Object Lesson on Seeking God - Folding Chair

Use this object lesson on seeking God to teach kids how to get to God.

Object Needed: Folding Chari

Bible Verse: Matthew 6:33

Big Idea: Give God everything you do.

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!

Seeking God Object Lesson Script

(You will need a real folding chair for this illustration. Bring the chair out, and ask for a volunteer. Hand the chair to the student without unfolding it and give the student the following direction.) 

Sit in the chair. 

(The student will try to open the chair. Stop him or her! Do not let the student open the chair. Firmly repeat your previous instruction to sit in the chair, but do not let the student open the chair. When the student resists, ask him or her why he or she is not listening to you and sitting. When the student tells you he or she has to open the chair first, you can take the chair back and let the student sit down. As the student does so, go on with the lesson by asking the following.)

Does anyone think [he or she] can do what I asked? Can anyone sit in this chair without opening it? 

You can’t sit in a folding chair unless you open it. A folding chair has four legs to support you. Folded, the chair has only two legs touching the floor. Without those other two legs and the seat down, you can’t sit in a folding chair. 

I wanted to do this to illustrate something to you: Sometimes in life, there are times when you want to jump ahead. You want to dive in and do something exciting. But you can’t just jump in and do what you want. For example, you can’t run on the football field and play wide receiver if you’ve never practiced with the team. As another example, you can’t perform surgery in a hospital without first going to college and medical school. You have to take care of first things first. 

What’s sad is that there are people who jump ahead and do what they want without putting first things first. And the biggest thing most people forget to do first is to seek the Lord. 

If you have an important decision to make, you should first take it to the Lord. If you are starting something new that will require your best, you should pray about it. Even if you’re going to start a new project to serve God—be it volunteering or starting a band or whatever—you need to seek the Lord first. 

Am I saying that God will booby trap you if you don’t go to him first? No! But God knows you and your heart better than you know yourself. He has a plan for you, and if you want to live that plan to the fullest, you need to get right with God. 

Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek God first, and “all these things” will be added to us. That doesn’t mean we’ll get everything we want. In fact, when we seek God first, sometimes he brings our plans to a screeching halt. But if that happens, it’s because God has another plan—a plan that is bigger and better than anything you could imagine. 

But first things first: You need to seek the Lord.

Looking for more?  Be sure to view our entire collection of 52 Bible object lessons for kids and children's sermons.