"Peanut Butter Cup" Bible Object Lessons

Lots of people love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! This candy is so popular that it shows up in new incarnations every holiday as the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg or the Christmas Tree. If you break out peanut butter cups in kids church, I can promise you, you will grab their attention. It’s a good idea to bring some mini cups for kids to snack on afterwards.
The Sweet Covering: For this object lesson, you’ll need an unwrapped Reese’s cup, preferably one of the “Big” cups. Use a plastic knife to cut the peanut butter cup in two. You should be able to see the peanut butter inside. Show the kids the candy and say, “You see this delicious and sweet treat? Who loves Reese’s?” (Allow kids to respond then calm the crowd down. They do get excited about chocolate.)
“Inside this candy is what? Yep! It’s peanut butter. If you take away the sweet outer covering, you just have peanut butter like the kind you probably have in the pantry. We are like this peanut butter. Without God, we are just plain peanut butter like all the other peanut butters.”
“However, when we invite Jesus into our heart, something changes! We aren’t just peanut butter anymore. God covers our lives with the Holy Spirit and we become something sweet! Who wants to be plain peanut butter? Who wants to be like a sweet, delicious peanut butter cup?”
Potter and the Clay: Before the class, you need to melt a peanut butter cup for a few seconds on a microwave-safe plate. Place the plate on a table in the classroom. Say, “Oh no guys! Look at my candy! It’s all gloopy and melted. Don’t you hate that?” Take out a fresh candy that is not melted or damaged. Unwrap it.
“The melted candy reminds me of a Bible story. Did you know that God is like a potter or a chocolate worker? He shapes our lives into something amazing like this candy once was. Then sad or unexpected events occur and we are left feeling all gloopy and melted. God’s Word promises us that God will reshape us and make us into something wonderful. We just have to be patient. Who wants some candy?”
Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog at Tools for Kids Church.