Aim to Please God
Key Verse
2 Corinthians 5:9
Additional Verses
Romans 14:19, Romans 15:20
Materials Needed
- Bow and arrows
- Target
Object Lesson
Have any of you ever shot a bow and arrow before? How did you do? Did you know that if you close your eyes you wouldn’t do a very good job! First you would take an arrow and put it on the string and then you would draw it all the way back. Then do you just shoot it? No! What do you have to do first?
You have to aim it!
Often times people just live their lives anyway they choose but they often wonder why they keep missing the mark. They aren’t fulfilled. They aren’t successful. They don’t have joy. It is because they are aiming at the wrong thing! What are some things that we can aim at, that are not the right thing? (Allow kids to answer.)
Money. Friends. Job. Grades. All kinds of things. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:9 that we need to aim at pleasing God. When we aim to please Him then we will be successful in all that we do.
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Key Verse
Hebrews 12:2
Additional Verses
Proverbs 4:25, Isaiah 26:3, 2Corinthians 4:18
Materials Needed
- Baseball bat
- Baseball
Object Lesson
Have you every played baseball before? Playing baseball can be a lot of fun, but do you know what my favorite part is? Hitting the ball! When I was young I learned how to hit the ball. My dad taught me how to hold the bat with two hands and how to stand so I could get a good swing. Do you know what the most important part of hitting the ball is though? (Wait for responses.) Keeping your eye on the ball.
The first time you get ready to hit you might want to watch your bat to see if you are swinging it correctly. Then you might want to watch the pitcher to see when they throw the ball. But if you are watching those things are you going to be able to hit the ball? No! You have to keep your eyes focused on the ball and then you can swing at the right time and hit a homerun!
In Hebrews 12:2 it tells us that we need to keep our eyes on something too. Not a baseball! We need to keep our eyes on Jesus so we can know where He is leading and guiding us. We need to focus on him and not on everything around us that tries to distract us.
Following Instructions
Key Verse
1 Kings 2:3
Additional Verses
Psalm 25:4, Psalm 119:1, Proverbs 4:4, Proverbs 7:1, Matthew 7:24
Materials Needed
- Cake mix
- Large bowl
- Stirring spoon
- 2 Eggs
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
Object Lesson
Does anyone here like cake? What is your favorite kind of cake? I love cake and I would like to bake one for you! (Take out cake mix.)
This is going to be the most delicious cake ever! It says to empty the cake mix into a large bowl. (Rip open the box and pour the contents into the bowl.)
Now it says to add in 2 eggs. (Take the eggs shell and all and smash them into the bowl.)
Next it says to add in some sugar. I don’t have any of that, but I am sure that salt would be just fine instead. (Dump in some salt.)
Let’s see, now it says to add in some flower. I don’t have any sugar, but I found this white powder in my cabinet so I guess I can add that in. (Dump in some baking soda.)
Then it says add in oil and stir. I don’t have any water but I have some vinegar and I love putting oil and vinegar on salad so they are probably the same. (Pour in some vinegar and stir as the reaction occurs.)
Oh no! This is a huge mess! I don’t understand what went wrong!
I guess I didn’t follow the directions very well did I?
In 1 Kings 2:3 it says that we should follow God’s directions and we will succeed in all we do. Since I didn’t follow the directions on this box I won’t get a delicious cake, and if we don’t follow God’s directions then we won’t be very successful either.
Joy From Within
Key Verse
Nehemiah 8:10
Additional Verses
Psalm 16:11, Psalm 30:5, Psalms 35:9, Psalm 51:12, Psalm 126:5, Isaiah 35:10, Isaiah 51:11, Isaiah 55:12, Galatians 5:22, 1 John 1:4
Materials Needed
- Bottle of seltzer
- Permanent magic marker
Object Lesson
What are some thing that make you happy? (Give the kids a chance to respond.) People love being happy so they do all kinds of things to make themselves happy. They go to movies. Go on vacations. Read books. Tell jokes. But happiness is really just something on the outside.
(Draw a smiley face on the bottle.)
If I told you I was going to give you $100 you would probably be really happy. It’s something that happens on the outside that makes you happy. The problem with happiness is that if the things around you aren’t going well you aren’t happy anymore. Maybe instead of me giving you $100 you lose $100 and now you aren’t happy anymore.
(Draw a frown face on the bottle. While you are doing this make sure you shake up the bottle a little so it will spray when you open the bottle.)
In Nehemiah 8:10 we read that Joy is our strength. Joy is something that comes from within.
(Open the bottle and let the water spray out.)
If something good happens to you you may be happy, but you can also have joy inside your heart. Make something bad happens and you are now sad, but you can still be joyful because joy comes from within your heart not from our circumstances. God’s joy is our strength in tough times. We are able to be joyful because we know that God loves us and cares for us and that our names are written in Heaven.
Don’t Explode with Anger
Key Verse
Ephesians 4:26
Additional Verses
Psalm 4:4, Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 15:1, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Ephesians 4:26-27, Colossians 3:8
Materials Needed
- Can of soda
Object Lesson
The bible tells us in Ephesians 4:26 that when we get angry we need to be very careful not to sin. Sinning is when we do something that goes against God’s rules for our life like pushing, fighting, and saying unkind things.
Have you ever been really mad at someone?
(Take out can of soda.)
