Pumpkin Parable

Teaching Goal:   Teach the Gospel. All have sinned, but when we believe in Jesus as our Savior, He takes the sin away. Jesus then lives inside of us and shines out to others through our lives.

Scriptures:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Philippians 2:12 Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:6 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.

John 5:25 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

Materials:

• Pumpkins
• Carving tools
• Paper
• Tape and markers
• Candle

1. Play theme song
2. Pray
3. Review last lesson
4. Lesson and discussion

• Words written in bold are when the leader is speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

ACTIVITY: (Tell this story while holding and carving a pumpkin.) In the Bible, God tells us that every person except one has sinned. We have all done things to make Jesus sad such as saying bad words, hitting others, or disobeying. Every mommy, daddy, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandma, and grandpa has sinned; everyone you know has sinned. Jesus is the only one without sin. No lies, no hating others, no punching, no whining, no bad words. The Bible says that when we welcome Jesus into our lives, He will take our sin away.

Cut the top out of the pumpkin and let the kids see inside. What is inside the pumpkin? Seeds, pulp, sticky stuff. How does the stuff feel inside? Let each person feel the pumpkin’s insides. Yucky, icky.  The pumpkin represents you or me. The hole we cut in the top represents our heart being open. In the Bible, Jesus says that He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. If we hear His knock and open the door, then He will come in. Our hand represents Jesus coming into our hearts to clean out the sin. The seeds and pulp represent the sin that Jesus removes.

Tell the rest of the story while you work together to clean out the pumpkin. When we believe in Jesus and commit our lives to Him, then He comes into our lives and starts to take out the yucky stuff in our lives – just like we are taking the yucky stuff out of this pumpkin.  When the sin has been removed from our lives, then others will begin to see Jesus in the way we live.

To take the yucky stuff out of our lives, Jesus had to die on the cross. He was crucified to take away our sins–yucky stuff–but remember; three days later He came back to life. Cut a cross into the pumpkin. You can add slits to represent rays coming from the center of the cross that will allow more light to shine through. Others will see Jesus in you! Place a candle in the pumpkin and light it. The candle represents Jesus inside our hearts, shining out for others to see. Let’s live so that others will see the light of Jesus in the things we do, the things we say and the way we treat each other.

Tips: It is recommended to have one adult per younger child. The adult needs to control the use of the carving knives. There are special pumpkin carving knives, which make it easier to cut out faces, words, etc. Draw on a piece of paper the symbol or words you want to put on the pumpkin. Tape the paper to the pumpkin, and punch holes along the lines of your drawing. When you remove the paper, you can cut out the symbol by connecting the punched holes with a knife.

Memorize:

Jesus takes away our sin,

 Live so others see Him.

Close in Prayer