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.

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 | Peanut vs Rock

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: A peanut and a rock.

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: An attitude from God is like a rock!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the boys and girls the rock and the peanut. Explain that both of these things are hard, at least from the outside. What happens though when pressure is added to the two items? Like what if I step on them? At this point, step on the peanut and the rock. Now show both to the boys and girls. The peanut was crushed under the pressure of my foot, but the rock wasn’t.

Explanation: It is the same way with our attitudes. When we allow God to influence us and give us joy and peace, that will fuel our attitudes. Even when bad things come it won’t crush us. It is like the rock. On the other hand, if we have a bad attitude or an insincere attitude it is like the peanut. It may seem good at times, but when pressure from life happens it can leave us crushed and destroyed. So be like a rock! Ask God to give you the strength, peace, and joy that fuels a good attitude!

Object Lesson | Attitudes Are Contagious

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: A sticky hand or other toy like that.

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: Attitudes Are Contagious!

Illustration: Come to the front and sneeze using the sticky hand as fake “snot.” Act like you are sick a little bit and fake sneeze a few times. This will gross out the kids. Then calm everyone down and ask how many of you have ever been sick before? We all catch a cold sometimes. Now how many of you have had a brother or sister give you a cold? Colds are contagious we can pass them along to other people.

Explanation: It is the same way with our attitudes. Attitudes are very contagious, both good and bad. That is why it is so important to have a positive attitude. When we have a positive attitude we can spread that to those around us. It is also a way of showing the people around us that we are different thanks to having God be a part of our life. We can have a positive attitude even in hard times by trusting and looking to God!

Object Lesson | Paper Marks

Source (Where I saw it): Original

Supplies: A marker and clean sheet of paper.

Preparation: None.

The object lesson & how I used it...

Main Point: We need to tell the truth!

Illustration: Come to the front and show the boys and girls the clean sheet of paper. Tell them to imagine that this is what other people see when they look at us. Our actions and words shape what other people see. We want what other people see to be clean like this piece of paper. Even more than being clean! We want people to see Jesus! When we lie, or cheat its like marking up this piece of paper. All of a sudden, this paper isn’t clean. If you wanted to draw a picture, you probably wouldn’t grab this sheet of paper anymore.

Explanation: It is the same way with us. When we lie, and cheat with our words and actions, we are kind of marking ourselves like this sheet. People will not be able to trust us, and we are not being a very good witness to our relationship with God either. Once we break trust with someone it is really hard to gain that trust back. Just like it would be really hard to remove this mark from the paper. That’s why we need to do our best to tell the truth and do what is right the first time! When we do mess up, we need to ask for forgiveness from God and the person.