What you
will do:
Before class, find one artificial flower and one fresh cut flower, and place
each in the vase. Fill the vase with water. (Flowers do not need to be the
same type, but if they are similar, it will enhance the effect of the lesson.)
You will have the children identify the real flower from the fake flower
not be sight, but by using their other senses such as smell and touch. In
a similar way, we can identify a fake Christian from a genuine Christian.
Looks may be deceiving, but there are ways to tell. What
you will say:
Look everyone; I have two beautiful flowers here. Both flowers are beautiful,
can you tell any difference between the two flowers? (The kids will most
likely be able to see that one of the flowers is not real, some might
even say the fake flower is prettier. This is OK.) Both flowers do look
pretty. Both are sitting in water and in a vase, but one is not real.
I am sure you can tell which flower is fake. Fake Christians are a lot
like this fake flower. They may say they are Christians, go to church
on Sunday and look like Christians. However, their walk with the Lord
is fake or artificial. They do not have a real spiritual life. Let me
show you some other ways you can tell the difference between real and
fake.
Ask a volunteer to come forward, touch the fake flower, and describe how
it feels. Then have them touch the petals of the real flower and describe
how it feels. Yes, the fake flower is stiff, but the real flower feels smooth
and soft, pleasing to touch. Ask another volunteer to come up and smell
the fake flower and describe what he or she smells. Then have them smell
the real flower and describe how it smells. Yes, the fake flower has no
smell, or perhaps smells like plastic, but the real flower smells good,
it has a pleasing aroma. Real Christians are like this real flower, not
only do they look like Christians by being at church on Sunday, but the
rest of the week they are doing things that are pleasing God, and they are
a blessing to others. They are not dead, but have everlasting life. Now
which of these flowers would you rather be?
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