Object Lesson | Car That Can’t Go

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Toy Car, Play-Doh or something that can gunk it up.

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: When we don’t forgive it stops you from loving!

Illustration: Show the kids the toy car and ask if any of them have ever had a toy car.  Ask them what their favorite thing to do toy cars.  It is so much fun to race the cars and make them go fast.  Now what happens if in the wheels we gunk it up with play doh?  The wheels don’t spin very well, and it has a hard time moving.  Are you going to be able to win any kind of race with this car?  Probably not.

Explanation: Forgiveness can be the same way.  Let’s imagine for a moment that we are the car.  As this car we are able to race around and share the love that God has for us with other people.  Now all of a sudden when people hurt our feelings and bring pain to our life, it is like getting all that play doh jammed up in the wheels.  We now have a choice.  We can leave that stuff in their where it will harden and get harder and harder to remove, or we can get it out.  With people we have to forgive, because if we don’t, we lose our ability to share God’s love.

Object Lesson | Remove The Pencil

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Pencil

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: When we don’t forgive it stops you from loving!

Illustration: Show the kids the pencil.  Ask them if they have ever accidentally poked themselves or got poked by someone with a pencil.  It doesn’t feel good at all.  In fact at times it can really hurt depending on how bad it pokes or stabs.  Now imagine if someone came up to you and stabbed the pencil into your hand.  That would be extremely painful.  Imagine if part of the pencil was still in your hand, would your hand be able to heal?  Most people would go to a doctor or hospital and get the pencil removed so the hand can heal.  Now in that situation who is in more pain, you or the person who stabbed you?  Clearly you are, because you are the one sitting at the hospital with a pencil sticking out of your hand.

Explanation: Being hurt and learning to forgive is exactly the same way.  When someone is mean, or forgets about us, or something else that hurts us it is like getting a pencil thrown in your direction.  There are times where it was just a little poke, and other times it was a stab through the hand.  Now the sad part is that many people decide that they don’t want to get that pencil out.  They want to be mad at the person who hurt them for the rest of their lives.  They take up ever offense they can and hold grudges.  Well over the years a person like that may have pencils sticking out of their hands, back ears, etc.  What they fail to recognize is they are the ones who are allowing the hurts to not heal.  The lack of forgiveness in a persons life ends up hurting themselves more than the ones who applied the hurt in the first place.  If we want to be whole, if we want to be able to love and be loved, then we need to forgive.

Object Lesson | Car That Won't Go

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Toy Car, Play-Doh or something that can gunk it up.

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it... 

Main Point: When we don’t forgive it stops you from loving!

Illustration: Show the kids the toy car and ask if any of them have ever had a toy car.  Ask them what their favorite thing to do toy cars.  It is so much fun to race the cars and make them go fast.  Now what happens if in the wheels we gunk it up with play doh?  The wheels don’t spin very well, and it has a hard time moving.  Are you going to be able to win any kind of race with this car?  Probably not.

Explanation: Forgiveness can be the same way.  Let’s imagine for a moment that we are the car.  As this car we are able to race around and share the love that God has for us with other people.  Now all of a sudden when people hurt our feelings and bring pain to our life, it is like getting all that play doh jammed up in the wheels.  We now have a choice.  We can leave that stuff in their where it will harden and get harder and harder to remove, or we can get it out.  With people we have to forgive, because if we don’t, we lose our ability to share God’s love.

Object Lesson | Basketball Air

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: A Basketball.

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God helps us even when we don’t realize it.

Illustration: Come to the front and show the boys and girls the basketball. Ask them if anyone has ever played basketball. Then try to do some cool moves with the ball to get the kids laughing. Ask the kids if they can describe the ball and what it takes to make something like this. At this point take a few answers of boys and girls that are raising their hands. If someone says “air” then move on to the explanation. If not just tell them they missed something important! The air inside.

