thanks, he says. I thought you d be like your friends who did this to me, but I m really glad you re not. It s not a big deal, you say, but you know you ll never be the same again. Sam has opened your eyes to the truth about some of the people you hang out with, and you re determined to keep this from happening to anyone else again! THE END Read the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Are there ever any situations in your life where you can a Good Samaritan? What might it cost you to do the right thing in situations like that? #19 You invite 20 friends over at 7 p.m. for the biggest video game marathon of all time, including the person you ve had a crush on for three years. All of them reply instantly, saying they ll be there. You re thrilled! But when 7:00 comes, you re still the only one there. You start texting your friends to see what s up, and that s when the excuses start coming in: I have to walk my dog tonight, I have to do the laundry, I m grounded Your house is still set up for a party. What do you do? Call up that person you ve had a crush on for years...see what he/ she is really doing, and see if you can jump on board. Find Clue #30 Invite a bunch of random people over instead...you can still make this party a success! Find Clue #9
#20 As a reward for your help, your dad says, Why don t you invite some friends to hang out tonight? You re excited...you ve had a crush on a certain person for several years, and this is the perfect time to invite him/her to hang out with your friends. What do you decide to do? Have a video game marathon at your house. Find Clue #19 Go see Taylor Swift in concert. Find Clue #15 #21 Your friend reassures you, We re going as fast we can. But as soon as you hang up, you arrive at the front of the line. And the guy who s taking ticket money is NOT taking any excuses. I don t want to hear it, he says gruffly. Get out of line! What do you do now? Walk to the end of the line, and hope for the best. Find Clue #11 Head home... there s no way you ll get a seat now. Find Clue #22
#22 Read the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. You trudge out to the car, with your friends and your crush. What a horrible first date, if you can even call it that! You can t believe you ve missed the chance to see Taylor Swift... all because of your own foolishness. Do you tend to be more like the wise virgins or the foolish virgins? In the parable, who or what does the bridegroom represent? What should we be ready for? How can we prepare? #23 Your dad withdraws the money from the bank and gives it all to you, without even hesitating. Wow! You re now carrying around several thousand dollars in cash! What are you going to do with it? Investigate some stock options, so that you can really see your savings grow. Find Clue #13 Dig a hole in the backyard, and bury your cash underground. Find Clue #24 Start shopping! You can finally start to buy the things you ve been needing and if there s any leftover, you can save it for later. Find Clue #3
#24 Weeks pass your dad is doing some landscaping in the yard, and while digging he discovers your stash of cash. He enters the house, so excited that he s found this money! What do you do? Tell him about the mix-up Find Clue #14 Say nothing, and let him think he s hit the gold mine. Find Clue #25 #25 So now YOU have no money, and you can t even tell your dad why. If he finds out that you were silly enough to bury your money in the ground, and then lose it, he ll be furious at you! You concoct a secret plan to take on a second job to make up the difference. You can work on Saturday mornings at the new job, and then come help your dad out on Saturday afternoons. Where are you going to apply? The rival lawn mowing company in town Find Clue #16 The newspaper...for a paper route Find Clue #27
#26 You pull over, and Sam tells his story. Apparently some people at school (including some of your friends) have been bullying him, and today was the last straw. They beat him up and left him here. You remember that you have a First Aid Kit in the back of the car. What do you do? Since you know the people who did this, you don t want to get too involved! You get an ice pack for him and head home, hoping to forget all about it. Find Clue #4 Help treat his wounds, and offer him a ride home. Find Clue #18 #27 You go in for an interview, and are promptly hired. The boss (Jimmy) gives you some instructions.you ll get paid at the end of every day. He reassures you that he s a fair guy, and that as long as you work hard, y all shouldn t have a lot of trouble. They may even have some extra office work for you to do after you finish your route. Paper routes start early, he says. Be here on Saturday for your first day of work, by 5 a.m. sharp! Find Clue #6
#28 Weeks pass, and the same routine happens every single day that you work there. It doesn t take long before you get fed up with the unfairness of this place. You re a hard worker, and you can t stand working with slackers who get paid just as much as you. After all, you made just as much money -- if not more -- back at your dad s place. You decide to swallow your pride, explain the situation, and ask for your dad s forgiveness for squandering the money he gave you. Find Clue #7 #29 Good chocie! As you go sit with Sam, you can feel everyone s eyes on you. And you realize you ve never really talked to Sam before, but you smile and start up a conversation. At the end of lunch, Sam says, Thanks. I thought you d be like your friends who did this to me, but I m really glad you re not. It s not a big deal, you say, but you know you ll never be the same again. Sam has opened your eyes to the truth about some of the people you hang out with, and you re determined to keep this from happening to anyone else again! THE END Read the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Are there ever any situations in your life where you can a Good Samaritan? What might it cost you to do the right thing in situations like that?
#30 Your crush says, Oh, I m so sorry. Some of my friends decided to go see the Taylor Swift concert, and I forgot to text you back. We re waiting in line now...do you want to meet us there?? Of course you do! So you head up to the Century Tel Center. For some reason, they didn t sell tickets to this concert in advance it s first-come, first-served. By the time you and your four friends get there, the line is already out the door of the Century Tel Center but y all seem to have made it just in time to still get a seat! Now you just have to wait in line for several hours but the time passes quickly, since you re so excited. All of the sudden, though, you realize you ve left your wallet in the car! How will you be able to get tickets without money? You mention this problem to the people you re with, who scrounge around in their pockets but come up empty. How could all five of you have forgotten your wallets? What do you do? Send one or two people from your group to the car to bring back your wallet. Find Clue #31 Ask the people in front of you if you can borrow some cash. Find Clue #10 #31 Just as they head toward the parking lot, the line starts moving! The concert is about to begin! There s no way your friends will be back in time. What do you do? Call them and tell them to hurry up! Admit defeat...start heading home. Find Clue #21 Find Clue #22