God’s Word
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Keeping Life in Balance
Key Verse
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Additional Verses
2 Peter 3:17; Ephesians 5:15; Colossians 3:17
Materials Needed
- Long pole
Object Lesson
Have you ever seen someone walk a tightrope before? It’s pretty amazing isn’t it. If they aren’t careful they can fall off on either side, and that wouldn’t be a very pretty thing to watch. What does it take to walk on a tightrope? (Wait for response.) That’s right, it takes balance.
(Hold up the pole.)
Many tightrope walkers will also use a very long pole like this that they hold on to while they are going across windy or dangerous areas. Does anyone know why? Because it helps them to stay balanced!
Often times people let their lives get out of balance. They spend to much time at work, school, video games, movies, or doing all kinds of things. Now those things are particularly bad, but Ecclesiastes 3:1 says that there is a time for everything. We need to keep those things in balance.
God has given us something to keep our lives balanced just like a tightrope walker carries this long pole. God has given us his Word, the Bible! When we read it, study it and memorize it we will grow stronger and be able to keep our life in balance.
It is important for us to read the Bible regularly and let God speak to us through it so that when the winds come they won’t blow us off balance.
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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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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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- Parable of the Sower Lesson
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.
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.
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D5 Creation