Tag Archives: Hands-on

September 30, 2008 · 6:54 am

Guard Your Gates! (OBJ LESSON)


Time

20 minutes

Description

This object lesson teaches about the need to protect our hearts and minds from the evil things that might get in them.

Materials

  • Small box
  • Heart-shaped object
  • A handful of candy or a few candy bars

Preparation

·You might need a confederate when you try to tempt the “gate-keepers” to let you into the city.Talk to one of the older children ahead of time, and let them know you want them to let you in the gate after you’ve tempted them some – maybe when you offer the candy.Ask the child to keep this a secret.

·Practice the script.

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

  • “I am going to tell you a story from the book of Nehemiah.”
  • “In the time of Nehemiah, there was a temple in Jerusalem, but there were no walls around the city.”(Ask for a few children to volunteer to come be your temple.Have them stand together and hold the small box in the center.)
  • “This box represents the Ark of the Covenant.”
  • “The Ark was the most important thing in all of Israel.It represented where God came to meet with His people.”
  • “Now, without walls around the city, the temple was unprotected.”
  • “At any time, the enemy could just walk in and steal the Ark of the Covenant, because there was nothing to keep the enemy out.”(Pretend to be the enemy, and show how easy it is for you to come in and steal the Ark.)
  • “Now, the Ark of the Covenant is gone today.No one knows for sure what happened to it.”
  • “I think that’s because we don’t need it anymore.You see, God replaced the building that was called “The Temple,” with our hearts.He now meets with us in our hearts instead of in a building.”
  • “The Bible says that God removed our ‘heart of stone and gave (us) a heart of flesh.’” (Ezekiel 11:19 – Replace the box with the heart-shaped container.)
  • “And our enemy is Satan.He wants to steal our hearts so that God can’t use us for His purposes.”
  • “So, the temple is like our heart today.What did Nehemiah need to protect the temple?”(Walls)
  • “Right!And Nehemiah was smart.He put together a team of people, and they began building those walls.”
  • “But if Nehemiah needs physical walls to protect the temple, what do you think we need to protect our hearts?”(Spiritual walls)
  • “Exactly!We need spiritual walls!Well, just like you build physical walls stone by stone, you build spiritual walls piece by piece when you do good things for God.”
  • “Can anyone give me an example of a ‘stone’ you might put in your spiritual wall?”(Look for examples of spiritual disciplines and good works for God.As kids mention them, have them come up to be part of the wall around the temple.Examples include: Bible study, giving, helping others, prayer, meditating on God’s word, solitude, going to church, worship…Keep taking examples until you have a complete wall around the temple.)
  • “There!We have our spiritual wall to protect us from Satan’s attacks.If we didn’t have our spiritual walls up, Satan could come right in and steal our hearts.”
  • “Walls are good to have, but we are missing something.We also need gates!”
  • “Without gates in the wall of Jerusalem, the good stuff, like food and supplies couldn’t come into the city.”
  • “In the same way, without gates in our spiritual walls, there is no way to let in good things like God’s Word.”
  • “So, we need gates – can anyone think of what our gates might be?Where does the good stuff come into our minds and hearts?” (Ears, eyes, mouth)
  • “I’m going to make these people our gates keepers.”(Pick two or three pairs of children and have them hold hands to designate that they are the gates.Make sure you include your confederate if you are using one.)
  • “Having gates is good, because they let the good stuff in, but they can also let in bad stuff.Your gates are the weakest part of your spiritual wall, and Satan will try really hard to get in through them.”
  • “Can anyone give me some examples of things Satan might try to get past your ear gates, your eye gates or your mouth gate?”(Take examples, and if needed, supply the following:

omusic with bad lyrics

obad scenes in movies

oprofanity

opictures in magazines

ogossip

orumors

othings you might feel jealous about

omean words

othings that might make you feel bad about yourself

odrugs or alcohol (because they make you do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do – like open your ear gates and eye gates to really bad stuff)

oother peoples’ personal things that are not to be shared (like a diary)

oviolent scenes)

  • “Wow!Satan has thought of a lot of stuff to try to get in through our ear gates, eye gates and mouth gate.”
  • “Let me show you how he works.”(Go to one of your gate-keeper pairs and try to tempt them to open the gate to let you in.)
  • “Hey, guys!How are you today?Say, I would really like to get into that gate.Would you mind opening it for me?”(Assuming they say, “no,” try some of these temptations.)

o“Aw, c’mon, do it for your friend!We’re friends right?You don’t want to be uncool do you?”

o“Wait until everyone hears what a loser you are!”

o“What if I offered you this candy?Would you open it for me then?”

o“You would be my best friend ever!”

o“Those guys over there let me in all the time.”

o“If you let me in, I’ll give you something really cool!”

o(Add other temptations that you think might work.If no one succumbs to the temptations, use your confederate to get into the city.)

