The Writing You Couldn't See
Object Lesson ·
Early elementary ·
5 min
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YOUR Ministry Name Here!
POWERED BY KIDOLOGY
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OBJECT LESSON · Ages 6–8 · 11-14 MIN · Jeremiah 31:31-34
The Writing You Couldn't See
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BIG IDEA
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God writes his word on the inside of us, and it shows up in what we actually do.
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SUPPLIES · 4 ITEMS
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1 pencil per child, plus one for the leader |
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1 pre-pressed paper sheet per child |
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A clipboard or hardback book |
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A Bible |
| HOW TO SHOW IT |
YOUR NOTES |
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SET UP
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Press the word in
| DO |
Before the children arrive, prepare one sheet per child. Lay a blank sheet on top of the clipboard or hardback book. Lay a second blank sheet on top of that. Using a pencil, press hard and write the word LOVE in big letters on the top sheet — press hard enough that you can feel it digging in. |
| DO |
Throw away the top sheet you wrote on. The sheet underneath now has the word pressed into it as grooves you can barely see. That's the sheet each child will get. Stack them somewhere flat and out of the wind until the session starts. |
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1
1-2 min |
There's something on this paper
| DO |
Hold up one blank-looking sheet where everyone can see it — the plain side, not the side you wrote on top of. |
| SAY |
There's already a word on this paper. I'm not going to tell you what it says. What do you think it is? |
| DO |
Let them guess wildly for a few seconds. Hold it up to the sun so they can try to see through it. Don't correct anyone — just let it stay a mystery. |
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2
2-3 min |
Shade it with the side of the pencil
| DO |
Give each child their own sheet and a pencil. Show them how to lay the sheet on a hard flat surface — the ground, a book, a knee works too — and turn the pencil sideways so the flat of the lead touches the paper, not the point. |
| SAY |
Rub the side of your pencil back and forth, gently, right across your whole page. Watch what shows up. |
| DO |
Outdoors, watch for wind lifting the corners — have them press a hand flat on the sheet while they rub. Let the quiet sit once the letters start appearing. |
| SAY |
Was that word sitting on top of your paper this whole time? |
| DO |
They'll say no. Some will say it was hiding, some will say it was pressed in. |
| SAY |
It wasn't on top. It was pressed into the paper before you ever got it. Nobody could see it — not even holding it up to the sun. It only showed up once something rubbed against it. |
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3
2-3 min |
What God promised, and where it gets rubbed
| SAY |
There's a place in the Bible where God says something surprising about how he works with his people. His name was Jeremiah, and God told him this: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Jeremiah 31:33 (WEB) |
| SAY |
God didn't hand people a list of rules to carry around. He said he would write it on the inside of them himself. That's a gift he gives — the verse doesn't say we have to earn it or finish it ourselves. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what that feels like day to day. But we know this much: what's written inside shows up when life rubs against us. |
| SAY |
Think about tomorrow. Where's one place things might rub against you — the bus, the lunch line, your little brother waking you up too early? Pick that moment, and pick one thing you'll do right there that shows what God has written inside you. Take your paper home and put it somewhere you'll see it, to remind you. |
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THE PASSAGE · Jeremiah 31:31-34
God tells the prophet Jeremiah that he is going to make a new kind of promise with his people. Instead of writing his law on stone tablets they have to carry around and remember, God says he will write it on the inside of them — on their hearts. He will be their God, and they will be his people, and he says he himself will do the writing.
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TALK ABOUT IT · PICK ONE OR TWO
YOUNGER
Before you rubbed your pencil across the paper, where do you think that word actually was?
Can you think of a time today when someone bugged you or things didn't go your way?
OLDER
Why do you think the word only showed up when something rubbed against the paper, and not before?
If God has written something good on the inside of you, what would make that show up on the outside?
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BEFORE YOU TEACH IT
Please review and adapt all generated content before use.
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YOUR Ministry Name Here! · OBJECT LESSON · The Writing You Couldn't See
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