Monthly Archives: March 2006

Object Lessons

Yo-Yo’s

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Materials

  • 2 or 3 yo-yos

 

Objective

  • Life is full of ups and downs, mountains and valleys, depressions and mountaintop experiences, difficulties and triumphs.

 

Activity

  • Invite someone skilled with a yo-yo to give a demonstration.
  • And/ Or have a yo-yo competition and invite all who have yo-yo’s to bring them to the meeting.

 

Application

  • Each yo-yo looks a little different, but all yo-yos are made the same way.
  • Hold up a dangling yo-yo, string unwound. This string is attached to a post inside the yo-yo. When you hold on to your string and drop your yo-yo, the yo-yo spins up and down the string.
  • This yo-yo reminds me of the Christian life. God puts us down on earth. (Spin the yo-yo down.) We spin around for awhile, but eventually we need God’s power to keep on spinning. (Take the yo-yo up). Like the string, we are connected to God by prayer and worship.
  • Even though we’re on earth, God wants us to aim for the things in heaven. God wants us to remember that we belong to him. If we run out of strength down here (let the yo-yo stop its spin), God reaches down and gathers us back up (wind the yo-yo up). And one day God will take us up to heaven to be with him forever.
  • In the meantime, as Christian yo-yos we keep spinning around, living on earth (spin the yo-yo down), but always connected to God up in heaven (take the yo-yo up).


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
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Children's Sermon

Life Isn’t Fair

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high.jpgMaterials
1. Masking Tape
2. Tape Measure

Objective
Fairness is often a matter of perspective.

Preparation
1. Tape two 4-foot strips of masking tape on the floor, 12 to 15 feet apart.
2. Tape markings to the wall labeled with the height.

The Lesson
1. Invite participants in a competition to determine who can jump the highest.
2. Give them some time to warm up and practice jumping then give them 2 chances.
3. Award the girl and guy with the highest jump and the highest vertical jump (distance between reaching up and jumping up).
4. Then invite participants to compete in a distance jump.
5. Again let them practice. But this time choose a couple of participants to pull aside. Make them do leg exercises. You might even give a couple a jump rope so they can practice jumping. Be tough on them… many are likely to say its not fair because the others don’t have to exercise.
6. With smaller children, allow them to continuously jump from one line and keep jumping in multiple jumps until they reach the other. Then ask them to try to jump the distance in a single jump.
7. With older participants simply allow them to jump and measure the distance where they land.
8. On the second attempt, choose one of the smallest participants in the group, pick them up under the arms and carry him or her across to the other tape strip. (get assistance if needed so you don’t injure your back)

Discussion
Wow! Isn’t (name) a great jumper?
Let participants respond. Most will probably complain that the jump wasn’t fair.

Sometimes God helps others more because they need more help. Being fair depends on the way people look at things. The little child may think it isn’t fair because all the older children are bigger and have longer legs to jump. Some think it isn’t fair because I help the little one. Others may think it isn’t fair because I made life tough for some of you and made you work out. But I was making your muscles stronger so you could jump farther. Yes God doesn’t help everyone in the same way so it may seem like he isn’t fair. But God will always do what’s best for you. If he always carried you, your legs would become very weak, but sometimes he will carry you when you really need it. Sometimes he will allow things to be difficult to make you stronger. There are some things we just can’t do by ourselves. We have to trust God to help us. God promises to support us just like I supported (name). When we’re feeling weak, we can just jump into God’s arms, and he’ll help us be strong.

Scripture
Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 12:1-17


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Teaching Illustrations

I Can’t

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tuna.jpgMy one and a half year old daghter has picked up a new phrase “I can’t” which really means I won’t. Often times in our lives we are called upon by the Lord to display a committment that doesn’t say I can’t but how can I?

I read this story in our local newpaper a few years ago. In the seaside town of Provincetown, MA, on Cape Cod a man and his wife were sitting on their porch over looking the ocean when the man noticed a disturbence in the water just a few feet from their house. At first he assumed it was a school of blues that had traveled to close to shore and were in a feeding frenzy.

