Use this fun object lesson to teach on the Bible verse in Isaiah 43:25
In Isaiah 43:25 we read "But I wipe away your sins because of who I am. And so, I will forget the wrongs you have done."
Do you know UV Reactive Putty? You can use this as an object lesson. You can write with the included UV pen in the putty and you''ll see it change in colour. This means that you can write with the UV pen in the putty. You can write for example the things that you have done wrong in the putty and it will disappear after a minute.
This creates a very easy link to the Bible verse of Isaiah 43.25. Our sins will disappear very quickly from the putty, just as God has promised that He will wipe away our sins!
With the help of a secular YouTube film and a creative activity you can explore Jesus’ sacrificial love.
This YouTube film shows the story of a paper creature that is attacked by a pair of scissors. Rock sees what is happening and he attacks Scissors out of compassion for Paper. Rock wins from Scissors but gets wounded. Rock carries Paper to a safe place, but because in the game Paper always beats Rock, he starts to crumble even as he is carrying her to safety. He therefore demonstrates sacrificial love.
It’s easy to find a link between this story and the incident when Jesus touches the leper and makes him promise not to tell anyone. The leper does tell everyone that Jesus touched and healed him. It has been centuries since anyone healed a leper – back in the time of the prophet Elisha, when general Naaman was healed. If Jesus can heal even a leper, surely he can help anyone! As Jesus had expected, large crowds came to see him – so large that he was no longer able to go into the villages and towns. His compassion for the man with leprosy, and the fact that the man was too excited to keep it to himself meant that Jesus was forced to retreat to more remote places. Jesus experienced a degree of suffering because of his compassion for this man.
Of course you can also use this video to teach on Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection!
Themes:
Jesus healing the leper, sacrificial love, Jesus' death and resurrection
Important question:
It’s important to watch the video yourself first and to decide if you want to show it to the children? Does it fit within your context and the age of the children?
What do you do:
Step 1: Have the children play the game ‘Rock, paper, scissors’. You could play it for a few minutes and have them change partners half way through.
If you don’t know the game, you can watch this link.
Step 2: Watch the video together, and possible one more time after completing step 3.
- rock - scissors - paper - the illness leprosy - Jesus - the ill man
1. Print the six images out and show them to the children 2. Ask the children to make three pairs of the images – which ones belong together? 3. Who represents Jesus in the video? (the rock) – why do you agree or not agree? 4. Who represents the ill man? (the paper) – why do you agree or not agree? 5. Who represents the illness? (the scissors) – why do you agree or not agree?
Living life to the full, because Jesus restores the balance in your life
In John chapter 4 Jesus meets the Samaritan woman near the well. This woman was like a empty Coke can - totally empty, lying on its side, blown over by life. A woman who knows what it is to be judged by all the full Coke cans in her village. The men and women who live such nobles lives, who pour shame on this broken and emptied woman.
But then something amazing happens. Jesus offers her life to the full. He offers her living water. And the woman drinks it in. A miracle happens. The woman is filled with water and suddenly there is a restored balance in her life.
How can you introduce the theme of 'the law' to children and teenagers?
When we look at Jesus in the Bible, he seems to have a knack for stretching the law beyond what the lawmakers of his time thought was appropriate. In their eyes Jesus was a lawbreaker.
"One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:23-27
Breaking the rules to bless someone else
When I was watching this Coca Cola commercial, I was reminded of the parable of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite thought that serving God in the temple was more important than helping someone on the side of the road, who could have been dead. He was dead, they would have been unclean and wouldn't be allowed to serve God in the temple They were not ready to cross their boundaries to help someone else.
In idea 217 we show you how you can use this video as:
- a short introduction to a Bible story, a Sunday school lesson, a RE lesson - a longer reflection on certain Bible stories and /or Biblical themes
Several Biblical themes in this commercial:
Talking about the law, how far can you go?, the Good Samaritan, Jesus and the law, Jesus the lawbreaker, Jesus and the sabbath, dealing with boundaries
Jonah waits in vain for the destruction of Nineveh
Jonah has finally done what God asked of him. After he got spat out by the huge fish, he went to the town of Nineveh. He told the people in the city that God would destroy the city unless they repented, and then he went to sit on a hill just outside the city to watch the show. He’s quite looking forward to it - what a show it’s going to be!
In the meantime in the city of Nineveh, the inhabitants are repenting. God sees this, and spares the city.
Jonah doesn’t realise this, and waits....and waits.....and waits.. It’s getting too hot. But what’s this?
During the night God makes a large bush grow, so that Jonah can sit under it. What a blessing! But what’s this?
During the night God sends a worm that eats the bush and causes it to die. Jonah is furious!
And then he gets the lesson.....
Themes:
Jonah is waiting for the destruction of Nineveh, Jonah and the miracle tree, God sent a worm, Gods goodness and compassion
Video:
In the video below we show you how you can illustrate this story using the worm mix.
Before you try this yourself, it’s helpful to watch the introduction video in which we show you how to prepare the worm mix.
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