This is tomorrow's children's story to go along with the sermon.
Inside a Cave
Props: Flashlights or other lights of varying intensities, 3 or 4 types; a camera flash that can be triggered on demand.
Preparation: Have a child prepared to read or recite John 1:4-5 at the appropriate point in the story.
Story:
Have you ever been inside a cave? One that goes for hundreds and even thousands of feet underground, and you can walk and crawl inside for miles? Where there are rooms larger than several football stadiums put together?
Many years ago, when I was close to Amy's age, our family went to a place called Carlsbad Caverns. It's located in the state of New Mexico, near its southeast corner, where it meets Texas.
I don't remember a whole lot about it other than that we went down into the cave and walked around in a huge room. Because this was the main area for tourists like us to see, the path was well lit and well marked, and the interesting stalactite and stalagmite structures were also lit. (Ask: What is the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite?) There were chasms and pits and pools along sections of the path.
We took some pictures inside, but I don't recall them coming out that well. Even with all the lights, it was quite dark inside. Because the room was so big, the camera flash (trigger the camera flash), as bright as it is, didn't give enough light to light up the formations sufficiently.
In addition to this big room, there were others parts of the cave that people could go into if they were prepared and had the time. We didn't, so we just went through the big room and then back out. To get to and go through some of these other areas might involve crawling through narrow spaces, climbing and descending steep slopes, and unlike the big room, they weren't lit up, which meant you had to carry your own light sources.
If you were to go into one of these caves where you had to take your own light, what would you want to have with you? A little light like this? (Demonstrate weakest light.) Or perhaps something like this? (Demonstrate brighter light. Repeat with any other lights left, except brightest one.) How about this one? (Demonstrate brightest light.) Or would you rather have a camera flash? (Trigger it again.)
A camera flash is bright, but it wouldn't be very useful in a cave because it doesn't stay lit for very long. You'd have to keep flashing and flashing, but then the batteries will die very quickly. A dim, but steady light (show dim light again) is more useful inside a cave. This will at least show you where you might take your next step. But it's nice to be able to see more than just a step ahead. It's helpful to be able to see farther ahead so that we can tell if we're heading on a path that leads somewhere instead of into a wall or a precipice. So a bright light like this (show brightest light again) is what we want.
John writes about a bright light in chapter 1, vv. 4-5. (Have a child read or recite it.) What is the light that John wrote about?
All these flashlights and flashes, they'll eventually stop working when the batteries get too weak. People can't live in a cave. Food doesn't grow in the dark, and all our light sources will eventually go out. We have to make our way out of the cave sooner or later.
John tells us that this world is like a cave. All the bad things that people do to each other, all the bad things that seem to happen to us without explanation are a result of the darkness called sin. We need to get out. But how can we if we can't see a path leading out?
That's where Jesus comes in. He's the light that God sent to us to help us see ourselves and a path leading out. In fact, the book of Hebrews in the Bible tells us that Jesus has gone ahead of us to mark the path so that we can know exactly how to leave the cave. All we have to do is keep to the path that is shown by the light of Jesus.
The one thing we need is this light. We need Jesus. And Jesus makes it incredibly easy to have him. All we have to do is ask him to bring his light into our hearts, let him stay with us, and trust that his light will always remain bright in us. Would you like to have Jesus shine in you today? (Say short prayer with kids and dismiss.)
No comments:
Post a Comment