Never-Ending Love
Key Verse
Psalm 100:5
Additional Verses
Galatians 5:22-23; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 36:5; Psalm 107:15; Ezra 3:11; 1 Chronicles 16:34; Romans 8:38-39
Materials Needed
- Ring
Object Lesson
In Galatians 5:22-23 we read that there are many qualities, or fruits, that God wants us to have in our life. One of those is the fruit of love.
(Hold up the ring.)
Does anyone know what this is? That’s right! It is a ring. (Tell about how you got the ring.)
Rings symbolize love and when two love each other and get married they will often give each other a ring. Why do they use rings? Rings are usually made of a very precious metal like gold or silver. This is because love is very precious, it is one of the most precious things we can ever have.
Rings are also round. They have no beginning or end. That is because our love is supposed to be like God’s love…eternal. The Bible says in Psalm 100:5 that God has loved us since before we were even born and will always love us. The Bible also says in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.
God wants us to love Him with a never-ending love also, and he wants us to love those around us that way. Some people are not that easy to love, but God still wants us to love them and treat them with honor and respect.
(Hold up the ring again.)
Let us have love that is like this ring, never-ending!
Love One Another
Key Verse
1 John 4:11
Additional Verses
Galatians 5:22-23; John 13:34; 1 John 4:20; 1 John 4:7-8; 1 Peter 4:8; Romans 12:10
Materials Needed
- Strawberry. Feel free to bring plenty to pass out.
Object Lesson
In Galatians 5:22-23 we learn about the Fruit of the Spirit. These are things that we should producing when we are living a life following Christ. The first one is talks about is the fruit of Love.
Do you know what love is? Love is when we care for someone more than we care about our own life. In 1 John 4:11 is says that God wants us to love one another because He loves us so much.
(Show everyone the strawberries.)
These are delicious strawberries and today they are going to represent the fruit of love. On Valentine’s Day people will often give someone they love a box of chocolate covered strawberries. Have you ever had a chocolate covered strawberry before? They are delicious!
(Hold up the strawberry so it looks like a heart.)
If you look at a strawberry it kind of looks like a heart we will often tell people that we love them “with all our heart.” God wants us to love Him with all of our heart! He also wants us to love others the same way.
(Take a bite of the strawberry.)
Strawberries are so sweet and delicious. God’s love is sweet, and he wants us to be sweet and loving to those that are around us as well.
God has loved us so much and He wants us to love those around us in return. In 1 John 4:7-8 it says that if we say that we love God but don’t love others then we really aren’t loving God at all. He wants us to love one another.
The Clean Shirt
Key Verse
2 Corinthians 6:14
Additional Verses
1 Corinthians 15:33; James 4:4; Ephesians 5:6-14; Philippians 2:15; Psalm 26:4-5
Materials Needed
- Two clean T-Shirts (You could also use two towels if you wanted.)
Preparation
Take one of the T-shirts and rub wet paint and grease all over it. You can bring it in a plastic or paper bag.
Object Lesson
Do you like my t-shirt? It is brand new and perfectly clean! This is just like our heart when Jesus forgives us. He makes us perfectly clean inside. He removes all of our sin and stains.
Now what do you think would happen if I saw my friend and he had just finished painting his house and working on his car and he was all filthy. (Take out the dirty shirt.) What do you think would happen if I have him a hug? Do you think that all of my clean would rub off on him? You don’t? Why not?
(Take the dirty shirt and rub it against your clean shirt.)
My clean shirt didn’t make this dirty shirt clean did it? The dirty shirt made my clean on dirty!
The Bible asks us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 what fellowship light can have with darkness and warns us in 2 Corinthians 6:17 to not touch something unclean! Why? Because usually our good does not rub off on them but their bad habits rub off on us.
If you have a best friend that always swears or lies or steals you may start doing that soon too! We will often pick up other people’s bad habits.
We should not totally isolate ourselves because God wants is to share our faith, but we have to be careful because if we are best friends with someone who is far from God they will often pull us away from God too.
Words That Cut
Key Verse
Psalm 34:13
Additional Verses
Ephesians 4:29; Proverbs 15:1; Proverbs 12:18; James 1:26; Proverbs 18:21
Materials Needed
- Log
- Axe or hatchet
Preparation
You may want to anchor the log to the floor to keep it from moving.
Object Lesson
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” Do you believe it? Well many people say that and try to act like words don’t hurt them, but in reality words do cut like a knife.
Have we ever said something that hurt someone? I think we all probably have at some point in our lives. James talks a lot about the power of the tongue and how dangerous it really is. In Psalm 34:13 it says that we should keep out tongue from saying evil things.
