Object Lesson - The Key to Heaven

A key is almost a universal symbol around the world. Keys promise access, freedom, transport, protection, and safety. A key is used to represent access to something of value just as a physical key opens up a door or something that was previously inaccessible. The key is also used in the Bible, both literally and symbolically.

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What You Need

• A variety of old keys include a House Key. You’ll also need at least one key for each youth. Most people have a variety of old keys lying somewhere around the house. You can also visit a locksmith to get old keys that did not work or blank keys.

 
Games using Keys

• Key Toss – Line up the youth a set distance from a wall with no obstructions between the youth and the wall. Youth take turns tossing their key toward the wall in an attempt to get as close to the wall as possible. The key closest to the wall or even leaning up against the wall is the winner. To add a little more difficulty, require the keys to hit the wall to be a valid toss.
• Drown the Key – Fill a bowl or wide mouth glass, or glass jar with water until the water level is about 1 inch from the top. Cover the bowl or wide mouth glass jar with a paper napkin, being careful to not get it damp. Secure the napkin to the top of the jar with a rubber band and then lie the key across the top. Using a sharp pencil, each youth takes a turn poking a hole in the napkin. The game over when the key drops into the water. The objective is to not be the person who caused the key to fall. If you want the game to go faster, require that the pencil touch the water when it is poked through the napkin. This creates bigger holes and moves the game along faster.
• Key Taps – Everyone sits around a table with a metal key in their hand. The rules are simple. One tap of the key on the table moves the game play to the next person on the right. Two taps of the key moves the plat to the person on the left. Choose someone to start. The first person taps the key on the table either once or twice. If it is tapped once, the person on the right gets to tap next. If it is tapped twice the person on the left gets to tap next. If someone taps out of turn or face to tap, they are eliminated from the game or given a forfeit.
• Which key? – Have a variety of keys lined up on a table. Youth are to try to make a list what each key fits. The youth to get the most correct wins.

 

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

DISCUSSION

• Have the youth take out any keys they have with them.
• How many keys do you have?
• Who has the most keys?
• How old were you when you were given your first key? How did it mke you feel?
• * What does each key open or give you access to? A house key, a car key, a bike key, an office key, a key to your church, a luggage key, a locker key?
• What is the purpose of a key?
• Why are keys important?
• How does it feel to lose a key?
• What are some things we know about keys?
• If your keys could tell a story, what would they tell?
• What do your keys say about you?

Keys are unique. There are wooden keys, iron keys, large keys, and small keys. They each have a purpose. Without the right key for the right lock, we are totally locked out. We cannot get in, to access what is beyond the lock. We have house keys, car keys, a mailbox key, an office key, a desk key, a key to a diary, a drawer, a locker, the garage. There are keys you have been given, keys you found, keys you no longer need, keys from relatives. Our keys could tell wonderful stories. There are keys who have lost their purpose. Keys to forgotten places. Keys to places that no longer exist. Keys to the past. Keys that open a magical place. Keys to treasures. Many people evaluate life by the keys they own – they key to a nice house, an expensive car. But we also use the same word when we talk about the keys to to success, or the keys to happiness. Keys may be small, but they can open up great things. The Bible also mentions keys.
 
MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

What do the following scriptures say about keys?

• Deuteronomy 30:20 – “You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life.”
• Proverbs 4:13 – “Take hold of My instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.”
• Isaiah 22:22 – Eliakim was someone who had the power to control entry into the kingdom. As the king’s steward, he decided who could or could not have access to the king.
• Revelation 3:7-10 – “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liarsI will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”
• Matthew 16:13-20 – Peter’s confession opened the way to heaven.
• John 14:5-14 – Jesus is the only way that gives you access to God. He not only opens the door, but he is the door. (John 10:7,9)

 
MAKE IT PRACTICAL

• How does a person access God?
• How do we move into the presence of God?
• How do we gain access to the blessings of God?
• What benefits does access to God give us as believers?

 
MAKE IT PERSONAL

• Are you struggling with the key to life?
• Are you feeling locked out and left alone?
• Do you feel separated from God? Or from his blessings?

Let Jesus meet you at the door of your heart! He will let you in for Christ is your Key! He wants to open your way to God and all that God promises. He is the way to heaven, the access to forgiveness, the truth that will set you free from the bondage of sin, the key to life everlasting. Today is the day to open your heart. Eternity is a long time to be locked out. 
KEY SCRIPTURE VERSE

John 14:6 – “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”