June 9th, 2025
By: Tabitha White
One of my favorite parts about being a Children’s Pastor is getting to teach kids about Jesus through object lessons. As a visual learner myself, it’s amazing to watch a kid’s reaction as they see a visual representation of what they have been taught. It could be an illusion like a dove pan that shows how God can take the messy parts of our life and use them for His glory. It could be using a selfish act of hoarding candy from a friend to explain that it’s selfish to keep the Gospel to ourselves. Or, it might be using flash paper to show how Jesus takes away all of our sins as we repent. See, an object lesson helps to make something abstract more easily understandable to our minds.
For the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of getting to teach object lessons to Pastor Brandy and Pastor Kara for their upcoming missions trip to South Africa. We’ve talked about inflection, reading the room, and bringing all the energy. But last week, I was able to teach them my absolute favorite object lesson. One that we affectionately call “The Lab Coat.”
At the very beginning of the lesson, I call up a volunteer and give them a nice, clean white lab coat to wear. In this object lesson, the cleanliness of the lab coat represents our life when we are born…before the lies of the devil have started to shape how we see ourselves. As we go through the lesson, we talk about labels that are put on our lives, sometimes by others, but also by ourselves. By the time we are finished going through the lesson, the once clean coat is now covered with roughly ten labels, varying from “dumb” or “ugly” to “broken” or "mistake”.
Then, my favorite part comes into play. We talk about how we can combat each of those labels with the Word of God! When we lay them down at His feet, He gives us a new name and new label as a chosen, child of God! I take the coat that was covered with negative labels and exchange it for a beautiful, new coat that Gabi has painted with words that describe who we are in Christ: a Masterpiece, chosen, called, loved, an overcomer! The words that Paul wrote to remind us of who we are in Christ. My volunteer then gets to take home the painted lab coat as a permanent reminder of who God has called them to be: a chosen, child of God!
But what about us? We can’t walk around wearing painted lab coats everyday. We could, but people might look at us strangely! However, how many of us let the lies of the enemy shape the way we look at ourselves every single day? I know that I have been guilty of it on more than one occasion!
As I was preparing for a lesson a few weeks ago, John 8:44 jumped out at me, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” I can’t tell you how many times that I have read this verse before, but it jumped off the page at me that day! “When he lies, he speaks his native language!” When we hear those whispers from the devil causing us to doubt who we are in Christ, we have to remind ourselves that just as the devil cannot tell the truth, our God cannot lie! What He has said about us will stand the test of time!
Let’s dismantle a few of the common lies that we sometimes believe about ourselves.
“God could never use me.”
In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Before you were born, God had a plan for your life! He has plans to use your story and your willingness to serve to spread His Gospel to the people around you!
“God is too far away. He doesn’t care.”
Well friend, Isaiah 49:16 says, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother, and he hears every single prayer that we ever pray! The Bible even tells us that Jesus is praying for US! How incredible!!
“I’m just a mistake!”
If I’m honest, this one makes me angry! We’ve prayed with kids and teenagers that have heard this lie their entire life! “You’re a mistake” is one lie that I pray would be broken off of every single life. See, when that lie comes at you, direct your eyes to Psalm 139:13-16.
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Before you were born, God knew you. Friend, you are not a mistake! God carefully wove you together and knew every moment of your life before you were born!
Let me leave you with a challenge! Don’t accept the lies of the devil as the truth. Call them out as lies and combat them with God’s truth! Dig deeply into God’s Word to learn His ways and His character. You might not wear a painted lab coat everyday to remind yourself of who you are in Christ, but I am praying that you will hide God’s Word in your heart so deeply that none of the devil’s lies have a fighting chance!
One of my favorite parts about being a Children’s Pastor is getting to teach kids about Jesus through object lessons. As a visual learner myself, it’s amazing to watch a kid’s reaction as they see a visual representation of what they have been taught. It could be an illusion like a dove pan that shows how God can take the messy parts of our life and use them for His glory. It could be using a selfish act of hoarding candy from a friend to explain that it’s selfish to keep the Gospel to ourselves. Or, it might be using flash paper to show how Jesus takes away all of our sins as we repent. See, an object lesson helps to make something abstract more easily understandable to our minds.
For the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of getting to teach object lessons to Pastor Brandy and Pastor Kara for their upcoming missions trip to South Africa. We’ve talked about inflection, reading the room, and bringing all the energy. But last week, I was able to teach them my absolute favorite object lesson. One that we affectionately call “The Lab Coat.”
At the very beginning of the lesson, I call up a volunteer and give them a nice, clean white lab coat to wear. In this object lesson, the cleanliness of the lab coat represents our life when we are born…before the lies of the devil have started to shape how we see ourselves. As we go through the lesson, we talk about labels that are put on our lives, sometimes by others, but also by ourselves. By the time we are finished going through the lesson, the once clean coat is now covered with roughly ten labels, varying from “dumb” or “ugly” to “broken” or "mistake”.
Then, my favorite part comes into play. We talk about how we can combat each of those labels with the Word of God! When we lay them down at His feet, He gives us a new name and new label as a chosen, child of God! I take the coat that was covered with negative labels and exchange it for a beautiful, new coat that Gabi has painted with words that describe who we are in Christ: a Masterpiece, chosen, called, loved, an overcomer! The words that Paul wrote to remind us of who we are in Christ. My volunteer then gets to take home the painted lab coat as a permanent reminder of who God has called them to be: a chosen, child of God!
But what about us? We can’t walk around wearing painted lab coats everyday. We could, but people might look at us strangely! However, how many of us let the lies of the enemy shape the way we look at ourselves every single day? I know that I have been guilty of it on more than one occasion!
As I was preparing for a lesson a few weeks ago, John 8:44 jumped out at me, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” I can’t tell you how many times that I have read this verse before, but it jumped off the page at me that day! “When he lies, he speaks his native language!” When we hear those whispers from the devil causing us to doubt who we are in Christ, we have to remind ourselves that just as the devil cannot tell the truth, our God cannot lie! What He has said about us will stand the test of time!
Let’s dismantle a few of the common lies that we sometimes believe about ourselves.
“God could never use me.”
In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Before you were born, God had a plan for your life! He has plans to use your story and your willingness to serve to spread His Gospel to the people around you!
“God is too far away. He doesn’t care.”
Well friend, Isaiah 49:16 says, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother, and he hears every single prayer that we ever pray! The Bible even tells us that Jesus is praying for US! How incredible!!
“I’m just a mistake!”
If I’m honest, this one makes me angry! We’ve prayed with kids and teenagers that have heard this lie their entire life! “You’re a mistake” is one lie that I pray would be broken off of every single life. See, when that lie comes at you, direct your eyes to Psalm 139:13-16.
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Before you were born, God knew you. Friend, you are not a mistake! God carefully wove you together and knew every moment of your life before you were born!
Let me leave you with a challenge! Don’t accept the lies of the devil as the truth. Call them out as lies and combat them with God’s truth! Dig deeply into God’s Word to learn His ways and His character. You might not wear a painted lab coat everyday to remind yourself of who you are in Christ, but I am praying that you will hide God’s Word in your heart so deeply that none of the devil’s lies have a fighting chance!
No Comments