What a wonderful time of year! I sometimes wonder if we forget how valuable Jesus’ sacrifice was–for all of us. There is something wonderful about the atonement. It’s a central part of the resurrection story. I intend to share these verses before and after I teach this object lesson: 1 John 2:2, John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24, John 1:29.
What You’ll Need
- 4 to 6 white carnations
- 2 glass vases
- Water
- Red food coloring
- Knife or scissors
Before You Teach
At the beginning of class arrange two glass vases in the teaching area. They should be half full of water. Add twenty to thirty drops of red food coloring to one of the vases. Cut the tips of the carnations and put an equal number in the vases. Set the vases in the teaching area.
Let’s Teach
See these beautiful flowers? You might notice that there is a bit of a difference between these two sets of flowers. See the red color in the water? In just a few minutes you’re going to see exactly how different they are. Before we come to that, let’s talk about the atonement. Does anyone know what the atonement is? (Let kids answer if they know.)
Great answers! I think I can help you understand it better. Remember John 3:16? For God so loved the world…? That’s what I am talking about. You see, men, women, boys and girls were separated from God by an invisible force called sin. Nothing can erase sin or make it go away. Only one thing can remove our sin and bring us back to God, the blood of a perfect man. And there was only one perfect man–he was the Son of God–Jesus Christ!
Although that special blood was shed a very long time ago, it’s power is still strong and it still removes sin. See the flower? If you look very carefully you can see the red water change the petal color. That reminds me of the blood of Jesus. It changes us too! All we have to do is ask Jesus to forgive us and cover our sins. Isn’t that wonderful?
Read more from Mimi by following her blog at Tools for Kids Church.