Hearts Ready to Receive God's Word

Everybody has a heart,
but some hearts are hungering and thirsting for God.  
The hearts that don't receive God's Word are called hard hearts.

This little activity demonstrates how our hearts receive The Word, believe it, and hold it fast.
(They soak it up just like the sponge does.)
Then when those hearts are used (They are exercised just like the muscles that they are.),
God's Word comes out of those hearts to bless people and glorify God.

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FOR THIS ACTIVITY YOU WILL NEED:

3.  A cup of water that can be poured easily, or a cup of water and an eyedropper.
4.  A shallow pan (A pie pan works well.) or a large plate.

1.  Simply put both kinds of heart pieces on your plate or in your pan.
           Be sure the children understand which heart is tender and which is hard and what that means.
2.  Then slowly pour water over both hearts, or wet both hearts using an eyedropper.
          Notice how the sponge heart soaks up the water but that the water just rolls off the hard heart.
          (The hard heart may be prettier on the outside, but it isn't holding any of God's Word.)
3.  Have a child pick up a sponge heart, squeeze it, and tell what comes out.
4.  Then have a child pick up a hard heart and try to squeeze it.  Does any water come out from it?
 

Stuck for something to say while squeezing sponges?
Practice a Bible verse while pouring it in and the again while squeezing it out
to show that The Word that you keep in your heart will come out when you use your heart.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Psalms 105:3, 119:2, 119:10, 119:11
• Proverbs 3:5, 4:4, 4:23
• Matthew 13:19, 22:37
• Mark 12:30
• Luke 8:15, 10:27
• Romans 10:9,10
• Ephesians 1:32