Talk the Talk

Talk the Talk

by Oz and Wilde

Needed

three inflated twisting balloons (#260)
hand pump and spare balloons

Inflating the balloons in advance makes the lesson go a bit more smoothly; however, have some spare balloons and a pump ready if one of the balloons happens to explode during presentation.

Practice ahead of time making a simple balloon dog. If you dont know this skill, see the note at the end of the article for some recommendations.

What to say and do:

I have something just wonderful that I want to show you! Are you ready for this? Im going to twist this balloon like this, and this, and thisetc.(Continue twisting the balloon until you make a basic dog.)

Are you ready for this?(Hold up figure.)Its a dog!

Oh, but that isnt all. Ive got another balloon. Watch this!(Twist the next balloon and make the identical balloon sculpture.)

Are you ready for this?(Hold up the balloon sculpture.)Its a dog! Isnt that stupendous? I knew youd all be very, very impressed.

But wait . . . that isnt all. Ive got another balloon. Watch this!(Again twist the third balloon and make the same sculpture.)Youll never guess what this isits a dog!

Whats the matter? Oh, I guess youre kind of getting tired of watching me make the same thing over and over.

Jesus talked about not doing the same thing over and over when He talked about prayer. Matthew tells us in the sixth chapter, verses 7 and 8, And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him (Matthew 6:7, 8, NIV).

What Jesus was telling us was that when we pray, we shouldnt babble on and on and on and on and on and on and on . . . the way some people do. In other words, if when you pray all you ever do is say exactly the same prayer every time, then you are really reciting a speech, not really talking to God.

God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen. I dont think that really is a conversation with the One who made everything. When we pray, we need to talk to Him. This needs to be a personal conversation with God, like youre talking to a friend.

What if your friend said to you every day, Oh, hi. How are you? You are my friend. Well, I have to go. Bye. If that is all they ever said to you, do you think that person would really be a good friend? I dont think so. So why do some people think we are being a good Christian when every time we pray, we say exactly the same thing?

It is time to really use our prayer times to talk with God, our best friend. And as our Bible verses told us, God hears us when we pray and even knows our prayers before we speak them.

Note: If you dont know how to twist a basic balloon dog, you can learn from many places on the Internet.Visit http://www.balloonhq.com/highlights/dog.

If you like, you could replace balloon twisting with folding an animal with origami paper. Or anything that you repeat, appearing to be oblivious at first to the fact that your audience is not impressed.

Oz and Wilde are the creators of FX4Christ. Their passion is sharing the love of God with children through skits, illusion,humor, and of course, balloons! Invite them to your next childrens ministries event to share the gospel in an innovative way. http://www.ozandwilde.com http://www.heroesplayhouse.com