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Object Lessons

Jelly Bean Salvation

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jellybeans.jpgMaterials
Jelly Beans of each color below: Yellow, Black, Red, White, Green. You can choose to place all of one color together inside a plastic Easter egg, or place one of each color inside an egg.

Gospel According to Jelly Beans: The meaning and explanation for each color is as follows:

Yellow Jelly Bean
The yellow Jelly bean reminds us of Heaven. Do you know what Heaven is? Heaven is God’s home. Heaven is filled with the glory, the shining brightness of God. There is no night ther The Bible says, “God is The Light and in Him is no Darkness at all”(I John 1:5). The Bible tells us that in Heaven, the street of the city is pure, clear gold-like glass (Rev.21:21). God tells us many other things about His home. No one is sick there. No one is crippled or blind. No one ever dies. Every person in Heaven will be perfectly happy-always (Rev. 21:4-2Psalm 16:11). The most wonderful thing about Heaven is that God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus will be there. God made Heaven. He made you too. He loves you very much. Because he made you and loves you, He wants you to belong to Him and be with Him in Heaven someday. Jesus promised long ago, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 3:16; John 14:1-3).

Black Jelly Bean
There is one thing that can never be in Heaven. That is sin. Because you and I are sinners we want to have our own way instead of God’s way. Wanting our own way is sin. Doing, or saying, or thinking bad things is sin. Sin is anything that displeases God. Sin has caused sorrow and sadness in our world. God tells us in the Bible that all have sinned (Romans 3:23). All means every one of us.

This dark jelly bean reminds us of our sinful way (Proverbs 4:19). When it is dark, you stumble and cannot find your way. Because of your sin, you cannot find God. Your sin separates you from God, who is holy (I John 1:5). God cannot allow sin where He is. I am sure you can think of a sin which you have done. God has said that sin must be punished. The punishment for your sin is death-to be separated from God forever (Rev. 6:23). The Lord Jesus, God’s Son, said that if you die in your sin, you cannot go to Heaven where He is (John 8:21, 24). God knew there was nothing you could do to get rid of your sin. He knew you could not be good enough to please Him. But He loves you and He made a way for you to be forgiven.

Red Jelly Bean
The red jelly bean shows the way God made for you to have your sins forgiven-taken away. God loves you. He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, from Heaven to take the punishment for your sin (John 3:16). Wicked men nailed the sinless Son of God to the cross, but while He hung there God put all of your sins on Him. The Bible says, “…God bath laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). (Iniquity is another word for sin). All your bad temper, all your lies, your meaness-all your sin-was laid on the dear Son of God, and He suffered and suffered until He cried out with a loud voice and said, “It is finished.” When you finish a job, how much is left? Nothing. What did the Lord Jesus come to do? He came to save us from punishment for sin, didn’t He? And He finished the work. When He was nailed to the cross, what came from His hands, and His feet? His blood. God calls it the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and He says “…the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7). There is no other way, for God says, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sin]”-no forgiveness, no payment (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus not only died for you, but He was buried, and He rose again. He is a living saviour (ICorinthians 15:3, 4). God showed His love for you by sending His own Son to die for you. Now he says there is one way for you to be saved from your sin.

