Object Lesson | Lollipop Grab

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Some lollipops

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Don’t wait to act!

Illustration:  Walk up to the front and ask the kids if they like lollipops.  Then go in front of a few kids and offer the lollipop, but just as they reach out pull it away.  Do this a few times, and then let someone grab it.  One or two kids may try to tackle it out of your hands which can end up being good for the explanation.

Explanation:  You see boys and girls, I wanted someone to act, and to act now!  The kids that acted got a lollipop.  Some of you even tried to tackle me for the sugary goodness!  Can you imagine if we all jumped all over the opportunities God placed in our lives like that!  How many amazing things could we do if we trusted God!?  Too many times we hesitate when we hear God tell us to be nice to someone, or to invite someone to church, or to help someone, etc.  We could be missing out on an amazing opportunity for God to use us to make a huge impact!

Object Lesson | Dominos

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Some dominos

Preparation: Setup a little track of some of the dominos ready to be pushed over and cause a chain reaction of them all falling.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Don’t wait to act!

Illustration:  Walk up to the front and ask the kids if they have ever played with dominos before.  See how many have ever set up a line or curves to make them fall.  Then ask someone if they want to be the person to knock down the first one.  Just point to the child, and if they don’t run up there after 2 seconds, stop them and tell them never mind and choose someone else.  Choose another child and do the same thing.  You have to be quick here though.  If no child acts quickly enough, before you choose another person explain that you have to act quickly!  Once a child runs up and causes the chain reaction explain.

Explanation:  You see boys and girls, I wanted someone to act, and to act now!  That person got to start a chain reaction of the dominos.  In our lives there are times that God puts opportunities in front of us to act on that could cause a chain reaction!  We have to act on them!  Maybe its to help someone who dropped their books at school, which leads you to invite them to church, and then they give their heart to God, and they end up telling their friends about God!  You can have a huge impact in the world around you by becoming aware of what God has put in front of you and acting!

Object Lesson | Puzzler

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Two Puzzles

Preparation: Remove most of the pieces of the puzzle, leaving only 2 or 3 pieces inside the box.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to give God our all!

Illustration:  Walk up to the front and ask for one person from each side to play a game.  The idea of the game is who can put together their puzzle the fastest.  The winning person will get a prize.  Then hand each volunteer a puzzle and say go!  Once they open it up and see only a few pieces they will be confused.  Stop the game and ask them what is wrong.  Of course!  There are tons of pieces missing!  Ask the two volunteers to have a seat.

Explanation:  Show the kids the 3 pieces and explain that this is what many people do with God.  They want God to build a picture of their lives, but then only hand over 3 pieces.  It is impossible to see the complete picture of a puzzle with only 3 pieces, and in the same way we can’t see all of the plan has for us if we don’t give up every single area of our life to Him!

Object Lesson | Transformers

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  A transformer action figure, preferably an auto bot.

Preparation: Start with the transformer in the “car” position.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: The Holy Spirit transforms us!

Illustration:  Who has ever seen transformers?  Who has any of the toys?  The cool thing about transformers, particularly the auto bots, is that they start out as cars, trucks, and other cool vehicles.  Now when the bad guys come to destroy the world do they stay as cars?  Nope!  They transform into warriors!  Now they can still do a bunch of cool stuff as cars like drive fast and pull things, but they would be seriously missing out on some awesomeness if they stayed a car!

Explanation:  That’s what the Holy Spirit is all about.  When Jesus went back to heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us.  Jesus was a person and could only be in some many places, but when God sent his Spirit to be with us, he can be everywhere and with everyone.  When we ask for God to baptize us in his Holy Spirit we are opening ourselves to all that God has for us.  The Holy Spirit transforms us!

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 | Replace The Inside

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Flashlight, paper, tape

Preparation: Roll up some tape and put it inside the flashlight, replacing the batteries.  Keep the batteries on hand.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God makes us new!

