Object Lessons
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It Will Come Back to You
Key Verse
Matthew 7:12
Additional Verses
Luke 6:31; Mark 12:31; 1 John 4:20; Leviticus 19:18; Galatians 6:7-8
Materials Needed
- Boomerang
Object Lesson
(Hold the boomerang up.)
Does anyone know what this is? (Wait for responses.) That’s right, it’s a boomerang. Do any of you know how to use one? What does a boomerang do? If you know how to throw it the proper way it will fly far away from you and then it will turn around and fly back at you, hover over your head and then fall down so you can catch it! That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Matthew 7:12 says that we should treat each other the way we want to be treated. We call that the Golden Rule. Our actions are a lot like this boomerang. If we throw out bad actions and treat people badly what do you think will return to us? (Wait for responses.) That’s right, bad things!
However, if we throw out good actions and treat people with love and respect what do you think will return to us? (Wait for a response.) That’s correct! We will get good things in return!
What kind of things do you want to come into your life? Good things or bad things? Since we all want good things then we need to make sure that the actions that we send out are good and uplifting as well.
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By Bread Alone
Key Verse
Matthew 4:4
Additional Verses
Psalm 119:105; Joshua 1:8; Hebrews 4:12
Materials Needed
- Slice of white bread
- Cup of water
Object Lesson
(Hold up a slice of bread.)
Does anyone here think that you can eat this whole entire slice of bread? (Select a volunteer. Either a child or adult with work fine. You may want to test this out, but generally it is not possible for a person to eat a slice of bread in under a minute without drinking water with it.)
OK, all you have to do is eat this slice or bread. The only catch is that you only has 60 seconds to do it. Do you think you can eat this whole slice of bread in only 60 seconds? (Most people will feel very confident that they can eat it quickly.)
Are you read? Get set. Go!
(Being timing the person as they try to eat the bread. Most likely they will take a few bites and spend a long time trying to chew it. Once they get down to 10 seconds have everyone help count it down.)
That wasn’t as easy as it looked was it? In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said that man cannot live by bread alone but they need the Words of God, just like you couldn’t eat this slice of bread on its own. There is a trick though, would you like to try it again?
(Hand them a glass of water and tell them that they can drink it as often as they need.)
Are you ready? Get set. Go!
(They should be able to finish the bread quickly this time.)
See, you were not able to finish it when you were just eating the bread alone but when you added the water it became really easy. As a believer in God we need more than just food to sustain us also. We need to also ready, study and meditate on God’s Word as that brings us true life.
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The Black Spot
Key Verse
Philippians 4:8
Additional Verses
Ephesians 5:20; Romans 8:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Materials Needed
- Sheet of paper with black dot in the center. You could make several of these and hand them out if you prefer.
Object Lesson
(Hold up the sheet of paper with the spot on it).
Can anyone see what I have here? (Wait for responses. The kids should say “a dot,” or “a black spot.)” Is that all you can see?
You missed what I really have! I actually have a perfectly good piece of paper here but the only thing that most of us could see was the little tiny black dot.
Often times when we look at our life the only thing we can see is the black dot. The bad things. The negative. And then we focus on them.
We don’t look at the good things that God has done. We don’t count our blessings. We just focus on the bad.
Tell me some things that are good in your life? Some things that you have to be thankful for. (Wait for responses and then write a bunch of the good things on the paper and hold it up.)
See! There is a lot more good than bad here. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8 to think about the good and positive things in our lives, not the bad things.
Did you know that God can even make the things that seem bad work out for Good? He says so right in Romans 8:28! He says that he will work everything together for good for the that love Him. Do you love Him?
(Draw a cross over the top of the spot.)
See, even the things that were bad in our live God works out for good!
The next time you are tempted to complain, instead try to look at the good things that are going on. And you want to watch God work in an amazing way!
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Time to be Changed
Key Verse
2 Corinthians 5:17
Additional Verses
Romans 12:2; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 51:10-12
Materials Needed
- Baby doll with diaper
Object Lesson
(Hold the doll while you talk.)
Do you guys spend very much time with babies or little toddlers? Raise your hands if you have a baby brother or sister. Raise your hand if you have a baby cousin?
Well, I really love babies. They are so cute and fun to play with and they make a lot of goo-goo-ga-ga sounds. Let me hear your best baby sounds (allow for response).
Now, as fun as babies are and as much as we love them, they do something that I do not like very much. They poop! Yup, they make a mess in their diapers. Now when baby has a dirty diaper, their mom and dad still loves them right? They still accept that baby no matter how stinky it is, but do they leave their baby with a dirty diaper? No, of course not! What do they do? They change them into a clean diaper.
That reminds me of the verse in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” You see God loves and accepts us no matter how we come to him, even if we have stinky sin in our lives. Even if we’ve lied, or cheated on a test or stole something, God still loves us and He wants us to come to him to be saved. However, through Christ, God want us to become a new person so that we are not the same anymore.
