Bible Object Lesson: Restful Summer Days Help Us Celebrate God’s Creation
In our fast paced culture, we are often put to thinking of the value of the dollar,and a life of pursuit and acquisition. But we need to teach balance in our Christian faith. This Bible object lesson will teach children that God also enjoys rest and celebration, and he created our beautiful world so that we can stop and smell the roses!
Household object: Long-stemmed rose, bright color
Other Materials:
– Long stemmed roses in bright colors, 1 for each child
– Green construction paper, 1 sheet for each student
– Scissors
– Markers
– Paper towels, 1 for each student
– Water bottle, full
– Waxed paper
– Stapler
– Pretty ribbon, 1 foot for each student
Preparation
– Tear off a square of waxed paper.
– Using green construction paper and scissors, cut out 4 long, graceful leaves.
Write on each the following, then put them aside at first:
o Leaf one: Get close to God’s “fragrance” all week
o Leaf two: Treat each other like “soft petals” all week
o Leaf three: Stay attached to “Jesus, our stem” all week
o Leaf four: Let Jesus be our “protective thorns” all week
Introduction
After the last day of school, you can all relax a little bit. What are some of the things we like to do when we relax? You will probably hear a lot of watching TV or playing video games or swimming in pools.
While TV and video games are certainly fun, they tend to make us forget about one of the best ways to relax. When God created the heavens and the earth, he did better than any painter anywhere with any paint brush.
He thought about which way the stripe on a fish should go. He thought about how funny it would be to paint a zebra. He thought of the elephant’s trunk and the sun, whether it should be yellow or purple. He thought about how to make lightning flash across the sky and thunder strike, so that we might think about “the angels bowling up in heaven.” That wasn’t an accident, you know!
He thought about how pretty it would be for the sky to have a blue tint and tree leaves to be luscious green. He thought about pine cones and soft grass and”¦
Pull out your rose.
Let’s see if we can begin to tell how much thought God put into a rose, just so we could enjoy it.
Take a strong whiff and allow the children to all smell it without touching.
Why do you think God made roses so fragrant? Take answers (some should be priceless). How long do you think it too him to dream up that great a smell? What are some things people have made that smell like roses? Perfume, candles, air fresheners”¦ Do you think people generally stop to give God a compliment about his talent? Why not?
God even tells us about himself in the fragrance of a rose. The fragrance is kind of like our commitment to him. We can’t see God’s sweet kindness and mercy. We have to get right up close to him, like we have to get to this rose“¦ Smell it again”¦ to enjoy his special goodness. How many of you promise to try to stay close to God this week?
Have your assistant hold up Leaf One, show it around, then staple it to the top of a square of wax paper.
Next, let the children brush one finger over the dainty petals.
What does a rose petal feel like? Very soft, very velvety.
This bloom reminds us of how God made us. We’re all very delicate and easily bruised by the hurts of this world. When God designed man, he didn’t mean for man to be hurt and tossed about by the hardship of life. But mankind has made some hurtful choices. Let’s think of each other like roses and treat each other as kindly as we just treated the soft petals. Who promises to try to do that?
Have your assistant hold up Leaf Two, show it around, then staple it to the top of the square of wax paper.
Point to the stem.
Jesus said something about plants and their stems. Does anyone remember? In John 15:5, he said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” The stem of the rose leads up to the bloom and keeps it straight. Let’s try to let Jesus’s love pour into us this week, as if we’re pretty blooms and he is the stem, and keep us on the straight and narrow. Who will pray to do this?
Have your assistant hold up Leaf Three, show it around, then staple it to the top of the square of wax paper.
Touch a thorn.
Ouch! What’s this all about? Why do roses have thorns? To protect it. What would happen to a wild rose bush if an animal attacked and tried to eat it? It would get stuck by many thorns.
The thorns have a good purpose too! They protect the pretty blooms. That’s like God’s watchful eye over us. If anything too awful tries to destroy our relationship with him, he will protect us, maybe giving the attacker a good pinch.
Have your assistant hold up Leaf Four, show it around, then staple it to the top of the square of wax paper.
God gives us so many wonders in his beautiful creation. Let’s take time, during our season of rest, to notice so many beautiful things he’s created. Let’s name some others besides flowers. Take answers: Lakes, birds, grass, clouds, breezes, waterfalls, rocks, worms, etc.
And let’s remember to care for each other”¦Take a wet paper towel and place it around the bottom of the rose
And let’s also remember to be very kind to all of God’s creation. Cover the wet paper towel with wax paper. Have your assistant tie a ribbon around it so that the four leaves pour over the top.
Have all students copy your rose, making a take-home craft with roses and leaves to give to mom or dad. (Assistant or you should help with the stapling.)
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