THE BASIC REVELATION IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

(For Younger Children)

Lesson Eight: God Created Something Special (Part 2)

Objectives:

Materials:

1. Lessons Two, Three, and Seven in this unit.
2. A drinking glass
3. A saucer, the same one used in lesson seven
4. "Concept Picture" of boy/girl suitably aged for audience.
5. A Bible

Review:

1. Recall main objectives of Lessons Two and Three
2. Ask how God can do this. (He made people with a special part in them that He would put Himself into.)
3. Show the drinking glass.
4. Ask what it is. What was it made to do? (To hold water/liquid)
5. Show the saucer.
6. Ask if it can hold water as well as the glass can? Was it made for holding water/liquid fro people to drink? (no.) What was made to do that? (The Glass.) What were people made to hold? God! Yes, we were made to hold God Himself, like the glass was made to hold water.
7. Sing the songs from lesson seven.

Implementation:

1. Show the picture of the child who appears close to their median age. Give the child a name and tell about him/her not believing it was possible for God Himself to get into him/her, not believing he/she had a special part inside that God could get into.
2. Show a drinking glass.
3. Ask what it's for. How about if Suzie here went into the kitchen and brought me a drink of water in her hands, not in a glass? (If circumstances permit, do this very thing-- very effective.) Would I get very much water? Would she make a mess? A glass is much better, isn' t it? Then there is some place for the water to be, something to hold the water for me.
4. Apply the drinking glass analogy: Just as the glass holds the water for us, God created man/people to hold Himself, so He could make them His sons. He made/created people all different from the rest of what He created. What if I sent Suzie to get me a drink of water in this saucer? Again, to actually do so is best if circumstances permit. What would happen? Could it do as good a job of delivering me a good drink of water as the glass can? It's the glass that was made on purpose to hold the water and give us a drink, isn't it? Just the same way, God made man/people on purpose to hold Himself--not like the flat saucer that can't hold water very well, but specially for holding Him like the glass was made specially for holding the water. We're not saucers we're glasses!--made just right to hold God in us! [With older children, here can go into tripartite ness of man: perhaps use three concentric circles diagram perhaps use a small radio contrasted with a plastic or cardboard box of the same size (the difference between them is the receiver, the spirit). Tailor this discussion in depth and breadth to their capacity to receive and comprehend--comprehend concepts, not terminology. You will find it helpful in gauging how far to go, if you keep asking them to explain the idea back to you as you go, in their own words, not yours.]

Reinforcement Activities:

1. Sing chorus only of Supplement song "Man Has Been Made As God's Vessel" - Use "bottle" instead of "vessel" for use with young children
2. Sing selected verses of Hymns Junior song about being a cup, glove, etc.- more verses as chidren's ages increase.
3. Make drinking cups of folded heavy paper; decorate approprialely, perhaps with "I'm God's Cup."

Gospel Suggestion: