Tag Archives: man in the moon

Time

20-25 minutes

Description

This object lesson makes an analogy between Jesus and the sun and Christians and the moon. It helps kids to learn what why Jesus didn’t take us straight to heaven as soon as we became Christians.

Materials

• Several white shirts for kids to slip on (large undershirts are easy to get on an off over their other clothing).
• Black light

Preparation

· Plug in the black light near your teaching area.

· Have shirts ready.

· Practice the script.

Procedure

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

• “For this activity, I’m going to need four volunteers (or five or six…the number is not important).” (Select volunteers, and have them slip on the white shirts. Ask another volunteer to be in charge of turning off the lights when you ask.)
• “I have a friend (Author’s note: I’m referring to me – you and I are friends, right?) whose son has a shirt that says, ‘Be the moon,’ on the front. On the back, it says, ‘Reflect the Son.’”
• “It’s a great picture of our role within the world.”
• “The moon, we know, sends out no light of its own.”
• “These volunteers are going to represent the moon. Do any of you have any light of your own that you can show us?” (Take responses.)
• “Right, because you are representing the moon, and the moon is really just a big, dead, gray rock…or maybe green cheese…but it doesn’t have the ability to send out light.”
• “However, on clear nights, the moon can sometimes be so bright that you can see clearly by the light it reflects. How does that happen?” (Take responses.)
• “Exactly! It reflects the light of the sun.”
• “This black light is going to represent the sun for us.”
• “When the sun sets… (have volunteer turn out the lights, and then turn on the black light. Try to put the light where the bulb cannot be seen by the audience. You just want them to see the reflection of the light on the white shirts.) …the moon rises, and it reflects the light of the sun.”
• “’But how does that happen?’, you might ask. The sun is gone. Does anyone know how it works?” (Take responses, and add your own explanation if necessary.)
• “Right, even when the people in the world can’t see the sun, the moon can (so to speak). The moon is just far enough away from the world that it always has a clear view of the sun.”
• “Even when our part of the world has turned away from the sun, the moon stays where the light of the sun can still shine directly on it. That way, it can reflect the light back to the world.” (Have volunteer turn on lights, and turn off the black light.)
• “When the sun comes back on a fresh, new morning, the moon is still there, but we don’t need its light anymore, because the light of the sun is far better than just a reflection of the light of the sun.”
• “Our role as believers in Jesus is just like the moon’s role in the night sky.”
• “You see, the Son (S-O-N….Jesus) has gone back to heaven, and the world can’t see Him.”
• “But He left us here on earth to reflect His light.”
• “That’s why God didn’t take you straight to heaven when you became a Christian.
• “It would have been better for you to be in heaven, but God wanted you to stay here and reflect His light to those who can’t see Him.”
• “We Christians have no light of our own, but it’s our job to shine light into dark places.” (Have volunteer read Matthew 5:14-16.)
• “This world is like a house with all the lights shut off. You are like a lamp that shines light to everyone around you.” (Have volunteer turn off lights, and turn the black light back on.)
• “Now, we live in bodies that are dead with sin, just like the moon is a big, dead rock.”
• “If I turn off this light… (turn off black light) …they don’t shine any light to the rest of us.”
• “But if they stay where they can see the light… (turn on black light) …then they will reflect the light to everyone else.”
• “Our bodies are dead with sin, but our spirits are alive in Christ. It’s our spirit that is able to reflect the light of Jesus.”
• “The people in the world don’t always know where the light is coming from, but it at least makes them curious.”
• “They may not ask us about our light for a long time, so you might think they haven’t noticed it.”
• “But I promise you, if you’ve done a good job of reflecting the light of Jesus, there is a time when they will come to you to find out where your light is coming from. Does anyone know when that time is?” (Take responses, and elaborate if necessary.)
• “Sure, when the lights go out in their life….when something difficult happens to them like a fight with a good friend or failing a class at school or getting in big trouble with their parents…. Those are the times when things are darkest in their lives.”
• “And when it’s dark, people naturally want to go toward the light. If they have seen your light before, they will come to you.”
• “That is God giving you an opportunity to share what you know about Jesus.” (Have volunteer turn on lights, and turn off black light.)
• “What we have to careful about is that we don’t allow the world to get between us and the Son of God.”
• “Does anyone know what happens when the world gets between the sun and the moon?” (Take responses, and add your explanation if necessary.)
• “Right, it causes an eclipse. An eclipse can happen when the world blocks the light from the sun so that it can’t reach the moon. Then the moon can’t shine the sun’s light.”
• “This can happen to Christians, too. Watch this!” (Ask for several volunteers to come stand in between you and the volunteers representing the moon. Then have your volunteer turn off the lights, and turn on the black light.)
• “These volunteers represent ‘the world,’ which is a name the Bible gives to sinfulness.”
• “So, really, these volunteers represent sin in our lives.”
• “When we are sinning, the light of the Son of God cannot reflect off of us.”
• “A little sin blocks some of the light.” (Move volunteers around so that just one or two are standing in front of the ‘moon’ volunteers.)
• “A lot of sin in our lives can block the light out completely. (Move volunteers around so that they completely block the ‘moon’ volunteers. Call up more volunteers if you need to.)
• “Jesus is always shining His light, but it is only going to reflect off of us when we don’t allow ‘the world’ (sin) to get between Him and us.” (Have volunteer turn lights back on, turn off the black light and excuse volunteers to return to their seats.)
• “One last analogy. If we understand where the moon gets its light, then we know that the moon serves as a reminder.”
• “When the sun goes away at night, the moon reminds us that the sun is only gone for a little while before it returns.”
• “Isn’t that really what we are supposed to be about as Christians?”
• “The Church didn’t exist until Jesus rose again after His death and resurrection.”
• “He created it, because He was going away, and He left us here to remind the world that He is coming back.”
• “And He is coming back! The Bible says so. And on that day…” (Have volunteer read Revelation 22:4-5.)

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:4-5)

• “I can’t wait for that day, but until then, Genesis 1:16 says, “God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day (that’s Jesus) and the lesser light to govern the night (that’s us).”
• “How do you think we are doing with our part of the job?” (Take responses, comment and then end the lesson.)

A Few More Scriptures That Might Be Helpful

• “Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness— and I will not lie to David – that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah (Psalm 89:35-37)
• “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” (Isaiah 60:19)
• “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12)
• “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5)