  • “HA!I knew I could get in!Now that I’m in here, I think I’m going to set up camp.”
  • “When Satan gets into your heart and sets up camp, the Bible calls it a stronghold.A stronghold is the place in your heart that Satan holds, and it’s where he attacks you from.”
  • “There is a story in the last chapter of Nehemiah in the Bible that tells about when one of Nehemiah’s enemies came to live inside the temple!”
  • “Nehemiah had left the country for some time, and while he was gone, some of the people who were friends with Nehemiah’s enemies let a man named Tobiah move in!”
  • “That’s like letting Satan live in your heart!Who wants that?”
  • “The good news is that Nehemiah was a man of God.When he found out that Tobiah had moved into the temple, he kicked him out of the temple and out of the city.Then, he bleached the place and filled it up with temple furniture and offerings.”(Nehemiah 13:4-9)
  • “So if Satan gets past our gates with his junk, what do you think we ought to do?”(Throw him out just like Nehemiah did!)
  • “That’s right!Kick him out of your heart and mind!Then close those gates, and don’t let him in again, because if you keep letting him in, he’s not just going to want to live in your heart – he’s going to want to steal it for himself!”(Demonstrate stealing the heart-shaped container from the temple.If, as often happens when I conduct this object lesson, you are mauled by the children, it’s best to give up the heart before you incite a riot.)
  • “So, how many of you are going to be careful to build your walls and guard your gates from now on?”

5 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Coping skills, Hands-on, Obedience, Object Lesson, Satan's tactics, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Warfare, temptation

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 28, 2008 · 5:57 pm

Walking on Water


Time

30-45 minutes


Description

This object lesson is used as a highlight to the story of Peter walking on water.

The lesson is big and expensive. It takes lots of time to prepare, and it’s messy. It’s best reserved for large events. That said, there’s a lot of “wow factor.” This will be an activity that they will remember for years.

To see my blog and some video on when I did this object lesson, click here: They Walked on Water

Materials

· Drop cloth for the floor (if you do it indoors)

· Corn starch (8 lbs for every gallon)

· Water (1.5 gallons for every 8 lbs of corn starch)

· Kiddie swimming pool (90 gallons or more)

· Example: – if you use a 90 gallon pool, you will need 288 lbs of corn starch and 54 gallons of water

· Several buckets, water bottles, electric fans, rolls of blue wrapping paper

· Write out the following note cards with script for part of your enactment:

o Jesus: It’s all right. I am here! Don’t be afraid.

o Peter: Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on the water.

o Jesus: All right…come.

    • Peter: Save me, Lord!
    • Jesus: You don’t have much faith. Why did you doubt me?

Preparation

· It’s best to do this activity outside because of the potential mess, but if you do it inside, lay out a drop cloth.

· Several hours before you run the lesson, mix the corn starch and the water in the pool.

· It’s best to mix it in small quantities and then pour them into the pool. (I recommend mixing 4.5 gallons of water with 24 lbs of corn starch each time.)

· Test the consistency by slapping or punching the surface. It should harden up and resist your blows.

· If this works, you should be able to run across or even on top of the surface. Use very quick steps.

· Have a way for those who get stuck in the pool to wash off.

· Set up a place in the teaching area near the pool to be a “boat.” You can do this with some cardboard boxes or with masking tape, or you could just designate an area of the floor as the “boat.”

· Put the buckets in the “boat.”

· Fill the water bottles with water.

· Set up the electric fans so that they face the boat.

· Roll out the blue wrapping paper on the floor (blue side up) under the boat or across the area of the designated “boat.”

