Category Archives: Object Lessons

Object Lessons: Ken’s favorite word pictures to teach Biblical principles and stir the imagination of your youth. They also make great Children’s sermons. Christ often used them in his teaching, using common objects like a mustard seed, a fig tree, a grain of wheat, a drink of water, stony soil, and more.

Object Lessons

Fear Factors

October 29, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A variety of scary Halloween masks

Activity
Put on the various masks and make threatening gestures.
Are you afraid of me?
What about this one?
Why are you afraid / not afraid?

Discussion
At Halloween, children often dress up in scary costumes for fun. Sometimes we hide behind a corner and try to scare a friend. We aren’t afraid when we know something isn’t real. While we may not be afraid of the child in the ghost costume knocking at the door and saying “Trick or Treat” each of us do have real fears. Even though we all know that scary halloween monsters aren t real, sometimes our imaginations make things seem real. What are some things that you are afraid of? What are some of your fears?

The top ten fears are:

1.	Spiders	Arachnophobia
2.	People & social situations	Anthropophobia or sociophobia
3.	Flying	Aerophobia or aviatophobia
4.	Open spaces	Agoraphobia, kenophobia
5.	Confined spaces	Claustrophobia
6.	Vomiting	Eemetophobia or emitophobia
7.	Heights	Acrophobia, altophobia
8.	Cancer	Carcinomaphobia, carcinophobia
9.	Thunderstorms	Brontophobia or keraunophobia
	lightning	astraphobia
	cyclones	anemophobia
	hurricanes and tornadoes	lilapsophobia
10.	Death	Necrophobia or thanatophobia

There are 365 “Fear Nots” in the Bible – one for every day of the year. But how do we deal with the reality of fear in our lives? The cure for our fears is to walk closely with God, who is bigger and more powerful than anything that might scare us.

Scripture
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Learn More…

Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Object Lessons

Time for God

October 22, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
1. Obtain a variety of clocks, watches and other time pieces.
2. Bright colored small sticker dots from the stationary store. Write “Take time” on them

Activity
Ask youth to choose a clock that represents them and to tell the group why.

Examples
* “It’s always time to Praise God.”
* “I seek to worship God in every minute of of life.”
* “Nothing disrupts my time of worship with God.”
* “Take time for God.”

Application
Ask youth to place the stickers on their watches so that every time they look at their watch they will be reminded to “take time” for God. Distribute 3X5 cards and ask youth to write goals such as, “every time I look at my watch I will spend a moment in meditation with God.” etc.

Object Lessons

Greatest Prize

October 17, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A trophy, a ribbon, a medal, a crown, and a certificate of achievement.

Activity
I have some objects with me today that people work really hard to get. They are awards for some great accomplishment. As you can see, these awards come in different shapes and sizes:

This one is a statue with some writing at the base. (Read.) It’s called a trophy. It was given to a person who did an excellent job at __________.

Here is a ribbon. Blue means first place and red usually means second place.

This is a medal. These are often awarded for soldiers for bravery or to someone who does an outstanding job. They are also given to Olympic athletes who are the best in their event.

Crowns were awarded to those who were the victors in the ancient olympics. Today crowns are given to beauty queens.

This certificate is designed to be hung on the wall. It describes the achievement of the person. (Read.)

Application
It’s wonderful to be able to win an award for working hard and doing something really great. But I want to talk about the most wonderful award of all. For Paul, the greatest prize is the calling of Christ. (Phil 3:12 – 16)

Object Lessons

Connect-The-Dots

October 14, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A difficult Connect-the-Dots puzzle that is not obvious as to the final results. (You might wish to have it photocopied to a transparency and use an OHP so all can see as you connect the dots.)

Activity
Hold up the connect-the-dots puzzle or show it on the OHP. Ask the kids/ youth if they believe a picture will appear if you connect the dots.
* Let kids / youth guess what the final outcome might be if all the dots are connected?

Applications
Doing a connect-the-dots puzzle is a little like faith.
As you’re explaining, start connecting the dots of the puzzle.
1. You begin by believing that an image-really will be revealed-even though you have no idea what it is. In other words, you can’t see the picture, but you believe it’s there. You trust that an artist designed a picture that will be revealed if you continue to trace the sequence, dot to dot.
2. If you don’t connect the dots in sequence, or if you decide to stop drawing, you’ll never see the full picture the artist has designed.

It is similar with your faith in God.
1. You don’t always see exactly where God is leading you.
2. Sometimes you have only part of the picture.
3. You need to follow the steps God has prepared for you and take life as God gives it to you.
4. If you don’t continue your journey of faith you will never see the final results God planned for you.

In John 20:19-29, Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the other disciples so for him a piece of the picture was missing. But faith is when, in the words of one experienced Christian, we continue to trust God’s heart even when we cannot trace his hand.

