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- Home
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Lessons-Alphabetical
- Numeric
- A
-
B
- B.O.O.K.
- Backwards Dude
- Bad News/Good News
- Bag-O-Christmas
- Balloon Brothers
- Beach-in-a-Bottle
- Bears
- Bible Baseball Game
- Bible News Network
- Bible World Records
- Bleach and Iodine
- Bob and Darla's Wedding
- Bob-in-a-Box
- Books of the Bible Puzzle
- Bottle Hoop and Pen
- Box of Chocolates
- Brain Washing
- Brick Balance
- Brown Envelopes
- Bubbles
- Bug-Eyed Bob
-
C
- D
- E
-
F
-
G
-
H
- I-J
- K
- L
-
M
- N-O
-
P
- Q-R
-
S
- Sandcastle
- Satan's Packaging
- Scaffold and Bicycle
- Scale Model of the Universe
- Scavenger Hunt
- Seven Laws of Mr. Lyle Land
- Shell Game
- Shortadoofus
- Simon Says
- Singing Rod
- Six Impossible Things
- Skil Saws
- Slow Ball
- So What Color Was the Donkey
- Soap Opera
- Spaghetti Structures
- Spiritual Salad
- Stress-o-Meter
- S.T.U.P.I.D. Machine
- Super Christian Beachwear
- Survival Kit
-
T
- U-Z
- Topical Indexes
-
Other Things
- Contact
-
Old Lessons and Miscellaneous Stuff
Box Of Chocolates
(Giving Our Best)
(Valentines Day)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23a
The Basic Bible Truth
God deserves our best. He gave His best for us—Jesus. It is tempting to indulge our own desires and wants first, and let God have what is left. That is a definition of selfishness. We should be defined by the word selflessness. Putting God first in our lives, family second, others third, and ourselves as a distant fourth is the key to everything that we do. And when we have achieved that goal, we are then in position to give our best to Him.
The Object
A Large Box Of Assorted Chocolates
A Brightly Colored Toilet Brush
Some Wilted Flowers
Small Empty Container
(Giving Our Best)
(Valentines Day)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23a
The Basic Bible Truth
God deserves our best. He gave His best for us—Jesus. It is tempting to indulge our own desires and wants first, and let God have what is left. That is a definition of selfishness. We should be defined by the word selflessness. Putting God first in our lives, family second, others third, and ourselves as a distant fourth is the key to everything that we do. And when we have achieved that goal, we are then in position to give our best to Him.
The Object
A Large Box Of Assorted Chocolates
A Brightly Colored Toilet Brush
Some Wilted Flowers
Small Empty Container
This makes a great, humorous, Valentines Day talk. And yet it has a very good message included in the humor.
The Lesson
I genuinely struggle each year as I attempt to buy my wife the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. It is especially tough for me because I am a very practical minded guy. So much of Valentine’s Day seems to be a marketing ploy to take my money, and I tend to resist the pressure. I will admit that my first thought is, “How can I do this cheaply?” I am not a wealthy man, and that seems to make sense to me. Allow me to walk you through my yearly struggle.
The first stage in my thinking process is what I call the “Cheap” phase. At this point, the dynamics of Valentine’s Day are in full swing and I am desperately looking to avoid spending the big bucks. Don’t get me wrong; I dearly love my wife. She is very special to me. But I know that she knows we are not wealthy, so maybe I can get by without spending a lot of money. The thought comes into my mind, just for a moment, that I could maybe visit the dumpster behind the local flower shop and get one of yesterdays bouquets. (At this point I bring out the horribly wilted flowers).
But then I realize that will not work very well. So then my mind switches over to Phase Two—finding something practical.
Now we are in my comfort zone. Practical—the most amazing word in the English language. There are so many practical things I could buy my wife; things that would last far beyond this little holiday. My mind races with all of the possibilities. Should it be something just for her, or maybe I could use it too. Those are always the best, right? But then again, this is Valentines Day, and it is supposed to be about her. Suppose I buy her something soft. Something blue and fuzzy. Something she could really use…a toilet brush! (I bring out the toilet brush, usually to laughter.) Seriously, if you buy your wife a toilet brush for Valentines Day, every time she uses it, she WILL be thinking about you!
