Short of the Mark
Items Needed:
Masking tape, sticks (things to use as place markers)
Go outside and compete to see who can jump the longest. Mark a starting point and measure 29 feet and 4 ½ inches from it (On August 30, 1991, Mike Powell of the United States, in a well-known showdown against Carl Lewis, jumped 8.95 meters (29 feet, 4 ½ inches) at the World Championships in Tokyo, setting the current men’s world record).
Take turns running and jumping to see how far the children can jump. Allow them to stand in the spot where they landed or mark it with a piece of masking tape or stick.
When everyone has had a turn jumping, point out the standard/the record—29 feet, 4 ½ inches. Point out that some got closer than others, but all fell short of the mark. No one reached the standard.
God set a standard to get into Heaven—perfection. God is perfect and everything in Heaven is perfect. Every person who ever lived (except Jesus) fell short of God’s standard of perfection.
Read John 14:6 to find out the way to Heaven. We have all sinned and fall short! Just as every person falls short, every person needs Jesus to go to Heaven. Jesus is the only way!
Why?
Pose the question to your child:
Why is it easier to sin than to do what is right?
Ask these follow-up questions:
Why do you sometimes tell a lie? (To get out of trouble; to make myself look good to others; to get what I want; etc.)
Why do you sometimes fight? (Because I want my own way; I am mad; etc.)
Why do you sometimes steal? (To get something I want; because I don’t have any money and I want it now; etc.)
Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, we are all born with a desire to sin. From the time we were little, we wanted our own way. No one had to teach us to be selfish or lie or disobey. It is easier to sin than to do what is right. We need Jesus’ help to bring us closer to God. Without Him, we will miss the mark every time.
One Thing… Then Another
Items Needed:
Dominoes
Watch a video of the ripple effect of dominoes. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo6x4eulY9g to watch an amazing video of 10-year-old Lily Hevesh’s domino demonstration.
At age 10, Lily was given her first 28-pack of dominoes from her grandparents. Now, seven years later, her collection has grown from 28 to more than 60,000. Not only does she enjoy setting up and knocking down dominoes as a hobby, but it has become her full-time job. She started posting videos of her colorful projects on YouTube and now has more than 865,000 subscribers. Millions of people watch her videos.
Stand up a row of Dominos (just far enough apart so they will all fall when the first one is tapped). Tap the first Domino and see what happens.
What happened when we tapped the first Domino? One thing affected another thing. There are results when we do certain things.
Why is it important to think before making a choice? (Our choices affect other choices; our choice affects other people; our choices let us to something better if we make the right one; etc.)
Each choice we make leads to another choice. We must be careful of the choices we make.