16 Exciting Object Lessons on God's Love, Power, and Strength
For your elementary kids
I love object lessons, and being able to use them to demonstrate the principles of "faith" sure is helpful! Here are 9 super fun, and not-too complicated faith object lessons I think you'll really love!
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1. Invisible Vase
This clever object lesson demonstrates that something can be there but invisible.
Key Thought: God is invisible, but Jesus is God in a body.
Materials Needed:
- Clear vase
- Vegetable oil
- Clear jar or glass pitcher
Directions:
- Place vase into jar.
- Show your audience the vase is still visible.
- Tell the audience you will make the vase invisible.
- Fill the jar/pitcher with oil until it covers the vase.
- Watch your audience’s jaws drop as the vase disappears!
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Is God visible or invisible? He’s invisible, isn’t He? God’s Word clearly shows that God is spirit. Although we can’t see God, He’s still real. We also know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three persons in one. There’s only one God, but there are three persons in God.
I know that this may be confusing to you, so let me explain.
I have a jar. When I put this vase into the jar, can you still see it? Yes, it’s still visible! Now, I’m going to make the vase disappear. In order to do that, I’m going to fill the jar with oil. Can you still see the vase now? No because I made it disappear!
God, like the vase, is invisible. But just as the vase is real, so God is real. Not only that, but He sent His Son, Christ. Christ is a visible representation of God. We read in Colossians 1:15: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” In other words, Christ is the exact image of God and has always existed. In fact, Christ was with God the Father when He created the world!
Other people might tell you that there’s no God. Your teachers. Your class. Maybe even your friends. But does that mean God isn’t real? No. The truth is that God is real, even if you can’t see Him. And He does exist. God sent Christ to earth so that we could have a relationship with Him. And at that moment, when you do trust in Christ, you are given the Holy Spirit. So just like oil was inside the vase, so God is living inside of you!
COLOSSIANS 1:15, 19
"No one can see God, but Jesus Christ is exactly like him. He ranks higher than everything that has been made.
God was pleased for all of himself to live in Christ. " (NCV)
2. Unique Crayon
This object lesson reminds kids that each of them is unique and wonderful.
Key Thought: God made you special and unique.
Materials Needed:
- small box of crayons
Directions:
- Pick a helper and give them the box of crayons
- Turn your back.
- Ask your helper to pick a crayon, show the audience, and put it in your hands behind your back.
- Turn around.
- With the crayon behind your back, scrape your right thumbnail with the crayon
- Transfer the crayon to your left hand.
- While talking, casually gesture with your right empty hand.
- Sneak a glimpse of the shade of the crayon.
- Say the color and reveal the correct crayon!
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God made you unique! There is only one you! Just like these crayons. They are all different; each color is one of a kind. But I bet that I can figure out your favorite color without you even telling me!
I need a helper. Jessica, why don’t you come up here. Pick a crayon, but don’t show me! We read in Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Jessica, God made you special. And He knows everything about you. He knows the number of hairs on your head. And He thinks about you more than the number of sands on the seashore.
And guess what, He even knows your favorite color! Which reminds me…your favorite color is pink, right? Just as you had one favorite color, God loves you and treasures you! You are so valuable to God. Even if you were the only person in the world, God would’ve sent His son to die. Just for you! That’s how much He loves you!
PSALMS 139:14
"I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way." (NCV)
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3. Triumphant Toothpick
This fun Sunday School class object lessons reminds us that Jesus didn't stay dead!
Key Thought: Jesus didn't stay dead, He's alive today!
Materials Needed:
- toothpick
- Scotch Tape
Directions:
- Tape one end of the toothpick to your thumbnail.
- Hold the toothpick so that the audience will think you’re holding it in your hands.
- Quickly swipe your other hand over the toothpick as if you’re taking it away.
- Show them your empty palms.
- Clasp your hands together and hold the toothpick in your hands as if the toothpick just magically appeared.
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See this toothpick? Now you see it; now you don’t! It's gone—vanished into thin air! It reminds me of Jesus.
After Jesus died on the cross, everyone who loved Him was devastated. No doubt, many of them thought they’d never see Him again. As Christ’s body laid in a tomb, a large stone was laid in front and soldiers stood guard. But on the third day, the earth shook. And an angel came down from heaven and rolled the stone away.
He rose from the dead. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Remember the toothpick that disappeared earlier? Well, it’s back! See!
1 CORINTHIANS 15:3b-4a
"...Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day...” (NCV)"
4. Impossible Potato
Remind your Sunday School class that NOTHING is impossible for our great God.
Key Thought: Nothing is impossible with God.
Materials Needed:
-
- straw
- large potato
Directions:
- Hold potato.