White Jelly Bean
Tears cannot wash away sin. Prayers cannot wash away sin. Doing good cannot wash away sin. But the blood of the Lord Jesus can wash away all sin (Psalm 51:7; I John 1:7). This white jelly bean reminds me that you can be made clean from sin. Did Jesus die for everyone? (YES!) Is everyone going to Heaven? (No, because some do not believe that Jesus died for them. They have not received Him as their saviour from sin.) God’s word says, “…as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” (John 1:12). God has promised you when you receive the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you become a child of God. The Lord Jesus Christ died to save you from your sins. He wants to live in your heart and give you power to obey God. Are you sorry for your sin? Do you believe Jesus died for your sin? Would you like to receive Jesus today? You must decide. (Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. Question the person to respond carefully. Encourage them to express to you before they pray: why they need to receive the Lord Jesus; what the Lord Jesus has done for them; what they want to tell God. When dealing with a group, emphasize what each person must personally believe and receive the Lord Jesus. Give opportunity for prayer. If possible, question each person individually after the prayer to clarify the meaning of His decision. Where is Jesus now? Where are your sins? What took them away?) (Any one of the following verses can be used effectively in helping to know what God has done: John 1:12; I John 5:13; Rev. 3:20.) God promises to you when you receive Him, “…I will never\leave nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Ask Him to help you each day to please Him. When you do sin, tell God that you have sinned. He will forgive you right away (I John 1:9). Ask Him and trust Him to help you not to do it again. (Lead the person in offering a prayer of thanks).

Green Jelly Bean
The green jelly bean reminds me of the new life, everlasting life, you have received from God. The color green reminds me of things which are growing outdoors, like leaves, grass, flowers, and trees. when you receive the Lord Jesus as your saviour from sin, you are like a newborn baby in God’s family. The Bible tells you to “grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18).

(As the time permits, talk with the person about those things which help him grow as a member of God’s family. Explain you are not talking about growing taller or gaining weight, but the kind of growing which will help others know that he loves the Lord Jesus.

* 1. Listen to God- Learn God’s Word reading and memorizing it (II Timothy 2:15; Psalm 119: 11).
* 2. Talk to God. Pray (I Thessalonians 5:17).
* 3. Talk for God. Witness or tell others (Mark 16:15).
* 4. Worship God. Go to Sunday School and Church (Hebrews 10:25).

Blue Jelly Bean
Optional
Some will add a Blue Jelly bean to represent Baptism

Applications
1. Use the various colors of the Jelly Beans to present the plan of salvation.
2. Use this as a presentation of the plan of salvation for easter.
3. Instead of Jelly Beans, you can use balloons or other items of the different colors… even simply colored pieces of paper (sometimes known as the “Wordless book”) and beads for bracelets (sometimes known as the “Wordless Bracelet”)

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…

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Game Ideas

Valentine Balloon Shavers

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heart_balloon.jpgGame Materials
You’ll need heart shaped balloons, razors and shaving cream or whipped cream

Game Objective
Shave the cream from the balloon with the razor without popping the balloon.

Game Play
1. Break your group into boy-girl couples.
2. Each guy blows up a heart shaped balloon and sits in a chair facing the girl.
3. The girl then spreads the shaving cream or whipped cream onto the balloon while the guy holds it in his mouth.
4. The girl then attempts to shave the cream from the balloon with the razor.
5. The first couple to remove all the cream from the balloon without popping it wins.

 


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Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Game Ideas

Valentine Balloon Race

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heart_balloon.jpgMaterials
Red, white, pink balloons. (Its even better if you can find heart-shaped balloons)

Game Objective
Using the air inside the balloons to propel them forward, move the balloon to the opposite end of the room and back.

Game Play
1. Divide the group into teams.
2. Give each person a balloon.
3. On “go,” the first member of each team must blow up his/her balloon but not tie it shut.
4. They must then aim the balloon toward the opposite end of the room and let them go.
You may require that the balloons touch the opposite wall or cross a certain point you have marked upon the floor.
5. If a balloon doesn’t land beyond the finish line (or touch the opposite wall), the player goes to the balloon, blows it up and again lets it go toward the finish line.
6. The same process is repeated to go back to the team. When a balloon crosses the team line, the second team member blows up his or her balloon and lets it go.
7. First team for everyone to compete the relay, wins!

 


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Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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Game Ideas

Air Foosball

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Materials
Balloons or a beachball

Game Play
To play, divide the group into two teams. All of the members of one team sit in rows of three to five, side by side, all facing in one direction with enough room between each row for another row to sit. The second team then sits in rows facing the opposite direction, interspersing the other team’s rows. Each team should have three to four rows with a last row protecting the goal. It correctly seated, youth will resemble a life-size foosball table, and be looking into the eyes of an opponent. Rows can be very close or several feet apart, depending on the size of the room chosen. The goal can be a wall or a mere line marked along the ground.