When we get angry it is like shaking this can of soda up. (Shake the can hard then act like you are going to open it.)
What would happen if I opened this can? It would explode everywhere!
(Set the can down and make sure you give it at least a minute or two before picking it up again. It would be best if you test this before presenting it.)
So if you were are all angry like this can and you sin by getting in a fight or calling someone bad names it would be like opening this can and it spraying everywhere!
Sometimes what we need to do it walk away and pray and ask God to help us to calm down and not respond in sin.
(Take the can and open it. It should open normally now. Make this dramatic so the kids think it will spray everywhere.)
See all this can needed was a few moments of quite and it calmed down and it could be opened without exploding. When we are angry we open need a few moment so that we can react without sinning.
Anger, angry, sin, fight, hurtful words
Gone Fishing for Men
Key Verse
Mark 1:16-18
Materials Needed
- fishing equipment: rod, tackle box, bait, net, etc
Object Lesson
(Hold up the fishing gear)
Faith Like a Mustard Seed
Key Verse
Matthew 17:19-21
Additional Verses
Luke 17:5-7, Romans 10:17
Materials Needed
- Mustard Seeds
Object Lesson
How much do you think a mountain weighs? Do you think it weighs more than you? Do you think it weighs more than your car? How about more than your house? I bet it weighs WAY more than all of those things combined.
How hard do you think it would be to move a mountain?
You would probably need dynamite, heavy machinery, hundreds of workers and it would probably take years and years to move!
Did you know that Jesus tells us how to move mountains?
(Pour some mustard seeds into your hand and show how small they are).
Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 17:19-21 that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed they could tell a mountain to jump into the ocean and it would! Imagine that! You wouldn’t need dynamite or heavy machinery, it would just jump into the ocean.
Why do you think that Jesus used a mustard seed? Because it is really small, but it had big potential. It may not look like much but there is a big tree in this little seed
Jesus wasn’t really talking about a real mountain, but he was talking about the obstacles and difficulties that we will face in our life.
It doesn’t take a huge amount of faith to move the mountains in our life. All we really need if a little bit of faith and God will move the mountains we face.
A Joyful Noise
Key Verse
Psalm 98:4
Materials Needed
- Kazoo or recorder
Object Lesson
(Start the lesson by playing the instrument loudly and not very well).
Do you guys like my song?
No? You mean it’s not the best music that you have ever heard in your life?
Well it’s not the best music that I’ve ever heard either. I think the kazoo is sort of an obnoxious instrument to listen to. But even though you didn’t like my song very much, I know that God liked it and that is because I was playing that song on my kazoo to praise Him.
Do you think that God would rather listen to a beautifully written country western song about a dog and a car and a cowboy hat or a song that is out of tune but is sung by someone that is praising Him? (Allow answers).
Well God’s word says in Psalm 98:4 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Did you notice that verse says to make a joyful “noise” to The Lord? We don’t have to have the most beautiful voice in the world to be able to praise Him and we don’t have to be the best musician to praise him either. God looks at our hearts and He wants us to praise him and be joyful when we do it.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
Key Verse
Matthew 7:24-27
Materials Needed
- Building blocks
- Brick
- Sand bucket full of wet sand
- Trays
- Water pitcher full of water
Preparation
Fill the bucket with wet sand so that when you flip the bucket upside-down and remove it, the sand will retain its shape. Put this sand onto a tray and put the brick on a tray.
Object Lesson
In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus tells a story about two people who were going to build some houses. There was a wise builder and a foolish builder.
(Have a couple helpers come up and help build some houses).
In verse 24 Jesus says “Anyone who listens to his teaching and obeys it is wise Like a person who builds his house on solid rock.”
(Have one person start building a block house on the rock and one person start building a block house on the sand)
Verse 26 says “Anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish like a person who builds his house on sand.”
Jesus is saying that we need to build our lives on the solid foundation of God’s Word. We need to not only listen to it but do what it says.
The verse tells us that once the houses are built a storm comes. A lot of times in life storms will come and try to knock us down.
(Pour the water on both houses. The one on the rock should stand and the other one should collapse.)
We need to listen to God’s Word and also do what it says. Doing this is building out lives on the firm foundation of God’s Word.
Is It Wise?
Key Verse:
James 1:5
Additional Verses:
Proverbs 2:2, Proverbs 3:13, Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 4:5, Proverbs 4:7-11
Materials needed:
Preparation:
You can download the wise or unwise flashcards here. You can choose to either print them out onto sheets of paper to show to the class or display them on an iPad or on a TV monitor, or using them in PDF format with the help of the soda pdf software, which would be really useful for this.
Object Lesson:
Every day in life we face all kinds of decisions. Wisdom is the ability to know the right thing to do and then having the sense to do it. Some people don’t know the right thing to do and they just go along with anything. Other people know the right thing to do but they don’t have the sense to actually follow through with it.
I’m going to show you some flash cards and I want you to tell me if you think this is wise advice or this is foolish advice.
(Hold up the first card and have a child read it aloud.)
Do you think this advice is wise or foolish? (Allow the kids to answer.)
(Continue through all of the flashcards giving the kids opportunity to answer.)
The Bible says in James 1:5 that if we don’t have wisdom we can ask God for and he’ll give it to us. He will give us good advice and help us to know what the right thing to do is.
D5 Creation