Illustration: Walk up to the front and show the kids the flashlight.  Ask them what you use a flashlight for.  That’s right! To see in the dark!  Now try to turn on the flashlight (obviously it will not work because there is paper inside it instead of batteries).  Try a few times and wonder allowed what the problem is.  Ask the kids if they can think of what the problem may be.  Now open up the flashlight and reveal the paper on the inside.  Well there is the problem!  A flashlight can’t run on paper, it needs batteries like these (replace the batteries and turn on the flashlight).

Explanation: This is similar to how a lot of people are today.  On the outside they may look good, but the inside needs to be made new by God for them to be all they can be.  Without batteries a flashlight cannot be used for its true purpose.  When we hand lives to God it is like we allow Him to take the paper out of us and replace it with batteries!  We are made new!

Object Lesson | Salt vs Sugar

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  Two bowls, some salt, some sugar

Preparation: In one bowl pour a little salt, in the other bowl pour a little sugar.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: It is our actions that identifies who we are!

Illustration: Walk up to the front and tell the kids you need a volunteer.  Show them the two bowls and ask them if they can tell you what is in each bowl just by looking at them.  Both bowls contain something small and white, but you can’t identify what they are just by looking at them.  Have your volunteer taste each bowl and then ask them what is in it.  Salt and sugar!

Explanation: Have the volunteer return to their seat and explain that you couldn’t identify what each were until they were in your mouth and acted on your tongue!  Then anyone could tell almost immediately what each were.  In the same why we can’t really tell who a person truly is just by looking at them.  Until we get to know them, and see their actions we don’t know who they are and what they believe in.  If someone says they really care about people and then go around punching people in the face, then their actions don’t back up who they say they are.  In the same way if we call ourselves Christians, our actions should back that up through our love for others.  We share God’s love in our lives by serving others, just like Jesus!

Object Lesson | Sand Mix

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  2 small bottles, different colors of craft sand

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Depending on God involves weaving God into our whole life!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the kids the little bottle.  Grab the craft sand and tell the kids that most people live their lives in sections.  They have time where they go to church and spend time with God and have a group of friends at church (pour a little bit of color into the bottle).  Then they have a time where they go to work or school and have those friends and coworkers (pour a different color).  Then they spend time with their family (pour another color). Then they try to do things to fill up their time like sports, tv, video games (add another color).  Then its Sunday again so they go to church (start the color process over).  When people do this it creates a segmented life, and most people only depend on God when they need something.

Explanation: The goal of our lives isn’t to have this segmented, compartmentalized life.  If we truly want to depend on God, then we need to weave that relationship into everything we do.  Much like how you depend on your parents right now for food, water, home, clothes, protection, and basically everything you do, God wants us to give Him everything in our lives.  Pour the one bottle into the other, this will mix all the colors together.  Dependance is all about weaving God into our everyday life and into every moment of our life.  It is a realization that God is there with us in every moment, and walking in that knowledge confidently.

Object Lesson | Dodgeball

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  A dodgeball

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to stay focused on God

Illustration: Come to the front and ask who has ever played dodgeball?  It is a really fun game.  Now how many of you when you go to play dodgeball just stand in the middle and face the wall?  Of course not what would happen?  Now how many of you start singing randomly and look at the ceiling?  What would happen if you do that?  What would happen if you start watching the people in the stands or another teammate?  You would get hit with the ball!  Who has ever gotten hit in the head with a ball?  It can make you dizzy and totally mess with your focus!

Explanation:  Explain that if you want to win in dodgeball, you have to be completely focused, because you don’t always know where the next ball is going to come from.  You already have to deal with that knowledge let alone allow yourself to be distracted by other things around you.  Life is the same way.  Things happen in life all the time that you have to deal with, and when you allow yourself to get distracted with video games, popularity, sports, etc you are just setting yourself up for failure.  Now not all those things are bad, its just when you start putting those things in front of your relationship with God.  god needs to be first in your life.  We all need to stay focused!

Object Lesson | Who Do You Want To Save You?

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Sheets with pictures of heroes who you would want to be there to save you from a burning building and other things you wouldn’t want in charge of saving you like a banana or puppet.

Preparation: Create a slideshow or print of sheets of pictures

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Who do you depend on?

