INSIDE: An object lesson on faith and trusting God for Christian kids, plus a book that will help your kids understand WHY they can have faith in a loving God.
It can be hard for kids to build trust in our amazing (but invisible) God. Let’s be honest – it’s often hard for adults to trust God too!
Here is a great object lesson you can use to help your kids understand what trusting God is like, and a book to show you WHY God is worthy of our faith and trust.
A while back I did a science experiment with my kids that turned out to be the perfect object lesson on trusting God. All you need are these totally normal supplies that you probably have laying around! (And make sure to check out the book recommendation after to help your child really understand this concept.)
SUPPLIES:
- a plastic zip top sandwich bag filled with water
- several sharp pencils
- someone who’s willing to trust you!
WHAT TO DO FOR THIS OBJECT LESSON ON FAITH:
Hold the water-filled bag over a child’s head, and ask if they have faith that they won’t get wet. Then, stab the SHARP pencil all the way through the bag! You’ll want to practice this before doing it with kids, because some people find it best to stab slowly, but I find it works best to poke it through quickly. Do whatever works best for you. Then, stab as many pencils through as you can!
TIP: Too many pencils will add mass to the bag and the pressure might be too much for the zip-top. ? Beware of the exploding bag!
SCIENCE NOTE:
The plastic bag is a type of polymer. A polymer is a large molecule made up of many repeating units. When you poke the pencil through, the polymer simply rearranges itself to close the gap between the pencil and the bag, keeping the water inside. (Watch this great video on polymers here!)
WHAT TO SAY:
Do you have faith in me? Do you trust that I won’t spill this entire bag of water on your head?
What about if I poke a hole in this bag with a pencil? Do you still believe me?
Well, I’m going to do it. I’m going to poke this pencil through the bag, and you are NOT going to get wet. Do you still believe me?
Did you get wet? It seems impossible, doesn’t it? Trusting me in this moment makes no sense. And yet, here we are with a bag full of water and two holes without any leakage.
Would you trust that I won’t get you wet even if I poked another pencil through this bag?
How about another?
And another?
Sometimes in life, we can feel like we’re getting poked with holes. Friends move away, family members get sick, or our pet dies. It hurts, but trusting God is a bit like trusting that you wouldn’t get wet when I held that bag of water over you. We CAN trust God, even when it seems like everything is going horribly wrong. He loves and cares for us.
An Object Lesson On Faith…In Book Form
A book can be a great, easy way to help a child understand spiritual truths. This partly because it’s so easy to simply pick up a book that’s lying on your coffee table, but also because it means you don’t have to know everything in order to have these conversations with your kids. The book provides a natural jumping-off point.
Science teaches us about polymers, but science also teaches us that stories stay in our brains FAR longer than a theological talk or a memorized Bible verse. Our brains are literally WIRED for story, which is why we find so many stories in the Bible!
So here’s a story about faith for you:
In Quinn Says Goodbye, little Quinn befriends an injured firefly and nurses him back to health. Blink becomes her pet. But one day, Blink is gone and Quinn is naturally quite upset. She flies through the forest looking for her friend. When she gives up, she discovers that her mama was right behind her the whole time. Her mama shares that it’s ok to be upset when things are hard.
“God doesn’t always stop bad things from happening. But he does promise that he will always be with you, and he will never stop being your friend.”
From Quinn’s Promise Rock, by Christie Thomas
You can grab this book from any online book retailer like Amazon, IndieBound or your local bookstore, or ask your library to order it in.
You can also download the free teacher’s guide for Quinn’s Promise Rock, which includes instructions for the object lesson on faith and a craft! Nab that here or enter your details below!
Love it. I am going to do this on Sunday. Thanks.
Sorry I missed this comment! How did it go with the kids?
great !!! i am definitely doing this in class!!!!
Wonderful! How did it go?
Wonderful, going to do it with my kids.
Thank you! I love this and I am going to use it in my Connect group class.
Wonderful! How did it go?
Using this tonight with my Fully Rely On God lesson! I’ll try to remember to let you know what happens!
Oh yes, please do!!
I publish a newsletter for our small church. In it i have a column called the children’s corner that I am always looking for ways to help parents or grandparents teach their children about God. This month’s them is trusting God when your afraid. Your lesson is perfect. Thank You so much.
Loved that!!