Children's Sunday School Object Talks and Object Lessons

Hardened Heart

by Craig

Being able to spin an egg that has been hard-boiled will show the kids how a hardened heart
makes it difficult to resist the devil.

Materials:
1 hard-boiled egg
1 uncooked egg
Table or hard flat surface

Duration:
Approximately 2 minutes

Topics:
Acceptance, Fearing God,
Obedience

Target Age:
Grades 1 2 3 4 5 6

Preparation:
Before class, hard-boil one egg and let cool. Mark one egg with an "A" and the other with a "B", or whatever marks you choose, so you can tell them apart.

What you will do during class:
You will show the class that the hard-boiled egg is easy to spin around like a top, but the uncooked egg will not spin as often as you try. You will compare the hard-boiled egg to someone with a hardened heart. Just as we can spin the hard-boiled egg, the devil can make someone with a hardened heart do things they know is wrong.

What you will say:
I have here two eggs. Except for the fact that one is marked "A" and this other one is marked "B", they look the same. However, they are very different; let me show you. I need one volunteer. (Give the volunteer the hard-boiled egg.) What I would like you to do is spin this egg around like a top. Can you do that? That was easy, was it not? Now I need another volunteer to spin this other egg. (Give the second volunteer the uncooked egg.) What is wrong, are you having trouble spinning this egg? Some children may know already, in any case let the children experiment with the two eggs for a moment, and then ask to have them back. Explain that the difference between the two eggs is that one is hard inside, while the other is still liquid. We can spin the egg with the hard inside around.

The Bible says, "Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble" (Proverbs 28:14). This hard-boiled egg is like someone with a hardened heart and who does not fear the Lord. The devil can make this person do things they know are wrong. In a sense, the devil has some control over their life, and that is very scary is it not? Someone who is obedient to the Lord, and does not let his or her heart become hardened can resist the power of the devil. Like this egg with the soft center that we cannot spin around, a Christian who is obedient to the Word of God, and who fears the Lord cannot be controlled by the devil. We must make sure our hearts do not become hard, like a hard-boiled egg.