Newsletter 9
Newsletter 9.
Contents.
O.L. 22. Miracles (Large disc goes through small hole).
O.L. 23. Standing up under pressure (Plastic tops in water).
O.L. 24. Defeating evil with good (paper is stronger than wood).
Gems from the classroom.
The questions Kids ask.
Dear Friend in Christ,
Welcome to my third Newsletter for 2003. I promise I am not trying to "bombard" you with material. Rather, my recent increased writing activity merely reflects my quiet time of the year as most of my Bible classes in the Primary schools are not due to start until March.
Blessings,
Maurice Sweetsur.
22. Miracles.
Here is a simple illustration to demonstrate that with God "All things are possible."
Preparation. Take a piece of cardboard ( about 40x40cm. ) and cut out a round disc (about 15cm. diameter) from the centre. Retain both pieces. Find a solid disc (an ordinary plate is ideal) a little larger than your cardboard disc e.g. about 20cm. diameter.
Presentation. "Sometimes we find that we just cannot do certain things. But we need to remember that God can do absolutely anything. With Him nothing is impossible." Hold up your cardboard sheet and disc. Explain that the disc is just small enough to pass through the hole. Pass the disc through the hole a few times in different ways e.g. face on and side on.
State that if the disc were any larger, it would be "impossible" to pass it through the hole. Your class should agree. Produce your larger disc and pretend to attempt to pass it through the hole in different ways as before. Remind your class that what is impossible for us is possible for God, and state that you are now going to demonstrate that by passing the larger disc through the small hole.
Fold your sheet in half, and place your larger disc inside so that the top protrudes through the hole. Grasp this part of the disc with one hand, and with the other pull down on the side of your sheet - this actually stretches the hole - A gentle tug on your disc will ensure that it passes through the hole without tearing it in any way. You may wish to repeat the operation a few times.
23. Standing up under pressure.
When things are going well, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between the person who is trusting in Jesus, and the one who is not. However, when pressure - hardships, troubles, problems etc. - comes upon us, the person who knows Jesus is able to keep standing, whereas the person without Christ often crumples or "goes under."
Preparation. Take two plastic pen tops (Preferably different colours). Attach one or two plastic paper clips to the first top. To make the second top heavier than the first, attach one or two metal paper clips. Take about a two litre plastic clear bottle, and fill about 90% full with water. Drop the two plastic tops (with attached clips) into the water. They should both float. Screw the top on the bottle, and apply pressure to the bottle by squeezing it. A little "trial and error" may be required here. You may need to adjust your tops by adding or subtracting clips to ensure that when pressure is applied, the first top continues to float, whilst the second always sinks, or "goes under." When you release the pressure, the submerged top should rise to the surface again.
Presentation. You can make this as long or as short as you wish. Explain that the two same-sized tops represent two people, one who is trusting in Christ, and one who isn't. When things go well (no pressure to the bottle), there is no difference - the tops both float. However, when pressure comes, one continues to float, but the other goes under. Repeat the pressure-on / pressure-off process a few times.
24. Defeating evil with good.
The Bible tells us that we are to defeat evil with good. (Romans 12.21). Here is a good object lesson to illustrate that point.
Preparation. Take a thin piece of wood (about 40cm. x 10cm.), and write on it the word "EVIL." Take 3 or 4 sheets of newspaper, and write on one of them the word "GOOD."
Presentation. Ask your class "Which do you think is stronger "Evil" or "Good" ? You will probably get a mixed response.
Proceed along these lines. "With so much evil in the world, it may sometimes appear as though evil is stronger than good, but God tells us that we are to defeat evil, not with evil, but with good. This piece of wood stands for evil, and it certainly looks strong ( bang it on a table a few times ). These flimsy pieces of newspaper stand for good but, as you know, they could easily tear. However, we shall now find out which is the stronger - the wood or the paper, evil or good."
