Goal: A fun activity to demonstrate that nothing can wash away our sins except Jesus, but we must choose Him.

Verse: “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from His mouth. You will be His witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. Now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name” (Acts 22:14-16).

Supplies: A lot of Oreos! Milk, Water, Orange Juice, Mouthwash, Toothpaste and Toothbrush.
Activity: Divide your group into six equal teams. Distribute packages of Oreos to each team. The number of Oreos needed will depend on the number of students in each group. Try to give one package for every five students. You will need more Oreos for the rest of the activity, so be sure to set enough aside.    Give the students 30 seconds to eat as many Oreos as they can as a team.

After 30 seconds, find out which group at the most. Each group will select one person from their teams to go on to the next round of the challenge. The group that finished with the most Oreos eaten will have the opportunity to choose first in the next round. Let the groups choose according to the order in which they finished the first challenge.

For the next part of the challenge, the six students from each group will be asked to eat more Oreos and then use one of the beverages to clean the Oreos from their teeth. The group with the cleanest teeth will be declared the winner of the Oreo Challenge. Display each of the beverages, as well as the toothpaste and toothbrush (along with a bowl of water so they will be able to brush well) in front of the room. The first place team can come up to choose which item they think will be able to cleanse their teeth the best. All other groups will follow. The categories to choose from should be: toothbrush/toothpaste, mouthwash, milk, tomato juice, water and more Oreos. Obviously, some of these choices are much better than others.

Set the clock again for 30 seconds. During this time, have each of the six students eat as many Oreos as they can. When they are finished, set the clock for 1 minute. This time have them use the item they choose to clean their teeth. Award the cleanest teeth a prize.

Discussion: This really fun activity can lead to a serious discussion about what it takes to wash away our sin. Try to use the Oreos and other objects as symbols to show that only Jesus can take away our sin. The Oreos should represent our sin and how sin stains us. The only thing that really can take that sin away is a deep cleansing, in this case with a toothbrush, toothpaste and water. Use these things to symbolize the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Point out to your students that some of the other things may have appeared as if they might work to get the Oreo out of their teeth. Some of them may have done an OK job of getting their teeth clean, but there is only one thing that really worked. These are the things of the world that we might try to cling to before we realize our only hope is in Jesus. Be sure to mention that it’s our choice which one we use to rid us of our sin. We must choose Jesus. No matter how many Oreos we have eaten, He always will get us clean! This discussion could be taken into great depth or could be used as a basic illustration to help students who are just beginning to realize how Jesus could change their lives. Either way, the hope is that your youth always will remember to think about their salvation whenever they see an Oreo.

Follow-Up: Jesus spoke to us through stories, parables and analogies. Take this a step deeper and ask your students to come up with one of their own. Have each group come up with a story or analogy that demonstrates how only Jesus can wash away our sin.

Becky formerly was a lead youth coordinator, but resigned to raise her sons, ages 8 months to 7 years. She still has tons of ideas that God randomly gives her for activities to use with teens. She loves submitting those thoughts to YouthWorker Journal because it allows her to feel as if she’s still using the gifts and heart God gave her to minister to teens. She’s working on putting a blog together as a resource for youth ministers.