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Pickled

Key Verse:

[Psa 119:15 NIV] I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

Additional Verses:

Psalms 1:1-3; Joshua 1:8

Materials Needed:

  • 1 Jar of pickle “chips” (or enough for each person to have one pickle plus a few for you to use)
  • 1 Cucumber sliced into rounds (or enough for each person to have one slice plus a few for you to use.
  • Condiment cups to fit one pickle and one slice of cucumber (one per person)
  • A slotted spoon that will fit in the jar
  • Paper towels (to clean any mess)

Preparation:

Before class, remove some of the pickles from the jar, leaving some pickles behind as well as the pickle juice.  You will use this jar to dip the cucumbers in.  Pre-slice your cucumbers into rounds and dip them for a second into the pickle juice and take them out.  Create a sample for each person to taste by placing one pickle slice and one cucumber slice that has been dipped into condiment cups.  Lean the slices away from each other in the cups if possible so the cucumber doesn’t take on too much pickle flavor.  


Object Lesson:

Do you guys like pickles?  Who can tell me what a pickle tastes like?  (Allow for answers: salty, sour, tangy).  Now did you know that a pickle is just a slice of cucumber?  If it’s just a slice of cucumber, where does all of that flavor come from?  (Allow for answers).  That’s right!  It comes from the pickle juice which has some vinegar, spices.  How do all of those flavors get inside of that cucumber?  Well the cucumber slices have been in this pickle juice for a long time, so long that they have absorbed all of the flavor of this pickle juice and they have been transformed into a tasty pickle.  That’s called marinating.  The cucumbers have been marinating in this pickle juice so much that they have taken on its flavor.  

In the Bible, in Psalms 119:15, someone prayed this to God “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.”  That word meditate is kind of like the word marinate.  Meditating means that we think about something over and over and we focus on it and we try to absorb its meaning.  Kind of how these pickles have marinated in the pickle juice and absorbed the flavor.  What the Bible is teaching us here is that we should read and think about God’s Word a lot and meditate on it and figure out what it means and we should consider God’s ways so that we can truly become more like Jesus.

Sometimes as Christians, we don’t spend enough time meditating on God’s Word.  We might go to church once in a while, but then we skip a few weeks or maybe we intend to read the Bible every day but we only get up early enough once a week to do it.  Then we wonder why we aren’t getting stronger in our faith and not being transformed.  

That’s like taking these cucumbers and dipping them in the pickle juice and then taking them right out (drop a few cucumbers in the liquid and take them right out with the slotted spoon).  Do you think these cucumbers are going to taste like pickles?  Let’s see.  (Hand out the samples).  Wait for me, we will eat them together.  Let’s eat the pickle first.  (Eat the pickle). Wow! that has so much flavor, it’s so good.  Now let’s try the cucumber that was only in the pickle juice for a second.  (Eat the cucumber slice).  Does it taste as flavorful as the first one we ate?  No!  Why not?  (Allow for answers).  That’s right, because they haven’t spent enough time in the pickle juice to absorb its flavor, they haven’t had the time to transform into a pickle. See, we need to spend a lot of time in God’s Word, reading it over and over and thinking about it so we can absorb it and understand its meaning and allow it to transform our lives.

Charged Up

RC Cars

Key Verse

John 4:34

Additional Verses

John 6:38; John 17:4; John 5:30

Materials Needed

  • A remote control car or train
  • Dead batteries
  • New batteries
  • Screwdriver (if needed) to put the batteries in

Preparation

Begin this lesson with the dead batteries inside the car, but keep the new batteries out of sight.

Object Lesson

Do you guys like remote control cars? (Allow for response).

Me too! It is so much fun to ride them around the yard, through mud puddles and over anthills. Or in the house you can, chase your mom around with them. Who wants to come up here and demonstrate how to drive this car? Now, I need someone who really knows what they are doing. (Choose a student and give them the controller and tell them to drive it. Since the car has dead batteries it obviously won’t work).

What’s the matter? I thought you said you knew how to drive one of these things! Try it again. Does anyone know why this car won’t work? (Allow suggestions).

Ok, some of you think that it might be the batteries, well let’s take a look. (Open the battery cover and show the class that it has batteries).