- Grab straw. And cover top of the straw with your thumb.
- Poke through the narrow part of the potato with the straw.
- Hear your audience yell “awesome” and “cool” as the straw goes through the potato!
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Use a large, raw potato. And poke the narrow end of the potato, not the middle.
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I have a potato and a straw. Do you think that I can poke this straw through the potato? No. Probably not. But I’m going to try anyways because I believe what God’s Word says in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Okay, watch closely as I try to stab a straw through a potato. Excellent! Did you see that? The straw went right through the potato!
Wow! I didn’t think that I could do it. After all, it seemed impossible. But with God, nothing is impossible! You may be facing an impossible situation like you’re doing bad at school or maybe your mom or dad is sick. Well, don’t get discouraged and lose hope! God can turn an impossible situation into the possible!
MATTHEW 19:26
"Jesus looked at them and said, “For people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”" (NCV)
Talk about impossible...the children of Israel were trapped between Pharaoh's approaching army and the Red Sea. Here's a wonderful Sunday School lesson to remind your kids of God's power over the "impossible": Moses and the Parting of the Red Sea Lesson
5. Gravity-defying Glass
A great visual reminder that once we are saved, we are always saved.
Key Thought: We cannot lose our salvation.
Materials Needed:
-
- drinking glass
- water
- index card
- large bowl
Directions:
- Fill glass with water.
- Place index card on top.
- Keep hand on the card and turn glass upside down.
- Hold the glass above the bowl.
- Remove your hand from the card.
- Observe your audience explode with delight as the glass defies gravity.
- Turn the glass upright.
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When you place your faith in Christ, your life changes. God cleans your heart, gives you eternal life, and fills you with His Holy Spirit. We read in Ephesians 1:13, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”
I have a cup here with water. This cup represents you. Let me put a card over the top. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit seals you. See what happens to this cup when I turn it over.
Did the water spill? No. Why not? Because it was sealed. Once we trust in Christ, we can’t lose our salvation. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, a promise that God will never leave us. And that we’ll always have eternal life.
EPHESIANS 1:13-14
"So it is with you. When you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he had promised. That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised for his people until God gives full freedom to those who are his—to bring praise to God’s glory.” (NCV)
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6. Impossible Strength
This object lesson demonstrates that God is far stronger than we think!
Key Thought: God is stronger than any human.
Materials Needed:
-
- Kleenex Box
- Paper
Directions:
- Take 2 pieces of paper and tape them into tubes (see picture 1 above)
- Fold a piece of paper several times like an accordion (see picture 2 above)
- 2 pieces of paper taped into tubes (see picture 1 above)
- Lay a regular piece of paper on top of the tubes
- Take an object like a Kleenex box and attempt to set it on the ‘table’ structure as pictured in picture 4. It will fall right through the paper.
- Replace the piece of paper on top of the ‘table’ structure with the accordion folded one (like picture 5 below). It will now hold the box!
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God was going to show his supernatural power through Gideon. Gideon looked at the men in his camp and thought, “THERE IS NO WAY we are ever going to defeat the Midianites!”
But God wanted to show that with His power Gideon could accomplish what seemed
Impossible!
Teach It! Here is my complete Gideon and the 300 Sunday School lesson complete with games, songs, a lesson script, and whole lot more!
JUDGES 6:14
"The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go with your strength and save Israel from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.”" (NCV)
7. Walk Through Paper
A great object lesson for reminding your class that God can do things that NO person could ever do.
Key Thought: Jesus has the power to do ANYTHING!
Materials Needed:
-
- paper
- scissors
Directions:
- Show a solid piece of paper
- Make alternating cuts in the paper (as shown in the video)
- Open up the paper along the cut lines
- Walk through it!
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Today we are going to talk about Jesus doing something…that seemed (even to His disciples) like the impossible.
So let’s have a little fun of our own with something seems (at least at first) like it is impossible.
What if I told you that I can walk through this piece of paper? (hold up a solid piece of paper)
Would any of you like to try first? (let one or two volunteers attempt to create a hole they can step through. They will either fail or have such a hard time doing it, that your audience will assume their is probably an easier way.)
Well, let me show you how it really is possible to step completely through this ordinary piece of paper.
(cut the paper per the directions in the video above, and then easily step through it)
What seemed impossible to us, is now pretty simple, right?
Jesus’ power is a lot greater than a simple trick like this. Jesus can literally do anything He wants…including feeding people lunch without ever having to go to McDonald’s for chicken nuggets!
PSALMS 62:11
"God has said this, and I have heard it over and over: God is strong." (NCV)
8. Egg Walk
Use eggs to demonstrate the God can be trusted even in "impossible" situations.
Key Thought: Trust in God no matter what!