(Take a couple of chops into the log. Be careful that you don’t hit anyone with the chips.)
Sometimes we say things that are hurtful and then we say that we are “just kidding.” That is kind of like chopping into this log (take a couple more chops into the log) and then telling it that I was just kidding.
The damage has already been done. We need to be very careful with our words, because they cut even deeper than this axe does. The Bible tells us often to encourage others. Are our words encouraging to others?
Hearing From God
Key Verse
Psalm 46:10
Additional Verses
Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13; John 10:27; 1 Kings 19:12
Materials Needed
- Large seashell (Like the ones that you would hold up to your ear to listen to)
Object Lesson
(Show the large seashell.)
Does anyone know what this is? (Wait for a response.) It is a large seashell. Have you ever listened to a seashell like this before? They say that if you hold it up to your ear and if you are very still and very quite that you can hear the ocean in it.
(If you have time you can pass the shell around and let them try listening to it.)
In Psalm 46:10 the Bible says “be still and know I am God.” It is really hard for us to be still isn’t it. Let’s try to be perfectly still for 30 seconds. (Time everyone for 30 seconds.)
That wasn’t very easy was it? If we want to hear from God we need to slow our lives down. Sometimes we are doing way too many things and moving way too fast. We have school, work, sports, hobbies and we rush, rush, rush. And then we wonder why we are not able to hear God’s “still small voice.”
Just like when you are trying to hear the ocean in the seashell we need to be very still and quiet to hear it, we need to be very still and quiet so that we can hear God speaking to us.
Maybe if you spend some time outdoors you are able to slow down enough to hear from God. Maybe you listen to music all the time and maybe you should shut it off from time to time so you can hear from God. It is important that we all take time to just be quiet and listen for His voice.
Never Changing
Key Verse
Hebrews 13:8
Additional Verses
James 1:17; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:12
Materials Needed
- Colorful fall leaves. (If you don’t have any you can cut them out of colored construction paper or buy them at most craft stores.)
Object Lesson
(Show a variety of fall leaves).
During autumn all the leaves on the trees start to change colors. Red. Orange. Yellow. Brown. Do you know what they do after they change color? They fall down to the ground. That’s why we call it the Fall. Then we rake the leaves and we can jump and play in them.
Did you know that God is NOT like these leaves? In Hebrews 13:8 we read that Jesus is the same yesterday as He is today! And that He will be the same tomorrow too! That means we can trust, rely and depend on Him!
These leaves grow and are blown by the wind and they eventually change colors, die and fall to the ground. But Jesus will never change like that. Sometimes people change that way, but not God.
God is faithful and trustworthy. We can always rely on Him to do what He says and to keep His promises. His word is always true!
So when we drive around and see the beautiful fall leaves we should remember that even though they may change our God will never change! He will always be there for us to love us and to protects us.
The Trinity
Key Verse
Matthew 28:19
Additional Verses
1 Corinthians 8:6; Matthew 3:16-17; 1 John 5:7-8; John 14:26
Materials Needed
- Ice cubes
- Water
- Boiling water (You can use a hot plate to heat water or preheat water and put it into a Thermos or insulated container.)
Object Lesson
In Matthew 28:19 it talks about the Trinity. Do you know what the Trinity is? (Wait for any responses, but don’t be surprised if you don’t get too many.)
In Scripture we learn that God has three very distinct parts. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are three very distinct and unique parts of God, but they are all One! That is a confusing thing for many people to understand. How can God be three but also one?
(Show the glass of water.)
This water is going to represent God, specifically God the Father.
(Show everyone the ice cubes.)
Does anyone know what these ice cubes are made out of? (Wait for a response.) That’s right they are made of the same thing that is in this glass, water! Jesus had a physical body and form, just like these cubes have a very distinct shape and size. Jesus took a human body and became one of us. Even though this ice is different from the water, it is also the same.
(Open the Thermos so that you can see steam coming out.)
I have some boiling water here. Do you know what this faint smoke is? (Wait for a response.) This is steam. Steam is incredible powerful! It can power the largest machines in the world trains and huge ships! Do you know what steam is made out of? Water! It is the very same thing as the water and the ice, but it is an entirely different form. The Holy Spirit is like this steam. The Holy Spirit gives us great power in our lives and comforts us when we need it.
So even though the water, the ice and the steam are each unique and distinct they are also all exactly the same. In a similar way God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are unique and distinct but are also one.
Cross-O-Lantern Pumkpin
Key Verse
John 8:12
Additional Verses
John 12:46; John 9:5; Psalm 18:28; Acts 13:47; Isaiah 60:1
Materials Needed
- Pumpkin
- Candle. Should be a candle that is sturdy
- Matches or lighter
Preparation
Cut the top off of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds like you are making a jack-o-lantern. Carve a cross on one side of the pumpkin.
