Pumpkin Object Lessons (FREE coloring page)
Drop a comment below to guess how many rubber bands it took me to explode this pumpkin!!
EXPLODING PUMPKINS
Head outside with the kids and let them take turns putting rubberbands on a pumpkin. The bigger the pumpkin, the more rubber bands and time it will take. So find a medium sized pumpkin. Your pumpkin must be whole, no carvings.
Ask kids to share different peer pressures, stresses, anxieties, things that they bottle up, fears, and frustrations.
Teach the kids that we can take all of these problems to God in prayer and to a trusted adult (parent, coach, or close friend). God and our Christian family are meant to share each others burden.
Scripture references for carrying burdens. Galatians 6:2-3, Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 58:6, and Matthew 11:28-30
BUT when we chose to carry these burdens alone the weight and pressure will become too much to bare and it will hurt us. We will explode with emotions, lose control, fall apart.
Reemphasize the importance of Jesus carrying our burdens and talking with other christians about how we feel and are struggling with.
PRAYER
Jesus thank you for taking my burdens away! Holy Spirit fill me with peace that surpasses all understanding. Help me talk with others about my struggles, because I'm not alone. My Christian brothers and sisters are there to help me. In Jesus name, Amen.
PUMPKIN PRAYER
DEAR JESUS
Open my mind so I can learn about you
(Cut the top off your pumpkin)
Take away all my sins & forgive me
(Clean out your pumpkin)
Open my eyes to see your love for me
(Carve heart shaped eyes)
I'm sorry for the times I've turned up my nose at what you've given me
(Carve a cross for the nose)
Open my ears to hear your Word
(Carve Bibles for ears)
Open my mouth to tell others about you
(Carve a fish for the mouth)
Let your light shine in all I say & do
(Place & light a candle inside your pumpkin)
AMEN
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NEW CREATION
Cleaning: Give kids a turn scooping out the seeds and gunk out of the pumpkin. Some kids will have a blast touching it... others not so much.
Tell kids, just like we are cleaning out all the gross gunk in this pumpkin, through Jesus, God cleans our sins from us and casts them as far as the east is from the west! God creates a clean heart in each of us and His Holy Spirit rests in us. (Psalm 51:10-19, & Psalm 103:12)
Carving: Carve a smiling face on your pumpkin. This represents how God has made us a New Creation. As a new creation we are a new boy/girl, our sins and mistakes have been forgiven. That's something to be happy about! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Candle: When you place the lit candle inside your pumpkin this reminds us that Christ (the light of the world, John 8:12) lives inside us. And His light shines through us to the world! (Matthew 5:14-16)
PRAYER
God create in me a clean heart, take away all my sins and fill me with your Spirit. Jesus let your light shine through me to the darkness of the world around me. AMEN.
Watch me explode my pumpkin! Don't forget to comment your guess below for how many rubber bands it took to explode.