Note: Don’t be persuaded to buy the dinky little ones you will find for cheap. They are just too little and too fragile. Invest in a good one with boxes that at least 9 to 11 inches wide by roughly 3 or 4 inches tall. Ebay is probably your best option and it will likely ship from China so be prepared to wait quite a while for it to arrive. You can find these more local but you will pay a premium.
About this lesson:
This is easily one of my favorite lessons. I have never seen any of the kids I teach figure it out. Oh, they definitely have their ideas but usually they are pretty far-fetched. Remember, never tell the kids how it is done or it will ruin the trick forever and you will never be able to use it again.
This lesson can end in a great altar call if you allow it to. It’s a great way to in the class and lead into prayer.
Lesson:
Today we are going to talk about how God can take an empty life and somehow cause it to produce incredible things for the Kingdom of God.
You see this bag? With this is just like you and me and everyone has ever lived. It’s empty. There is nothing inside.
HOLD THE BAG UP AND SHOW THE AUDIENCE THAT IT IS COMPLETELY EMPTY.
Have you ever felt like you had nothing to offer God? Maybe you feel inadequate? Maybe you don’t feel as capable as the person sitting next to you. Maybe you just aren’t athletic or maybe you don’t think you are as good looking as the person by you.
Maybe you feel as empty as this bag here.
SHOW THE INSIDE OF THE BAG TO THE AUDIENCE AGAIN
Maybe you don’t think you can talk well to people… that no one likes you. Maybe you don’t think you’re as funny as someone else is or maybe that your family isn’t the way that everyone else’s is. Perhaps your mom and dad are not together any longer or there is a lot of fighting going on in your house. Maybe you think that you don’t have enough money, don’t wear the right type of clothing, or live in the right kind of house for people to accept you. Maybe you feel broken, torn apart or like your life has been shattered in a million piece.
But you see, to God, none of that matters. No matter how you feel about yourself, God sees you as something special, something wonderful and something that he wants to use. He loves you more than you can ever imagine and if you are willing to put whatever you have or don’t have into his hands and let Him take over, He can do something absolutely incredible with your life.
You see, God can make something wonderful out of nothing. He created the sun,, the earth, the stars, every living thing all from nothing. When He started creation He didn’t have anything to work with. But that’s okay because God just needs a place to work.
Genesis 1:2 says that the earth was without form and void but that didn’t matter because in just a short time God turned it into a wonderful place.
THE EARTH WAS EMPTY JUST LIKE THIS BAG HERE
In Matthew 19:26 Jesus said… With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
When we try to make something out of our lives by ourselves, nothing good will come out of it. The best we can do is make a mess but with God things are so very different.
There are times when we to tell ourselves things like, “I blew it! I had a chance and I completely messed up!” And now we spend the rest of the day telling ourselves terrible things like, “How dumb could you be?” “How could you blow that opportunity?” “God, I AM A FAILURE! I HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER YOU but mistakes, failures and bad decisions. HOW CAN YOU USE ME!?”
But God can use you! Just give him the little you think you have and watch what you can do with it. God can make something incredible out of nothing and just like He created everything you see around you out of thin air during creation, He can do the same with you.
There’s a beautiful verse in Isaiah. Chapter 61 verse 3.
It says that if you give to God the little that you have. Give him your ashes. The leftovers when the fire is done. The trash. What most people would throw out that in return God is going to give you something wonderful.
SLOWLY AND DRAMATICALLY REACH IN THE BAG AND PULL OUT THE 1ST BOX.
Out of NOTHING, God can give you something wonderful! For your ashes, God will give you beauty! He will give you a wonderful life living for Him.
Now to us that seems impossible. But with God all things are possible. Even when God does something wonderful in someone’s life, occasionally they still feel like they are not good enough. They still feel empty inside.
SHOW THE AUDIENCE THAT THE BAG IS STILL EMPTY
The verse continues to say that for your sadness or for your morning that God will also give you something wonderful. Just give Him the little bit that you have. Give Him your tears and in return God is coming give you something beautiful.
PULL OUT THE 2ND BOX
Yes, for those tears and sadness God will give you joy! He will take away those sad times and give you a life so full of happiness that it will seem absolutely unbelievable.
But some people are so down on themselves. They have had a life so full of rejection and disappointment that they just cannot believe that God would really love them.
FOR THE LAST TIME SHOW THAT THE BAG IS COMPLETELY EMPTY.
Remember that all God needs is a place to work. If you allow Him to come in and begin to work inside of you. If you repent of all your sins and just like the Bible says your baptized in Jesus name then He will fill you. He will give you the most wonderful gift that has ever been given. The gift of the Holy Ghost. It is Jesus coming in living inside of you and it is absolutely wonderful.
The rest of Isaiah 61:3 says that for spirit of heaviness he’s going to give you the garment of praise.
REACH IN AND PULL OUT THE LAST BOX
No matter how you feel about yourself, God sees everything that you can be. He has place in His kingdom that no one else can fill but you.
I’m sure there are many other ways that this lesson could go. If you have an idea to teach a different topic using the same object please let me know and I will post it here.
If you have any questions, concerns or comments please either comment below or email me at info@apostolicSundayschool.com.