This car has batteries! But come to think of it, these batteries have been in this car for a long time. Let me see if I have some new ones. (Get the new batteries and put them in the car).

Ok, now why don’t you try to drive this thing? (Allow the student to drive it).

Wow, it’s working! (Have the student take a seat). In John 4:34 (NIV) Jesus tells us My food, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” In this verse, Jesus is not talking about pizza or ice cream or even vegetables. He is talking about spiritual food. He is telling us here, that we need to give nourishment to our souls.

How do you feed your soul? (Allow for answers: reading God’s Word, spending time with God, doing God’s work).

Yeah, our souls are fed when we read the Bible and spend time with God and by telling other people about God and sharing our faith. It’s like our remote control car here. It couldn’t work because it had dead batteries, but when it received the fresh batteries it was able to do anything. Our souls are like that too. We need to keep our souls charged up. We can also keep our souls charged up by doing God’s work which is to point others to Him and to serve others.

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Recharge Your Batteries

Recharge

Key Verse

Joshua 1:8

Additional Verses

Psalms 119:105; Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; Psalms 119:18

Materials Needed

  • Cell phone with charger
  • Bible

Object Lesson

(Hold up the cell phone.)

Have any of you ever used one of these before? What are cell phones used for? (Wait for responses.) I remember when cell phones were used only for making phone calls! Now they are used for so many more things! You can play games, listen to music, navigate, watch movies, and so much more. It is amazing how much you can do with a cell phone.

There is a problem that all cell phones have. Have you ever used a phone for a long period of time, maybe playing a game or listening to music, and then you glance up and see that the battery indicator shows the battery is almost dead?

What a horrible feeling that is! What do you do when that happens? Do you throw the phone into the garbage? Do you toss it on the ground and stomp all over it? Do you smash it with a huge hammer? No way! Of course not.

What you need is one of these!

(Hold up the phone charger.)

You have to plug the phone into the power and recharge it. The battery will start to charge up immediately and you will soon be at full power once again.

Did you know that your life is a lot like this cell phone. You may play games, watch movies and talk with your friends, but soon your spiritual battery begins to drain. You need to get recharged! You need to take time to read God’s Word on daily daily basis like it says to do in Joshua 1:8.

As you read God’s Word your faith and power will begin to increase and you will be able to do great things for the Kingdom of God. If you don’t take time to recharge your spirit will be weak and not able to do great things.

Just like you always remember to recharge the batteries in your cell phone make sure that you recharge your spiritual batteries each day also.

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Renewing Your Mind

renewing your mind

Key Verse

Romans 12:1-2

Additional Verses

2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:22-24

Materials Needed

  • Glass
  • Container of milk (or juice, soda, or whatever as long as it is obviously different from water.)
  • Tall pitcher of water.
  • Pan or tray to catch the overflow

Preparation

You will want to test out this object lesson to make sure that you have enough water to fully displace the milk in the glass.

Object Lesson

In Romans 12:1-2 it tells us that we shouldn’t be the same as the world and that we should let God change the way that we think. Many people talk about being “street wise” or “worldly-wise” and that means that you think the way that the world thinks. However, God wants us to think the way that He thinks. He wants you to be renewing your mind.

(Show the glass and place it in the pan.)

This glass is going to represent your mind. The things that you think about. (Fill the glass full of milk.) Now it is full of all kinds of bad thoughts. Things of the world. Basically thinking in a way that does not please God. If you have thoughts about lying, or cheating or doing something wrong those a thoughts that don’t please God.

God wants us to change the way that we think. Everyone look really hard at this glass and let’s make it change into something else just by looking at it. Ready? Go!

(Stare very intently at the milk.)

Nothing happened! How can we change what is in the glass? How do we change the way that we think? By filling it up with something else.

(Show the pitcher full of water.)

This pitcher of water will represent God’s Word, the Bible. (Slowly start pouring the water into the glass of milk, letting it overflow into the pan.) Instead of letting our thoughts be filled with things of the world we should let it get filled with God’s Word. It is so easy to let the world’s thinking slip in. We are exposed to it on TV, movies, music, magazines, the Internet and many other ways. We need to fill our lives with God’s Word.

(The milk should be overflowing, and now it should be noticeably diluted.)

