Kidzone - January - 07.
Story - A soldier gives up his life for his friends. During World war ll, some British soldiers were taken captive by theJapanese, and made to work very hard building a railway track through thejungle in Burma.One day, the Japanese guards discovered that an axe was missing from thestoreroom. Naturally, they thought that one of the British soldiers musthave stolen it. The camp Commander lined all the British soldiers up, andasked for the man who had stolen the axe to step forward, because they weregoing to take him away and shoot him. Nobody moved."Very well" the Commander said. "I will give you one last chance. If thesoldier who stole the axe doesn't step forward right now, I will choose onesoldier at random and shoot him instead. Then, if the guilty soldier stilldoesn't own up, I will keep on shooting other men until he does so. Will thesoldier who stole the axe step forward now." A soldier took one stepforward. He was taken away and shot.Sometime later, the guards checked on the storeroom again. To their surprisethey found that all the axes were present! They had made a mistake the firsttime they had counted. Nobody had stolen an axe.That British soldier had not stolen an axe. In fact, he had done nothingwrong. What he did do was give up his life so that his friends might live.What do you think the other British soldiers thought of their friend whenthey found out he had given his life that they might live? If, in someway, they could have communicated with him, what do you think they wouldhave said? I think they would have said something like this. "Words cannotexpress how grateful I am to you. You gave your life for me. Now I am goingto give my life over to you. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Whateveryou want me to do, I will do." I think that would have been the naturalresponse.What a wonderful act it was for that soldier to give up his life for hisfriends. But do you know that Jesus gave up his life for you BEFORE you wereHis friends (Romans 5.8). What is your response to Jesus? Do you say "sowhat" or " who cares." I know what my response was. As soon as I realisedthat Jesus had died for me, I said to him " Words cannot express howgrateful I am to you. You gave your life for me. Now I am going to give mylife over to you. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Whatever you want meto do I will do."
Illusion.
Passing a pencil through a handkerchief.
Effect. Place a square handkerchief (linen or paper) in a "diamond" shape on a flat surface. Lay a pencil across the centre of the handkerchief. Bring the bottom corner of the handkerchief up to the top, but ensure that it slightly overlaps. The pencil will now, of course, be covered. Place a hand on the pencil through the handkerchief, and tightly roll it up until the lower corner flips over. Unroll the handkerchief, and you will see that the pencil is now on the top. i.e. it appears to have penetrated the handkerchief from inside to outside. Try it out. It is much simpler than it sounds!
Explanation. By rolling up the handkerchief until one corner 'flips over', you are actually turning it inside out, and thus bringing the pencil from the inside to the outside. The critical part is ensuring that only one corner flips over. If both ( or no) corners are flipped, the pencil will remain on the inside.
Application. This illustration can be used to illustrate that obedience brings success.
Example. Once you have practiced this a few times, you can try it out on your friends. Say "If you obey me, you will be able to pass this pencil from the inside to the outside of this handkerchief. What I want you to do is roll it up tightly, tap it three times with your finger, unroll it, and the pencil will have passed through the material - you will be successful. Wait a minute! First let us see what will happen if you are disobedient, and you tap the pencil four times? (Ensure that the rolling stops just before the flip over). Oh dear. You were unsuccessful because you were disobedient! This time you can be obedient (Ensure the bottom corner flips over). Wonderful. Your obedience has brought success!"
You may wish to get a few more volunteers to try it out. All you need to remember is that you control the flip overs, depending on whether you want the person to be successful or not. It is very rare for any volunteer or spectator to notice the differences in the three ways you can roll up the handkerchief - i.e. no, one, or two flip overs.
Laugh Break.
Advice for kids.
1.Never trust a dog to watch your food.
2. When your dad is mad and asks "Do I look stupid?" Don't answer him.
3. Never tell your mum her diet isn't working.
4. When your mum is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair.
5.Never let your little brother in the same room as your homework papers.
6. You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
7. Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.
8. Don't pick on your sister while she is holding her hockey stick.
9. When you get a bad mark at school, always show it to your mum while she is on the phone.
10. Never try to baptise a cat.
11. When feeding seagulls, always remember to wear your hat.
Your Questions Answered.
Who made God?
(This is the question I am asked most of all).
"If I told you the answer to that, I know what your next question would be. You would say "Who made the person who made God ?" Then, if I told you that , you would ask "Who made the person who made the person who made God ?" Then, if I told you that, you would ask "Who made the person who made the person who made the person who made God ?" etc. etc.
No, the answer is NOBODY made God. God is eternal. That means He has no beginning or end. He has always existed. In fact, there was a time when there was no matter (solid things), no space, and no time, only God Himself. Then God spoke and by His power brought everything in the Universe into existence. The exciting thing is that although we have a beginning, God has made each one of us eternal as well. That means the "real you" - your Soul and Spirit will never die.
I know this is hard for us to understand, because we are used to living in time, with beginnings and endings. But let us consider the alternative. If there is no God (or Creator), that means that everything in the Universe must have created itself - beginning with nothing. Our common sense tells us that nothing can make itself - it has to have a maker or creator. That is why most people in the world believe in a Creator (God). It requires far,far too much faith to believe that everything made itself out of nothing. It is far easier to believe that there always has been a loving God who created everything.
Note. If you have a question that you would like answered, email it to me on mnmsweetsur@xtra.co.nz
