Listening To The Whistle
Children's sermon
That Seeing, They May Believe
52 Children's Object Lessons
Object:
A whistle.
Purpose: To show the need to put into practice what we learn.
Lesson: There are many different kinds of whistles, but they all
work in the same way. You take a deep breath and blow the air
into the stem of the whistle, like this. (Blow the whistle, but
keep your finger over the top opening.) What happened? No sound
came forth from the whistle. Oh, I see. I had my finger over the
opening here and, therefore, the air could not go through, no
matter how hard I blew.
This shows us an important basic rule for the Christian life.
God has given us many wonderful things. For example, we can study
about Jesus and the things he taught. These truths pass into our
life and make it better. But, like the air passing through the
whistle, we must allow these teachings to pass through our life
and be seen and heard by others if what we have received is to
bring about the purpose for which God placed them within us.
Let me show you what I mean. What good does it do to know that
God wants us to love our enemies if we never do it? What good
does it do to know that we are not to steal or lie or cheat if we
continue to do these things?
The Spirit of God must enter into us and be seen and heard in
the way we live. Listen again to the whistle ... and remember
that if the outside force does not pass through, the whistle
would be a useless instrument.
Possible Times To Use This Illustration In The Home:
* When a child fails to do what is expected.
* When a small child has just received a new toy whistle.
* After attending a game where a whistle was used by the referee.
Lesson: There are many different kinds of whistles, but they all
work in the same way. You take a deep breath and blow the air
into the stem of the whistle, like this. (Blow the whistle, but
keep your finger over the top opening.) What happened? No sound
came forth from the whistle. Oh, I see. I had my finger over the
opening here and, therefore, the air could not go through, no
matter how hard I blew.
This shows us an important basic rule for the Christian life.
God has given us many wonderful things. For example, we can study
about Jesus and the things he taught. These truths pass into our
life and make it better. But, like the air passing through the
whistle, we must allow these teachings to pass through our life
and be seen and heard by others if what we have received is to
bring about the purpose for which God placed them within us.
Let me show you what I mean. What good does it do to know that
God wants us to love our enemies if we never do it? What good
does it do to know that we are not to steal or lie or cheat if we
continue to do these things?
The Spirit of God must enter into us and be seen and heard in
the way we live. Listen again to the whistle ... and remember
that if the outside force does not pass through, the whistle
would be a useless instrument.
Possible Times To Use This Illustration In The Home:
* When a child fails to do what is expected.
* When a small child has just received a new toy whistle.
* After attending a game where a whistle was used by the referee.
