“Oh Father,” said a little Frog to the big one sitting by the side of a pool, “I have seen such a terrible monster! It was as big as a mountain, with horns on its head, and a long tail, and it had hoofs divided in two.”

“Tush, child, tush,” said the old Frog, “that was only Farmer White’s Ox. It isn’t so big either; he may be a little bit taller than I, but I could easily make myself quite as broad; just you see.” So he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew himself out. “Was he as big as that?” asked he.

“Oh, much bigger than that,” said the young Frog.

Again the old one blew himself out, and asked the young one if the Ox was as big as that.

“Bigger, father, bigger,” was the reply.

So the Frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew and blew, and swelled and swelled and swelled. And then he said: “I’m sure the Ox is not as big as, But at this moment he burst.

Source: Aesop’s Fables

Take it to the next level
Draw the face of an ox on a white balloon and a frog’s face onto two green balloons in permanent marker. It helps if the balloon used for the ox is of a larger size. Fully inflate the Ox balloon and set it aside for the group to see as you tell the story. inflate one frog balloon just enough to make it visible. The other frog balloon inflate to a larger size, but not near as large as the ox. Then as you tell the story, keep inflating the larger frog balloon until it bursts.

Scripture and Pride
Pride sets people in opposition to each other and to God. A proud person sets himself above those around him and follows his own will rather than God’s will. Pride will end in destruction, but when we are humble God himself will lift us up.

• Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, Matt. 23: 12
• Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. – Prov. 16: 18
• Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. – Proverbs 26:12
• But, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” – 2 Corinthians 10:17
• Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. – Proverbs 18:12
• “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6
• Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you – James 4: 10

 

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Years ago a minister in Iowa went home from a service for dinner with a wealthy farmer. This man, though not a Christian, was moral and upright. As they entered the house from the rear through a shed, the minister noticed several bushels of corn twisted together by the husks and hung from the open rafters. The farmer pointer out to the minister the finest seed corn he had ever raised. Said the preacher: “If I were you, I would always keep that corn there. You will never get any more like it.”

“You must think I’m a fool,” said the farmer. “I must plant that corn or I’ll have no more crop.” And the preacher rejoined: “That corn is like yourself. I never knew a man so rich in natural endowments as you. If something would only happen to let the seed corn be planted, be buried, you would be so useful to God and humanity!”

Months later the minister received a call to visit the farmer. The old farmer surprised him by saying, “Glory to God!” The seed corn has been planted.” He related gladly how it happened. He had been currying a mule when the mule let both heels fly at him, cutting open his face with a sharp-shod hoof. The injured man got on his knees and surrendered to God. “And now,” said he, “I want to make my life yield a harvest for Him.”

Author: W.W. Clay
Source: “Choice Illustrations” W.W. Clay pg. 12-13.

 

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In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?”

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.

“How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins.

“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, got up and paid the cashier the thirty-five cents, then departed.

When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies – her tip.

Source: Unknown

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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Like the beautiful Christmas wreath
Whose circle knows no end,
So becomes the life of us
When the Savior enters in.

Like the brilliant shining star
That guided shepherds of old –
So may Christ shine in us,
As His likeness we unfold.

Like the joyous carols we sing
To cheer our special friends –
Christ’s presence fills us with joy,
A joy that never ends.

Like the lowly stable manger
That held our infant King,
So now the arms of Jesus
Cradle us and comfort bring.

Like the fragrant, twinkling tree
Whose sights and smells delight
The life we choose with Jesus
Delights us in doing right.

Like the crowded sleepy town
In which the babe was born,
His gentle spirit fills us
As in Him we are reborn.

Like the special gifts we choose
And to our loved ones bring,
He gave His life a gift to us –
O’let His praises ring!

Like the peaceful nativity child
Whose power wrote history’s pages,
Even now that peace and power
Saves men sin and its wages!

Like that first Christmas long ago
That bridged men back to God,
No Christmas now can e’er exist
Without His Holy nod.