Lay the piece of wood on a table or desk, overhanging the edge about 15cm. Place the pieces of newspaper fairly tightly over the wood, with the piece marked "GOOD" on the very top. As you do so, you could retell the story of Calvary i.e. " I am sure that when Jesus was arrested, beaten and crucified, the forces of evil were jumping for joy. They thought they had beaten "Good" for ever. But they were in for a shock, because on the third day Jesus rose from the dead, proving the reverse - that He was stronger than evil."
Tell the class that you are now going to hit the wood and paper hard with the side of your hand. "Which will break - the flimsy paper ? - the hard wood ? (or perhaps your hand! ?). Do this, hitting the wood and paper just past the "overhang." You will find that the wood will break and the paper will remain intact, reminding us that "Good" is stronger than "Evil."
Conclusion. "Good, therefore, can defeat evil. This means for us that if someone is nasty to us, we can defeat this by being good to them in return. This can often be a hard thing to do, but if we persist in doing good, we will usually find that they will start being good to us as well.
Gems from the classroom.
I thought I would share a few interesting comments that I have heard children come up with in my Bible classes over the last few years. Each one has either amused, blessed or challenged me (in some cases all at the same time!). I hope they do the same for you.
Child. " I don't believe in God."
Her Friend. "But there must be a God. If there was no God, we wouldn't have Bible lessons!"
"Thank you for being my Bible teacher. You have taught me everything you know."
"God spoke to me last night, just like He spoke to Samuel.He told me to go and tell my Granny that He loves her. So I did."
"I know that God loves me, because if He didn't love me, He wouldn't have made me."
The Bible says I should not lie. But what about 'stranger danger' ? Surely, if I am in danger, it would be alright to lie to try and get out of it?" (How would you answer that one?).
"Please forgive me for being naughty in class last week. Please also forget what I did." (After teaching that God both forgives and forgets our sins).
"I will praise the Lord for you - if you let me have a turn with the puppets."
"God is just a theory." (Following a school class trip to the 'World of Whales' exhibition at Auckland museum).
The questions Kids ask.
I find that if you ask a group of children if they have any questions (about what they have been taught, God, Jesus, the Bible, or just life in general) most will be reluctant to ask - Noone wants to risk looking silly in class! Therefore,once a year, what I do in my classes is hand each child a blank sheet of paper and ask them to write down any questions they have - assuring them of their anonymity when I reply.
I then spend the following week giving considered answers to the questions. In doing so, I am able to teach the children what they really want to know, rather than what I perceive they need to know. In my experience, it is very unusual for a child not to ask at least one question, and many will ask multiple questions.You may think it "impossible" to answer so many questions in about 30 mins., but you will find that many of the questions are the same, or very similar to each other.
The following is an abbreviated list of some of the most common, amusing or challenging questions that children have asked me.
Who made God ? (The most common question).*
Why is my brother / sister nasty to me ? (The second most common question).**
Is God real ?
How old is God ?
How big is God ?
What does God look like ?
Why did God make us ?
What did God make us out of ?
Is God male or female ?
How does God see all of us, all at the same time ?
Why did God let Satan come into the world ?
If God knows the future, why did He put that fruit tree in the garden of Eden?
If God has lived forever, why didn't He make people trillions and trillions of years ago ?
Does God really prefer the Christian who is not so good to the non-Christian who is good ?
Since there is so much proof that God exists, why doesn't everyone love him ?
Do you believe in God ?
Why are you always talking about God ?
Why do you come here each week ?Which came first the chicken or the egg ? (I used to ask that myself, until I read the first chapters of Genesis).
Did Adam have a belly button ?
Are there aliens?
Who is Jesus ?
How do you know that Jesus will come back again ?
How do we know that the Bible is from God ?
Are the things in the Bible true ?
Why doesn't God answer my prayers ?
Why did my pet dog die ?
Why are babies baptised ?
Is heaven real ?
Exactly, where is heaven ?
Do you have to pay to get into heaven?
Do people have birthdays in heaven ?
Do animals go to heaven ?
Do you eat and drink in heaven ? If so, what is the food like ?
* I usually answer this question in the following way :-
"If I told you the answer to that, I know what your next question would be. You would say "Who made the person who made God ?" Then, if I told you that , you would ask "Who made the person who made God ?" Then, if I told you that, you would ask "Who made the person who made the person who made God ?" etc. etc.
