Henry the Teabag

What you need:

• Teabag with a string and label
• Non-flammable plate
• Scissors
• Lighter or match

Lesson:

We are likened to a teabag.  Teaches repentance, baptism in Jesus name and receiving the Holy Ghost.

Notes: Practice this ahead of time!  Not all teabags are created equal and may not work properly.  Also, make sure you are doing this on a surface that the hot teabag will not adhere to.

Short version:

1. Remove the staple, label and string from the teabag
2. Cut the teabag open and pour out the grounds
3. Unfold the teabag
4. Turn the teabag into a cylinder – make sure there’s a space in the center. You can use your finger if that helps
5. Stand the cylinder on one end on a plate. Make sure it’s on a flat surface
6. Use a lighter or match to set the top of the teabag cylinder on fire
7. What happens? You should see the ashes of the teabag fly into the air!

Long Version:

Has anyone here ever felt like a tea bag? Have you ever felt depressed, deflated or saggy like a tea bag? Well, if you haven’t yet, just wait a little while and sooner or later you will.

Today, this little tea bag is going to represent each and every one of us that are trying to this world of sin and are trying to be everything that God wants us to be.
I am going to refer to this tea bag from here on as Henry. We all start out our Christian walk with God like this little tea bag, Henry.

But Henry was trapped and he didn’t even know it. He was trapped by the things of this world… by sin. But one day, someone talked to Henry about God and for the first time he realized that there is a better life out there!

He came to an apostolic church and for the first time he heard about Jesus and God began a wonderful work in him and showed him a better way

Remove the teabag from the wrapper

But do you s ee this tag? Isn’t it amazing how the world seems to tag and label everyone? People get labeled like, he’s a thief, he’s disrespectful, he’s always getting into fights, he never does good in school, he’s a trouble-maker, he’s a punk and on and on…

Henry, was labeled all of these things… SEE?

Show the label

Well, the first thing that God does when you get in church, is He lets you start all over again. God takes that label that you have been carrying around and He rips it right off!!!

Pull off the label

Now you are a new person…

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When God gets a hold of our lives, He makes us brand new.  Needless to say that Henry was very grateful…

The next thing God does for us when we get in church is that He helps us gets rid of those things that are tying us to the world. Have you heard the phrase “no strings attached” when someone is trying to sell something? That means that there is nothing that goes along with the item that is negative. So when we get in church, those strings that are connecting us the world get severed. What are some of the things that hold us back?

• Bad friends
• Poor ways of thinking
• Bad habits like lying, cheating or stealing
• Bad attitudes
• Misguided ideas

Well, God takes all those things are helps us rip them right out of our lives.

Remove the string

Just like I am doing with Henry. Henry now has “no strings attaching” him to his old world.

Have you ever felt like you were full of junk or full of nasty stuff… like this tea bag? As you can see, Henry is full of sin.

Show the grounds inside the bag

God has a plan for salvation which we have talked about over and over again. Does anyone know what the FIRST step to being saved is?

Mark 1:15 – And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

When we come to God, we need to repent SO bad. WHY? Because God doesn’t want to live in a nasty house. Would you want to go and live in a house that has piles of dirt in every room? Or a house where the walls are crushed in, or spray painted and have nasty words written all over them? Then why would God want to?

We need to get all the junk out of our hearts so God can have a clean place to live in. We repent by telling God that we are sorry for the things we have done and meaning and by TRYING our best to not do those things again. When we do this God dumps all the junk out of our lives, just like I am doing with this tea bag.

Cut the end of the teabag off and pour out the grounds

As you can imagine, right now Henry is feeling very good about himself but he isn’t done yet. What is the next step to salvation? Baptism is absolutely essential to being saved…

Acts 2:38 – Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Mark 16:16 – He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…

So Henry is baptized in Jesus name.

What is the final step to salvation?

Acts 2:38 – Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is Jesus Himself coming and living inside of the clean house that we have made for Him. The Bible tells us that we know we got the Holy Ghost when we speak in a language that we don’t know.

Acts 10:44-46 – While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

That is a sign of our awesome God coming and living inside of us. Now we get to carry God around with us everywhere we go. He will help us do what is right, to live right, to act right, to make good decisions, to deal with people and a million other things. Now we are ready to meet Jesus and so is Henry.

We are now cleaned out, baptized and full of the Holy Ghost…

We are straightened out….

(Straighten out Henry and stand him up on end)…

TIP: MAKE SURE THE A/C IS OFF AND THAT THERE IS NO WIND!

Now when the rapture comes or this world comes to an end and burns up with a fervent heat… this is what happens to us….

Light Henry on fire and when he burns down he will lift of and rise up to the ceiling

We go to meet Jesus in heaven!!!

This never would have happened if Henry hadn’t prepared himself beforehand and got himself ready to meet Jesus.