Materials Needed:
-
- a couple cartons of eggs
- disinfecting wipes
- scissors
- trash bag
Directions:
- Inspect the eggs for any cracked shells
- Position all the eggs with the pointy end up
- Put the cartons in 2 rows
- Using your bare feet, walk on the eggs!
- Crack one of the eggs afterward to show they were raw
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We remember the three Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel – Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego – right? Well their faith was tested greatly while under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar. You see, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image and commanded that upon hearing the sound of an instrument being played, everyone should bow down and worship this image. And whoever does not worship the image at the sound of music being played, will be cast into a fiery furnace!
(Arrange the egg cartons in two rows. You may need to lay a trash bag under the cartons if you are indoors.)
Well, the three Hebrew boys were faithful to God and refused to serve any other god and bow down to the image. This got them in BIG trouble! When King Nebuchadnezzar found out, he asked them if it was true that they would not bow down.
Now what would you do in this situation? You’ve refused to bow down and now the King is giving you one more chance before he tosses you into the fiery furnace.
(Let the kids answer)
Guess what they told the King? Not only were they not going to bow down but they told him that God would come save them! And even if He didn’t, they still refused to bow down. Wow! That’s pretty bold, right? You have to have a lot of faith to make a statement like that.
(Choose a volunteer to take off their shoes and socks. Have another volunteer help the person onto the eggs.Ask the children what they think will happen to the eggs as they are stepped on? Have the volunteer begin to walk on the eggs keeping their feet evenly distributed. Watch as none of the eggs crack!)
So of course, King Nebuchadnezzar was not happy with their response, like, really unhappy and he gave the command to throw them into the fiery furnace – but with it heated up 7x hotter than normal! Fast forward, God did deliver the three Hebrew boys out of that fiery furnace completely and totally unharmed. King Nebuchadnezzar was so amazed he made a decree that they did not have to bow down and worship the image and no one should speak against their God. The King also promoted Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego!
In a difficult situation, we can feel the pressure mounting and we may feel like we’re going to “crack” under the pressure. But, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we trust God in ANY and EVERY situation that He has all the power and will do whatever is best.
DANIEL 3:17-18
"If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. He will save us from your power, O king. But even if God does not save us, we want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (NCV)
9. Floating Ping Pong Ball
This simple object lesson shows us God's invisible power!
Key Thought: We cannot do anything without God's power.
Materials Needed:
-
- Hair dryer
- Ping Pong Ball
Directions:
- Get a hair dryer and a ping pong ball. Describe how, as much as the ping pong ball wants to stay in the air, it can’t, no matter how hard it tries.
- Then put a blow-dryer that’s been turned on underneath it so the blow-dryer is blowing warm air up at the ping pong ball. Immediately the ping pong ball will stay airborne!
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The nice part about this trick is you don’t have to ‘balance’ the ping pong ball in the air. The ping pong ball will stay airborne even as you rotate the blow-dryer a bit. In the same way, we can not do anything apart from God or in our own strength. God has the strength to keep us lifted up.
PHILIPPIANS 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength." (NCV)
1o. Water Bender
This object lesson encourages kids to leave their impossible situations in God's capable hands.
Key Thought: Give all your problems to God.
Materials Needed:
- Balloon
- Running sink (or someone can slowly pour water out of a bottle)
- Washcloth
Directions:
- After the balloons have been inflated, prepare a running sink.
- Explain that we will see an invisible force move the water. Charge the balloon by rubbing it on a washcloth or shirt/head. Move it very close to the stream of water without touching it. The water will bend! Have each student or group try the demonstration themselves to feel the “powerful invisible force”.
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Just as we move the water with the static electricity of the balloon, God has the power and understanding to move us through or past any situation. God’s power is always bigger than our problems.
PSALMS 147:5
"Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has not limit."
11. Repelling Balloons
This object lesson demonstrates that sin separates us from God.
Key Thought: Sin separates us from God
Materials Needed:
- 2 balloons
- Long string
- Washrag
Directions:
- Hang an inflated balloon straight down from the ceiling at a comfortable reaching level. Charge the balloon by having a volunteer rub it repeatedly with a washcloth.
- Charge the second inflated balloon. Move the balloon toward the hanging one. The hanging balloon will repel the one in your hand, due to the static electricity.
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Explain that the hanging balloon will represent God. The balloon in my hand represents a human. God loves everyone in the world, but, we are all born with sin. God is holy and He must stay away from sin. Sin separates us from God in the same way static electricity causes the balloons to move in opposite directions. Sometimes, as Christians, we think that a little sin in our lives won’t matter, because, after all, we’ve got a “ticket to heaven.” However, sin has consequences. It separates us from God, which is why we all need a savior, Jesus!