If you were lying, he wants you to stop lying. If you’ve been using bad language, he wants you to clean up your words. God is a good Father and he wants us to change for the better, so we can become more like Jesus. So the next time you are around a little baby and you start to smell something funny, I want you to remember that you are a new creation in Christ you are not the same anymore.
Pressed Down
Key Verse
Luke 6:38
Additional Verses
Acts 20:35; Proverbs 11:24-25; Matthew 6:21; 2 Corinthians 9:6
Materials Needed
- 1 bag brown sugar (sugar should be fresh and moist)
- A cup
- 2 ziplock bags
- Paper plate (optional)
- Garbage bag
- Chair for a child to sit in
Preparation
Before the object lesson, place a large garbage bag on the floor and put the chair on top of it for easy clean-up.
Object Lesson
The Bible says that if you give to others, you will receive and that your gift will return to you in full. That means that if you are generous to others, they will be generous back to you.
Have you heard the verse that says “you will reap what you sow” or maybe you’ve heard the expression “what goes around comes around.” Well, that’s exactly what this verse is talking about. Luke 6:38 also says that when you give, you will receive the blessing back but it will be pressed down and shaken together to make room for more.
Now I brought some brown sugar with me today and I am going to do a little experiment. I am going to put some brown sugar into two different bags and I want you to tell me which bag has more than the other. I am going to use he same size cup to do this.
(Take the cup and loosely scoop some brown sugar and put it into one of the ziplock bags).
Now I’m going to put some in the other bag, but I am going to pack the sugar down.
(Pack as much sugar as possible into the cup and plunk it into the second bag).
Now I need a volunteer to hold both of these bags and tell me which one they think has more sugar in it. (Allow a couple of volunteers to tell you what they think). Yes, the sugar that I pressed down has more in it.
God says that’s how much we will get return when we give. Luke 6:38 goes on to say that we will receive our blessing pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over and poured into your lap.
Now I need another volunteer to help me. (Have volunteer sit in the chair and put the paper plate on their lap).
I am going to give you a blessing like the Bible is talking about. (Scoop some brown sugar up with the cup, over the volunteer’s lap. Pack it down, then continue pouring sugar into the cup until it spills all over the volunteer’s lap and even onto the floor).
That is how much God will bless you if you give generously to others. The amount you give will determine the amount you give back.
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Parable of the Sower
Key Verse
Matthew 13:1-23
Additional Verses
Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15
Materials Needed
- Four buckets of dirt
- Rocks
- Thorn branches
- Seeds
Preparation
Fill the four buckets full of dirt. Pack the dirt down really hard in one bucket. Fill the top of one bucket with dirt. Stick thorn branches in another. The last bucket should have good soil.
Object Lesson
(Have the four buckets lined up.)
In Matthew 13:1-23 Jesus told a story about a farmer who went out to plant his field. As he was scattering the seed some of it fell onto the path that was packed down hard. (Show the bucket with the packet dirt and sprinkle some seeds on it.) But guess what happened? The birds saw it and swooped down and gobbled it all up! (Use your hand like a bird to sweep down and peck at the seed.)
(Show everyone the bucket with the rocks in it and sprinkle some seeds on it.) Some of the seed fell onto the stony dirt. How well do you think a plant would grow here? The seeds started to grow really quickly, but the roots were not able to grow deep. The sun came out and was so hot that all the plants died.
(Show the bucket with the thorns and sprinkle some seeds.) Some of the seeds fell in the thorn bushes. Do you think the plants would grow well here? They started to grow but the thorn bushes were hogging all of the sunlight, water and nutrients and choked out the baby plants.
(Show the good soil and plant some seeds.) Some of the seed fell onto the good soil! Do you think that the plants would grow here? Of course they would! The plants grew and grew and produced a lot of food!
After Jesus told this story his disciples came to him because they were confused. They asked him to tell them what the story meant. Jesus told them that the seeds (hold up the seeds) represents the Good News about God. The path (hold up the bucket with the hard packed dirt) represents those people that hear God’s Word but don’t believe it, then the enemy comes and quickly snatches it up.
The rocky dirt (hold up the bucket with the stones) is the people that hear God’s Word and get really excited about it but their roots never go down into His Word by studying and obeying the Bible. As soon as hardship comes they fall away from God.
The soil with the thorns (show the bucket with the thorns) represents those that hear God’s Word and begin to grow but soon fall away because they are distracted by the things of this world and trying to please other people.
The good soil (show the bucket with the good dirt) is the person that hears God’s Word and understands it. They begin to do what it says that they grow and grow and their life produces many good things!
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Tied to God’s Instructions
Key Verse
Proverbs 4:13
Additional Verses
Psalm 78:10; Psalm 119:34; Psalm 119:61
Materials Needed
- Kite with string
Object Lesson
(Hold up the kite.)
Once upon a kite there was a boy who wanted a kite so badly. Every day he would do his chores so he could earn some money. He even went to his neighbor’s house to help them so that he could earn a little bit more.
