Clay in the Potter's Hands Youth Ministry Object Lesson

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Youth
Ministry
Object Lesson
- Clay in the
Potter’s Hands
www.creativeobjectlessons.com
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com
Lump of clay is chosen with a

purpose in mind. The potter
envisions a vessel that will be
useful to its final owner and a
credit to the potter's
craftsmanship and experience.
The potter applies pressure to
the clay in different ways
shaping and forming it until the
final product he imagined is
realized. The Bible tells us
Adam was made from clay. God
describes his relationship to us
as a Potter. We are the clay. Like
clay we can be moldable, or we
can become hard. The choice is
ours.
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Games Using Clay or Playdoh
Note: Playdoh, while generally

easy to remove can get mashed
into carpets and leave bihind
residue on some objects. You’ll
want to make sure you use it in a
way so that cleanup presents no
problems.
Best impressions – Give youth some

playdoh and send them on a
scavenger hunt to obtain
impressions of various objects in the
clay/ playdoh. You can put things on
your list like 5 different size coins,
comb, leaf, key, button, pen cap,
bottle cap, can tab, fork, shell, dog-
tag, chess piece, cross, earring,
paper clip, tweesers, action figure,
bug, small lightbulb, lego, marble,
battery, chain, rope, pencil, pair of
dice, monopoly piece, checkers,
wrench, nail, screw, watch, belt
buckle, thimble, safety pin, whistle,
lifesaver, golf ball, a letter, word
from an engraving, etc. Add your
own.
Clay Bowling – Have youth make

balls from the clay / playdoh. See
which one can get their ball to roll
the farthest, or the straightest….
Or get closest to a target.
Longest snake – Which team can

roll our the longest snake given
the same amount of clay.
Ring toss – Youth make coil hoops

and do a ring toss over objects for
various points.
Great Minds Think Alike – Provide

each of the youth with a tub of
play dough. Have all the youth sit
in a circle with their backs to each
other. Call out a theme; example
Animal, Shape, Candy, Letter,
Pastry, etc. Give the players 1
minute to create something with
that theme. When the time is up
everyone turns around to face the
center of the circle and shows
what they have made. Points are
determined by how many youth
thought of the same thing to
make.
So, for example if the theme was

ANIMAL and four teens made
cats, two made fish, six made
dogs, and one made a penguin
then all the youth who made cats
would get 4 pts, all who made
fish would get 2 pts, all that
made a dog get six points.
Pass the Clay – Divide the youth

into two or more teams, sit them in
a circle, and then give one person
on each team a large lump of
clay/Playdoh. When you shout out
an object, scene or word, the
person holding the clay begins to
shape it as fast as they can. After a
few seconds blow a whistle or use
some other loud noise to indicate a
change and then the clay must be
passed to the next person who
picks up where the first person left
off.
Continue to change sculptors

every few seconds. Shout a final
“STOP” after which each team
shows off their creation. You can
award points for the most
realistic, the funniest, etc. You can
use Biblical objects, people, and
ideas or everyday objects like a
hotdog stand, a clown, a barn
with animals, A plate of spaghetti
with meatballs, etc.
Pass the Clay Mystery Object – This

is played just like pass the clay, but
the first person must start making
something without communicating
to the rest of the group in any way
what the object is. You can assign
an item to the first person or let
them choose the item on their
own. Once you yell the final stop,
have the first person express what
they started to create and then
compare this to the final object. It
can make for lots of laughs.
Playdoh Pictionary – Divide the

youth into 2 or more teams. Each
team chooses one member to
start the game as the sculptor.
It’s played just like pictionary, but
instead of drawing the word, the
youth must shape it from the
Playdoh/clay. The first team to
correctly guess the word wins a
point. After a word is shaped and
guessed, the next person on the
team becomes the sculptor. The
team at the end of the game with
the most points wins.
The sculptors may only mould the

clay to represent the word and
cannot say anything, make noises,
use actions and gestures or
represent the word in any other
way. They also are not allowed to
shape any letters or numbers. The
words can be people, animals,
objects, concepts, Adjectives, etc.
VARIATION: Instead of going
through the whole bowl of words
to win, you can set a timer. When
the time is up, the team with the
most words guessed, wins.
Playdoh Pictionary Race – Played

the same as playdoh pictionary, but
this one is a race. Each team sends
one “sculpter” up to get the first
word. They then run back to the
team and sculpt the word. As soon
as their teammates correctly guess
the word, a new person from their
group who has not gone yet runs
up to the person with the list and
they are given the next word. The
team who successfully gets through
the whole list first, wins.
PlayDoh Pong – Set up plastic cups

at one end of the table in a row of
five, a row of four, a row of three, a
row of two, and then one to form a
triangle of cups. In the bottom of
each cup write a different point
value – In some cups put 5, others
put 10, and in others put 15. To
play have each youth stand and the
other side of the table. Provide
them with a can of Playdoh and a
plastic spoon. Give them two
minutes to create as many Playdoh
balls as they can and use the spoon
to try and flick them into the cups.
At the end of two minutes count up
their points. Whoever has the most
points at the end wins.
PlayDoh Treasure Hunt – Mix

about 50-100 coins and pennies
into a large amount of Playdoh
and roll the Playdoh into a thick,
flat mass on a table. At your
signal, they can use plastic
spoons to dig into the playdoh
and collect as many pennies as
they can in a given amount of
time. The person with the most
value coins wins.
Tallest tower – Give each team a