ISAIAH 59:2
"It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you." (NCV)
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12. Balloon Blow Up
This fun Sunday School object lesson reminds kids that God's power and understanding is limitless.
Key Thought: We can trust God because nothing is impossible for Him.
Materials Needed:
- 1 cup of distilled white vinegar
- ⅓ cup of baking soda
- 1 bottle
- 1 funnel (optional)
- 2-5 balloons
Directions:
- Fill a glass or plastic bottle with 1 cup of vinegar
- Using a funnel, fill the balloon with with ⅓ cup of baking soda
- Carefully stretch the opening of the balloon around the mouth of the bottle, making sure that the balloon is draping over and no baking soda falls in.
- Lift the balloon so it is upright and all the baking soda falls in at once
- Hold the opening of the balloon onto the bottle (it can react quickly and blow it off)
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Have a couple of empty balloons and have some volunteers try to blow the balloon up WITHOUT blowing air inside. After failed attempts, ask them if they think it is IMPOSSIBLE to blow up a balloon without blowing air inside it.
Come to find out, it is NOT impossible.
Everything in this world is made by God’s power and is His perfect design. The weather, how trees make oxygen for us to breathe, from the bottom of the ocean to the birds in the sky, God is so powerful that He created it all. There is so much we will never understand, but trusting that God is the highest authority and has a perfect plan will give us peace in difficult times.
PSALMS2 147:5
"Our Lord is great and very powerful. There is no limit to what he knows."
13. God's Power is Forever!
God's power will never, ever run out - as this fun object lesson demonstrates.
Key Thought: God's power is forever!
Materials Needed:
- AA Battery
- Neodymium magnet (order online or check local hardware store)
- 16 gauge bare copper wire
Directions:
- Place the negative end of the battery on top of the magnet.
- Bend the wire in a shape so that one end rests atop the positive end of the battery, and the other touches the magnet at the bottom.
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This is called a homopolar motor - we can just call it...a cool "spinny thingy!" The wire is spinning because it is getting "power" from the battery. This is like our lives...we don't have the strength and power to get through life on our own. We need God's power...which unlike this battery will NEVER run out. No matter how many problems you have, or how big they are, we are reminded in Psalm 55:22 that we can give them all to God because He has unlimited power.
PSALMS 55:22
"Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you." (NCV)
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14. God of the Unexpected
This remarkable little object lesson reminds us that God can do anything He wants...even things we might not expect.
Key Thought: God is more powerful than my biggest problem.
Materials Needed:
- Clean container of water
- Paper towel
- Crumbled up paper
- Clear glass
Directions:
- Crumble the (dry) paper into a ball and put it into the bottom of the glass.
- Flip the cup over and put it straight down into the water, completely submerging the cup.
- Bring the cup out and pull the paper (that's still dry!) out.
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Life can be difficult and we worry about what might happen. Maybe a parent get sick, or something happens that really bothers you at school. Our God is a refuge! That means when we are feeling worried, or afraid - we can turn to Him. We can pray and talk to our all powerful Heavenly Father who loves us and who is WAY more powerful than any problem we will ever face.
ACTS 19:11-12
"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them." (NCV)
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15. Toothpick Power
This object lesson uses very simple objects to demonstrate God's awesome power.
Key Thought: God has awesome power
Materials Needed:
- Fork
- Spoon
- Empty glass
- Toothpick
Directions:
- Interlock the spoon and the fork together
- Insert the toothpick into the tines of the fork
- Balance the end of the toothpick on the edge of the empty glass
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Most of you thought there was probably no way this was going to work. But now, you realize it is totally possible. Many times we do the same thing with God - we HEAR about HIS power but we don't always act like He can actually do what He says. Never forget that our God is MIGHTY in POWER, more powerful than we can even imagine.
1 CHRONICLES 29:11
"Lord, you are great and powerful. You have glory, victory, and honor. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. The kingdom belongs to you, Lord; you are the ruler over everything." (NCV)
16. Un-pop-able Balloon
This Sunday School object lesson demonstrates that God's power protects us.
Key Thought: God's power protects us
Materials Needed:
-
- Candle
- 2 balloons
- Water
Directions:
- Blow up 1 ballon
- Hold it over the lit candle and it will pop
- Fill the second balloon with some water and then blow it up.
- Hold it over the flame and it won't pop!
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God is with us even when we can't see Him. He is there and He has the power to protect us in any and every situation.
This doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us, because we know that bad things happen - even to Christians.
But we know that God is more powerful than any situation or problem we have and that if He wants He can protect us. Just like the water-filled balloon God's power is able to keep up safe in any situation.
ISAIAH 43:2
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you." (NCV)
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