Discussion
1. Why can you trust that God has adequately planned the picture even if you don’t understand everything yet?
2. What happens to the picture when you begin disregarding the proper order of things in life?
3. DO you feel, like Thomas, you missed something and now are lost and don’t understand?
4. What kinds of problems have caused you to doubt God’s design? Seemingly missing numbers? Vague dots? Big gaps?
5. For Thomas it took his hand in the nail scars and side of Christ to get him back on the journey of faith. What would it take to get you back on track in your life?
6. Can you see the dots well enough, but have lately lost interest in joining them because you can’t make sense of the image you’re outlining?
7. What is the next dot in your life? What connection do you think God has planned next for you?

Following Jesus is sometimes like completing a connect-the-dots puzzle.

Object Lessons

How do I measure?

October 2, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A variety of tools used to measure things… a scale, ruler, measuring cups and spoons of all different sizes, thermometer, carpenter’s level, plumbline, voltage detector, protractor, stop watch, spring scale, watch or clock, etc.

Activity
Q: What do all these things have in common?
A: They are used to measure things.
Q: What would be the best device to measure a _____________. (Fill in the blank with various objects around the room)

Application
How do we measure our Christian growth?
How do we measure our spirituality?

We could measure our growth and spirituality by many different means. We could use the 10 Commandments, the Fruits of the Spirit, the Great Commission and many other ways to measure our spiritual life. This could be used as an introduction to any of these topics. But Christ said that the primary way we will be known / measured as Christians in by our love for others. (John 13:35)

Object Lessons, Teaching Illustrations

Dart Test

September 18, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. She says Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons.

One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary class and knew they were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target, and on a nearby table were many darts. Dr. Smith told his students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person’s picture, if they wished.

Sally’s girlfriend drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripped apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats.

As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn’t have a chance to throw any darts at her target. Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the Target was a picture of Jesus.

A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face, and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smith said only these words…..

“In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matthew 25:40.

No other words were necessary; tears filled the eyes of the students, focused only on the picture of Christ.

– Author Unknown

Object Lessons

Window Christians

September 15, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
A small mirror and a piece of window pane glass.

Discussion
1. These two objects that are both made from a flat piece of glass, yet they are quite different. Name some of the differences?
(In one you see yourself. Through the other you see other things.)
2. As you go through the day are your thoughts more on yourself or on others?
3. Imagine living in a house where all the windows have been turned into mirrors. How would you like living there? You wouldn’t be able to see outside. You wouldn’t see the sun, the trees, the clouds, your friends walking by, or anything else. It would also make your house very dark as it is at night because no light can get through a mirror.
4. The same thing happens when you and I think mostly about ourselves. Life gets dark for us. We stop seeing the beautiful things around us and the exciting ways we could help other people. We only see ourselves.

Application
God doesn’t want us to always be focused on ourselves but to be focused on him and other people. God wants us to spend more time looking out for others than looking out for ourselves. When we spend more time thinking about what other people need and less time about our own wants and needs, we become happier more blessed people.

Object Lessons

Invisible Helper

September 5, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Bring a variety of items that involve air in some way. Possibilities are: balloons, a bicycle tire, a hair dryer, various types of inflatable balls (such as basketballs, soccer balls), an air pump, a water floatation device, an aerosol can, a fan, a paper windmill, soap bubbles, a super soaker water gun which uses air pressure, etc.

Activity
Ask kids to identify what all the objects have in common? The answer is that they all use air. While we can’t see the air, we know it is there because of the affects it has on each of these objects.

Application
After Jesus left earth, we couldn’t see him anymore. But he promised to be with us forever. He also promised to send a help John 14:16. We can’t see the helper but we can see the things he does, the affect that he has on us and other people. We know he is there by the things that he does. The same is true of the Helper, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

Object Lessons

Magnifying Glass

September 3, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Magnifying Glass

Lesson
Magnifying glasses are fascinating and lots of fun. Let the children play with it for a minute – making their EYES big, looking at plants, etc. Point out that magnifying glasses are very useful. They are found in microscopes to help scientists & doctors see the “invisible,” and they are in telescopes to help us see things far, far away. The principle is easy – we look through them and can see things better.

Application
Questions are like magnifying glasses for our understanding. When we don’t understand, we ask questions and things become clearer. And just like in a microscope – sometimes the things we cannot see or understand become clear. We can see the “invisible”

Object Lessons

Does It Work?

August 31, 2005 kensapp Leave a comment

Materials
Bring in a variety of electronic and electrical appliances. Some ideas are: a mixer, a calculator, a game boy, a hair dryer, a telephone, a watch, a camera, a computer, a toy car, etc.

Activity
Ask kids to describe what each device is used for and how each works. Ask them really tough questions about each so that they discover they really don’t know all the details about how they actually work. You can discuss electricity, power generation, motors, microchips, and many other very difficult details.

Application
The fact that we do not know all the details about how something works does not mean we cannot use it. There are many people driving cars that could never fix a car. Many people are using computers that don’t know how all the hardware works or how a computer chip works.

In the same way, we may have lots of unanswered questions about God and life, but that mean that we cannot believe in God and put our trust in Him. The question is not HOW does it work, but DOES it work?

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