 

But upon closer examination he noticed it was actually one large fish, a shark perhaps, since they are not uncommon in these waters. But as he stared he made out the distinct shape of a large Tuna with it’s characteristic forked tail. Knowing that these fish weigh hundreds of pounds and can fetch thousands of dollars, he wondered how he might catch it. He returned to his porch and found an old rope from a lobster pot. He fashioned the rope into a lasso and set out for the water. On his second attempt he was able to throw the lasso around the forked tail of the Tuna and drag it into shore. A few phone calls later and the fish was off to market.

How diligently we sieze the opportunities that God sends our way inlarge amount will determine what we accomplish while on this earth and what praise we will recieve from His lips in heaven.

Author: Ben Feldott
Source: Unknown

 


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Teaching Illustrations

Egg or Potato?

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potato.jpgBillie Wilcox, on the lessons of a disaster: While my husband Frank and I were living in Pakistan many years ago, our six-month-old baby died. An old Punjabi who heard of our grief came to comfort us. “A tragedy like this is similar to being plunged into boiling water,” he explained. “If you are an egg, your affliction will make you hard-boiled and unresponsive. If you are a potato, you will emerge soft and pliable, resilient and adaptable.” It may sound funny to God, but there have been times when I have prayed, “O Lord, let me be a potato.”

Source: Guideposts Magazine

 


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Creative Teaching Ideas

Red and Black

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Materials
About 20 slips of paper, 2 pencils, sweets

Instructions
Divide the large groups into two smaller groups, and explain that an experiment is about to take place. Give the following instructions: Each group will have 9 chances to choose a color: either RED or BLACK.

Choices are rewarded according to the following guidelines:
* If both groups choose BLACK – both get 3 sweets
* If both groups choose RED – both lose 3 sweets
* If one group chooses RED and the other BLACK – the group that chose RED get 5 sweets; and the group that chose BLACK loses 5

Two Requirements: (these must be stated clearly at the start):
1. To get as many sweets as possible
2. To not hurt anybody

Activity
1. Send the groups to opposite sides of the room and have them decide on their first choice. To make a choice the group simply decides on a color and writes it on the piece of paper.
2. Then they present it to the facilitator. Rewards the groups according to the instructions.
3. After the 4th or 5th round, ask if the groups want to negotiate – if they do, have them choose a negotiator and give the two negotiators a minute to decide on their strategy for the future choices.
4. Then announce that the next round of choices will be worth three times as much.
5. Once again they make choices and award the participants based upon the results, but this round the reward or penalty is 3 times the norm.
6. Play several more normal rounds. Then have a round that is 10 times the norm. Once again give them an opportunity to negotiate. Will they betray each other out of selfishness and greed?

DEBRIEFING
* What was your group’s strategy? How did you decide what color to choose?
* How did you treat the “minority” voice in your group?
* Did your group fulfill the two requirements? How?
* Did you trust the other group?
* Why did/didn’t you want to negotiate with the other group?
* When did you decide to try and beat the other group?
* To beat the other group did you have to emphasis one requirement over the other?

Application
No mention was made of competition, beating or winning – this is our natural tendency! If both or one group became involved in competition even though no mention was made that the exercise was based on competition lines, suggest that this is our natural tendency to satisfy our ego through being superior to others, or for selfishness and greed. Ultimately this is the cause of poverty, war and oppression in the world. The Bible calls it sin! Actually the way to get as many sweets as possible is to not be selfish and allow everyone to win.


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Creative Teaching Ideas

Easter Egg Hunt

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eastereggs.jpgMaterials
Plastic Easter Eggs with 1 item inside each.
* Gray fleece or a tiny donkey (Matthew 21:2-5)
* Palm branch or a doll’s coat (Matthew 21:8-11)
* A vial of perfume (Matthew 26:7-13)
* A lock of hair (Matthew 26:7-13)
* 30 silver coins or 3 10-cent coins (Matthew 26:14-15)
* A strip of terry cloth fabric or towel (John 13:4-11)
* A communion wafer or bread (Matthew 26:17-29)
* A communion cup or grape (Matthew 26:17-29)
* Miniature praying hands (Mark 14:32-42)
* A watch (Mark 13:37)
* Rooster figure or a feather (Luke 22:61)
* Piece of rope (John 18:12)
* A strip of leather (John 19:1)
* Small piece of soap (Matthew 27:20-24)
* A piece of scarlet cloth (Matthew 27:28)
* A thorn or thorns from roses (Matthew 27:29)
* A cross or two sticks (John 19:16-22)
* Three flathead nails or regular nails (John 19:16-22)
* Dice (John 19:23-24)
* Color the inside of 1 egg with black marker (Luke 23:44-45)
* sponge/cotton ball with vinegar (John 19:28-30)
* A toothpick-end dipped in red paint (John 19:32-37)
* A shattered or split rock (Matthew 27:51, 54)
* Purple cloth (Matthew 27:51)
* Clean linen cloth or gauze (Matthew 27:57-61)
* Cinnamon stick (Luke 23:55-56)
* A stone and wax or paraffin (Matthew 27:65-66)
* An empty egg or hollow chocolate egg (Matthew 28:5-8)

