Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones

Lesson for the last week in October - Halloween

Scriptures: Ezekiel 37:4b "O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord." and 1 John 5:12, "He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath NOT the Son of God hath not life."

Props: A plastic jack-O-lantern or carved pumpkin, a disassembled plastic skeleton from the Dollar Tree and one that is fully together.

Words to the "Negro spiritual" song, "Dem Bones."

This is the last week of October and many people decorate for Halloween. We don't like the scary things that are done or what some people have made this holiday to be, some people do put up decorations that can make us think about God and things of the Bible. The pumpkins that are carved with a happy face remind me of the salvation story. 

When we break the pumpkin open so that it can be cleaned out - its like our hearts being broken by sins that hurt God's heart. Sin in our hearts is really yucky to God. So GOD want us to open up our heart and clean all the yucky stuff out by asking Jesus to forgive us of all our sins. When we do that, we begin to see life differently. 

When I carve the eyes in my pumpkin, it's like Jesus giving me HIS eyes to see. The nose I carved reminds me that SIN STINKS! I now have "discernment," to sense stinky sin before I do it and stay away from those things that hurt God's heart and gets me into trouble. 

And the smile on the pumpkin is the way I feel when I think of the wonderful ways God blesses me and takes care of me.

When I put a light inside the pumpkin, it reminds me I should SHINE and tell others what Jesus did for me when HE died on the Cross for sin. I should GLOW so much that others see the difference in me because I am now going to go to heaven some day to be with God! And when I see a skeleton, even THAT reminds me of what GOD wants to do for people who have not asked for forgiveness of their sins!

Look at these bones! The bones are all apart aren't they? In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel was shown something very special by God and was told to write it all down to be in the Bible. God set Ezekiel down in a big valley that was full of bones!

God explained to Ezekiel that these DRY BONES represented the spiritual condition of Israel and they were a dried up people and far from living to please God!

But God told Ezekiel that someday God would bring the BONES of Israel back together God would bring HIS people back to love and serve him and be full of life as children of God again!

I need someone to read Ezekiel 37:4b. This tells us what God told Ezekiel to say to the nation of Israel. What does he say to them? "O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord!"

The story in Ezekiel goes on to remind the people to LISTEN to what GOD says in HIS Word! That will put their life of a nation back together again. When people don't listen to the Word of the LORD - God's Word - their life falls apart--nothing works right.

The old song, DEM BONES tells how our bones are connected if we listen to the Words of the LORD. Ankle bone connected to the leg bone, leg bone connected to the hip bone, hip bone connected to the back bone, back bone connected to the neck bone, neck bone connected to the head bone --- now HEAR THE WORD of the LORD! (Listen on YouTube)

This story in the Old Testament is to tell us that even in our lives today, we fall apart without God holding us together. Read 1 John 5:12, "He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath NOT the Son of God hath not life." When we don't listen to GOD for salvation, we are just like DRY BONES - we can't do anything to please God! We are discombobulated and can't go to heaven! We need to HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD! 

How do we HEAR GOD today? We read GOD's Word! And every word in the Bible is ABSOLUTELY TRUE!

The Bible tells us without the SON (JESUS) and believing JESUS paid for our sins, asking for HIS forgiveness, and repenting of our sins, we do not have life! 

JESUS wants to pull our old dead bones together! (SHOW the complete skeleton.)

JESUS gives us NEW LIFE, a NEW HEART, and NEW JOY TO SERVE HIM!

So when you see any skeletons hanging around as decorations, think of what God told Ezekiel to say to all those dead DRY BONES --- HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!

And when God pulls our dry (useless) bones back together, be like the happy Jack-O-Lantern and SHINE for Jesus!

Suggested Prayer: Thank you God, for the many ways we can see you in the world around us - even in Halloween decorations. Help us shine for YOU-telling everyone about JESUS!  AMEN!

Copyright 2013 Emmalea Butler
1servinghim2@embarqmail.com

Get our Gospel tracts SHINE Pumpkin and Dry, Dead Bones Skeleton Flip Card to coincide with this lesson. 

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