lump of playdoh. The team that
builds the tallest standing tower
in the given time wins. Add some
dried spaghetti for a little more
excitement. The tower must be
standing with no help from the
group members or any other
devices.
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
• What does it mean to
sculpt, shape, or mould
something into a particular
shape?
• What are things that might
be molded, sculpted, or
formed?
• How does something that’s
molded become changed
from its original form?
• How did you decide what

your creation was going to
look like?
• Did you come up with a
plan before you started or
did you just start and make
changes as you went? Was
this a good or bad method?
Why?
• What can this activity tell
us about God working in
our lives?
MAKE IT PRACTICAL
• Why do you think God wants

to mold us?
• Why is it better for us to be
like clay?
• What are some things in life
that try to mould us and shape
us?
• What are some typical molds
that students at your school
get squeezed into?
• Why do we give way to

pressure to be shaped by
things and people around us?
• Is conformity good or bad?
Explain? What makes the
difference?
• Why do we give in so easy to
allow us things to force us to
conform?
• Why is it difficult for us to
allow God to mould us?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
• What are some of the things

you are you being squeezed
into?
• What things are shaping your
life?
• How would you describe the
work of the Divine Potter in
your life?
• What can you do to be more
yielding to God’s hand to shape
your life?
SCRIPTURE VERSES
Genesis 2:5-7 – “In the day that the

LORD God made the earth and the
heavens, when no plant of the field
was yet in the earth and no herb of
the field had yet sprung up—for the
LORD God had not caused it to rain
upon the earth, and there was no
man to till the ground; but a mist
went up from the earth and watered
the whole face of the ground—then
the LORD God formed man of dust
from the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being.”
Job 10:9 – “Remember that thou

hast made me of clay; and wilt thou
turn me to dust again?”
Jeremiah 18:3-6 – “Then I went

down to the potter’s house, and
there he was, making something at
the wheel. And the vessel that he
made of clay was marred in the hand
of the potter; so he made it again
into another vessel, as it seemed
good to the potter to make. Then the
word of the LORD came to me,
saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not
do with you as this potter?’ says the
LORD. ‘Look, as the clay is in the
potter’s hand, so are you in My hand,
O house of Israel!’ “
Isaiah 45:9 – “Woe to those who

quarrel with their Maker, those who
are nothing but potsherds among
the potsherds on the ground. Does
the clay say to the potter,’ What are
you making?’ Does your work say,’
The potter has no hands’?”
Isaiah 64:8 “Yet you, Lord, are our

Father. We are the clay, you are the
potter; we are all the work of your
hand.”
Romans 9:21 – “Does not the potter

have the right to make out of the
same lump of clay some pottery for
special purposes and some for
common use?”
Romans 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I

urge you, brothers and sisters, in
view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and pleasing to God – this is your
true and proper worship. Do not
conform to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve
what God’s will is – his good,
pleasing and perfect will.”
II Timothy 2:20-26 – “In a great

house there are not only vessels of
gold and silver but also of wood
and earthenware, and some for
noble use, some for ignoble. If any
one purifies himself from what is
ignoble [those practices which
appear just before this in the
context ---wrongful attitudes,
contentiousness, ungodliness,
doctrinal aberrations, iniquity]
then he will be a vessel for noble
use, consecrated and useful to the
master of the house, ready for any
good work.
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HOME MADE PLAYDOH RECIPE
You can find various alternative

recipes for this on the internet
• 1 cup cold water

• Food coloring of your choice
• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup table salt
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• Scented oil or extract
(optional, just for scent)
Combine the ingredients in a

heavy saucepan and stir to mix
and review the color. The color
will deepen when the
playdough is cooked. To get
really good purples and colors
like black I bought gel food
coloring. Cook over medium
heat, stirring constantly until
the Playdoh pulls away from the
sides of the pan.
About 3 to 5 minutes, or until it

has the consistency of mashed
potatoes or well, Playdoh.
Remove from the heat and
allow it to cool for 1 minute
before kneading the dough.
Store, after cooling, in a plastic
container or resealable plastic
bags. If stored in an air tight
container or bag it can be kept
for months.
Creative Object Lessons
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and Names / Descriptions of God.
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Clay in the Potter's Hands Youth Ministry Object Lesson

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www.CreativeYouthIdeas.

Lump of clay is chosen with a

Games Using Clay or Playdoh

Note: Playdoh, while generally

Best impressions – Give youth some

Clay Bowling – Have youth make

Longest snake – Which team can

Ring toss – Youth make coil hoops

Great Minds Think Alike – Provide

So, for example if the theme was

Pass the Clay – Divide the youth

Continue to change sculptors

Pass the Clay Mystery Object – This

Playdoh Pictionary – Divide the

The sculptors may only mould the

Playdoh Pictionary Race – Played

PlayDoh Pong – Set up plastic cups

PlayDoh Treasure Hunt – Mix

Tallest tower – Give each team a

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

• How did you decide what

• Why do you think God wants

• Why do we give way to

• What are some of the things

Genesis 2:5-7 – “In the day that the

Job 10:9 – “Remember that thou

Jeremiah 18:3-6 – “Then I went

Isaiah 45:9 – “Woe to those who

Isaiah 64:8 “Yet you, Lord, are our

Romans 9:21 – “Does not the potter

Romans 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I

II Timothy 2:20-26 – “In a great

HOME MADE PLAYDOH RECIPE

You can find various alternative

• 1 cup cold water

Combine the ingredients in a

About 3 to 5 minutes, or until it

Creative Object Lessons

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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