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

  • “After Jesus fed the 5,000, He went to a quiet place and prayed to God, the Father, and the disciples got into a boat to head across the lake.”
  • “The disciples sailed away from the shore and were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee when a huge storm rolled in!” (Ask for 12 volunteers, and have them get into the “boat.” Select one of them to be Peter. As you tell the story, they should act out what you are saying. Then get volunteers to spray the water bottles, turn the fans on and off, turn the lights on and off and create waves with the wrapping paper by holding either end and waving it up and down.)
  • “It was dark. The wind was howling!” (Have your fan volunteers turn on the fans.) “Water sprayed over the sides of the boat and drenched the apostles!” (Have your water bottle volunteers spray the apostles, and have your wave volunteers wave the paper up and down.) “Lightning flashed across the sky.” (Have your lights volunteer flick the lights on and off.)
  • “They were afraid that they might sink, so they used buckets to try and bail water out of the boat.” (Have the apostle-volunteers pretend to bail water.)
  • “Hours went by, and the apostles grew very tired. About 3 o’clock in the morning, things got worse!”
  • ‘A ghost came walking across the water straight at them!” (Have a volunteer play Jesus and run across the pool of “water” toward the others.)
  • “This was one fast-moving ghost!”
  • “They screamed in terror!” (If the disciples don’t scream, say, “A-hem, I said that the apostles screamed in terror!”)
  • “Then, something totally incredible happened!” (Have your helpers say the following lines from their note cards.)
    • Jesus: It’s all right. I am here! Don’t be afraid.
    • Peter: Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on the water.
    • Jesus: All right…come.
  • “Peter went over the side of the boat and started walking on the water toward Jesus!” (Have Peter character run across the pool of “water.”)
  • “But then, he took his eyes off Jesus and looked around.”
  • “He saw the high waves! He noticed the howling wind!”
  • “He became terrified and began to sink under the water!” (Have character act this out running to the center of the pool, stopping and crying out.)
    • Peter: Save me, Lord!
  • “Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed Peter.” (Have character act this out by reaching in to grab “Peter” from outside the pool.)
    • Jesus: You don’t have much faith. Why did you doubt me?
  • “Jesus and Peter climbed back into the boat, and immediately, the wind stopped.” (Have “Peter” and “Jesus” join the other volunteers beside the pool.)
  • “Then the disciples worshipped Jesus.” (Have volunteers bow down to Jesus.)
  • “And they said, ‘You really are the Son of God!’”
  • “Peter walked on water! Can you believe that?”
  • “But then he began to sink.”
  • “Tell me…why did Peter start to sink into the water?” (He took his eyes off Jesus.)
  • “That’s right. He took his eyes of Jesus. He looked around at all the scary stuff around him, and he began to think, ‘I’m in big trouble. A person can’t walk on water! That’s impossible! I must have been crazy thinking I could have walked on water!’”
  • “Of course, Peter was right, but he forgot one very important thing…all things are possible with God!”
  • “When Peter began to sink under the water, he had a problem, but I’m learning that whenever I have a problem, I should give it to Jesus.”
  • “Anytime that I feel like I’m sinking under all my problems, I need to give them to Jesus.”
  • “As long as I keep my eyes on Him, He helps me with my problems.”
  • “But if I start to focus on the scary things that are happening around me, I’ll start to sink again.”
  • “Now you may think Peter looked pretty silly when he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink under water, but I don’t.”
  • “I admire Peter for having the courage to get out of the boat.”
  • “Peter was a Water Walker!”
  • “You know what all the other guys were? They were Boat Huggers!”
  • “While Peter walked on the water, they hugged the boat in fear.”
  • “Jesus told Peter that he only had a little faith, but even his little faith was a lot more than the Boat Huggers had.”
  • “A Water Walker trusts in God.”
  • “A Water Walker does the scary things that God wants him to do.”
  • “A Water Walker gets out of the boat to get closer to Jesus.”
  • “If you want to get closer to Jesus, you’re going to have to get out of the boat and walk on water.”
  • “Any of you want to be Water Walkers for Jesus?” (Allow all that are interested to take a run across the pool of “water.”)

Leave a comment

Filed under Christianity, faith, Hands-on, Object Lesson, Peter, Simon-Peter, test, Trust

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 19, 2008 · 3:54 am

Straw-tato


Time

15 minutes


Description

This object lesson helps people to see that the “impossible” is not always as impossible as it seems.

Materials

  • Potatoes for every participant and for the facilitator (ripe potatoes work best)
  • Straws for every participant and for the facilitator (make sure the straws are sturdy)
  • Flip chart and markers (for memory verse if you want to post it)

