The Hunger Games 3-part Bible Study (great for D-nows)
These activities and lessons were planned for a small youth group but can be adapted easily for larger groups.
It may be possible that some of your students have not read The Hunger Games books or seen the movie, in which case you should either watch the movie on opening night or will need to give a brief primer on the plot and characters.
Lesson 1: The Reaping
1. Crowd Breaker Activity: Hunger Games Pictionary
Supplies Needed: Large White Board, Markers, Eraser, Timer
Divide your group into two teams. Teams will take turns sending a representative to the white board to draw a Hunger Games-related picture that is written on a card. The representative has one minute to try to get his or her teammates to guess what is on the card using only pictures (no words, letters, symbols, etc.).
Ideas for cards: Katniss, Peeta, Prim, Gale, The Reaping, Rue, District 12, The Arena, The Capitol, District 13, Tracker Jackers, Muttations
2. Watch "The Reaping" scene of the film (chapters 3 and 4 in the first book).
Preface watching the film clip with this question: Is there anyone for whom you would be willing to sacrifice your life?
Watch the clip.
3. Debriefing Questions/Four Corners
Before the meeting, write each of the following questions on a separate piece of paper, and place the papers on the walls in four corners of the room (number the corners 1-4):
What do you think was going through Katniss' head as she volunteered to take her sister's place?
What do you think was going through Prim's head as Katniss volunteered to take her place?
How would you respond if you were in Katniss' place?
How would you respond if you were in Prim's place?
Have students scatter around the room and go to corners of their choosing. Have a leader close his or her eyes and pick a number between 1 and 4. Students in the selected corner answer the question in their corner. After several students answer, have them move around to a new corner. Have the leader call a new number, and those students answer their question. Continue this until most students answer a question (have the leader repeat a number or two so students can't avoid being called on by going to previously called corners).
4. Bible Study: John 15:12-15.
Read the Scripture passage. Discuss how Jesus no longer calls us servants or followers, but friends. He laid down His life for us, His friends. He not only gave His life physically, but also laid aside much of His divine nature to become human. Because He gave His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for others. Most of us never will find ourselves in a situation such as Katniss and Prim, so ask students about more practical and real-life ways they can give their lives for others. Discuss how students can sacrifice for those in their lives.
5. Follow-up Four Corners
Repeat the Four Corners activity described above, but use the following questions:
Why do The Hunger Games exist?
What connections do you see between the world of the Hunger Games and our own world?
Has anyone ever made a great sacrifice for you? How did you respond?
In what ways can you lay down your life for another?
Game: The Hunger Games
Lesson 2: True Friendship
The kids in our youth group developed their own version of The Hunger Games. It is like a big game of tag where the kids run around the church campus trying to kill each other by throwing whiffle balls or other harmless objects at each other until a student is crowned the victor as the last one standing.
We modified the game to give it a little more purpose to tie in to the Bible study lesson. Also, we have a very small youth group, which works great for this game. It would take some major modification to play with a large group. Here are the rules:
1. The object of the game is to be the last one standing and to have acquired the survival objects of food and water (more about these in a moment).
2. Set the boundaries for the game based on the layout of your meeting area. This game is best played outside, but can be played indoors.
3. Use a large open space on your church campus as the Cornucopia. Place a large basket in the middle of this area with a variety of weapons (i.e., whiffle balls and other soft objects that are safe for throwing at each other). You also can place objects such as pieces of cardboard that kids can use as shields in the Cornucopia, as well as hide weapons around the campus.
4. Around the campus, hide survival objects of food and water. You can use little packets of fruit snacks or granola bars and small water bottles. Kids need to find one food packet and one water bottle in order to win.
5. The game starts with all the kids in a large circle around the Cornucopia. On "Go!" kids can run into the Cornucopia to try to get weapons, or they can run out into the Arena to find shelter.
6. Kids need to find food and water in order to win the game.
7. Kids can kill each other—or take other kids out of the game—by hitting them with the weapons. Once a student is hit, s/he is out of the game. When a kid is hit and taken out of the game, s/he must surrender all weapons, food and water s/he has collected to the one who hit him/her.
