Matching glass bottles (approximately 32oz or larger) – the ones I use now can be purchased from Amazon.com using the link below (I will be the first to admit that they look like liquor bottles but… they work really well… sigh)
Ceramic/Glass drill bits (If you use the glass bottles you will also need to drill a hole in one of them and a regular bit WILL NOT WORK) – the ones I used can be purchased from Amazon.com using the link below
NOTE: Make sure the bit remains cool while drilling or else it will wear the bit out immediately. Dribble water onto the bit or make a ring out of wax around the around and fill with water while drilling.
Weaker option: 2ea 2-liter bottles or 2ea large Gatorade bottles with the labels removed – one with a small hole drilled
Two to four, 9″ or 12” latex balloons (you really only need 2 but sometimes they rip as you are putting them over the mouths of the bottles.
Lesson:
Who knows what the Holy Ghost is? Who would like Jesus, the creator of each one of us and of everything around us to come and be with you every second of every day? Who would like a friend that is closer than a brother?
OF COURSE WE ALL WOULD, RIGHT!
Hold up the 2 bottles
Today, these two bottles represent us
Get a volunteer
Today we are going to have a race to see who can blow up a balloon that is stuck inside a bottle.
Hand the volunteer the bottle WITHOUT the hole in the bottle and have them pick any balloon they would like.
Tell the volunteer to push the entire balloon into the bottle EXCEPT for the mouth of the balloon and then stretch this over the mouth of the bottle. Once both bottles are prepared. Start the Race!
1, 2, 3 GO!!!
Blow up your balloon. The little hole in the bottle will allow the air to escape and the balloon to blow up. Once yours is blown up, block the hole with your finger and show everyone. Your poor volunteer’s balloon will not have blown up at all.
Why won’t yours blow up? Mine blew up just fine, in FACT, my balloon is still blown up even though the top of the balloon is open!
Try a couple of more times and then explain what is going on. The air that is already inside your bottle is keeping the balloon from blowing up!
That is just like the Holy Ghost! Jesus refuses to come in until we clean out all of the old stuff inside. That is called repentance!
We have to empty ourselves out and KEEP it empty for Him to come in.
Show them the secret
You can then talk to the kids about the importance of keeping your heart clean and taking care of the Holy Ghost that is in you.
Once you get the Holy Ghost you have to work at keeping your heart clean and not allowing the junk that used to be in there to come back. Keeping your finger over the hole allows the balloon to stay blown up but as soon as you let go it starts to deflate. We must stay full of the Holy Ghost and never let our guard down or we will become the way we used to be.
Note: If you want to make this really really hilarious, before you take your thumb off the hole and allow the balloon to shrink, pour water into the balloon. Pretend to be very interested in the contents of the bottle, commenting on how neat it is while keeping your face very close to the opening. When you are ready, release your thumb from the hole and be prepared to get very wet because the water will shoot out of the balloon all over you. The kids will think it is the funniest thing I have ever seen!
2nd Note: I make a very big point of NEVER telling the kids how an object lesson is done because doing so ruins the “magic” of what they have just seen. If they can’t explain it, they will think and talk about it for a long time to come. HOWEVER, with that said, this one object lesson is a bit of an exception because explaining the what the hole is and how the lesson works is key to teaching the point of repentance.
I really like this idea and used it a couple of Sundays ago. However I use 3. 2 bottle with holes and 1 without. I had one of bottles with the hole, (by the way I had a balloon with a smiley face on it, noting the JOY of the Holy Ghost). Of course one couldn’t be blown up because there was no room for the Holy Ghost because there was no repentance. The other one with the hole in the bottle of course blew up but when they pulled it away from their mouth the balloon deflated because the person didn’t continue in the growth process, reading the bible and prayer. So kinda 2 lessons. 1 on the importance of initial repentance and the other on the importance of prayer to keep the Holy Ghost stirred up. Thanks for all your great ideas.
I really like this idea and used it a couple of Sundays ago. However I use 3. 2 bottle with holes and 1 without. I had one of bottles with the hole, (by the way I had a balloon with a smiley face on it, noting the JOY of the Holy Ghost). Of course one couldn’t be blown up because there was no room for the Holy Ghost because there was no repentance. The other one with the hole in the bottle of course blew up but when they pulled it away from their mouth the balloon deflated because the person didn’t continue in the growth process, reading the bible and prayer. So kinda 2 lessons. 1 on the importance of initial repentance and the other on the importance of prayer to keep the Holy Ghost stirred up. Thanks for all your great ideas.
Great ideas! I love the twist on the original… Very creative! Thank you for the ideas