As part of our summer kids’ ministry program this year, we did this fun bubble snake object lesson to demonstrate the God’s power working within us.
Scripture
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. – Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
The Experiment
This bubble snake experiment makes a great object lesson for kids and youth. It is fairly messy, so make sure to do it outside or in an area where you can easily catch lots of bubbles in a dish or clean up a soapy mess afterwards.
Materials Needed
- a cardboard tube (toilet paper roll, paper towel roll, etc.)
- a small piece of cloth or an old washcloth to fit over the end of the cardboard tube
- an elastic band
- a shallow bowl (or other container)
- bubble solution (buy a cheap bubble solution at the dollar store, or make your own with water, dish soap, and sugar – see recipe below)
Bubble Snake Object Lesson | Instructions
- Place a small piece of cloth over the end of your cardboard tube.
- Secure it in place with an elastic band.
- Pour your bubble solution into a shallow bowl or pan (for an easy DIY bubble solution see the recipe below)
- Dip the cloth-covered end of the cardboard tube into the bubble solution.
- Blow into the other end of the cardboard tube.
Note: for small kids especially, be careful to blow and not to suck on the end of your cardboard tube.
How to Make Your Own Bubble Solution
- 1 part dish soap (1/4 cup)
- 3 parts water (3/4 cup)
- little bit of sugar (1 tsp)
Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl (or other container).
Observation
As the kids are making streams of bubbles, discuss Ephesians 3:20 and talk about the power of God at work within us.
You can also use this object lesson to complement many Bible stories: anywhere where someone relies on God to do something great, surprising, or scary. We used this object lesson to talk about Daniel and the Lion’s Den and how God was working in Daniel to give him the courage to refuse to pray to the king and to face a den of lion’s. (Something we all agreed we would not have the courage to do on our own.)
Questions to ask the kids to encourage discussion:
- How many bubbles did you expect to be able to make?
- Was this a lot more than you expected?
- How is that like the power of God? (Encourage them to come to the point that God can do so much more than we can even imagine or than we expect.)
- When has God helped you in the past?
