Materials
Bring in a variety of photos from magazines or advertisements.
1. Foods
2. Tools
3. Clothing
4. Electrical devices

Activity
Create category labels. These could be simple lettered signs or envelopes with the categories printed on them. Have children sort the images according to categories.

Application
While the images point us to objects and cause us to think of specific items, they are not real items. If you eat a picture of a banana it does not taste like a banana and does not give us the nutritional benefits of a banana. If we try to drive a nail with a picture of a hammer we will not be successful. A picture of a car will not bring us to church. These are only images.

Reality–real objects are very different from the images. The same is true about God. Sometimes we have difficulty understanding God because we cannot picture him in our minds. While we can read about him in the Bible and visualize what He is like, He is far greater than what we can imagine. It is a mistake to see God as a simple image. That is why the Bible forbids us to make models and figures to represent God. There is a tendency to worship the image instead of what the image represents. This is like eating photographs instead of real food!

God is not a picture hanging on the wall. He is real! He is much greater and deserves respect.

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.
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Materials
A clear plastic cup; a pitcher of water, a large bowl.
(Have the cup full of marbles, rocks, sand etc.)
Salted peanuts.

Activity
Allow the kids to enjoy the salted peanuts which will make them thirsty.
Would anybody here care for a drink?
I’ll fill this cup and then you’ll be able to have a nice drink.
Pour the drink into the cup.
There seems to be a problem. What seems to be wrong?
Let a child answer.
Yes, the problem is that the cup is already filled.
I can’t drink from the cup until I empty it out first.

Application
This is something like Jesus did with the woman at the well in John 4:1-26. He met her and talked to her. Then by his questions he made her curious. He made her thirsty to know about God. But then after she was thirsty Jesus showed her that he could not fill her cup with the Living Water because the cup was dirty. She had to clean the cup first. Her cup was dirty with sins she needed to confess.

Object Lesson
Write each child’s name on a cup.
* What is it that fills your cup?
* What things are most important to you?
* How do you spend all your time?
* What activities fill your day?
* Are there some things that are bad, that dirty your cup?

All you have to do is confess to God what they are and he will cleanse them away.

Are you thirsty? Do you really want God in your life? If you want God in your life you need to make room for him.

In what ways can we create a thirst for God in others?
In what ways can we be salt that creates a thirst for God in Others?

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.
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Text
John 16:8; Psalm 51:3-5; 1 John 1:8-9

Materials
A pile of cushions on the floor, with a dried pea hidden underneath

Central Truth
Christians are sensitive to sin because of the presence of the Holy Spirit inside them

Activity
Get some volunteers to sit on the cushions and see if they can guess what is hidden underneath. Does anyone know the fairy-tale of the princess and the pea? Because she was a princess she could feel a single pea under her mattress when she slept. It is a very silly story because although our skin is very sensitive, it could never be sensitive enough to feel a pea under a mattress.

Application
We are like princes and princesses because we are Children of the King! One of the things the Holy Spirit does is to make us sensitive —not to peas, but to sins like jealousy and lying, selfishness and sulkiness. We should not be surprised that we notice these ‘peas’ in our lives, because God wants us to admit that they are there and get rid of them. We can only get rid of them when we recognise them. Without the Holy Spirit, we do not even notice them. This sensitivity is an essential part of the Holy Spirit’s work to make us like Jesus.

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.
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Materials
A Rose (or other flower)

Activity
Show a beautiful flower to the children – talk about how fragrant and pleasing it is. Next bruise some of the rose petals and point out the thorns. Jesus Body was bruised for our iniquities and a crown of thorns was placed on his head.

Now Enlist someone to be a timekeeper and someone to take the rose and see how fast he/she can pull all the petals off the flower. (Make this into a fun contest). At the end of the “race” announce the time – then ask for another volunteer. Get the timekeeper ready and then announce – “Ok, let’s see if you can beat that time. Are you ready? Ok, get set….put it back together.”

This is an interesting moment.

Application
Sometimes things may seem hopeless. Christ was crucified, his body bruised, his blood shed and he was dead. Point out that only God can make a rose. We can destroy it like Christ’s body was crucified and it may seem impossible to bring it back to life. But with God all things are possible. No matter how hard one tries, you cannot rebuild a rose. It’s ruined. But then point out that God can restore life through Jesus Christ.

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.
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Easter Collection

Get more than 80 creative ideas for planning a Youth Easter celebration or Easter Party. You can immediately download my best Easter Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Easter activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Materials
A padlock and a key that turns it; a tin of food and a tin opener; a nut and a nut-cracker, various other items that go together.

Activity
Begin by showing the lock and asking what it can be used for. After receiving a few suggestions, begin to question whether they are correct. After all, a lock has no single use at all without a key. Make exactly the same point using the can and the nut.

Application
Our lives find meaning only in relationship with the Creator. We are created with a purpose and Only God knows that purpose. We also do not all have the same purpose. We are all different and special. Life without God is like a padlock with no key. God has made us for a purpose and by working together with God can we achieve that purpose.

