Leader Guide

Object Lesson

Sit down on the floor with the bottle of water, soap, and bowl in front of you. Place a small dab of soap on the end of one of your index fingers; rub it all around your finger tip. Have kids sit on the floor so all can clearly view the object lesson.

In our Bible story video, God made the Garden of Eden perfect. Let’s say this bowl represents the Garden of Eden and Earth. There was no sin or evil. Pour the water slowly into the bowl as you talk. 

Earth was filled with God’s presence. He poured out His love and peace on Adam and Eve. The animals were gentle and calm. We saw in the video that even the lions were like kittens!

Then the devil tempted and tricked Adam and Eve. They listened to the serpent and disobeyed God’s Word. Start sprinkling the pepper into the water. 

Sin came into the world.

Today, we are all surrounded by sin in the world. Pour more pepper in for a continuous thick layer. 

We may be tempted by things in the world, or from the devil, or from our own minds. But God tells us, as Christians, that even though we are in the world, we don’t have to do the evil things that the world does. Shortly before Jesus died, He prayed for His followers—and that includes us! He prayed in John 17:15:

“I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.”

You see, God doesn’t want us to be overcome with the evil and sin of the world. When we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God places His Holy Spirit in us. Hold the finger covered in soap up for the children to see. This finger represents a Christian who is filled with God’s Spirit. Dip and hold your finger in the bowl—the pepper will quickly disperse. 

The Holy Spirit leads and guides and empowers us to live a life that is pleasing to God and separate from the evil ways of the world around us. As long as we ask God’s Spirit to help us choose to follow and obey God, we can live a pure life, pleasing to Him.

This is important for all of us. God wants us to be involved with people who do not know Him—but He does not want them to influence and control us. Instead, God wants us to influence them! We want to live our lives in a way that honors God so that others will choose to serve Him, too!