Illustration: Come to the front and tell the kids to imagine they are trapped in a burning building.  Smoke is all around them and there is no way out.  Just when you think all hope is lost, you hear a voice outside with someone coming to rescue you.  As I show you these pictures tell me yes or no if you would be happy to know this was the person or thing coming to save you.

Explanation:  We all have an idea of who we would depend on in certain situations, whether it is our parents or friends or someone else.  The truth is we need to depend on God in our lives first, because God never fails!

Object Lesson | Stand Up

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  A paper box, tape, tissues, a solid step stool

Preparation: Make some random step stools from weak materials

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to depend on God!

Illustration: Come to the front and ask which one of these step stools would be able to hold me up?  Which would you feel comfortable holding you up?  Of course most of these would crush under the pressure of a person.  This step stool is made to support the weight and will hold up over time.

Explanation:  In life the strongest person in our life is God, and yet so many people think of something else first when situations come up in life.  When we need to get something from up high, we don’t go finding 10 tissue boxes!  Yet when we feel overwhelmed or just need someone who will never let us down people run to others who aren’t as dependable as God.  God should be our number one!  Where people, friends, and even family can fail us, God will never fail us!

Object Lesson | Sword Master

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies:  A sword of some kind

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to use our Bible!

Illustration: Come to the front and ask the kids if any of them know what fencing is.  Fencing is a sport involving sword fighting.  Now if you have never fenced before or had any training with a sword, then you would lose pretty badly to someone who does it for a living.  In fact, you could really hurt yourself by playing with a sword if you don’t know what you are doing.

Explanation:  It is the exact same way with the Bible.  In fact, the Bible is described in Hebrews as a sword!  If you never read the Bible or study it, then you have no idea how to use it.  In fact there are many people that end up believing things they shouldn’t, just because they don’t know God’s word.  Just like when Jesus was tempted he had to know that Satan was using God’s word in a bad way.  Jesus not only knew God’s word, he knew when someone else was using it incorrectly!

Object Lesson | Try To Read This!

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Sheet of paper with the pledge of allegiance or some other well known phrase on it in a foreign language.

Preparation: Be sure to pick a language your kids won’t recognize.  I used the pledge of allegiance and google translated it to Japanese.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to use the Bible!

Illustration: Come to the front and ask one of the kids to come up and read the paper.  After they can’t, try another few kids.  Finally explain to them, that this actually really easy.  In fact, most of you know what this says.  The problem is none of you can read Japanese.  Has anyone in here studied the Japanese language?  Can anyone speak Japanese or write in it?  here is what this paper says... read it.

Explanation:  The idea is if you don’t study something or practice it all the time, you won’t be able to use it.  You all don’t study Japanese or speak in it all the time, and so you couldn’t read this paper.  It is the same way with the Bible.  A lot of people say they know the basics of the Bible, or they hear things at church, but ultimately unless you read and study it on a consistent basis, you really don’t know God’s word!  We need to use the Bible!  It is one of the keys in building our relationship with God!

Object Lesson | Have It On The Inside!

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: A camera or phone camera

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to internalize God’s word!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the boys and girls the camera.  Ask them if they know what it is.  Then ask them what the use of a camera is.  Now tell them you are going to take a picture.  The first time explain to them you click the button, there is a flash and the picture is captured so you can look at it later.  Then goo around the room and just point it at people but don’t click the button.  Now look in the camera and wonder out loud that none of the pictures you took are stored in there.  The kids will probably say you didn’t push the button to make them save.

Explanation:  Explain that a camera is a great thing to recall information and moments in time, but if we don’t actual push the button and let the image store on the inside, then we make the camera obsolete and useless.  Sadly that’s what a lot of us do with the Bible and God’s word.  We carry it around with us, but never internalize it.  If we don’t let it be stored on the inside then when we need it it won’t be there!  We need to hide God’s word in our heart!

Object Lesson | Who Do You Affect?

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Glass of water, food coloring

Preparation: Fill a glass with water

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We affect more people than we realize.

Illustration: Come to the front and show the boys and girls the glass of water.  Explain that this glass of water represents all the people you know and come in contact with.  Friends, family, neighbors, people at school, etc.  All those people you affect in some way.  Drop one small drop of food coloring in the glass.  You see boys and girls, all of us have an affect on the others around us in some way.