No, the answer is Nobody made God. God is eternal. That means He has no beginning or end. He has always existed. In fact, there was a time when there was no matter (solid things), no space, and no time, only God Himself. Then God spoke and by His power brought everything in the Universe into existence.The exciting thing is that although we have a beginning, God has made each one of us eternal as well. That means the "real you" - your Soul and Spirit will never die.
I know this is hard for us to understand, because we are used to living in time, with beginnings and endings. But let us consider the alternative. If there is no God (or Creator), that means that everything in the Universe must have created itself - beginning with nothing. Our common sense tells us that nothing can make itself - it has to have a maker or creator. That is why most people in the world believe in a Creator (God). It requires far,far too much faith to believe that everything made itself out of nothing.It is far easier to believe that there always has been a loving God who created everything.
** I usually answer this question in this way.
"Before I answer your question, can I ask you "How about you ? Are you nasty to your brother /sister ? It is very easy for us to see the faults in others, but very hard to see the faults in ourselves. Brothers and sisters are often nasty to each other, and to understand why, we have to go back to the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that brought sin into the world, and spoiled everything. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve and have been born with a selfish nature that wants its own way. Children soon realise that being selfish all the time often gets them in to trouble, so they learn to control their behaviour, especially when they are outside their home environment. However, without Jesus, their selfish nature is still there. When you live with the same persons day after day ( like brothers and sisters ), this selfishness is bound to show itself from time to time, often resulting in "nastiness" to each other.
If your brother or sister is really nasty to you, there are two important things you can do. Firstly, pray that they will hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and allow Him to begin to change their selfish nature. Secondly, whenever your brother / sister is nasty to you, then you be nice to them. The Bible tells us that we are to defeat evil, not with evil, but rather with good. (Romans 12.21).That can be a really hard thing to do, but if you persist in being nice to them, then usually they will start being nice to you !
If time permits, I will conclude my answer by conducting object lesson 24 - defeating evil with good.
Contents.
O.L. 22. Miracles (Large disc goes through small hole).
O.L. 23. Standing up under pressure (Plastic tops in water).
O.L. 24. Defeating evil with good (paper is stronger than wood).
Gems from the classroom.
The questions Kids ask.
Dear Friend in Christ,
Welcome to my third Newsletter for 2003. I promise I am not trying to "bombard" you with material. Rather, my recent increased writing activity merely reflects my quiet time of the year as most of my Bible classes in the Primary schools are not due to start until March.
Blessings,
Maurice Sweetsur.
22. Miracles.
Here is a simple illustration to demonstrate that with God "All things are possible."
Preparation. Take a piece of cardboard ( about 40x40cm. ) and cut out a round disc (about 15cm. diameter) from the centre. Retain both pieces. Find a solid disc (an ordinary plate is ideal) a little larger than your cardboard disc e.g. about 20cm. diameter.
Presentation. "Sometimes we find that we just cannot do certain things. But we need to remember that God can do absolutely anything. With Him nothing is impossible." Hold up your cardboard sheet and disc. Explain that the disc is just small enough to pass through the hole. Pass the disc through the hole a few times in different ways e.g. face on and side on.
State that if the disc were any larger, it would be "impossible" to pass it through the hole. Your class should agree. Produce your larger disc and pretend to attempt to pass it through the hole in different ways as before. Remind your class that what is impossible for us is possible for God, and state that you are now going to demonstrate that by passing the larger disc through the small hole.
Fold your sheet in half, and place your larger disc inside so that the top protrudes through the hole. Grasp this part of the disc with one hand, and with the other pull down on the side of your sheet - this actually stretches the hole - A gentle tug on your disc will ensure that it passes through the hole without tearing it in any way. You may wish to repeat the operation a few times.
23. Standing up under pressure.
When things are going well, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between the person who is trusting in Jesus, and the one who is not. However, when pressure - hardships, troubles, problems etc. - comes upon us, the person who knows Jesus is able to keep standing, whereas the person without Christ often crumples or "goes under."