Do you see what is happening? The water is replacing the milk. The same way that when we pour God’s Word into our lives it begins to change the way that we think by replacing those worldly thoughts. (Continue to pour the water.)

The more we let God’s Word into our life the more it will clean us and help us to think the way that God wants us to. Sometimes more bad thinking gets added back in and that is why we need to study God’s Word on a daily basis.

(The glass should be mostly clear.)

Let us read and study God’s Word and let it transform the way that we think.

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Turn a New Leaf

turn a new leaf

Key Verse

Romans 12:2

Additional Verses

2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:22-24

Materials Needed

  • Leaf

Object Lesson

On New Years many people will come up with something called a New Year’s Resolution. This is a goal for the next year or something that you want to change about yourself. Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions? (Allow for responses.)

(Show the leaf.)

Some people say that when you make changes in your life that you are turning over a new leaf. (Flip the leaf over.) Why do you think they say that? It is because you are looking at your life from a different perspective. You are seeing things from a different point of view.

In Romans 12:2 it says that we need to change the way that we think. Many times we just try to changes our actions and the things that we do. What God wants us to do it to change the way that we think. When we think about things from God’s perspective then we act in a way that He wants us to. When we turn over a new leaf in our life it should be to start thinking about things the way that God does.

As you make resolutions and think about things that you can change for the new year try turning over a new leaf. Try thinking about things God’s way. How do we think about things God’s way? By renewing our mind which comes from reading and meditating on God’s Word, the Bible.

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Good News

Good News

Key Verse

Mark 13:10

Additional Verses

Romans 1:15-17; 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:5-7

Materials Needed

  • Newspaper
  • Bible

Object Lesson

(Show everyone the news paper and pretend to read it.)

Do you know what this is? (Wait for a response.) It’s a newspaper! Many of us don’t use these anymore because we get our news on the Internet, but some people still like to read them. Do you know what a newspaper does? It writes stories about the things that happened recently.

Do you know what the sad thing about a newspaper is though? Most of the news in it is bad. (Read some of the headlines if they are appropriate.) It tells stories about who stole from who. How bad the government is. Who hurt someone. Stories about war. Stories about storms. It’s all a bunch of BAD NEWS!

I don’t know about you, but I get sick and tired of all the bad news! I want some good news! Do you want some good news? If someone says to you that they have “good news” and “bad news” which do you want to hear? The good news!

(Hold up the Bible.)

This is the Bible, God’s Word, the Gospel…the Good News! Do you know why this is called the Good News? Because it doesn’t tell us all the bad things about the world, it tells us how to live a new life. How to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! It shows us how we can have Salvation and how Christ has prepared a place for us to live with Him in Heaven.

In Mark 13:10 it tells us that we are supposed to tell other people about this Good News that we have! We are not supposed to just keep it to ourselves! We are supposed to share it.

We are told in the Scripture that we need to tell others about Jesus and how they can be saved. This is the Good News! Let’s share it with others!

God’s Compass

God's Compass

Key Verse

Psalm 119:105

Additional Verses

Isaiah 30:21; Psalm 25:4-5; Psalm 32:8; Proverbs 3:5-6

Materials Needed

  • Compass
  • Bible

Object Lesson

(Hold up the compass.)

Does anyone know what this is? (Wait for a response.) That’s right it is a compass. Do any of you know how to use it? Many people know that a compass helps you to find the right direction, but most people don’t really know how to use one very well.

The compass has a pointer that has been magnetized and it always points in a certain direction. Do you know what direction that is? North! If you are ever lost in the woods or if you are ever lost when you are on a trip and if you know how to use a compass it will help you because it will always point to the north and you can find every other direction based off of that.

In life many people feel like they are lost. They don’t know which way to go. They feel like they don’t have a purpose or meaning. Many of them wish that they had a compass to help guide them.

(Hold up the Bible.)

This is also a compass. It is the compass for our life. When we read the Scriptures God will give us direction through the Holy Spirit and He will guide us in the best path to take.

In Psalm 119:105 is says that God’s Word is like a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. Do you know what that means? That means that God will help to direct us and guide us. He will help us to know which direction to take. He will help us to avoid the obstacles that come at us in our life. If we ever feel like we are lost in our life the Bible will help us find the right way to go.

