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 | Virus

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: Box of tissues

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Forgiveness means letting go!

Illustration: Come to the front and ask the boys and girls how many of them enjoy being sick. Now we aren’t talking about a little sick, but throwing up, coughing, sneezing, nose constantly running, headache, can’t get out of bed sick. Of course not! When we even start to get sick, we take medicine and vitamins and anything else to make it go away. So lets pretend that these tissues are the beginnings of a cold. Pass out a few of the tissues, or even give one to everyone. Now each of you have a choice. You could hang oonto that cold. You could still eat really bad, take extremely cold showers, not take your medicine or vitamins, and basically feed the cold so you get sicker and sicker. Or you could do the opposite, take care of yourself, and get better so you can go and play outside with friends. Who wants to throw away the sickness? Go ahead throw it!

Explanation: In the same way unforgiveness can be a cold. When someone hurts us, or does something wrong against us it is like a virus. If we dwell on it, and don’t forgive the person, it could end up making us very sick on the inside. It would be like not taking medicine when sick. When we hold in anger, it ends up hurting ourselves more than anything else. But when we forgive, it is like throwing away that tissue! When we decide to forgive we not only show God’s love to others, but we don’t allow someone else’s mistake destroy our joy! Forgiveness means letting it go and not looking back to it!

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.

Object Lesson | Food Coloring

Source (Where I saw it): Victory Church - Kim Kelley - Kidtricity

Supplies: Food Coloring, 2 clear glasses, bleach

Preparation: Fill one of the glasses with water, and prep the second glass with a drop of food coloring at the bottom.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: God makes us clean

Illustration:  Start out with one clear glass with clean water.  Explain how God created us clean, and pure.  Then sin entered the world.  Have another glass ready with a little bit of food coloring at the bottom.  When you pour the clean water into that glass the water will turn a new color.  Explain that when we do bad things, it makes us not as clean.  Then add a few drops of bleach (Obviously be very careful with the bleach).  Stir it and it will make the water pretty clear again.  Explain how God makes us new again if we let him.

Object Lesson | Salt and Pepper

Source: Kids Sunday School Place

Supplies: Plastic Plate, Salt, Pepper, Plastic Spoon

Preparation: None

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point:  We may think a relationship is destroyed and that we can't forgive someone.  God wants us to forgive and has set the example, because he forgave us.

Illustration:  Pour a small amount of salt on the plate. Talk about the salt being like us--pure. Sprinkle a little pepper in the salt. None of us is perfect; we all sin and become like this salt with pepper in it: impure. Is there anyway for us to clean the salt without destroying it? Bring out the plastic spoon and rub it on your clothes. Talk about how God can do anything, and with God's help we can forgive people too.  God forgives us of absolutely anything, and if we put our trust in Him, he can help us forgive what we think is unforgivable.  Place the spoon over the salt and pepper--the pepper will leap to the spoon, leaving the salt clean again.