Snacks as Object Lessons!

Snacks are commonplace in Children's Ministry.  And it's awesome that they are because they can be amazing tools for teaching a part of the lesson. Though I'm not one to give out a snack in every service, if I can use snack time to reinforce the day's lesson, then I am all for that.  So this week, I want to share a couple of lesson reinforcement snack ideas that I've found online or made up myself.  I hope you find them as fun as I do.

Goldfish crackers (or the generic equivalent)
These can be brought out to reinforce several scripture such as how we should be fisher's of men (Matthew 4:19) or if you put a few pieces of melba toast with it or croutons it could be a mini version of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30-44) that you could use as an object lesson before they ate them.  But they could also be a cool lesson about Jonah and the whale.  Give each of the children a handful of goldfish and let them eat all but one.  Then you could say something along the lines of, "Look at that fish in your hand.  You could swallow it up so easily and in fact you've already eaten several and it was no problem at all.  Now imagine that you were a whale and that little fish was a person...Today we are going to talk about a person who was swallowed up by a whale as easily as you've been swallowing up those fishes."  From there you could continue your lesson on Jonah and the whale.

Homemade Pretzels 
Last year I came across this website through Pinterest that explained how the pretzel was created as a Lenten food and how the shape actually mimicked a common prayer position for early Christians.  I found it fascinating so I used it on my lesson about about Lent.  I mixed up the dough a head of time and had small portions of it divided into cupcake holders.  Then each child got some dough and made their own pretzel that baked while I taught the rest of the lesson and then they got to eat them.  It was such a fun way to teach about Lent.   We are going to do it again this year, but this year they will get to make two pretzels so that they will have one to share with someone else and explain how the pretzel relates to Lent.

Armor of God Snack 
The website, Life's a Bowl of Cherries, had a great idea for a snack that represented all the parts of the Armor of God.  It is easy to use and fun for the kids!  We gave them all the pieces and had them create their Armor of God as we told them step by step what each piece of food represented.   

There are lots of other snack ideas out there that really help to reinforce the lesson you are teaching.  I hope you find these three a good starting place!
  
Until next week!   

Using Ordinary Objects in Ministry

It might seem like a small thing, but this week I want to encourage you to use as many every day items as you can in your ministry.  Why?  Because those items that we see every day can make a huge impact when they are used in an object lesson or a sermon.  Allow me to elaborate on what I mean.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned doing a Sermon in a Sack during our Family Sunday services.  During this time of the service, one child brings in a mystery object and I have to come up with a brief sermon about whatever they brought.  I don't see the object until it's time for the sermon and the curiosity about what is in the sack is part of the fun.  I've done this in almost every church I've ministered in and this is what I find happens:

1) The adults look forward to finding out what is in the sack as much as the kids do.

2) The kids start getting picky about what they will put in the sack because THEY start getting reminded of Bible stories by what they see.  (Example, "We can't put that toy food in the sack because remember God provided food for the Israelites." "Tommy, don't put a boat in the sack, remember Jesus was in a boat when He calmed the storm.")  They want to stump me, so they figure if they think of a story associated with the object that I will easily come up with one too.

3) The adults will start trying to figure out what Biblical truth can be taught from the object too...and often it is different than what I used.  I know because they come up to me after the service and tell me what they were reminded of by the object. 

Do you see what I'm getting at?  The kids and the adults start seeing what God can teach us through those every day objects even before I ever open my mouth.  The same can be said when an ordinary object is used in a planned object lesson or as part of a sermon.  Every time the kids see that object, there is the potential that they will be reminded of the Biblical truth that it was used to teach.  And, perhaps even more important, they will start looking for what God can teach them through the ordinary items that surround them in their lives.

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't use unusual objects in our ministry.  I just wanted to remind you of the amazing tools of ministry those ordinary objects can be.

Until next week...