Since my post is about a transformation object lesson it only seems appropriate to give an update on how our ministry is growing and transforming. I'm so happy to report that our Children's ministry and God's kingdom are growing! This last weekend I had the the opportunity to act as the Vacation Bible School director for my church, and it was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life. This was our third VBS, and it was our best yet. We saw 10 kids come to Christ. It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you only average 30-35 kids in the entire ministry that's a pretty huge number. We are growing, and I couldn't be prouder. As a small church we've come a long way, and God's given us a huge vision for our community. I'm so blessed to be able to be a part of what God is doing in my little town in these end times.
Now, down to brass tacks.
As I said earlier, I got to direct our VBS this year, but I also took on a class as-well. We had an amazing curriculum called SonSpark Labs from Gospel Light Publishing. It was the most user friendly VBS I've ever done. It gave you every possible resource, but still allowed you the freedom to put your own spin on things. We will definitely be using them again next year. It was full of wacky and wonderful science fun.
So, like I was saying, I took on a VBS class this year. I was over the Bible Story Lab, but this was no ordinary Bible Story session...oh no...I got to blow kids minds with awesome science experiments too! It was so much fun! However, for my night 2 experiment I decided to deviate a little from the curriculum. They suggested doing the expanding sandwich bag experiment where you fill one baggy with vinegar and the other with baking soda. Then you put the baking soda baggy in the vinegar baggy and seal the vinegar baggy up. They mix together to make carbon dioxide which then inflates the bag. Well, it is a cool experiment, but I had done it before with the kids and it only worked about 75% of the time for me. So, I didn't want to take the chance...
So, I pulled one of my favorite experiments out of my bag of tricks. Same concept, but bigger wow factor.
You will need...
1. A Bottle of Vinegar
2. A Box of Baking Soda
3. A Disposable Baking Pan
4. An Empty Glass Bottle...you can use plastic, but it tends to expand slightly when the chemical reaction occurs so I've found the glass usually works better.
5. A Deflated Balloon
Ok, first things first, be sure to try this experiment at home first! Trust me when I say there is nothing more embarrassing that blowing up an experiment in front of your class, and then having to walking around the rest of the day smelling like vinegar and tasking baking soda...not that I've ever done that...
Alright, now that you have your supplies here's what you need to do.
1. Use a piece of paper to make a makeshift funnel...or better yet use a real funnel...to put roughly one to two tablespoons of baking soda into the balloon.
2. Fill your bottle with roughly half a cup of vinegar.
3. Then, quickly and carefully, pull the end part of your balloon (the part you would blow into to blow it up) onto the rim of the bottle emptying the baking soda into the vinegar.
You will then see a chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking soda...think 6th grade science fair volcano...it will begin to fizz and froth. This reaction will then create carbon dioxide which will begin to inflate the balloon. Be careful at this stage if you put too much baking soda in the bottle will fill too quickly and the balloon will either fly off or explode...either way you will walk away smelling like vinegar...but the kids will LOVE it...not that I've ever done that. ;)
So, what does all of this have to do with transformation you ask?
Allow me to elaborate.
Do you remember that thing called the cross that we seem to only talk about on Easter these days? You know the one that held our Saviour as He died for our sins? Yeah, that one. Well, when Jesus died for our sins the Bible says we became new creatures in Christ.
I like to use the example of a butterfly. When that Caterpillar climbs into that cocoon it's not a very pretty site.
*Be sure to paint a ooey gooey icky mental picture for the kids.*
Then that Caterpillar climbs into his cocoon and something starts to happen. When he leaves his cocoon he's completely different. He's a new creature. He's not a Caterpillar anymore, he's a butterfly.
The same thing happens with us. We start out in an ooey gooey icky mess of sin, but when we accept Jesus into our hearts he wipes away all the yuck of the world and turns us into His beautiful creation.
Just like the vinegar and baking soda came together and changed into something totally cool when we come together with Jesus we can become His new totally cool creation, a new creature in Christ Jesus. Now, that's better than any exploding science experiment...
Unless you're six in which case you will beg your teacher to again...not that that's ever happened to me. ;)
Remember to never ever allow a child to do this unsupervised, and to always use caution and all protective measures before doing any experiments...especially where something explodes. lol.
I hope you'll enjoy this as much as my class did!
God Bless,
Faith
