Keep Spinning
Children's sermon
That Seeing, They May Believe
52 Children's Object Lessons
Object:
A piece of cardboard and a piece of string, about four feet long
Purpose: To show our need for regular worship and study; and to
see our need to put into practice what we have learned from God.
Special Preparation: Draw a five or six inch circle on the piece
of cardboard and cut out the disk. Punch two small holes in the
disk, about one-eighth of an inch on either side of the center of
the circle. Loop the string through these two holes and tie the
ends together. Hold the knot in one hand and the looped end in
the other. Twirl the disk around several times and then
repeatedly pull the string and release slightly in order to keep
the disk twirling. Practice so that you can get the right rhythm
to keep the cardboard disk spinning.
Lesson: Maybe you have played with a toy like this at some time.
It is a simple toy that you can make. What you try to do with
this toy is to keep the disk rotating, once it has been started,
by twisting and pulling the string at the right time. As long as
you keep pulling and releasing, the disk will continue to spin;
if you maintain the right rhythm.
Here we see a simple principle that we need to apply to the
Christian life. To keep the cardboard disk spinning, two
things must be done. You must pull at the right time and then you
must slightly release that pull, at the right time.
This pattern can also have meaning for our Christian life. We
also need two things. First of all, we need to remember that our
religion is God-given, not man-made. God speaks to us, God
motivates us, God guides us. This he does through the study of
his word, and through our worship of him. These are the things
that help us live an active Christian life. These are things that
energize our life like the pull on the string that rotates our
disk.
Now, remember, to keep the disk spinning, one pull was not
enough. Likewise, to worship now and then, to study only once in
a while, is not enough to keep the Christian life working as it
should. The rhythm that is needed in life is to gather regularly
for worship and study, and then to take what we have learned and
live by it.
Living by what we believe is the second thing that is needed
to keep the Christian life going strong. We take what we have
received from God and we return it to the world in which we live.
We love others, because God first loved us. We forgive others
because we know that God has forgiven us. We help others with the
difficult things they must do because God has helped us in life.
We take the power that has been given to us in worship and study,
and we release it into our world. But, then after we have done
that, we must return to worship and study to be strengthened and
nurtured again. This give and take is what will keep your
Christian life moving, as with the spinning disk.
Possible Times To Use This Illustration In The Home:
* On that day when your child doesn't know what to do. Let him or
her make this toy and while it is being used in play, you might
raise the subject of how we receive from others and then we must
give of ourselves to others. This give and take is part of the
rhythm of true life.
* When a child thinks only in terms of receiving things and needs
to think about giving also.
see our need to put into practice what we have learned from God.
Special Preparation: Draw a five or six inch circle on the piece
of cardboard and cut out the disk. Punch two small holes in the
disk, about one-eighth of an inch on either side of the center of
the circle. Loop the string through these two holes and tie the
ends together. Hold the knot in one hand and the looped end in
the other. Twirl the disk around several times and then
repeatedly pull the string and release slightly in order to keep
the disk twirling. Practice so that you can get the right rhythm
to keep the cardboard disk spinning.
Lesson: Maybe you have played with a toy like this at some time.
It is a simple toy that you can make. What you try to do with
this toy is to keep the disk rotating, once it has been started,
by twisting and pulling the string at the right time. As long as
you keep pulling and releasing, the disk will continue to spin;
if you maintain the right rhythm.
Here we see a simple principle that we need to apply to the
Christian life. To keep the cardboard disk spinning, two
things must be done. You must pull at the right time and then you
must slightly release that pull, at the right time.
This pattern can also have meaning for our Christian life. We
also need two things. First of all, we need to remember that our
religion is God-given, not man-made. God speaks to us, God
motivates us, God guides us. This he does through the study of
his word, and through our worship of him. These are the things
that help us live an active Christian life. These are things that
energize our life like the pull on the string that rotates our
disk.
Now, remember, to keep the disk spinning, one pull was not
enough. Likewise, to worship now and then, to study only once in
a while, is not enough to keep the Christian life working as it
should. The rhythm that is needed in life is to gather regularly
for worship and study, and then to take what we have learned and
live by it.
Living by what we believe is the second thing that is needed
to keep the Christian life going strong. We take what we have
received from God and we return it to the world in which we live.
We love others, because God first loved us. We forgive others
because we know that God has forgiven us. We help others with the
difficult things they must do because God has helped us in life.
We take the power that has been given to us in worship and study,
and we release it into our world. But, then after we have done
that, we must return to worship and study to be strengthened and
nurtured again. This give and take is what will keep your
Christian life moving, as with the spinning disk.
Possible Times To Use This Illustration In The Home:
* On that day when your child doesn't know what to do. Let him or
her make this toy and while it is being used in play, you might
raise the subject of how we receive from others and then we must
give of ourselves to others. This give and take is part of the
rhythm of true life.
* When a child thinks only in terms of receiving things and needs
to think about giving also.