Preparation

Practice, practice, practice

Procedure

  • Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the room.
  • Show a straw and a potato, and ask your volunteer if he or she can put the straw through the potato.
  • Let him or her try for a minute or so, and then say, “How many of you think putting the straw through the potato is impossible?”
  • Take a quick count, and then say, “It seems impossible, but I’m going to show you how it’s done. In fact, before we are through, each one of you is going to do it yourself!”
  • Give your volunteer the following instructions to help him or her put the straw through the potato:
    • “Hold the potato in one hand at belly-button level.”
    • “Make sure your hand is only on the sides on the potato and not on top – otherwise, you will put the straw through your hand.”
    • “Place thumb of other hand over the top end of the straw.”
    • “Looking directly at the potato (not your hand), jab the straw into it. It should go completely through.”
  • Say, “Wasn’t that great! We just made the “impossible” possible.”
  • Say, “Philippians 4:13 says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’”
  • Say, “That doesn’t mean literally ALL things. For example, I can’t swallow a car or finish a lesson on time. Those things would be absurd!”
  • Say, “What Philippians 4:13 means is that I can do all things that God asks me to do. If God asks me to do it, He will give me strength to do it.”
  • Say, “But back to the potato, I bet you’re wondering whether or not you might be able to put a straw through one, right?”
  • Say, “Wanna try?” (Have some volunteers pass out potatoes and straws to all children. Then take them through the procedure listed above. Help those who are struggling.)
  • Say, “Amazing, huh?”
  • Say, “So whenever you are having a hard time with something God has asked you to do, I want you to remember putting a straw through a potato, and I want you to think about Philippians 4:13. ‘You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.’”

Leave a comment

Filed under Belief, Christianity, Coping skills, faith, Hands-on, Object Lesson, Trust

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 6, 2008 · 11:29 am

In God’s Hands



Time

20 minutes


Description

This object lesson can be a fun way to drive home some lessons about Peter. It’s very messy, so you will want to have a place for the kids to clean up afterward (a garden hose is recommended, because you won’t want to wash large amounts of the baking soda down the drain).

Materials

· Drop cloth for the floor

· Corn starch (1 cup per child)

· Water (1.5 cups per child)

· Plastic cups (2 for each child)

· Bowls (1 for each child)

· Plastic place mat or disposable table cloth

Preparation

Lay down your drop cloth, and set a table with bowls for each child. Measure out the corn starch and water in plastic cups. Have some extra water and cornstarch on hand in case you need to adjust the consistency of the mixture.

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

· “Who’s ready to get messy?”

  • “Me, too! Everyone, put yourself in front of one of the bowls on the table.”
  • “In the Bible, the New Testament tells the story about Simon, Andrew’s brother.”
  • “When Simon met Jesus, Jesus changed his name to Peter, which means “rock.”
  • “Simon means “listening and obeying,” but Simon spent too much time talking to listen.”
  • “Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, because He wanted Simon to act like a rock. That means that Jesus wanted Peter to be a leader, who was firm in his convictions and stood strong for the Lord.”
  • “Peter wanted to be a rock for the Lord, but he wasn’t very consistent at that, either.”
  • “But God knows what He is doing. He changed Simon’s name, because He saw who Jesus would help him to be one day.”
  • “It was a reminder of God’s call on Peter’s life. Every time Peter heard his new name, it reminded him that he needed to act like a rock.”
  • “So, that brings us to our experiment. We’re going to make Peter!”
  • “Here’s what we need to do. Take the cup with the powder in it (this is called corn starch) and pour it into your bowl.”
  • “Now, take the cup that has water in it, and pour it into your bowl.”
  • “Mix these together with your fingers – and, yes, it is going to be messy!” (As they mix, the corn starch should turn into a thick liquid. But, it’s not just a liquid. It’s also a solid when you put pressure on it. Check to make sure that all the kids’ mixtures are turning out right. If not, add water to thin or cornstarch to thicken.)
  • “That’s some gooey stuff, isn’t it?”
  • “Let’s try a few things with it. Pick some up in your hand, and quickly roll it into a ball between your hands.” (You may need to demonstrate.)
  • “Now, stop rolling and watch what happens.” (The ball will melt in their hands.)
  • “Weird, huh? Okay, now try tapping on the liquid in the bowl with your finger.’ (Demonstrate if needed. The liquid should harden when you tap it.)
  • “Now, let’s pick it up, and squeeze it in our hands. Then let it go.” (It should go from solid to liquid.)
  • “I told you we were going to make Peter. Peter is like the liquid, and we are playing the part of God.”
  • “You see, Peter was also talking about how he was the best and how he would defend Jesus with his life. But when Jesus was taken by the religious rulers, Peter ran away. Then, he denied that he even knew Jesus three times.”
  • “Whenever Peter acted the way Jesus wanted him to, he was right in the middle of God’s hands. During those times he was solid like a rock.” (Demonstrate by putting some of the liquid in your hand and rolling it into a ball.)
  • “But when things got scary, Peter ran away.” (Allow ball to melt.)
  • “Now, I don’t want to make Peter into a bad guy. He was trying, but he just couldn’t be as strong as he wanted to be.”
  • “And neither can we. None of us are strong enough without God. The best place to be is in the middle of His hand.”

Leave a comment

Filed under Christianity, God's Will, Hands-on, Obedience, Object Lesson, Peter, Simon-Peter, Trust

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,