It was a beautiful late spring Sunday. I was so excited about our plans for Toddler Church. (In my heart I always called it Toddler Learching Church and used the acronym TLC. For I believe a little tender loving care in the learning process can go a long way in having an impact on the heart of a child.)
Today, we were going on a field trip during the big church service. We were going outside for our lesson. I had a nice big blanket and would spread it out on the grass for the children to sit on. I had a giant garbage bag full of surprises. One for each child.
The lesson today was on the resurrection of the church, the return of Jesus to meet the saints in the air. Every Christian alive or dead would rise to meet Jesus.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Thessalonians 4:17c
What an exciting lesson to teach to these two, three and four year old children! I found the perfect object lesson but we would need to be outside for the lesson to work. I was praising the Lord for a beautiful spring day!!
After the children were seated on the blanket outside, I pulled two balloons out of my huge bag. Both balloons were blown up nice and round, but one was filled with air and one was filled with helium. The one filled with air sat nicely on the blanket and the one with helium popped up into the air as far as its ribbon string would allow. I held onto it tightly.
“What is the difference between these two balloons?” I asked the children. They gave their cute answers and then I told them that the difference was that which is on the inside. The balloons looked the same on the outside but were very different on the inside. One was filled with air and the other with helium.
I continued to explain that a person filled with Jesus is like a balloon filled with helium. One day Jesus will return with a shout and the sound of the trumpet and that person will go up, up, up to meet the Lord in the air. We then practiced shouting (praise the Lord) and blowing pretend trumpets. Oh what fun!!
Next I gave each child a balloon with helium and told them to hold on tightly. We all shouted and pretended to blow a trumpet. Then we let go of our balloons. We sang I’ll Fly Away and watched them go up, up and away!!
The one balloon with just air and no helium remained on the blanket and lastly I reminded the children how important it was for each person to receive Jesus as their Savior. When we do, the Holy Spirit of Jesus comes to live in each of us.
It was such a fun day and I was reminded of it as I studied our verse for Day 64 of the Loser Bible Study.
“And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
John 6:39
In the passage surrounding this verse, we find Jesus was talking to those who had followed Him, seen many miracles, ate the meal He served to more than 5,000, but did not believe in Him. In fact in John 6:66 we find that “many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”
No one will want to be lost without Jesus on that last day. The last day will come, but we do not have to be lost and left behind!!
Loser Bible Study Series Theme Verse:
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:35
“Lose” from the Greek word “Apollymi” means “to destroy fully.” It is translated lose in John 6:39, our verse for today.