You do not need to use all items. Use those you consider most important or most appropriate to your lesson focus and the age of your group.

Activity
Give the traditional Easter egg hunt a spiritual significance by allowing participants to hunt the eggs containing the various items and meet at a designated place later for a debrief. During the debrief discuss the significance of the various items.

Variations
1: Participants place the items in order and explain the significance.
2: Add scripture related to the items and hide them in eggs as well. Participants match the scriptures with the items.
3: Instead of hiding the eggs, add them to an easter basket and have participants choose an egg.
4: For an additional application hide Easter Eggs of the following colors: black, red, white, green, yellow. Place jelly beans of these colors in a plastic egg if you cannot find all the colors. (See Jelly Bean Salvation). Prepare some Plastic Easter Eggs with one jelly bean of each color and have participants give them to friends to explain the true meaning of Easter. Tape an invitation to your Easter worship services and activities to each egg.
5.For a Children’s sermon, prepare eggs to represent significant events. Number them and then open them one at a time to tell the Easter story.
6: Provide an easter Basket with several items for each participant.

Scripture focus
Read Matthew 26:3-28:15 – Discuss each item and the role it played in Christ’s death and resurrection.

See Conducting Scavenger Hunts for help, Hints, Safety Considerations, Rules, and other useful information to make your scavenger hunt a wild success!


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Creative Teaching Ideas

Wonderfully Created II

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Materials
Obtain several finished products and the raw materials they are made of. Use your imagination. In place of some objects you may wish to use a photo of the object.

Examples
* an apple seed grows into a tree which produces an apple
* clay can be shaped and fired into a ceramic cup bowl or saucer
* cloth can be cut and sown into a dress or a shirt
* flour or wheat can be baked into bread
* sand can be fired and molded to form objects of glass
* wood can be processed into paper
* paint and canvas can be used to create a painting
* a worm can grown and go through a metamorphosis to become a butterfly
* milo powder / chocolate powder can be used to create a drink
* an egg can hatch and grow into a chicken
* an acorn can sprout and grow into a tree
* A Baby Picture can? (Intentionally do not match it with anything)

Learning Activity
Have participants match the items. First team to match all the resources with what they become correctly gets a prize.

Application
1. Discuss how each of the materials can be used to make something. Participants will notice the picture of a baby doesn’t match with anything… Ask… what God can make from a person? What can a baby become?Does God have a personal and specific will for each person’s life? Does he have a detailed blueprint for our life? How much leeway do we have in submitting our personal choices? Is everything predestined? Does it include every detail relating to my life? If so, how do we discover it?
2. Psalm 139:15. Before you were even a baby, God knew you and what you would become. God intimately knows us. He knows our thoughts, words, and deeds (v7-12).
3. Verse 16 says God planned all your days, all your life, before you were ever even born. He had a plan for you before you even existed.
4. End by discussing various things that Christians can do. Discuss the person each of us can become. Talk about the different roles in the church and how God might use some of them to accomplish these roles.


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Humor

Hans Olaffsen

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This guy is walking through Chinatown and sees a building with a sign “Hans Olaffsen’s Laundry.”
“Hans Olaffsen?”, he thinks. “How in the world does that fit in Chinatown?”

So, he walks into the shop and sees an old Chinese gentleman sitting in the corner. The visitor asks, “How in the world did this place get a name like Hans Olaffsen’s Laundry?”

The old man answers “Is name of owner.”

