Today we carved pumpkins in Sunday School!
What in the world does that have to do with teaching kids about God?
Well, first of all, here is what the kids were asked to do:
1. choose a pumpkin
2. wash your pumpkin
3. clean out the slimy, gross stuff inside
5. carve a new face
6. put a light inside
What does that have to do with our relationship to God?! Well...
1. He chose us. He did. And He does.
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." John 15:16
2. He washes us clean.
"But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11
3. He made a way to get rid of the seeds of hatred in us and our most terrible thoughts.
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."Romans 5:8
4. He forgives us our sins and throws them away; they are gone for good!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."John 3:16
5. He makes us new!
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
6. He puts Jesus right into our heart, to shine out into the darkness, for all the world to see!
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,'
made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6
And
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
Now the students in our class today learned that whenever they carve or see a jack-o-lantern they are to remember to let Jesus, the Light of the World, shine out into the world, through their smiles, hugs, their kindness, and most of all, through their love.
