What does the verse in Genesis 1 mean, “On the seventh day, God rested?” We lose sight of “rest” in our busy lives. This summer object lesson using a bunch of stuff tossed in a pillow case will give kids a chance to reflect on God’s goodness in ways they may not have thought of! For older kids, this can bring out their imaginations and some really clever answers; younger kids will come by this type of thinking naturally and enjoy it.
Beginning of Summer Object Lesson: Fun Doing Nothing but Enjoying
Household object:
Pillowcase filled with “stuff;” (at least four things such as those we have listed below).
Materials:
The materials you put in the pillowcase will be for thinking of ways to be thankful and enjoy studying things man created with God’s blessings. It can be done with anything, but our suggestions, and our lesson follows with a:
– used candle
– lemon
– box of crayons
– stuffed toy
You’ll be asking kids to study these simple things that they often overlook in their houses and enjoying the intricacies of how they are made and used. Read through the lesson and you’ll get the idea. Then if you have something else from your house that you’d rather introduce, you can feel free to do so.
Preparation:
Put the four items into the pillowcase so that no one can see them.
Lesson:
School is out! Our work is done! We’re just going to have a lazy, restful day in Sunday school”¦let’s just hang out together on the floor.
Lie down on the activity rug if you have one. If not just sit Indian style on the floor – away from chairs and desks. Yawn and feel good with the kids.
Genesis 2:2 says that when God finished creating the world and all that was in it, He rested. Rest is very important. That’s one of the reasons kids in America are blessed with a summer vacation.
What are some of the things we like to do on vacation? Let them answer: go swimming, picnicking, visiting, vacationing, etc.
What do you think God did when He rested? Some of these answers may be very funny; may kids will be stumped. Genesis 2:3 says, “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” The scripture verse tells us what He didn’t do”¦He didn’t work or create anything. What does He do up there in heaven on the 7th day? Let them guess some things.
We don’t really know if He threw a party with some of His creatures or just kicked back. But here’s one thing He probably did that we don’t spend enough time doing ourselves. He probably looked all around His great creation and felt joyful about the things in it.
Bring out your pillowcase and hold it up. All day long, we’re busy working or playing. There’s a saying: “Stop and smell the roses.” What this means is stop being so busy and really and truly look at things in our creation and find original ways to appreciate them.
Pull the used candle out of the pillowcase. Put it up to your nose and smell it. This candle was lit [on my daughter’s birthday] to make our whole house smell pretty. I have such precious memories of the days this candle was lit. I am so grateful for those memories.
Pass it around. Let everyone touch it, smell it and hold it. Ask questions that will lead to thoughts of gratitude.
How do you think this candle was made? Let them think of ways.
How could anyone make a candle this smooth (or shapely, or hard) Let’s be thankful that God gave people talents like molding wax into useful shapes like this candle.
What if there was no wick in this candle? Couldn’t burn.
Let’s be thankful God put it in somebody’s head to put a wick in wax. If He hadn’t done that, how would we know what a small, peaceful flame looks like?
Let them think of other ways to be thankful for and appreciate the candle.
Here are questions you can ask that will involve appreciation for the remaining items:
Lemon:
What makes a lemon smell so good? God just did it that way. What sorts of things, like cleaning supplies, have been made to smell lemony because lemons smell so clean? Floor soap, wood polish, bar soap, etc. Think of how our lives would be different if cleaning supplies smelled like hot dogs or car oil. Let’s be thankful for God’s lemony smell.
Look how rough and bumpy the lemon’s skin is. Why did God do that? The skin is spongy to keep the moisture in lemon juice.
If we bit into this lemon, what would we taste? Bitterness.
But think of all the nutrition and vitamin C.
What happens when we add sugar? What can we make? Lemonade, lemon icing, lemon cookies, lemon cake. Let’s just enjoy the fact that God thought of lemons, knowing how great it would smell and taste, with all the stuff we could do with it.
Box of crayons:
Look at all these colors! Why did God make so many colors? To make the world interesting”¦to make it pretty. What if God had only decided to use two colors, say yellow and green? What would be different about our world? It would be drab and not as interesting. What color would the sky be?
Feel how smooth one crayon is. Who do you think makes the paper that goes around a crayon? What would be different without that paper? It’s fun, tearing the paper away as we use a crayon up, isn’t it?
Don’t crayons smell great? They smell like they might taste good, but they don’t, do they? God sure made a lot of great smells on planet Earth, didn’t He?
Isn’t it fun to use a brand new crayon that nobody’s ever used before? Isn’t God awesome to put that crayon shape in somebody’s head?
Stuffed toy:
This stuff toy has obviously been used. He’s been hugged and held a lot. What does that say about him? Somebody loved him.
What’s good about a stuffed toy when you’re lonely and there’s nobody to play with? You can make a friend out of the stuffed toy. Sometimes a stuffed toy can make a better playmate than a real friend. Why is that? They won’t argue with you. We can sure thank God for the gifts of our imaginations, can’t we? With God’s help, we can think of this stuffed toy as a real guy.
Hold him to your cheek. At one time, he was very soft (maybe still is) and kids just wanted to put their head under him. Have you ever used a stuff toy as a pillow?
Somebody took a lot of time to sew this stuffed toy. Maybe that person was from another country where there isn’t a lot of money. How would that person have felt about making this stuffed toy? Very grateful for the income.
How did the stuffed toy get to America, then? Did he fly on an airplane with a lot of other stuffed toys? God sure was good to give us all the ways that we travel, wasn’t he?
Conclusion
This summer, let’s remember to stop and “smell Jesus’ roses” with Him. That means stop and be grateful for so many things He has given us, which in turn can give us more and help us think of other ways to be grateful. Jesus cares about you. The evidence is all around you. This summer, while your minds aren’t busy, rest in God’s creation”¦be grateful, be glad.
Don’t forget to check out our other great summer object lesson ideas, crafts and activities! And don’t forget to Become a Fan on Facebook, Follow Us on Twitter and Come Hangout with Us on Google+!
Be sure to check out our video presentation of the “Fizzy Faith” object lesson.