Preparation. Take two plastic pen tops (Preferably different colours). Attach one or two plastic paper clips to the first top. To make the second top heavier than the first, attach one or two metal paper clips. Take about a two litre plastic clear bottle, and fill about 90% full with water. Drop the two plastic tops (with attached clips) into the water. They should both float. Screw the top on the bottle, and apply pressure to the bottle by squeezing it. A little "trial and error" may be required here. You may need to adjust your tops by adding or subtracting clips to ensure that when pressure is applied, the first top continues to float, whilst the second always sinks, or "goes under." When you release the pressure, the submerged top should rise to the surface again.
Presentation. You can make this as long or as short as you wish. Explain that the two same-sized tops represent two people, one who is trusting in Christ, and one who isn't. When things go well (no pressure to the bottle), there is no difference - the tops both float. However, when pressure comes, one continues to float, but the other goes under. Repeat the pressure-on / pressure-off process a few times.
24. Defeating evil with good.
The Bible tells us that we are to defeat evil with good. (Romans 12.21). Here is a good object lesson to illustrate that point.
Preparation. Take a thin piece of wood (about 40cm. x 10cm.), and write on it the word "EVIL." Take 3 or 4 sheets of newspaper, and write on one of them the word "GOOD."
Presentation. Ask your class "Which do you think is stronger "Evil" or "Good" ? You will probably get a mixed response.
Proceed along these lines. "With so much evil in the world, it may sometimes appear as though evil is stronger than good, but God tells us that we are to defeat evil, not with evil, but with good. This piece of wood stands for evil, and it certainly looks strong ( bang it on a table a few times ). These flimsy pieces of newspaper stand for good but, as you know, they could easily tear. However, we shall now find out which is the stronger - the wood or the paper, evil or good."
Lay the piece of wood on a table or desk, overhanging the edge about 15cm. Place the pieces of newspaper fairly tightly over the wood, with the piece marked "GOOD" on the very top. As you do so, you could retell the story of Calvary i.e. " I am sure that when Jesus was arrested, beaten and crucified, the forces of evil were jumping for joy. They thought they had beaten "Good" for ever. But they were in for a shock, because on the third day Jesus rose from the dead, proving the reverse - that He was stronger than evil."
Tell the class that you are now going to hit the wood and paper hard with the side of your hand. "Which will break - the flimsy paper ? - the hard wood ? (or perhaps your hand! ?). Do this, hitting the wood and paper just past the "overhang." You will find that the wood will break and the paper will remain intact, reminding us that "Good" is stronger than "Evil."
Conclusion. "Good, therefore, can defeat evil. This means for us that if someone is nasty to us, we can defeat this by being good to them in return. This can often be a hard thing to do, but if we persist in doing good, we will usually find that they will start being good to us as well.
Gems from the classroom.
I thought I would share a few interesting comments that I have heard children come up with in my Bible classes over the last few years. Each one has either amused, blessed or challenged me (in some cases all at the same time!). I hope they do the same for you.
Child. " I don't believe in God."
Her Friend. "But there must be a God. If there was no God, we wouldn't have Bible lessons!"
"Thank you for being my Bible teacher. You have taught me everything you know."
"God spoke to me last night, just like He spoke to Samuel.He told me to go and tell my Granny that He loves her. So I did."
"I know that God loves me, because if He didn't love me, He wouldn't have made me."
The Bible says I should not lie. But what about 'stranger danger' ? Surely, if I am in danger, it would be alright to lie to try and get out of it?" (How would you answer that one?).
"Please forgive me for being naughty in class last week. Please also forget what I did." (After teaching that God both forgives and forgets our sins).
"I will praise the Lord for you - if you let me have a turn with the puppets."
"God is just a theory." (Following a school class trip to the 'World of Whales' exhibition at Auckland museum).
The questions Kids ask.
I find that if you ask a group of children if they have any questions (about what they have been taught, God, Jesus, the Bible, or just life in general) most will be reluctant to ask - Noone wants to risk looking silly in class! Therefore,once a year, what I do in my classes is hand each child a blank sheet of paper and ask them to write down any questions they have - assuring them of their anonymity when I reply.