8. Before the game starts, give students a strategy hint that it may be beneficial to try to form alliances with other students. Yes, there can only be one winner so they may need to turn on each other at some point, but it can help them get further in the game if they team up with others.
9. When a student has found food and water and has eliminated all the other students, s/he is declared a winner.
Game Debriefing:
After the game, ask students to respond to these questions:
• Did you form an alliance? With whom?
• How did forming an alliance make the game easier? How did it make the game harder?
• What is the difference between an alliance and a friendship?
Film Clips:
Watch the clip in which Rue shows Katniss the tracker-jacker hive. Then skip ahead to the scenes in which Katniss and Rue blow up the Careers' food stash and in which Rue is killed.
Film Debriefing:
After watching the film clips, ask the following questions:
• Are Katniss and Rue allies or friends?
• When do they switch from being allies to being friends?
• Katniss has witnessed a number of deaths in the Arena. Why does she take Rue's death so personally?
• What makes Rue such a popular character among readers?
Bible Study:
Divide students into groups and have them look up the following Scripture verses, then share with the larger group what they learned about friendship.
• John 15:12-15
• Proverbs 12:26
• Proverbs 22:24-25
• 1 Corinthians 15:33
• Romans 12:10
• Ephesians 4:29-32
• Colossians 3:12-14
• Proverbs 11:14
• Proverbs 17:17
• Proverbs 27:17
Conclude by reading this C.S. Lewis quote to the group and asking students to respond to it.
"Friendship is unnecessary, like art or philosophy. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival."
Lesson 3: Haymitch = Holy Spirit?
Game:
Begin the meeting time by playing the Hunger Games gamedescribed in the previous lesson, but with one minor change. In addition to finding the survival items (food and water), students also must find some other hidden object (show students this object) in order to win the game. Additionally, have one of your helpers hide somewhere on campus to be the mystery helper. This person has a supply of food and water and a clue to the whereabouts of the hidden object. If students find the mystery helper, they can receive either a survival item or the clue. The student who finds the survival items and the hidden object and survives the Arena is the winner.
Additionally, students may reenter the game after they have been killedif they go back to the central meeting place and memorize and reciteJohn 14:16: "And I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Helper, to be with you forever."
Game Debriefing:
Ask students if any of them were able to find the mystery helper. What kind of help did they receive? How helpful was the mystery helper?
Lesson Introduction:
In the Hunger Games, Haymitch looks out for Katniss and Peeta, providing what they need when they need it. He leads Katniss to water and sends her medicine to help her own wounds, as well as Peeta's injuries. In the same way, the Holy Spirit provides us with what we need when we need it (Disclaimer: the analogy should not be stretched too far; do not say the Holy Spirit is a washed-up drunk guy).
Reading:
Read page 167, starting with, "Return to the lake. No good. I'd never make it," through page 169, ending with, "Because he knows I've almost found it." Then read page 170, starting with, "I have misjudged Haymitch." through page 171, ending with, "I snuggle down in my sleeping bag, hanging on to my water bottle for dear life, which of course, it is."
In this section, Katniss is delirious with dehydration, feeling her body beginning to shut down. She wonders why Haymitch is not helping her by sending her a silver parachute with water. Then she realizes he is not helping her at that moment because she is so close to finding water on her own. She realizes Haymitch does not want to use his precious resources to give her something that is within arm's reach.
Lesson:
Similar to Haymitch, the Holy Spirit watches over us, leading, guiding us and equipping us for the work God has laid out for us to do. James 1:17says God provides us with every good and perfect gift. Ephesians 1:3says God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. God has given us—and continues to give us—everything we need to serve Him.
Ask students (and allow them to wrestle with this) if God has promised us every good gift and spiritual blessing why we often feel we are lacking? Why do we lack the finances or the skills to do what we believe God has called us to do?
Similar to Katniss with Haymitch, we need to realize the Holy Spirit sees the big picture and knows better than we do what we need. The Spirit provides us with exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Rather than getting discouraged by the apparent lack of provision of apparent unanswered prayers, we need to realize He already has given us what we need; we just need to look a little closer for it.
We serve a loving God who looks out for us and provides us with all that we need. If Katniss can trust Haymitch (a washed-up old drunk), then we certainly can trust the Holy Spirit.