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.
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Object Lesson
Diet coke will float but regular coke will sink. (Technically this is because the sugar substitute used in diet coke is not as dense as real sugar)

Application
How many of us live on LITE or Diet Christianity… We want the grace but not the cross, we want forgiveness without obedience, we want blessing without the trials, we want security without the trust, we want service without sacrifice. Too often our Christianity has no depth. We just live Christianity on the surface.

Note: If you are having problems with it floating you can also use ICE water and warm coke light to make it float easier.

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.
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Materials
Can of spray paint, mothballs, and a ziplock bag, and separately, some molded bread, some rotten fruit, a rusted peice of metal, and a cloth rag that has a hole worn in it. (You can grind the cloth on a piece of concrete using your foot to make a hole.)

Activity
Show the Can anyone tell me what I have here? That’s right, this is a can of spray paint, these are mothballs, and this a padlock. They may not seem to have a lot in common, but actually they do. Each of them is used to protect something. The paint covers objects made of metal and protects them from rust; the mothballs are put in a closet with clothes to protect them from moths and keep them from rotting; and the ziplock bag is used to put food in so that it does not spoil as quickly.

Application
Show them what can happen without protection. Metal will rust out, cloth can get eaten by moths, and food can spoil. What we don’t realize is that rust starts with one little spot and it keep growing. One small hole in a cloth can become a huge one, and one little rotten spot or molded spot on a piece of bread leads to the whole bread becoming molded. It is the same with sin.. one little sin can lead to very bad things.

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.
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Materials
Picnic basket, thermos filled with grape juice, red-checkered picnic tablecloth, A wooden cross lying in the bottom of the basket, Load of French bread sticking out of basket. Cut some corporate Logos from newspapers and magazines and glue them to sheets of paper. Some possibilities are the McDonald’s Logo, Nike, Coke, Pokemon character, Disney, IBM, etc. Try to choose logos that would be recognized by your age group. You can also use common signs like a stop sign, streetlight, male and female toilets, $, MRT logo, etc. Place all of these items in the basket.

Activity
(Show the children / youth the items but do not open the picnic basket to see the contents yet.) What do you think of when you see these items? Most of us think of a picnic!

Lay out the picnic tablecloth on the floor and set the basic in the middle of it. Invite the children / youth to join you around the basket.

Application
One night, Jesus had supper with his disciples. We call it the Last Supper. What do you think they ate at the last supper? Jesus took two things at the supper and used them as symbols. Take out the sheets with symbols you have created and see if the children can guess what each symbol represents. Lastly, take the bread and pour the grape juice into a clear cup or glass. Ask the children what these things represent.

Explain the significance of the broken bread and the wine. Explain that just symbols are a reminder of something important, the last Supper reminds us that Jesus’ body was broken and his blood was shed s that we might have forgiveness from our sins. Finally take out the cross and tell them that just as the cross has become a symbol of churches (you find them on top of most church buildings to advertise that it is a church) the Lord’s supper is supposed to advertise the death of Christ for our sins.

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.
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Materials
Bring in a variety of plants, flowers, etc. You can also bring in various vegetables and fruits. Buy two small plants. Water one to make it green and full of life. Let the other one dry and shrivel up.

Activity
Ask youth to identify the different plants if they can. What fruits do they produce? What is their purpose? Is anyone good at taking care of plants? What do plants need to thrive? Ask youth to explain the difference between the green plant and the one that is shriveled and dead.

Discussion
Have you ever been frightened in a storm?
Where was this storm?
What did you do?
How did you feel?
How many of you like storms…thunder… Lightening?
How many of you are afraid of them?
Have you ever been caught outside in a storm?
Are storms good or bad?
Would a plant describe a storm as good or bad?

Application
Storms are necessary to water the plants, but sometimes frightening. Trees that have weather storms are stronger than those that have not been tested by the winds. Sometimes God shelters us. Other times he is with us as we are forced to endure the storms. Whenever things get bad and we think of the fear and the difficulties, remember the flowers, trees, and plants that give us fruit and vegetables that result from the storms.

God sometimes allows storms in our lives to help us grow stronger.
James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, Isaiah 43:2, Psalms 121:4,8, John 14:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalms 46:1.

Storms season the trees. The stress on them makes them stronger as they grow—able to withstand the winds. Sheltered trees will have weaker wood.

Scripture tells us that certain kinds of stress not only make us stronger but can even serve to bring out the best in us (Jeremiah 9:7; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2-3; 1 Corinthians 3:13-15; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

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…

Materials
Gather all kinds of tickets and ticket stubs to share with the children. (i.e. plane tickets, bus ticket, movie tickets, amusement park ride tickets, zoo tickets, etc.)

Activity
Point out that just about everything requires a ticket to get in. We pay some price (large or small) and in exchange are given a ticket. It can be expensive for some tickets (plane tickets to Hawaii for example) or not so expensive (50 cent bus tickets).

Application
“How much do you think it would cost to get a ticket to ride to heaven and live in a beautiful mansion forever?” Point out that no amount of money or good deeds can purchase us a ticket to heaven. There’s only one way to get in – Jesus has to take us there. He has given us salvation as a free gift. All we need to do to get in to heaven is to tell God we know Jesus and he will let us in. Jesus has gone to prepare the place for us and God will let us in if we know Jesus.

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…