Object Lesson on the Gospel - Mystery Meat
Use this object lesson on the Gospel to teach kids how to spot things that are false gospels.
Object Needed: Can of Mystery Meat
Big Idea: Know what the Bible says.
We've included the text for this object lesson below and we even recorded a video to help give you ideas for how to teach it. Enjoy watching!
The Gospel Object Lesson Script
How many of you can tell me what that is? Does anyone have a guess?
I’m sure all of you have seen something like this in your school cafeteria. The truth is that no one knows what it really is. It could be meat. It could be something made to taste like meat that has no real meat in it whatsoever. These foods go by many names—chuck wagon or beef patty, for example—but for decades, the universally accepted term for this kind of food is mystery meat.
While we may never know what mystery meat is, we can say with almost certainty what it is not. It is not chicken or pork or beef. How do we know this? Because we know what chicken, pork, and beef look like. We know what they smell like, and we know what they taste like. When you smell burgers on a grill or fresh fried chicken, you don’t need someone to tell you what you’re about to eat. You know. Your mouth starts to water and your stomach growls. When you smell mystery meat, your stomach makes noises too—but not good noises. Mystery meat is not the real thing.
And just as there are foods made to look like the real thing, there are people teaching false gospels that sound like the real thing. Since the days of the early church, there have been people who take the words of Christ and twist them for their own selfish reasons. They can be very persuasive and sound sincere, but how do you know if what they’re teaching is the real thing or not?
You know mystery meat when you see it because you’ve eaten enough real meat to know what it’s supposed to taste like. In the same way, you can get to know Jesus by spending time with him. Make prayer a daily part of your life, and learn to listen when you pray. Another way you get to know the true gospel is to read the gospel. Read the Bible daily, get into a Bible study with other believers, and memorize Scripture that will help you remember the teachings of Jesus. The more time you spend with the Lord, the better you will know his Word. You’ll be able to smell a false gospel a mile away.