Explanation:  Now when we decide to go like Jesus did, we can impact people in a great way!  Drop a bunch more food coloring in and shake a little.  When we allow God to use us, and we start sharing the love that God has, we can make a huge impact in the people around us.  If everyone trusts God to use them, and we all affect the people around us, we can change the world for God.  We don’t have to do it alone!  It starts with those around us.

Object Lesson | Blind Catch

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: A soft lightweight ball, blindfold

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Vision is important!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the boys and girls the ball.  Ask the kids who thinks they can catch the ball.  Choose a volunteer (one that won’t be easily embarrassed) and have them come up to the front.  Throw the ball a few times back and forth and show that they can catch the ball.  Now reveal the blindfold and blindfold the volunteer.  At this point start talking about how vision is important.  We use our eyes for just about everything we do.  Vision is really important!  As you talk about this stuff throw the ball toward the volunteer.  It is very unlikely they will catch the ball, especially if you surprise them with it.

Explanation:  You see boys and girls, our physical vision is really important, but more than that we need vision for our lives!  God helps gives us vision on where we need to go and what we need to do.  It is like having a plan or direction for our life.  Just like this volunteer kept dropping the ball when they were blindfolded, we can drop the ball in our life when we don’t open our eyes to what God has for us!

Object Lesson | Puzzles

Source (Where I saw it): Original (This went along with the story of David and Goliath)

Supplies: Puzzle

Preparation: I used this as a challenge to kids and parents in a service, and actually passed out puzzles to each family.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Don’t let fear stop what God wants to do in you!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the kids the puzzle.  Ask a few people how they attack a puzzle.  Is it from the corners in, or maybe somewhere in the middle, or something else?  Everyone has a certain way they attack a puzzle.  Surprisingly no one said they try and conquer a puzzle by hiding under the table.  Would anything get done that way?

Explanation:  Of course not!  In our lives their will always be puzzles, there will always be problems and issues that come our way, and we can’t let fear stop us from moving forward.  We need to be able to trust God and cast away any fear about any situation.  Whether it is a test that is coming up, or the dark, or losing a job, or where the next rent payment is coming from, when we dwell on our fears we are frozen.  Much like the Israelites where frozen in fear when faced with the puzzle of Goliath.  David said no way!  With God on my side no puzzle will stop me from accomplishing what God has for me!  In fact David had told King Saul that God had delivered him from a bear and lion already so Goliath isn’t anything.  As we grow and trust God it’s like starting out with an easy puzzle and working our way up.  The more we trust God the more we push the puzzles of life out of the way.  As we pray, I want one representative of each family to raise their hand.  As you raise your hand a leader is going to come and hand you a puzzle and a sheet with a family devotion on it.  This week, I challenge you to sit down with your family with no electronics on, and work on this puzzle together.  While you work on the puzzle talk about the fears each person has and talk about how God can help with that, then pray with each other!

Object Lesson | Fear Pushes God Out

Source (Where I saw it): Original (This went along with the story of David and Goliath)

Supplies: Glass of water, sand, bowl/pan/something to catch water

Preparation: Fill a glass with water and place it in a pan or something to catch the water that will fall out

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Don’t let fear stop what God wants to do in you!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the kids the glass of water.  Explain that God wants all of us, and when we give ourselves to Him we are able to see all the great things He has planned for us.  Sometimes though either life, or sometimes even the plan God has for us can be scary.  David must have been a little scared when he fought Goliath!  But just like David we can’t let fear stop us from allowing God have all of us.  Then pour some of the sand in the glass.  

Explanation:  At this point some of the water will be pushed up and out of the glass.  When we let fear stop us and fill us we are missing out on what God wanted for us.  The Israelites where satisfied just living in fear of Goliath and were missing out on what God had for them.  David refused to let fear push out what God had for his life!  In our life, whatever our fear is, we can’t allow that to fill our life.  We need to trust that God is bigger than our fears, and has a plan that is greater for our lives.