So Christ embodies Christmas
As much now as He did then –
It’s only men who’ve been misled
O’ give Him first place again!

Julie Winton, Christmas 1980
Thanks Julie for being such a friend when I was a University student

Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Night had come, their rest at hand
The shepherds laid down on the sand

With heavy lids they closed their eyes
In hopes no cause would bid them rise

When suddenly they heard a noise!
They feared to hear the radiant voice:

“Good news! Go now and see this sight
A baby shivers in the night

Your Savior has at long last come
To do what none before has done

The King of Kings is laid in straw
And even we are filled with awe

Make haste, go now behold your king
And see the reason why we sing,

The King of Heaven has come down
And in His blood your sins will drown

And never more you’ll be afraid
For God is in a manger laid!”

Used by Permission. Copyright 12-14-00 by Cindy Blackamore

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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A young boy was touted as the next Einstein. One of the world’s greatest thinkers was brought in to test him to see how smart he really was… They set him down and gave him an exam. On the exam there was ONE question alone…

“Using a barometer, how would you determine the height of a building?”

The boy read the question, quickly wrote an answer and turned it in to the examiner. The examiner was quite surprised the young boy finished so quickly.. He read the answer.

“I would tie a sting to the barometer, lower it until it touches the ground, and then measure the string to determine the height of the building.”

The examiner said, “While that would work, that is not the answer I am looking for. Please try again..”

The boy went back to his desk.. He was troubled.. he was scratching his head and in such concentration that the examiner thought to ask him if he was OK… if he needed some help. Was he having difficulty coming up with an answer?

The boy replied, “oh no… that’s not my trouble… I have so many good answers I cannot decide which one to write down.”

Eventually the boy wrote down a formula involving barometric pressure to calculate the height above sea level and determine the building’s height.

The examiner was satisfied with the answer, but was also curious… “Do you mind telling me what some of your other answers were?”

The boy replied:

“I could measure the length of the barometer and then use it to mark the wall in the stairwell. When I reached the top I would multiply the marks on the wall by the length of the barometer and would be able to calculate the height of the building.”

“Or I could drop it from the top of the building and use a stop watch to time the fall. I could then use the formula for gravity and acceleration to determine the height of the building.”

“Or I could get up early and as the sun rises, measure the shadow cast by the barometer and the shadow cast by the building and using a simple ratio, determine the height of the building according to proportion.”

The boy continued with several more ideas.. Eventually the examiner asked him, “What was your favorite solution?”

The boy replied, “I would go to the guardhouse and show the barometer to the guard. I would tell him how this was such a wonderful barometer and all the wonderful things it could do for him.. I would then tell him… If you will only tell me the height of this building I will give you this barometer for free”

There are many solutions to a problem… Sometimes we are so intent on elaborate strategies and methods to solve a problem that we forget the simple things… Maybe we should just ask…

Are you bringing your problems to God?

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A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat: “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” he announced.

Then, he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.

“Strike One!” he yelled. Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again,”I’m the greatest hitter in the world!”

He tossed the ball into the air. When it came down he swung again and
missed. “Strike Two!” he cried.

The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together. He straightened his cap and said once more, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!”

Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it. He missed. “Strike Three!”

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”

 

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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A fisherman sat on a dock with a ruler and a basket beside him. He caught a fish and measured it. The fish was six inches long. He threw the fish in the basket. He got another bite and pulled in a nine inch fish. In the basket it went.

A little later he felt a violent jerk on the line. He pulled in a twenty inch fish. That fish he threw back in the water!

A little girl had been watching this procedure. She asked him, “Why did you throw back the big fish and keep the little ones?” The fisherman replied, “Because my frying pan is only ten inches across!”

Too often, we receive tiny yields from our efforts because our expectations were too small! There is something to be said for the ‘power of positive thinking’; if we do not expect God to fill our cups as we surrender ourselves to Him, then we should not be surprised when we receive less-than-spectacular returns on our spiritual investments.

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…