OBJECT LESSON GOAL:
To help children understand the Trinity by demonstrating how water is one substance that can be in three different forms all at the same time.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:
1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
One unlabeled clear quart jar, a small container of room temperature water, a dozen ice cubes in a small insulated cooler, and a towel for wiping and clean up.
MESSAGE:
Have you ever heard the word “Trinity?” That means God is three in one. The Bible tells us in I John 5:7... (Read verse). In this verse Jesus is called “The Word” as He is in the Gospel of John Chapter one, verse one. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” If your name was Patrick or Patricia, you might be called Pat. Or maybe you have a nickname that people call you. Likewise, Jesus is called different names, and here He is called “The Word.” He is one part of the three in one God. The Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
Now, how can three possibly be one? Does that make sense? Or for that matter, how can one be three all at the same time? That might seem hard to believe and even understand, but did you know God gave us a wonderful illustration that we all can see. I think this will help us to understand how ONE God can have three separate ways of revealing or showinghimself. (Show the jar where the group can see it and ask the following question) Does anyone here know what H2O is? (Give the children a chance to respond) H2O is what scientists call water. It means two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of Oxygen. Lets take a very close look at H2O to learn about the Trinity. Now, what is H2O another name for? (Water) Yes, it is water. (Bring out the container with the water) I am going to pour some water into this jar, but before I do I need someone to come and look over this jar closely. (Choose a helper and ask these questions as they look at the jar) Is the jar dry on the inside and outside? (Yes) Are there any cracks or holes in the jar...except for the hole in the top of course? (No) All right, now I am going to pour some of this H2O into the jar until it is about half full. (Pour the water and be careful not to spill - if you do, clean up with the towel) So, is the outside of the jar still dry? (Yes) Now you are certain there are no holes or cracks in the jar? (Yes) Thank you, (helper’s name), please return to your seat.
Earlier I said we are going to use H2O to show how God is three in one. This liquid water is ONE form H2O can be. Can anyone tell me another way? (Let children respond) Yes, liquid water, H2O, can be frozen to make ice! (Take an ice cube from the cooler) We could take this jar and put it into a freezer and it would become very cold and turn into ice. We can also take an ice cube and put it in a warm place and it will melt and it will become liquid water. Both the liquid water and the ice cube, or frozen water, are H2O.
Now that’s TWO parts of the way H2O can exist, but God is THREE in one. There is a another type of H2O we haven’t talked about yet? Did you know that there is water all around us in this room? Look around, do you see H2O in the air? (No) You don’t? Well you know what, neither do I, but I know it’s there. It is invisible!
Have you ever watched water boiling on the stove? If it’s in a pan or teakettle you see ‘steam’ rise up like a white mist. Or have you ever gone outside on a cold day when you could see the breath come out of your mouth? It makes your mouth look like a chimney. Or perhaps you have seen steam coming out of an iron to help get the wrinkles out of clothes. Well, that misty white stuff is water vapor, H2O. But what happens to the misty H2O? It rises up into the air and disappears! It becomes invisible water vapor that is hiding all around us. Raise your hands if you think there is H2O in the air around us.
Now I know a trick to make that vapor come out of hiding. To do that, all we have to do is put the water and the ice together. (Drop several ice cubes into the jar of water) Have you ever taken a glass of cold soda pop outside on a hot day and put it down for a minute? When you came back did you notice that the outside of the glass was wet all over? Did the glass leak? Or maybe you have put the glass down on a table and later found a puddle of water on the table around your glass? Did someone spill water there? No, what has happened is that the H2O vapor in the air has come out of hiding. Let’s see if that has happened with our jar. Yes, look at how wet the outside of the jar is. (Hold it up if necessary for the audience to see) Now we have our third form of H2O, water vapor in the air!
God gave us this wonderful example to help us understand about Him. Liquid water is H2O, ice is H2O, and hidden vapor in the air is H2O. Likewise the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. H2O comes in three forms because each form has its own job to do. You can take a bath in liquid water. Could you do that if all H2O was just ice! I don’t think so. But you can take ice and drop it into your lemonade to make it cold and more pleasurable to drink. Now that wouldn’t work if all H2O was vapor in the air. And the steam that comes from the iron helps remove the wrinkles from clothes. Liquid H2O wouldn’t do that! It would just get your clothes all wet. So each of these three forms of H2O have different jobs that they do for us to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.
God is three in one because He had different jobs He wanted to do. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Neither God the Father nor God the Holy Spirit could do that. The Father stays in heaven and He sees down here and watches over us. Now the Holy Spirit has a couple of jobs. He convicts lost people of their sins so they will realize they need salvation. He also brings comfort to folks who are saved that are in a time of trouble. Our Awesome God has many jobs so He chose to let Himself be known in three ways. We call this the Trinity and I’m sure thankful that He gave us H2O to help us understand about him.