Introduction
In Psalms 51:10, we read “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” What a beautiful verse and a beautiful way to begin a new year and a new day. Many of our Bible stories or events allow us to teach children the importance of having a clean heart and renewed, steadfast spirit. This object lesson will make the verse a reality.
Preparation
You will need to gather:
a. Red hearts. We decided to use plastic, fillable hearts and glued them shut.
c. Wet Wipes or wet paper towels
Prior to class paint the red hearts with the paint. We chose to use the brown paint as we wanted it to symbolize dirt. We only painted half of the front of the heart so the children would not get paint on their church clothes. You may opt to wear paint smocks for this activity. Let the paint have plenty of time to dry before the children do the activity. Note: If you are doing this activity with older children, you can use smaller hearts, dry erase markers and kleenxes.
Activity
Ask the children about where their heart is. Explain our physical beating heart that sends blood pumping through our body is in our chest. God made us that way. Our heart that has all our thoughts and how we feel is actually in our head or brain.
Show the children the red heart but the side of one that is clean. Tell the children in our heart or head we can have a very clean heart like this one. We have love and goodness, happiness and hope. But sometimes our heart can get dirty like this side.
We need God’s help to clean our heart. We want Him to make us pure or clean. How does He do that? We pray and we ask God to help wipe away our sadness, the bad things we have done, and help us remember to be good. We want happiness and love. We want to be kind to one another and help each other when we can.
So let’s make this heart a clean heart. Let’s first talk to God through prayer and ask God to make in each of us a clean heart. (The teacher says a simple prayer.) Then give each child a Wet Wipe or wet paper towel and let the children scrub the dirt off their heart to make it a clean heart.
Conclusion
After everyone’s heart is clean, ask how does their heart look now? Yes, it is nice and clean and free from all that dirt. It is nice to be clean. I am glad God can make the heart in my body clean just like I made this heart clean. For younger children, sing the song below. For older children, sing the song, “Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God”
Sing: “Make in Me a Clean Heart”
Tune: “London Bridge is Falling Down”
Make in me a clean heart,
Clean heart, clean heart
Make in me a clean heart.
Oooo God.
This activity works well with our other heart activity.
a. Jesus Had a Heart of Service Craft
