Looking for a sweet, yet effective Valentine’s themed object lesson? I’ve got one! This is a new take on an old lollipop lesson. The verse I use when teaching it is Ezekiel 36:26, And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I recommend having two for demonstration and one for each child to take home. You could also make paper tags to attach to the sticks. Just print this verse from Ezekiel on them and hole punch the end.
Valentine Object Lesson
Supplies you will need are two lollipops, a wooden cutting board and a kitchen mallet. For some dramatic flair, wear goggles and a lab coat for your Valentine’s object lesson demonstration. Put everything on a table in the teaching area. Unwrap one of the suckers and hold it up.
“Who can tell me what this is?” Let kids answer. “That’s right! It’s a lollipop but not just any lollipop–it’s a Tootsie Roll Pop. That means the outside is hard,” tap it on the cutting board so kids can hear it,” but the inside is soft and chewy. I love this kind of lollipop! There’s only one problem–to get to the soft insides, the delicious Tootsie Roll, you have to remove this hard shell. This reminded me of a….you guessed it! A bible verse! Let’s read Ezekiel 36:26 together. Turn there now and when you get there say, ‘I want a soft heart!”
After you’ve read the verse talk about it. “God promises to give us a new heart–a soft heart because sometimes our hearts get hard. What makes our hearts hard? Do you know?” Let kids answer but provide these answer too: When people hurt our feelings, our hearts can harden. When we repeat the same sin over and over again–that can make our hearts hard. When we step away from God, that can make our hearts hard.
No matter how hard our hearts get, God can soften them. As a matter of fact, he promises he will. Let’s look inside this Tootsie Roll and take a peek at the soft part. You want to see it?” Put on your protective glasses and place the pop on the cutting board. Smack it with a mallet and show the kids the inside of the sucker.
“See? That’s the soft part but I promise God won’t whack you. He has a special way of softening a heart. Do you want your heart to be softer?” Lead kids in a prayer.
Read more from Mimi by following her blog at Tools for Kids Church.
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