Need a festive holiday idea for families at your church? Try this Christmas object lesson: a joyful science experiment!

Prepare for the Christmas Object Lesson

For each family you’ll need:

• Bible (check out this kid-friendly version!)
• 20-ounce bottle of Sprite
• bag of about 20 small jingle bells (about 8-12mm)
• magnet wand

Quick Tip:

Make sure each family has their own Sprite bottle! You may be tempted to purchase a big bottle of Sprite and pour the liquid into cups, but the experiment won’t work as well that way! Plus, giving each family their own bottle helps prevent spills!

Lead the Christmas Lesson for Families

Introduce a Bible Story

Say: It was such an exciting and wonderful day when Jesus was born. In fact, a Bible book called Luke talks about how Jesus’ birth was so amazing that angels came to tell shepherds the exciting news that Jesus was born. Let’s hear what the angels said:

Read aloud Luke 2:10 and 2:14.

Say: The angels excitedly shared the joyful news that Jesus was born!

Talk About Joy!

Say:  Just like the angels sang a long time ago, Jesus is still the “good news of great joy for all the people” today!

And we have that great joy with us all the time! It’s fun to have joyful happy times in our lives. But sometimes, we might not feel that great joy. We might not feel happy all the time. But joy isn’t just a happy feeling. Joy from Jesus is deeper than that. It’s a joy we can have even in hard times.

Let me show you what I mean with a science experiment!

Conduct a Joyful Experiment

Hand out supplies to each family: a bottle of Sprite, jingle bells, and a magnet wand. Have families keep the wands and bells separated for now.

Say: Grown-ups, give everyone in your family three jingle bells, and keep an eye out that no little ones put jingle bells in their mouths!

Allow time.

Say: Now everyone: Hold those jingle bells in your hands as you think about a hard time you’ve been through—a time when you didn’t feel joy. Maybe a friend moved away, a sibling hurt your feelings, or someone you love got sick.

Jesus understands those hard times. From the time he was a tiny baby in a manger, Jesus faced hard times as he grew up. People hurt him, his friends got sick, and he even endured great pain when he died on the cross for us.

Jesus knows it’s OK to feel sad sometimes. Let’s see what happens when we give all that we’re feeling during hard times to Jesus! As you think about the hard time you faced, take turns dropping a jingle bell in your bottle of Sprite…and watch what happens!

Allow time. As families experiment, ask:

• What’s happening to the jingle bells?
• Are they sinking? being lifted up?
• What surprises you about what’s happening?

Say: You might’ve thought a metal jingle bell would sink…but the jingle bells are joyfully dancing! Even in the hard times we face, Jesus can bring us joy. He reminds us of how much he loves us, that he’s with us, and that’s comforting!

Now as you might see, sometimes those jingle bells are going down and up again. Life is a lot like that. We’ll have ups when we’re really happy, and downs when we feel sad. But in both the ups and the downs, we can have joy from Jesus! He has the power to always lift us up! Want to see what that looks like?

Talk About Joy That Lasts Forever

Say: Pull out your magnet wand and bring it close to your bottle. What happens now?

Allow time for families to test and see.

Say: The magnet wand has the power to lift all the bells to the top, just like Jesus has the power to give us joy through our hard times! That’s why he made the way for us to be close, forever friends with God.

Jesus loved us so much that he carried all our sadness to the cross, and then he came back to life to save us and give us joy in heaven! That day will be like all the jingle bells staying at the top forever!

But until that day, we may still face hard times in life. We’ll go through ups and downs. But Jesus promises he’s with us. He’ll comfort and remind us how much he loves us. So no matter what’s happening in life—whether it’s a happy day or a sad day—true, lasting joy comes from Jesus!

Close in prayer, thanking Jesus for the lasting joy he gives. Then ask families to help put away the science experiment supplies. (Because of Jesus, even cleaning up can be a joyful activity!)

Meet the Author!

Becky Chaplin has loved serving in children’s and family ministry for almost 10 years. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in family ministry from Concordia Ann Arbor in her home state of Michigan. Becky’s passion for ministry came through leading vacation Bible school from the age of 13 when she discovered her desire to create meaningful, fun experiences for families to grow in faith together. Her favorite things include golden retrievers, Chipotle guacamole, and of course, VBS (she even has it on her license plate!).

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Looking for more Christmas ideas? Check out these festive ideas! And if you’re looking for Christmas programming for your Sunday school or children’s church, check out Simply Loved holiday packs!