Object Lesson
(Start the lesson with the pumpkin facing the audience and the cross turned towards you.)
Usually around Halloween people like to celebrate scary and spooky things like ghosts, witches and monsters. What time of day do people generally say that these spooky things come out? At night! In the darkness. We know that these things are not real, but sometimes they still scare us. When people do evil things they will often do it in the darkness so that no one will see what they are doing.
When Jesus came He called us out of the darkness. He doesn’t want us to be filled with sin. He doesn’t want us to put our attention on scary things. In John 8:12 Jesus says that He is the light of the world and if you follow Him you won’t have to walk in darkness because you have the light that leads to life.
(Take the top off the pumpkin.)
Our lives often feel kind of like this pumpkin. Empty and dark inside. But Jesus wants to fill us with His light. (Light the candle and put it inside the pumpkin.)
Now the pumpkin is filled with the light and love of Christ. It is a very exciting thing when Christ fills us. We don’t feel empty any longer.
Now that we are full of His light, God doesn’t want us to just keep it to our self. He wants us to let His light shine through us.
(Turn the pumpkin around so everyone can see the cross and the light shining out.)
He wants us to shine the light of Jesus and the sacrifice that He made on the cross. When we allow God’s love and light to shine through us we are bringing light and hope to a very dark world.
Vine and Branches
Key Verse
John 15:5
Additional Verses
Philippians 4:13; Proverbs 11:30; Romans 7:4
Materials Needed
- Dead flowers
Object Lesson
(Show everyone your bouquet of dead flowers.)
How would you like it if someone you loved gave you this beautiful bouquet for a gift? (Wait for a response.) You don’t think my flowers are beautiful? It must be because they are dead, isn’t it? Why do you think they are dead? (If they kids say because they aren’t in water, let them know that they were in water.) They are dead because they are no longer attached to the plant!
These flowers were once part of a bigger plant that had roots that went down deep into the ground. If these flowers were still attached to that plant it would still be alive! Since it is not attached to the plant it was able to survive for a short period of time in the water, but they soon died.
In John 15:5 it says that Jesus is the vine, or the plant, and we are the branches, kind of like these flowers.
Do the flower get their own nutrients from the soil? No! They get all their nutrients straight from the plant. Just like these flowers cannot grow on their own we cannot grow and produce fruit in our life without being connected to Jesus.
It is very important for these flowers to stay connected to the plant if they want to continue to produce flowers. It is also important for us to stay connected to Jesus if we want to do great things in our life.
Jesus is the Best Gift
Key Verse
John 3:16
Additional Verses
Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10; Romans 8:32; Romans 5:10; John 3:36
Materials Needed
- Small figure of baby Jesus, such as one from a nativity set (alternately you could use a cross)
- A gift bag and tissue paper or a gift box and wrapping paper
- Small treat or prize, such as a candy
Object Lesson
Do you guys like to open presents? I want some of you to tell me about the best present that you ever got! (Allow for responses).
The best present I ever got was (use your own story here).
Do you guys like to give presents? Isn’t it exciting to buy your friend a present and watch them open it on their birthday? Presents seem to get everyone excited. Well, I brought a present with me today (bring out the beautifully wrapped present) and I am going to let one of you open it.
(Choose a volunteer to open the gift. Ask the volunteer to tell everyone what it is:Baby Jesus or cross).
You know, God is a very generous giver. The Bible tells us in John 3:16 that God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son so that is any of us will believe in Him we won’t perish but we will have everlasting life in Heaven!
God sent His only Son into the world as a human baby and we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. When Jesus was an adult He began to teach people about God and soon after that He died on the cross and He rose from the dead and that is what we celebrate at Easter time.
Now, imagine how hard it must have been for God to give up His only Son and allow Him to die on the cross for you and me. That must have been a hard thing to do, but God did it because He loves us so much. He says that all we have to do is believe in Jesus and we will have eternal life with Him in heaven. Believing in Jesus is the way that we receive this wonderful gift from God. You could also give someone the top wii games for kids to bring the family together at the end of along day and after you are done playing have a talk about god and pray.
(Say to your volunteer) I am going to give you a gift for helping me today (hold out the candy) and all you have to do is take it out of my hand to receive it. (Have the volunteer take the candy and sit down). All they had to do was receive it! I want to give all of your here the opportunity to receive this amazing gift, the gift of God’s Son and eternal life. (Pray with them and give them the opportunity to receive Christ).
D5 Creation