Let God Break You

“…Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord…”  Hosea 10:12

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
       you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
       a broken and contrite heart,
       O God, you will not despise.

 Psalm 51:16, 17

Props: peanuts with shell    

**You may want to have some students come to the front to volunteer to eat peanuts.  Choose only older children (age 10+) and be sure they do not have peanut allergies!

 

            I love snacks!  Do you like snacks?  One of my favorite (healthy) snacks is peanuts.  They are just so tasty.  But you can’t just pick a peanut and eat it.  Who can tell me what you have to do first?  (Allow for response).  Of course, you have to take off the shell. 

            All peanuts grow with a hard shell around them.  In fact, this shell reminds me of how we are born.  The Bible says that we are all born in sin.  So it’s like we all have a hard shell of sin around our heart.  We know that if we are going to be able to use this peanut we have to get rid of the shell.  And if we are going to be useful to God and have a relationship with Him, we must allow Him to get rid of the sin in our life. 

            But do you know what some people try to do?  They try to keep their sin and still be okay with God.  They come to God and say, “Here I am, sin and all.”  (Take a bite of a peanut in its shell, or have a helper take a bite).  You can’t leave the shell on a peanut and you can’t leave the sin in your life if you want to live for God.  Other people leave the sin in their life because they say it’s too hard to get rid of it.  That’s like saying, “It’s too hard to shell the peanut, so I’ll just eat it whole.”  (Take a bite of a peanut in its shell, or have a helper take a bite).  It doesn’t work that way!  There’s no shortcut; you have to let God break up the hard places in your heart and get rid of the sin.  And there are a few people who try to make the sin in their life look good.  They might say, “Well, everyone else calls people names,” or, “It’s not that bad to talk about other people, as long as it’s true.”  (Color a peanut shell with some food coloring, then attempt to eat it.)  That’s funny; it still doesn’t taste any better. 

            If you’re going to enjoy this peanut, you’re going to have to get rid of the shell completely.  You can’t keep it on, you can’t say it’s just too hard to take off and you can’t try to make it look good.  If you’re going to live for God, you have to let him break up the hard ground of your heart; you have to ask Him to forgive the sin in your life and then turn away from your sin.  You can’t make excuses for your sin.  You can’t ignore it.

            Get rid of the sin and keep your heart soft toward God.