Object Lesson About Bitterness for Sunday School (Ephesians 4:31)

Bitterness isn’t just for grown-ups. These dangerous seeds can spring up in childhood too and once they grow, it can affect their entire lives. Teach kids about bitterness–what it means, how it affects them and how they can defeat it. Remember, it’s not a teach once and its’ done kind of issue. Revisit and confront bitterness regularly and you’ll help build mighty warriors for God!
What You’ll Need:

Alka-seltzer
Water
Glass
Lemon juice
Bitters
Plastic spoons

Prepare to Teach
Place all the items in the teaching area. Keep them out of the hands of children until you are ready to present the object lesson.
Let’s Teach!
Okay! I want everyone to close their eyes! Are your eyes closed? I am going to say some phrases and when I do, I want you to think about the faces you see. Maybe you won’t think of anyone when I say these phrases, maybe you will. Don’t yell out names–just think. Okay?
“Embarrassed me on the school bus….” Who did you think of? Don’t say it, just think it.
“Took something that belonged to me…”
“Makes me feel bad about myself…”
I bet you all thought of someone! If you did, you might have roots of bitterness in your heart. When people hurt us, seeds are planted. If we let these bad seeds grow, it becomes a root of bitterness. A root is tough to remove, much tougher than a seed. It is better to remove a seed than to remove a root. Let’s see what the bible has to say. Let’s look at Ephesians 4:31.
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

Now let’s look at Hebrews 12:15, “looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness spring up to trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”
Wow, that’s not good. But why can’t we let the bitterness stay? Well, here are some things I want to show you, all of them taste bitter. See, I have lemon juice. Who wants to taste it? (Allow one or two kids to taste the lemon juice.)
Then I have bitters. You can’t taste those but you can smell them. Take a whiff. Phew! That’s bitter. Bitterness in us doesn’t just make us sick–it affects others too.
We need to remove any roots of bitterness in us. We have to forgive. Let’s pray and forgive!
Read more from Mimi by following her blog at Tools for Kids Church.

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