Materials:
One small vase
One artificial flower
One fresh cut flower

Duration:
Approximately 8 minutes

Preparation:
None

What you will do during class:
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?