After a few weeks he had saved up enough money and his mom drove him to the toy store. He walked right over to the kite section and picked out his favorite one. Once he had paid for the kite he went home and quickly began putting it together.
Once it was assembled it was truly a remarkable kite, so the boy ran to a nearby field and the kite gently lifted off the ground. Once the kite started to soar the kite said to itself, “Look at me! I am the most beautiful kite in the whole world!”
The kite began to soar higher and higher but then the kite noticed that there was a string tied to it. The kite said, “Why is this string tied to me? I want to be free! Then I can soar anywhere I want!” So the kite began to tug hard against the string.
Harder and harder the kite pulled against the string until at last it snapped.”I’m free!” the kite squealed as he began to drift on the wind. Before the kite knew what was happening he realized that he was not flying at all, but he was tumbling faster and faster towards the ground. The kite did everything it could to fly higher, but it was no use, and at last it crashed into the dirt with a crack.
A few minutes later the boy came running over and picked up the kite and the broken pieces and said to the kite, “Silly kite, didn’t you know that the string pulling on you want what allowed you to fly? You wanted freedom, but instead it made you crash.”
Imagine that you are like that kite. You are flying higher and higher. God’s Word is like the string that holds you firmly. As long as you stay anchored in God’s instructions by reading and obeying the Word you can soar high. But if you pull and try to break free then we will come crashing down.
Proverbs 4:13 says that God’s instructions is the key to life. We should hold tightly onto His instructions and not try to run from them.
What’s in Your Heart?
Key Verse
Luke 6:45
Additional Verses
Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 15:18-19; Ephesians 4:29
Materials Needed
- Cup of hot water
- Tea bag (a variety of tea bags would be better)
Object Lesson
(Hold up the cup of hot water.)
Does anyone know what this is? (Wait for a response.) That’s right, it is a cup of water, but not just any water, this is hot water.
(Hold up the tea bag.)
Do you know what this is? (Wait for a response.) Correct, it is a tea bag. Can anyone tell me what color of tea this tea bag will make? (Wait for responses.) Those are good guesses, but there is no way for you to know until I brew it in this hot water.
(Place the tea bag in the hot water.)
When we look around at each other on Sunday at church we kind of look like this tea bag. We all dress similar. We talk the same. We act the same. But is that who we really are? No, not necessarily. Some of us might really love God and are following Him as best we can and some of us might now even care at all.
(Hold up the cup of tea.)
What am I holding now? (Allow a response.) That’s right, it is not longer hot water. Now it is tea, and we can see what color it is! What color is it?
Just like we can’t tell what color a tea will become before putting it in hot water, we cannot tell what’s in your heart until you are in hot water. In Luke 6:45 it says that a good person produces good things and a bad person produces bad things. What kind of hot water? Maybe you get in trouble. Maybe when you get hurt. Maybe when someone teases you. When we are in hot water the real “you” comes out!
We need to make sure that when we face the “hot water” of life that good things come out and not bad things.
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Love One Another
Key Verse
1 John 4:7-8
Additional Verses
John 17:21-23; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 1 Peter 3:8
Materials Needed
- Bike wheel
Object Lesson
(Hold up the bike wheel.)
Does anyone know what this is? (Allow the kids to respond.) That’s right it is a bike wheel. And does anyone know what these are called? (Point to the spokes.) These are the spokes. The spokes job is to hold the wheel together. Here near the rim you see that the spokes are pretty wide apart, but they get closer together as they get closer to the hub.
Let’s pretend that each of you are a spoke on this wheel. What do you think we could pretend the hub is? (Wait for a response.) Let’s make-believe that this hub is God.
Do you know what the interesting thing is? The closer you get to God the closer you get to each other! You may say that you want to get closer to God but you don’t want to get closer to others. Well, it doesn’t work that way!
In 1 John 4:7-8 is says that if you love others then you love God but if you don’t love others you don’t love God. So the more that you love God the more you will also love one another by caring for those that are around you.
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Iron Sharpens Iron
Key Verse
Proverbs 27:17
Additional Verses
Hebrews 10:24; Galatians 6:2; Hebrews 13:1
Materials Needed
- Two knives
Object Lesson
(Pull out both knives and sharpen them together as a chef would do.)
Have you ever seen anyone do this before? What are they doing? (Wait for answers.) They are sharpening the knife. If you slide two knives together at the right angle they will actually sharpen each other!
In Proverbs 27:17 it says that friends sharpen each other just like knives can sharpen each other. Did you know that just like iron sharpens iron you can help to sharpen your friends and they can help to sharpen you? You won’t get a sharp edge on you, but you will be closer to God and more courageous and ready to follow God.
How do we sharpen each other? By praying together. By talking about the things that we face and encouraging each other. Sometimes just knowing that someone else is facing the same things that you are makes you feel stronger.
As followers of Jesus we are supposed to go in to the world and share His love with those that are lost, but it is very important that we also have some good friends that follow Jesus that can help to keep us sharp.
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D5 Creation