Explanation: Many people may overlook the air inside the basketball, but without the ball wouldn’t work. It can be the same way with us. There are many times that we overlook our need for God and how God is always there with us. God wants to have a relationship with us and is there to help us in many ways we don’t even realize. We need to really think about all the different ways God helps us so we can thank Him at the end of each day. Things like remembering the answers for a test you studied for, or someone saying something to encourage just at the right time, could be God helping you when you don’t even realize it!

Object Lesson | Treasure Box

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Prizes (Like a prize box, store, or whatever you use for positive reinforcement), Cup, Table

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: There is nothing we can do to fix our relationship with God.

Illustration: Have a table up front with a cup on it.  Now ask for a volunteer.  Tell the volunteer that if they can knock over that cup without moving, talking, or doing anything, then they get the prize.  Of course no one will be able to do this.  Have a few volunteers try.  Some one will obviously try to cheat, but say that is not possible.  At some point for one of the kids you go over and knock the cup over and give them the prize.

Explanation of point: The point boys and girls is that without me knocking that cup over there is no way for you to get that prize.  You were stuck and helpless to receive the reward.  When Adam and Eve sinned there was a huge gap between us and God.  We where stuck, helpless to fix what we had broken.  We no longer could have a relationship with God.  But God had a plan and sent His son to die for us.  Jesus died on the cross and then 3 days later rose from the grave!  The disciples went to the tomb and it was empty!  Now it is up to us to accept the gift God has given us - a relationship with Him!

Object Lesson | Don't Lose Your Heart!

Source (Where I saw it): Idea came from Jon Alexis, with some original modifications.

Supplies: Paper, Scissors, Candy, and Bigger Prizes.

Preparation: Cut out as many little hearts as you have students.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Only God can keep our heart perfect!

Illustration: This is a two part object lesson.  As the students walk in hand them a hear and tell them, “This is your heart today,” and nothing else.  Have some other leaders very casually during pre service activities ask some students if they will trade their heart for a piece of candy.

Explanation of point: Part two of this object lesson should be at the end, and here is the explanation to the students.  Boys and girls how many of you still have your heart?  Hold them up and let me see them.  Today some of you were offered to give away your heart for candy, and many of you gave it away.  Others of you kept your heart, but during the day you lost it, or took really bad care of it and it is torn and crumpled.  Now some of you elected to keep your heart, you protected it.  Those of you who still have your heart intact get a prize out of the prize box this morning.  You see boys and girls, in life there will be a lot of choices to make and you have to decide where your heart will be.  Will it be with God?  God will protect your heart, He will love you, be faithful, and will never fail.  A lot of people though refuse to give their heart to God and instead give it to worldly things, like drugs, and alcohol.  Other people try to hold on to their own heart, but it gets beat up and heart by people.  If you want your heart to stay pure, and whole then God is the one who truly will love you and keep it safe.

Add On: If you have a change bag (Will have a post on this soon), you can explain to the kids that God can change a heart that is torn and broken and make it new again.  If you don't have a change bag, here is one to check out at amazon, it has a zipper on the bottom for extra coolness:  Change Bag W/ Zipper

Object Lesson | Separate Water

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Water, Food Coloring, Salt

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Nothing can separate us from God's love!

Illustration: Show the kids the water and ask them what color it is.  Now add in food coloring to change the color of the water.  Notice the color change.  Now add salt.  Now not only does the water look different, but it tastes different.

Explanation of point: Boys and girls, it would be almost impossible to separate everything I just put in here back into the original water.  In the same way, God’s love can never be separated from us.  He loves us sooooooo much!

Object Lesson | Lunch Box

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Two lunch boxes filled with one good lunch and one bad lunch

Preparation: Prepare two lunches with one being good and something you would want to eat, and the other with random, and disgusting things no one would eat for lunch.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God always wants the best for us.

