For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
-Hebrews 4:12
The Pumpkin Gospel
When my firstborn was just two years old, I heard Jim Weidemann, "The Family Night Guy," speaking on the radio about a clever way to teach your children the gospel as you carve a pumpkin together. We tried it out that year on the front step of our little rental house and we've told the tale every year since with a bright orange pumpkin and a Bible. If you've never used a jack-o-lantern to celebrate Jesus, why not try it this weekend? Then plant your new creation on the front step and let it shine for all to see!
Author Gina Conroy, founder of Writer Interrupted, posted the The Pumpkin Gospel a few years ago in such an easy-to-follow format, that I decided to let her words guide you through the fun. I hope you can bring the Word to life with your own pumpkin as we wrap up this beautiful month of October.Theme: We become a new creation when Jesus comes into our hearts.
Supplies: Pumpkin, large bowl, newspapers, sharp knife, spoon, candle, matches, Bible
Activity: Cut an opening in the top of the pumpkin and have your kids pull out the seeds and scrape the inside of the pumpkin while you read Matthew 23:25-28 and Revelation 3:20Ask: How is the stuff we pulled out of the pumpkin like sin in our hearts? (They’re both yucky, sticky…)
How is the way we cleaned out our pumpkin like the way Jesus cleans us out when we confess our sins?(Jesus scoops the yucky stuff out, etc)
Draw a happy face on your pumpkin, then carve it out. When your pumpkin has a happy face read 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Ephesians 2:10Ask: How have we made this pumpkin a “new creation”?
Share: When Jesus comes into our hearts, we become new creations, just as our pumpkin has become a new creation. Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Read aloud: Matthew 5:14-16. Then light a candle and place it inside the pumpkin. Turn off the room lights and have everyone stand or sit so they can see the light coming through the pumpkin’s face.
Discuss how God wants our light to shine before others. Read 2 Cor. 4:6
Ask: How is the way the candle light comes through the pumpkin like the way God wants our light to shine?This can be a wonderful way to glorify God on this day and olders kids can help read scripture while the younger ones will have fun learning the Gospel in a way that will stick with them forever.
Have a Great Weekend!
