The Thread of Sin

Angle 1:

Angle 2:

Needed:

• Spool of thread
• Willing volunteer

Lesson:

This is a very simple lesson about lying.

Have a volunteer come out and hold his arms outstretched. Produce a small length of thread and tie it round the volunteer’s wrists.

Say, “This one twist of thread represents one sin. Imagine that [our volunteer] told one lie, realized what he had done was wrong, and determined to break free from his sin and give up lying. It doesn’t look too tough, go ahead and break free from this thread.”

They will easily be able to do this.

Have the volunteer hold his arms outstretched again. Begin wrapping it around the volunteer’s wrists.

“Now imagine that our volunteer did not give up his lying, but told another lie to try to cover up the first one, then another, and another.”

Wrap their arms and hands over and over again and eventually tie the ends together.

Say,” Eventually you realize what was happening and you decide to break free from the lies. But what happens this time?”

No matter how hard the volunteer struggles, he is unable to snap the thread and break free.

That is how sin works. John 8:34 says “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant [slave] of sin.”

Think for a moment what a slave is—someone who cannot do what he wants to do and has to do what he doesn’t want to do! If sin becomes a habit in your life—whether it is lying or something else, it will be extremely hard to stop without help, even if you want to.

The good news is that if we ask Him, Jesus is able to break the power of sin in our lives and, as John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Produce a pair of scissors and set your volunteer free.