Time Tokens

Make the best use of your time. Ephesians 5:16 (NLV)

 Props: 24 tickets (or equal sized papers) that can represent one hour of each day; boxes with slots cut in the top and labeled “sleep,” “family,” “school,” “friends,” “TV/Video Games,” “God”

 Throughout the lesson, remind the kids that the tickets each represent one hour of the day.  Make parts of the lesson humorous (For example, tear a ticket into small pieces when you come to the family box, and only put in a small piece).

 Today’s lesson is all about time.  How many hours are there in each day?  (Allow for response).  Right!  24. Time is a precious gift from God.  He allows us to choose what to do with our time.  Let me show you what I mean.

(Show tickets).  These tickets each represent one hour of a day.  You all have 24 hours each day.  This is your time.  Some of that time you cannot choose how to spend.  (Place 9 tickets through the slot in the “sleep” box).  Your parents give you a bed time because you need your rest.  So let’s say you sleep for 9 hours or maybe more each night.  That leaves you with 15 hours.  Then, of course you have to go to school.  So you spend another 9 hours getting dressed in the morning, going to school, coming home and doing homework.  (Place 9 tickets through the slot in the “school” box).  Now you only have 6 hours left.  (Place 1 ticket through the slot in the box labeled “family”).  Everyone has to have family time, like eating dinner and doing chores.  And who wants to spend a bunch of time on chores?  So you rush through that as fast as you can.  (Tear a ticket into pieces and put one small piece in the box).  After 1 hour and 15 minutes for your family, you have 4 hours, 45 minutes to yourself. 

This is the fun time!  You can talk to friends on the phone, or play with them outside.  (Place 2 tickets through the slot in the “friends” box).  You can spend whatever time you have left watching TV, playing video games or doing whatever your parents let you do for fun.  (Place all but one little piece of a ticket into the “TV/Video Games” box).  And then, just before you go to bed at night, you remember, “Oh yeah, I was supposed to spend time with God.  I need to use my time for Him.”  But all you have left is 5 minutes before bedtime.  So you say, “Dear Lord, please bless me and my family.  Amen.” And you read a verse really fast in your Bible and then it’s time for bed.

So you think to yourself, “I wish I had more time.  Maybe if I had back some of that time I spent with my friends…”  (Turn “friends” box upside down and shake it, as if trying to get the tickets out).  “If I could just get back some of the time I spent watching TV, I could use it for God.”  (Turn “TV” box upside down and shake it).  Can you go back in time and get back even one minute?  Of course not!  Once you spend your time, it’s gone.  So it’s very important how you spend it. 

Use your time for God, and it will never be wasted.  Spend your time worshiping, loving and serving Him.