The visitor asks “Well, who is the owner?”

“I am he,” answers the old man.

“You? How did you ever get a name like Hans Olaffsen?”

The old man replies, “Many years ago when I come to this country, I was standing in line at Documentation Center. Man in front of me was big blonde Swede. Lady look at him and go, “What your name?” He say, ” Hans Olaffsen.” She look at me say, “What your name?” I say, “Sam Ting.”

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Teaching Illustrations

Who’s in Control

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door.jpgOnce there was this very wealthy young man. He lived in a great, elaborate house with dozens of rooms. Each room was more comfortable and more beautiful than the one before it. There were paintings and sculptures. Crystal chandeliers, golden, ornate railings on the stairs. More beauty that most have ever seen.

One day he decided to invite the Lord to home and stay with him. When the Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very best room in the house. The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall.

“This room is yours, Jesus! Stay as long as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room, remember Jesus, its all yours.”

“Thank you” the Lord replied, and with that the man shut the door and went about his daily business. That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at the front door. The young man pulled on his robe and made his way downstairs.

When he opened the door he found that the devil had sent three of his demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to close the door but none of the demons kept sticking his foot in the door.

Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the door shut and returned to his room totally exhausted.

Can you believe that! The man thought. Jesus is upstairs in my very best room sleeping while I am down here battling demons.

Oh, well, maybe he just didn’t hear. He slept fitfully that night.

The next day things went along as normal and, being tired as he was, the young man retired early that evening.

Along about midnight, there came such a terrible ruckus at the front door that the young man was sure that whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs once again and opened the door to find that there were dozens of demons now trying to get into his beautiful home.

For more than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons from hell and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against their attack. All energy seemed to fail him.

I really don’t understand this at all. Why won’t the Lord come to my rescue? Why does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone. Troubled he found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings of the last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had left Jesus. “Jesus,” he called as he tapped at the door. “Lord, I don’t understand what is happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my door while you laid up here sleeping. Don’t you care about me?

Did I not give you the very best room in house? He could see the tears building in Jesus’ eyes but continued on, “I just don’t understand. I really thought that once I invited you in to live with me that you would take care of me and I gave you the best room in my house and everything.

What more can I do?” “My precious child,” Jesus spoke so softly. ” I do love and care for you. I protect all that you have released into my care. But when you invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room and you shut the door to the rest of your house.

I am Lord of this room but I am not Master of this house I have protected this room and no demon may enter here.”

“Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house – it is yours I am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to have control of everything.”

With this he flung open the bedroom door and knelt at Jesus’ feet. “Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish.” Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that He would take care of things from now on.

That night the young man prepared for bed he thought to himself, ” I wonder if those demons will return. I am so tired of fighting them each and every night.” But he knew that Jesus said that he would take care of things from now on..

Along about midnight the banging on the door was frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to see Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need to be afraid.

Satan stood at the door this time demanding to be let in. “What do you want, satan?” the Lord asked. The devil bowed low in the presence of the Lord, “So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address.” And with that, he and the demons all ran away.

There is a moral to this tale. Jesus wants all of you, not just a part. He will take all that you give Him but nothing more. How much of your heart have you given to the Lord? Are you keeping a portion of it away from Him? Perhaps the attacks are coming more and more each day. Why not let the Lord fight the battles for you. He is always victorious.


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Devotional

Hot things Hot

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A youth goes into a store and sees a shiny object. She asks the clerk, “What is that shiny object?” The clerk replies, “That is a thermos.” The youth then asks, “What does it do?” The clerk responds,?”It keeps hot things hot and it keeps cold things cold.”
The youth says, “I’ll take it!”
The next day, she walks into work with her new thermos.
Her boss sees her and asks, “What is that shiny object you have?”
She said, “It’s a thermos.”
The boss then says, “What does it do?”
She replies, “It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold.”
The boss said, “Wow, what do you have in it?”
The youth replies, “Two cups of coffee and a Popsicle.”

Unfortunately a lot of us are like this in our spiritual lives. We want to be both hot and cold, both worldly and spiritual. In trying to walk the line we wind up with neither… we wind up a lukewarm mess! Revelation 3:15-16 says “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

So what’s in the thermos of YOUR life?

Author: Ken Sapp


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…