I then spend the following week giving considered answers to the questions. In doing so, I am able to teach the children what they really want to know, rather than what I perceive they need to know. In my experience, it is very unusual for a child not to ask at least one question, and many will ask multiple questions.You may think it "impossible" to answer so many questions in about 30 mins., but you will find that many of the questions are the same, or very similar to each other.
The following is an abbreviated list of some of the most common, amusing or challenging questions that children have asked me.
Who made God ? (The most common question).*
Why is my brother / sister nasty to me ? (The second most common question).**
Is God real ?
How old is God ?
How big is God ?
What does God look like ?
Why did God make us ?
What did God make us out of ?
Is God male or female ?
How does God see all of us, all at the same time ?
Why did God let Satan come into the world ?
If God knows the future, why did He put that fruit tree in the garden of Eden?
If God has lived forever, why didn't He make people trillions and trillions of years ago ?
Does God really prefer the Christian who is not so good to the non-Christian who is good ?
Since there is so much proof that God exists, why doesn't everyone love him ?
Do you believe in God ?
Why are you always talking about God ?
Why do you come here each week ?Which came first the chicken or the egg ? (I used to ask that myself, until I read the first chapters of Genesis).
Did Adam have a belly button ?
Are there aliens?
Who is Jesus ?
How do you know that Jesus will come back again ?
How do we know that the Bible is from God ?
Are the things in the Bible true ?
Why doesn't God answer my prayers ?
Why did my pet dog die ?
Why are babies baptised ?
Is heaven real ?
Exactly, where is heaven ?
Do you have to pay to get into heaven?
Do people have birthdays in heaven ?
Do animals go to heaven ?
Do you eat and drink in heaven ? If so, what is the food like ?
* I usually answer this question in the following way :-
"If I told you the answer to that, I know what your next question would be. You would say "Who made the person who made God ?" Then, if I told you that , you would ask "Who made the person who made God ?" Then, if I told you that, you would ask "Who made the person who made the person who made God ?" etc. etc.
No, the answer is Nobody made God. God is eternal. That means He has no beginning or end. He has always existed. In fact, there was a time when there was no matter (solid things), no space, and no time, only God Himself. Then God spoke and by His power brought everything in the Universe into existence.The exciting thing is that although we have a beginning, God has made each one of us eternal as well. That means the "real you" - your Soul and Spirit will never die.
I know this is hard for us to understand, because we are used to living in time, with beginnings and endings. But let us consider the alternative. If there is no God (or Creator), that means that everything in the Universe must have created itself - beginning with nothing. Our common sense tells us that nothing can make itself - it has to have a maker or creator. That is why most people in the world believe in a Creator (God). It requires far,far too much faith to believe that everything made itself out of nothing.It is far easier to believe that there always has been a loving God who created everything.
** I usually answer this question in this way.
"Before I answer your question, can I ask you "How about you ? Are you nasty to your brother /sister ? It is very easy for us to see the faults in others, but very hard to see the faults in ourselves. Brothers and sisters are often nasty to each other, and to understand why, we have to go back to the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that brought sin into the world, and spoiled everything. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve and have been born with a selfish nature that wants its own way. Children soon realise that being selfish all the time often gets them in to trouble, so they learn to control their behaviour, especially when they are outside their home environment. However, without Jesus, their selfish nature is still there. When you live with the same persons day after day ( like brothers and sisters ), this selfishness is bound to show itself from time to time, often resulting in "nastiness" to each other.
If your brother or sister is really nasty to you, there are two important things you can do. Firstly, pray that they will hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and allow Him to begin to change their selfish nature. Secondly, whenever your brother / sister is nasty to you, then you be nice to them. The Bible tells us that we are to defeat evil, not with evil, but rather with good. (Romans 12.21).That can be a really hard thing to do, but if you persist in being nice to them, then usually they will start being nice to you !
If time permits, I will conclude my answer by conducting object lesson 24 - defeating evil with good.
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 3:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home