Every player must remain seated. Play and score the game just like regular foosball. A point is scored for each time the beach ball or balloon goes over the opposing team’s goal-line or hits the wall.

Variation 1
Handicaps: Play blindfolded, with left hands only, or with heads only.

Variation 2
Leave enough room between the individual players in a row to place another two teams at a right angle to the main game. Then you have teams trying to hit the ball/balloon in all four directions.

Variation 3
Add two balls/ balloons.

Try different combinations of these variations for variety! Its sure to be wild fun!

 

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Teaching Illustrations

Balloons

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balloon_bunch.jpgEverywhere he went, the man carried brightly colored balloons. He enjoyed watching them float above his head. And it was easy to hold the string in his hand or wrap it around his wrist and take his colorful balloons wherever he went. The other people where he worked were accustomed to seeing them. They didn’t mind; it brightened the office a little. Even at night the balloons would float above the man as he slept.

One day he went to the fair and had a great time. At the fair he could blend into the atmosphere of the rides and lights and noise. Oh, sometimes people tried to buy his balloons, thinking he was a vendor, but of course he wouldn’t sell even one. At one of the booths he filled in a ticket to see if he could win a free ocean cruise. He certainly didn’t plan on winning, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Yet two weeks later a telegram came–he had won! He would enjoy great entertainment and the world’s finest chef providing his meals. Talk about excited! The man started packing immediately. He was ready to go days before it was time to leave.

On the morning of the big day, he called a taxi and had the driver take him to the dock very slowly. He had to go slowly because the balloons wouldn’t all fit in the taxi and he had to hold some of them out the window. At the dock he unloaded his luggage, went aboard ship, and was welcomed by the officials who had planned his trip. They even had someone take his suitcases down to his cabin while he stayed on deck and enjoyed the activity. The ship was crowded. Many people were aboard just to say good-bye to friends. Confetti, horns, streamers–and lots of balloons. He felt right at home.

Eventually the visitors left and the voyage was begun. It was great! Sailing on a big ocean liner was really refreshing. It also made him very hungry. Someone told the balloon man that the evening meal was in just one hour–a welcome relief!

The balloon man, still clutching his balloons and refusing to part with even one, eagerly awaited the dinner bell of this luxury cruise.

When they rang the bell, he started to walk toward the dining room on the second deck. The aroma of the food was so enticing. There was one problem, though. Whoever had designed the ship hadn’t left enough room for a man with a handful of balloons to get down the passageway. You could do it if you released some of the balloons, but the balloon man just couldn’t do that. He had seen some crackers and cheese on the upper deck earlier, so he went back and ate that instead. It was good. Maybe not as good as the chef’s dinner but it was good enough. Besides, he had his balloons.

That night the sunset was beautiful and it was exciting to walk along the deck. But it sure got cold quickly after that. Sea air not only makes you hungry, it makes you tired as well. He asked one of the ship’s crew where his room was, and the crewman took him down a wide hall and opened the door of his cabin.

It was beautiful. They had given him one of the classiest rooms on the ship. He could see that the interior decorating was the best. And the bed looked inviting. Unfortunately, the door to the cabin was so designed that he couldn’t get all the balloons in without breaking some. He tried, but it just wouldn’t work.

Back on deck he found some blankets and a deck chair. He tied the balloons around his wrist and the arm of the chair and tried to sleep. The next morning he was still tired. All that day he ate crackers and cheese and that night he slept on deck again.

The next morning the balloon man received an engraved invitation from the captain of the ship. He had been invited to sit at the captain’s table and enjoy the specialty of the world famous chef. He would prepare it especially for the balloon man. All that day the man watched as the crew made preparations for the evening banquet, and at 8:00 p.m. the ships bell rang and the passengers began to go to the dining room. The man watched them go. Soon he could hear the murmur of voices, the sound of silverware and the clink of glasses.