Illustration: Show the kids the two different lunch boxes.  Ask them how many of them love lunch time!  Of course, most of the kids favorite subject in school is lunch time.  Describe how exciting it is to see what was packed for lunch.  (Here you start with the bad lunch).  As you pull out all the bad items no one would eat the kids should be saying things like gross and disgusting!  Have fun with this, and make it sound like you would love to eat all this.  Then tell the kids of course no one would want to eat any of this!  Now pull out the good lunch box.  Show the kids all the good and nutritious food.  Ask them how many would want to eat this one!  Explain that God wants the very best for us.  Even though bad things happen in life, God wants us to have the very best because he loves us.  If we put our life in God's hands, God will take care of us!  Matthew 6:25-34

Object Lesson | Stuffed Animal

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Stuffed Animal of Favorite Toy

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God is always there for us!

Illustration: Show the kids the stuffed animal or favorite toy that you have.  Explain to the kids that you love this toy.  In fact, you take really good care of it.  Ask a few of the kids what is their favorite toy.  Then ask them if they would take their favorite toy and throw it down stairs or light it on fire?  Of course not!  We take care of the things we love.  God is the same way with us.  God wants to be there for us in the good times and the bad times.  It is just a matter of us letting Him be there.  God loves us!

Object Lesson | Sand

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Sand

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God cares about every detail of our life!

Illustration: Show the kids the sand.  Ask them who loves the beach?  How many of you went to the beach a lot this summer?  How many of you want to be at the beach right now?  The beach is a great place.  Isn’t it crazy how little each grain of sand is?  I mean, how many millions upon millions of grains of sand does it take to make one single beach.  God took the time to create all this sand.  He pays attention to every tiny detail of his creation.  The Bible tells us that he knows how many hairs are on our head.  We can know that God loves us and is interested in every aspect of our lives.

Object Lesson | Jelly Donut

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Jelly Donut

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point - You can't really know someone until you get to know them!

Illustration: Show the kids the Jelly donut.  Ask who loves jelly donuts! Explain how it is such a mystery!  You can smell and hold up and do all sorts of other investigations to find out what is in it, but until you open it up and take a bite you can never truly know!  Have one of the kids take a bite and let you know what is inside.  Know make the point with something like this, “Boys and girls, until you really dive in and learn about someone you can never truly know them.  That’s one reason why God wants us to love each other.  We can’t judge someone by the way they dress or look.  We need to get to know someone!"

Object Lesson | Paper Tear/Change Bag

Source (Where I saw it): Everywhere... The change bag is a must for children's ministry, with endless possibilities.

Supplies: 2 pieces of paper, change bag

Preparation: In one of the compartments of the change bag put one of the sheets of paper in it.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God wants to make us whole!

Illustration:  Have a sheet of paper.  Hold it up for all the kids to see.  Explain to everyone that this is how God intended us to be - whole and clean.  When sin came into the world it tore us to pieces, but God had a plan, and that plan was Jesus!  Jesus is God’s son, and when Jesus came and died for us, he created a way for us to be whole again.  When we ask God to forgive us he takes all those pieces of our life and puts them back together. (At this point, you put the pieces in the change bag, flip the switch and pull out the other whole sheet.)

If you don't have a change bag, here is one to check out at amazon, it has a zipper on the bottom for extra coolness:  Change Bag W/ Zipper

Object Lesson | $20 Bill

Source (Where I saw it): Saw versions of this at Victory Church, online at Mormon Share, and at various Kids' camps.

Supplies: $20 bill, $50 bill, or $100 bill, etc.

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We are all worth a lot to God, no matter what we do or what happens to us.  So we need to treat each other with the same respect.

Illustration: Show a nice new $20 Bill.  Ask the kids who wants it.  Then crumple it up, throw on ground, pretend to sneeze on it, etc.  After each action ask if the kids still want it.  Everyone still wants it, of course.  After a while ask some of the kids why they still want it.  Most of the kids will respond, " because it is still money!"  Now explain that we as people are the same way.  To God we all have value.  No matter what we do our what happens to us, God loves us!  This is a great lesson in and of itself.  If you want, you can take it a step further.  I used it to illustrate the point that since we all are very valuable to God, we need to see each other as valuable and love one another.