Maybe that’s not such a good idea. So my mind shifts gears again, and I realize the only solution is to spend the big bucks to buy something just for her.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the 5-pound, Whitman’s Chocolate Sampler! This is the greatest box of chocolate available on the market today. This gift is a guaranteed win on Valentines Day. And look, when you open the lid, it has a road map to tell you what all of the luscious chocolates are that they have packed into this amazing assortment. There are butter creams, and pecan clusters and almond crunch—it has everything you can imagine. And luckily for me, I know which kinds of chocolates she doesn’t like, and I can pull them out before hand and enjoy them myself. Anything with coconut has to go over here in my bucket of chocolate. Then there are the orange creams; she doesn’t like them either. Oh, and all of the almond stuff; that has to come out. Look here are the square caramels. She loves those. They are the best things in the box. But I love them more, so if I take half of them out and then just simply lose the road map, maybe she won’t notice.
(At this point I stop and look at the audience quietly) Does anyone seriously think this is going to work with my wife? Not a chance. There is no way I can get by with this kind of selfishness. And yet, this is exactly the way we treat God too often. We take from our lives what we want first, and give Him what’s left. It won’t work at home; it won’t work with God. He deserves better. He deserves our best. In fact, He deserves all of us.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Lesson
I genuinely struggle each year as I attempt to buy my wife the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. It is especially tough for me because I am a very practical minded guy. So much of Valentine’s Day seems to be a marketing ploy to take my money, and I tend to resist the pressure. I will admit that my first thought is, “How can I do this cheaply?” I am not a wealthy man, and that seems to make sense to me. Allow me to walk you through my yearly struggle.
The first stage in my thinking process is what I call the “Cheap” phase. At this point, the dynamics of Valentine’s Day are in full swing and I am desperately looking to avoid spending the big bucks. Don’t get me wrong; I dearly love my wife. She is very special to me. But I know that she knows we are not wealthy, so maybe I can get by without spending a lot of money. The thought comes into my mind, just for a moment, that I could maybe visit the dumpster behind the local flower shop and get one of yesterdays bouquets. (At this point I bring out the horribly wilted flowers).
But then I realize that will not work very well. So then my mind switches over to Phase Two—finding something practical.
Now we are in my comfort zone. Practical—the most amazing word in the English language. There are so many practical things I could buy my wife; things that would last far beyond this little holiday. My mind races with all of the possibilities. Should it be something just for her, or maybe I could use it too. Those are always the best, right? But then again, this is Valentines Day, and it is supposed to be about her. Suppose I buy her something soft. Something blue and fuzzy. Something she could really use…a toilet brush! (I bring out the toilet brush, usually to laughter.) Seriously, if you buy your wife a toilet brush for Valentines Day, every time she uses it, she WILL be thinking about you!
Maybe that’s not such a good idea. So my mind shifts gears again, and I realize the only solution is to spend the big bucks to buy something just for her.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the 5-pound, Whitman’s Chocolate Sampler! This is the greatest box of chocolate available on the market today. This gift is a guaranteed win on Valentines Day. And look, when you open the lid, it has a road map to tell you what all of the luscious chocolates are that they have packed into this amazing assortment. There are butter creams, and pecan clusters and almond crunch—it has everything you can imagine. And luckily for me, I know which kinds of chocolates she doesn’t like, and I can pull them out before hand and enjoy them myself. Anything with coconut has to go over here in my bucket of chocolate. Then there are the orange creams; she doesn’t like them either. Oh, and all of the almond stuff; that has to come out. Look here are the square caramels. She loves those. They are the best things in the box. But I love them more, so if I take half of them out and then just simply lose the road map, maybe she won’t notice.
(At this point I stop and look at the audience quietly) Does anyone seriously think this is going to work with my wife? Not a chance. There is no way I can get by with this kind of selfishness. And yet, this is exactly the way we treat God too often. We take from our lives what we want first, and give Him what’s left. It won’t work at home; it won’t work with God. He deserves better. He deserves our best. In fact, He deserves all of us.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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