In a world where people believe what they want to believe about God and the Bible, Jesus made things very clear for us. He said that He is the Only Way, Truth, and Life. We can only have a relationship with Him and have our sins forgiven by accepting the gift of salvation that Jesus offers us by His death and resurrection. This lesson can be given at any time and season, but it is perfect for Easter time when we are already talking about Jesus on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
MY GOALS OF THESE OBJECT LESSONS:
I designed these lessons to give you quick material to teach when you are in need of something but don’t have time for a lot of planning. On occasion, Church leadership has asked me on Saturday night to teach Sunday School the next morning without having materials available until the morning. Having these simple object lessons will help you be more prepared when you need to teach on the spur of the moment — whether in your own home, church, or ministry.
MATERIALS:
- White or Colored Paper (20+, depending on the class size)
- Scissors, for the teacher and a few other pairs for the students
THE MAIN IDEA:
Jesus is the Only Way, Truth, and Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)
THE LESSON INTRODUCTION:
“Do you think I could make just one straight long cut in this paper and make a cross? Do you think YOU could do that?”
Allow for discussion and let the children attempt to make a cross (or the letter “t” if they don’t know what a cross is) with only using one straight cut.
(As you are telling the story of Jesus, fold the paper as the pictures show below. First, fold down the top left corner across to the opposite side. Then take the top right corner and fold it down across to the left side of the shape. Now you will have what looks like a house. Take the left-hand side and fold the whole shape in half. With the point at the top, cut one straight line from the bottom of your shape to the top of your shape. After unfolding it, you will have a cross — made with just one straight cut. Follow the pictures below.)
THE MAIN LESSON:
Well, I am going to tell you about when Jesus was preparing to go back to His Father in Heaven AND show you that I CAN make a cross with just one straight cut.
When Jesus was on the earth, He told His disciples that He wasn’t going to be on this earth forever. His time was running out, but He was going to prepare a place for them.
Let’s read John 14:1-5:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus was telling His disciples that He is going to Heaven with His Father to prepare a place for us… A place for all those who put their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation of their sins. Just like this house that I have here. (Fold the paper using the first two steps. It will look like a house.)
We don’t know what kind of place He is preparing, but we do know that wherever Jesus is, that is where we want to be, too. He loves us and wants us to be with Him in Heaven forever. He is there now preparing a place for us.
The passage in John 14 continues:
“Thomas said to Him, Lord we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?
Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. NO one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew Me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.
The disciples weren’t sure what Jesus was talking about. They didn’t know the way to get to Heaven — where Jesus was going. Jesus told the people in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus was saying that He is the only way to the Father. If we want to be where God is and spend eternity with Him, then we must do things God’s way. (Fold the paper house in half.) This point at the top of our paper shape points us to God in Heaven, and Jesus is the One Way to get to the Father.
But why do we need Jesus to get to God?
God is holy. That means that He has never done anything wrong, and He can’t even be around sin – the things that we do that are against God’s Law. But the Bible tells us that we are all sinners. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all do and think and say things that are sin against our Holy God, everyday! We can’t be in God’s presence because we are sinful. There must be a payment for the sin that we commit.
That’s why we need Jesus. When He died on the cross, He paid for all of the sin of everyone in the whole world from the beginning of time until now and then to eternity. When He bled and died on the cross, He made it possible for us to come close to God and be with Him forever if we ask Him to forgive our sin and be the leader in our life.
(Now use your scissors and cut a straight line from the bottom all the way to the top as the illustration shows.)
We can’t earn our way to God and Heaven, though. We can’t do enough good that we could earn our way to God.
Baptism won’t save you. (Open one of the small papers that you just cut off and reveal that it didn’t make a cross.)
If your parents are Christians and they go to church each Sunday, even that won’t get you to Heaven. (Open another paper.)
Giving money to the poor or serving as a missionary will not save you. (Open another paper.)
Reading the whole Bible will not save you either. (Open the last of the papers that doesn’t make a cross.)
BUT… Jesus is the ONLY way to God. He is the Only Way, Truth and Life! (Open the folded paper and reveal that this one makes a cross — a cross for Jesus.)
When we see this cross, we are reminded that Jesus is the Only Way, Truth and Life. When we put our faith and trust in Him alone for our salvation, we will be able to live with Him and God forever in the home that He is preparing for us in Heaven.
THE CONCLUSION:
Jesus is the ONE and only way to God the Father and Eternal Life forever with Him. Just like we made ONE single cut to make the cross, the ONE Way to get forgiveness of sin is in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
I hope you will ask Jesus to forgive your sin and be the leader of your life. If you want to talk to me more about that, please come see me after we pray.
** Allow the kids to try to make crosses on their own. Show them the steps so they can show others and share their faith with them.
Here are the pictures in order so you can see their sequence:
Have you used this object lesson with children, let me know how it went in the comments below.
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