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Hearing God’s Voice

Hearing God's Voice

Key Verse

John 10:27

Additional Verses

John 8:47; Jeremiah 33:3; Romans 8:14; Luke 11:28; Hebrews 2:1; 1 Kings 19:12

Materials Needed

  • Radio. Any kind of radio would work, but this works best with the older analog radio dials.

Object Lesson

Has God ever spoken to you before? A lot of people claim that God talks to them and tells them things, sometimes it is true and sometimes it might be something the just made up. God does speak to us though! He usually speaks to us through His Word, the Bible, and He speaks to us in a “still small voice.”

When God speaks to us usually the clouds don’t roll back and we hear this loud booming voice from the sky. It is a quiet voice that we hear inside of our soul, however it is not always easy to hear. We have to really tune in and listen to hear from God.

(Take out the radio.)

Have you ever used a radio before? Sometimes it is nice to listen to the radio because there are all kinds of music and shows on the radio, but what do you have to do to listen to it? You have to tune in!

(Turn the radio on and start to roll through the channels. You can make comments on it as you go. Once you have done this for a few moments, turn the radio off.)

As you see there are many different voices on the radio, some are good and some are not so good. You have to tune in to the good voices, the ones that you want to hear.

We all want to hear from God, but a lot of the times we are actually listening to the wrong voices. There is so much noise in our life, and so much static that it is really hard to hear what God is trying to say to us. What do we need to do? We need to tune our lives to God and be quiet so we can actually hear Him.

In John 10:27 it says that God’s sheep know His voice. That means we are tuned to hear it. Just like a sheep can know their shepherd’s voice we can learn God’s voice. If a stranger comes up and tries to lead the sheep somewhere bad do you think they will follow? No! Because they know their shepherd’s voice.

How do we tune in and start hearing God’s voice? We learn God’s voice by reading the Bible, memorizing and meditating on it. When God speaks to us it will usually be through His Word, and it will never go against what it says in the Bible. The more we learn about God’s Word the more we learn to hear His voice.

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Stay Charged Up

Strength Object Lesson

Key Verse

Ephesians 6:10

Additional Verses

Psalms 118:14; Colossians 3:16; Proverbs 4:20-22; John 15:7; Philippians 4:6; Hebrews 10:25

Materials Needed

  • Dead rechargeable batteries
  • Flashlight or something to show that the batteries don’t work
  • Battery recharger

Object Lesson

(Show the flashlight or whatever you have.)

Does anyone here know what this is? (Wait for responses.) That’s right it is a flashlight! Do you know what it is used for? (Allow a response.) That’s right it helps you to see when it is dark. (Switch the light on, but it shouldn’t come on or it should be very dim.) Uh oh! Something isn’t right here! Does anyone know why this flashlight is not working properly? (Wait for a response.) You think the batteries are dead?

(Take out the batteries and read the side.)

This says that these batteries are “rechargeable.” Do you know what that means? That means that once the battery dies you can charge it back up again. (Pull out the battery charger and show it.) Do any of you have anything that takes rechargeable batteries?

I was in such a hurry to show you my flashlight that I forgot to put these batteries on the charger and now these batteries don’t have any power.

In Ephesians 6:10 it says that we should be strong in the Lord’s mighty power! How do we get strong in His power? By staying charged up, just like these batteries. We read his Word, we pray, we go to church and learn about Him. When we do these things our faith and strength grow.

But, if we stop doing these things our charge will slowly drain just like these batteries lost all of their strength. We need to stay strong in God’s power and keep seeking Him with our whole heart. When we do these things He will give us His strength.

Long Hair

waking everywhere

A teenage boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his dad, who was a pastor, if he could start using the car. His dad took him to his study and said to him, “I’ll make a deal with you. If you bring your grades up, study your Bible a little and get your hair cut and we’ll talk about it.”

A month later the boy came back and asked his dad about the car again. The dad took him to his study again and said, “Son, I am really proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you have studied your Bible some, but you didn’t get your hair cut, you started using castor oil for hair growth!”

The young man waited and then replied, “You know Dad, I’ve been thinking about that. Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair!”

His dad quickly cut him off and responded, “Yes, and they WALKED everywhere they went!”

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