Leader Guide
Battery Object Lesson
- Batteries, correct size for toy—at least two, one set charged, one set uncharged or dead.
- Toy car or any toy with easily accessible battery
Place the uncharged battery or batteries into the toy.
Note: If you don’t have a dead battery to use, place a tiny piece of tape over the battery ends to keep them from making contact. You can substitute any battery operated toy for the car and adjust the presentation accordingly.
Our SuperTruth today is: “God will overcome my weakness.”
Do you think Moses needed God’s strength to overcome his weakness in speaking to Pharaoh?
Did he need God’s strength to overcome his weakness to lead God’s people and to push back the water of the Red Sea?
Yes, he did! Moses had weaknesses and struggles like all of us do. The Israelites needed God’s help too, didn’t they? They were tired and weak from all of the hard work in Egypt. Then they gathered up their belongings quickly and traveled for miles in the wilderness. They really needed God’s strength!
But what is this strength? Let’s all flex our arm muscles and see how big they are! Encourage children to hold up their arms and flex their muscles. Moses didn’t need big muscles to cross the Red Sea. He just needed faith to believe God—and obedience to do what God said! Moses obediently lifted his rod, and God’s strength flowed through his weakness!
The strength we most often receive from God is called inner strength in the Bible. It’s inside us, not an outer, physical change in our body. The Apostle Paul prayed this prayer of encouragement for followers of Jesus.
Have a child look up and read Ephesians 3:16:
I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
That excites me, to think of being empowered with unlimited, inner strength through God's Holy Spirit!
Hold up the toy.
Let me show you how this works. Turn it on and look perplexed that nothing happens. Hmmm, something is wrong here. Maybe a battery is weak or dead.
Change out the battery and demonstrate that the toy works now. Then take the batteries out and hold up both the charged and dead batteries.
Now, look at these batteries. Do you see a difference on the outside?
No, they look the same to me. But, one is filled with power, good and strong; the other is weak or uncharged. You can’t tell that by looking at the outside, but inside there is a big difference; there is strength or power INSIDE the good battery.
When we ask God to help us overcome our weakness, He fills us with His strength—an inner strength, just like this charged battery powered the toy! Let’s say our SuperTruth again: “God will overcome my weakness.”