Cooking With the Right Ingredients | Object Lesson
This is an object lesson that can help you teach your class about how we need to put the proper ingredients in our lives if we want it to turn out correctly. Go to Heaven you have to put the things of God inside!
Needed:
Two identical bowls or pans, “good” ingredients (graham crackers, Oreos, caramel, marshmallows, rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, or other dessert items), “bad” ingredients (mustard, mayonnaise, relish, apple cider vinegar), two spoons or forks for demonstration, a towel or bib (optional), and a Bible opened to Psalm 51:10 and Acts 2:38.
This lesson gives a vivid visual of how holiness begins on the inside, not just in outward appearance. It’s lighthearted, a little messy, and perfect for keeping children engaged while driving home an important truth about living right before God.
Before class, prepare two identical bowls or pans. In one, mix the “good” ingredients—sweet things that make sense in a dessert like graham crackers, Oreos, caramel, marshmallows, and sprinkles. In the other, use the “bad” ingredients—mustard, mayonnaise, relish, and apple cider vinegar. Both bowls should look appealing, so cover them with whipped cream or sprinkles so they appear nearly identical from the outside.
Begin by announcing that you’ll be having a “bake-off.” Act confident, maybe even overly dramatic about how professional you are in the kitchen. Hold up the two bowls and show that they look almost exactly the same. Then, while one bowl is filled with good dessert ingredients, start proudly mixing the “bad” ones into the other, pretending they’re secret chef techniques. Kids will laugh as they realize how terrible your recipe is turning out. If possible, let a helper make the “good” version while you continue to ruin yours.
When both bowls are finished, line them up side by side. From the outside, they’ll look delicious and identical. Ask the children which one they’d like to eat, then dramatically pretend to take a bite of the bad one. React in an exaggerated way—make a disgusted face and show that it definitely wasn’t what it appeared to be.
Now explain the point. People can be the same way. Two people might look identical on the outside—they know how to act, dress, and talk like a Christian—but God looks deeper. He sees the inside. If our heart isn’t clean, we can’t be right with Him, no matter how good we look outwardly.
Read Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Talk about how we need to ask God to make our hearts pure, not just our appearance. Then read Acts 2:38: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Explain that repentance is how we clean out the “bad ingredients” from our lives—things like sin, pride, or anger—and the Holy Ghost fills us with what’s good, like love, joy, and peace.
Wrap up by reminding your class that God cares most about what’s on the inside. Looking like a Christian is good, but living like one from the heart is what truly matters. Encourage them to pray that God helps them keep their heart right and filled with the things that please Him. When the inside is right, the outside will follow.
*Tags: Chef, cooking, cooks, correct ingredients, kitchen, make your life right, plan of salvation, put good things inside of you, salvation, sin, holy ghost, repentance, baptism in Jesus name
