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Aim: To encourage the children to seek inward change from God as an approach to evicting Satan from control in their lives.

Core Competency: Prayer

Objectives: The children will

• Learn that only God can defeat Satan
• Understand that outward change is caused by inward change
• Seek to know God

Key Verse: To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. ( John 1:12 )

Story: "Paul Pleads for Well-Rounded Christians " ( Philippians 2:1-11,Ephesians 6:19-20,2 Corinthians 9:6-7,Galatians 6:9-10,Hebrews 12:14 )

Materials Required:

• White Board
• Charcoal
• Quartz Crystal (or Diamond if available)
• Bubble Soap
• Bubble Blower
• Balloon, Helium
• Eggs, 2 Plastic
• Sugar
• Raquetballs, 2
• Sandwich Bag
• Ice Chest, Small
• Nail, Iron or Steel
• Wire, Insulated 10 Guage, About 1 Meter (1 Yard) Long
• Battery, 9 Volts
• Paper Clips, Metal

Eye on Science:

Advance Preparation: Fill one of the eggs half-full of sugar and close tightly. The other egg should be left empty.

Fill the ice chest with ice. Place one of the raquetballs into the sandwich bag, seal it, and place it under the ice to cool.

Wrap the wire tightly around the nail, with about 2 centimeters (5 inches) protruding from each side. Strip off about 1 millimeter (1/4 inch) of insulation at each end so that the battery can be connected. Do not leave the battery connected for more than a couple of minutes at a time to avoid running down the battery and making the wire very hot.

In Class:On the white board, write the word "Ghoti". Ask the children to consider what this word says, and you will discuss it at the end of class.

Explain that one way Satan attacks our lives and our churches is by confusing our priorities, so that we focus on the less important (the "right" clothing for church, who said what to whom) and forget the important aspects of our gospel (grace, love, forgiveness, and mercy). One effective counter-attack is to seek God's renewal of our heart in five key areas that will help us stay focused on God's priorities.

• Unity - Read Philippians 2:1-4 . "One Spirit and one purpose" (or one accord and one mind in the New King James) refers to the unity that should be present in every church (not to mention among all believers throughout the world). To illustrate, show the children the lump of charcoal. Explain that it is made primarily of carbon atoms, but that the atoms (as parts of molecules) are arranged randomly. As a result, the charcoal is easy to break and will even burn readily (which is why we use it to cook our hamburgers!).

  Show the quartz crystal or diamond, and explain that it too is made from carbon atoms. In this case, however, the carbon atoms (as parts of molecules) are arranged in a very regular pattern, so that each supports those around it. This makes quartz crystals very hard, and diamonds among the hardest substances known to mankind.

  In the same way, we should support our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means comforting them when they are sad, gently and privately (and humbly!) warning them of possible sin, and never ever making fun of them or criticizing them when they aren't present.

  Application Questions: Are you "in line" with others in your church? Do you promote unity by speaking well of, and helping, others?

• Evangelism - Read Ephesians 6:19-20 . We, too, should ask God to change our hearts so that whenever we "open our mouths", the gospel message just naturally emerges.

  Dip the bubble blower in bubble soap and blow a few bubbles. Point out that the bubbles sink slowly toward the ground. This is similar to the "ordinary" words of everyday life, that do little to further the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  Untie the mouth of the balloon, exhale completely, then deeply inhale the helium from the balloon. (This is safe because helium is a "noble gas" - it cannot combine with anything in your body and thus cannot act as a poison. Taking several consecutive breaths of helium will make you dizzy, but only because you are not breathing oxygen!) With your lungs filled with helium, gently blow several bubbles. They should rise rapidly toward the ceiling. This represents the kind of words we should want to speak - words that cause others to "look up" and seek God.

  Application Questions: Do you point others to Christ by your actions? Who was the most recent person to whom you explained the gospel? For whom are you praying for the opportunity to share your faith today?

• Giving - Perhaps in no other area of our life does the "real you" emerge as in how you handle your money with respect to God. In Malachi 3:8-10 , God calls not providing money for His work to be literally robbing Him. In those verses are one of the few times when God actually permits us to test Him - to tithe and see if He will not "open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

  Take the two eggs (or similar hollow balls that can be separated and securely rejoined) and ask the children which they believe will roll farther. Roll the two with equal force; the hollow one should roll much, much farther, as its competitor is greatly slowed by the internal friction caused by the sugar.

  Show the children what is in each egg or ball. Hold up the empty (winning) egg/ball and ask how many possessions Jesus owned. The answer is only a single coat ( Matthew 27:35 ). Jesus was in fact extremely poor, and spent most of his adult life homeless ( Matthew 8:20 ).

  Application Questions: How many possessions do you really need? What keeps you from giving to God the first and best of what you have? Do your finances agree with your claim to be a disciple of Jesus?

• Christian Love - We are frequently commanded in the Bible to do good to those who are mean to us. However, this does not mean we should neglect our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul makes clear in Galatians 6:9-10 that we are to be especially good to them out of Christian love.

  Show the warm raquetball and explain its purpose while bouncing it on a hard floor. In the game of raquetball, the ball must be hit after no more than one bounce, or the other player wins a point. So a raquetball that doesn't bounce well can make for a very tiring game!

  Remove the cold raquetball from the cooler and explain that it has been "chilled to the core." Hold both raquetballs at the same height (about eye level) and release simultaneously. The warm ball should bounce noticably higher. Clearly, "warm heart" leads to "higher bounce"! (Actually, the balls bounce because of air trapped inside. Cold air has less volume than warm air, and so the cold ball has less bounce.)

  Application Questions: How energetic are you in "doing good to all people, especially... believers"? How recent was your last act of service? What service will you perform this week for another believer?

• Personal Holiness - Read Hebrews 12:14 . Define "holy" as "perfect" (in intent if not action) and "without anything that would separate us from God". Explain that since Jesus has removed our sins, we are to avoid any actions that come between us and God and thus interfere with our new-found relationship with God.

  In 1 Peter 1:13-16 , we are commanded to be "holy in all that you do", because God is holy. Our holiness is our link to God and the connection to His power in our lives.

  Show the wire-wrapped nail, and explain that the nail represents a Christian, the wire the Christian's salvation, and the battery the Christian's source of power, God. Explain that sin (i.e., a lack of holiness) can break the link that allows God's power to flow into the Christian's life. (Be very clear: The Christian remains wrapped in God's salvation even while trapped by sin; at no point is the Christian in danger of losing his salvation! It is only God's power that is lost by unholy living.) Show that the nail will not lift any paperclips from the table by itself (in the same way, we are powerless without God's power). Connect the battery to the ends of the wire, however, and many or all of the paper clips will be lifted from the table (we can accomplish any task God wills if we rely on Him for our power).

  Application Questions: What sin do you need to separate from your life this morning?

Beneath the word "ghoti" on the whiteboard, write (with underlines as shown) the words enough, women, and attention. The "gh" in enough sounds like an "f", the "o" in women sounds like an "i", and the "ti" in attention sounds like "sh". Thus, "ghoti" is one phonetic spelling of "fish". Draw a "Christian fish" on the whiteboard.

Explain that "ghoti" makes no sense unless you know the right words. In the same way, you cannot know how to fight Satan unless you know the Word. Read John 1:1 and explain that you cannot defeat Satan unless you know Jesus personally.

Application Questions: Does the Word live in your life? What changes will you ask Him to make in your heart so that you can have victory over Satan this week?

Used: KIDZ 07/01