The aroma of the food became even more enticing.

He stood at the end of the passage way for some time. Finally he walked to the back of the ship. He could still hear the dinner in progress. He reached in his pocket and felt the engraved invitation. He knew there was a special place reserved for him at the captain’s table. Then he looked up at his balloons. It was hard to do, but slowly–very, very slowly (he hadn’t unclenched his hand for years)–one at a time he uncurled his fingers. One by one the balloons began to drift away.

As he watched, the wind caught them and blew them out of sight. The man turned and walked down the passageway. That night, as a guest at the captain’s table, he enjoyed the finest meal and the best companionship he’d ever known.

Are you hanging on to a handful of balloons that keep you from being close to Jesus? What are the names of your balloons? Are they friends? Bad habits? Sex? Possessions? Your pride? Your popularity? Maybe it’s time to just let those balloons go so that you can enjoy the relationship with Christ that is yours for the taking.

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Author: Keith Kluksdahl
Source: Unknown


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…

Game Ideas

Santa Dress Up

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christmas_santa2.jpg
Materials
Use deflated balloons, colored tissue papers, garbage bags, toilet paper, shaving cream and anything else available.

Game Play
1. Each team chooses a representative to dress as Santa using the materials provided..
2. The best dressed Santa wins.

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Game Ideas

Christmas Card Puzzle Relay

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christmascards.jpgMaterials
Scissors, a set of balloons for each team (Different colors to distinguish teams), paper, marker and trash bag to hold balloons.

Game Preparation
Write a Christmas Bible Verse or a phrase from a Christmas Carol on a piece of paper paper, then cut it up into a puzzle (however many pieces will determine how many balloons you will need). Use the same number of pieces for each team. Place each puzzle piece into a separate balloon (you probably will have to roll the puzzle piece up), blow the balloon up, and then put the balloons in a trash bag for holding and preventing them from getting mixed up.

Game play
Pick teams and give each participant a balloon (with a puzzle piece in it) In this relay race, particpants run down to a chair and pop balloon and retrieve the puzzle piece. When the team has collected all the pieces, they must put them together and find the special message… First team finished is the winner.

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Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Game Ideas

Christmas Balloon Race

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Materials
Red, white, and green balloons – one for each person.

Game
Divide the group into teams. Give each person a balloon. On “go,” the first member of each team must blow up his/her balloon but not tie it shut. They must then aim the balloon toward the North Pole (finish line at opposite end of the room) and let them go. If a balloon doesn’t land beyond the finish line, the player goes to the balloon, blows it up and again lets it go toward the finish line. Then the same is repeated to go back to the team. When a balloon crosses the team line, the second team member blows up his or her balloon and lets it go. First team for everyone to compete the relay, wins!

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=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Game Ideas

Christmas Balloon Bust

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waterballoon2.jpgMaterials:
Red and green balloons and 4 pins.

Activity
Find Open area able to accommodate the entire group sitting in chairs. You may choose to sit them on the floor instead.Station four teams stationed inside a square area. Once a person finds a spot he/she likes, he/she must sit in the chair and is not allowed to leave the seat. Outside the square on each side is a Santa sitting in a chair holding a reindeer antler (pin). There is one Santa for each of the four teams. The objective is to knock balloons toward your team’s North Pole where your Santa will bust them with a reindeer antler (pin.) Red balloons worth 20 points. Green worth 10. When you run out of balloons, tally the scores and declare a winner.

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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

Icebreakers

Balloon Pop

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balloons.jpgMaterials
1 balloon for each expected participant.

Activity
Everyone must write one piece of information about themselves on a small strip of paper and place it in a balloon. They then blow up the balloon and throw the balloon in the center of the circle of participants. One by one, participants select a balloon, pop it, and try to guess which participant matches the piece of information.

Get Icebreakers ebookIcebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!