In this magical object lesson, a strip of paper is repeatedly cut in half and put back together. The performer can keep cutting out more pieces from the middle of the paper, and restoring what is left. There are several possible lessons, including teaching the concept of how our sin cuts us off from God.

Effect

A strip of paper is cut in half and is restored. The performer can keep cutting out more pieces from the middle of the paper, and restoring what is left.

Preparation

Cut a strip of paper about two inches wide and at least eight inches long. Heavily coat one side with rubber cement, except for about an inch at each end. (It helps to let it dry and apply a second coat.)  After it dries, coat the rubber cement completely with talc or baby powder.

Presentation

Cut the strip of paper in half. Separate the two pieces to show it is really cut.

Put the two pieces together with the rubber cement on the inside. Cut through both strips about ¼ inch from the first cut. The cut will expose some of the rubber cement and actually glue the strip back together.

Hold one end of the strip and allow it to open. (The glue is just strong enough to hold the strip together, so handle it gently!) You can fold the strip in half again and repeat cutting out a pieces of the strip.

Applications

Sin Cuts Us Off From God

Write “God” at one end of the strip and “Me” at the other.

Cut the strip in half to illustrate how our sin cuts us off from God. Restore the strip to show how God restores our relationship with him when we ask for forgiveness.

God’s Pruning

Write “Jesus” at one end of the strip and “Me” at the other. In this presentation, the strip isn’t cut in half. Instead, the middle is just cut out.

Talk about how God has to “prune” things out of our lives to bring us closer to him. Fold the strip and cut out a small portion. Open the strip to show that “Jesus” and “Me” are closer together. Keep repeating this, bringing “Jesus” and “Me” ever closer.

This object lesson teaches us to trust God when making choices in life.

Effect

The magician displays three small boxes. One is full of paper clips, and the other two are empty. The boxes are mixed up, and the audience tries to guess where the full box is, but they are always wrong.

Preparation

You’ll need four identical paper clip boxes. Three are empty, and the fourth has some paper clips in it. The boxes should be taped shut. The box with paper clips is attached to your arm with a rubber band. This is hidden under your sleeve.  

You can use small match boxes and matches instead, if you prefer.

Presentation

Display the three (empty) boxes. Shake one of the boxes with your right hand. The rattling sound from the box in your sleeve will make it seem that the box is full. Shake the other two boxes with your left hand to show they are empty.

Mix the boxes and have an audience member try to guess where the full box is. Shake their selected box with your left hand to show they’re wrong. Shake one of the other boxes to show where the full box really is. This can be repeated several times.

Application

Choices

We all have to make choices every day. If we rely only on ourselves, we may make the wrong choice. God knows everything, and he is willing to help us make the right choice.

This torn and restored magical object lesson has multiple applications. It can be used to discuss either the bible or sin. (Actually there are many more possibilities. Just use your imagination.)

Effect

Magician tears a strip of paper into pieces and magically restores it.

Preparation

Cut two strips of paper approximately two-and-a-half by eight-and-a-half inches. Using a small drop of glue about 1 inch from the end, glue the strips back-to-back. After the glue dries, fold one of the strips into a small packet, as shown below. (Be sure to fold it in on all four sides, to keep it from showing when the strip is shown from the front.)

Presentation

Display the piece of paper, keeping the extra packet hidden at the back. Tear the strip into pieces a couple of inches long, keeping the extra packet at the back. Fold the torn pieces together into a packet, similar to the hidden packet. In the process of folding up the torn pieces, turn the packet around, so the whole piece is toward the front, and the torn pieces at the back. Blow on the packet, as if you’re making the magic happen, and unfold the whole strip.

Applications

The Bible

For this application, write the word “BIBLE” on both strips when setting it up.

Begin by talking about the Bible as God’s Word. Display the strip with the word “BIBLE”. Tear the strip apart letter by letter while talking about the parts of the Bible that we don’t like, like the passage about obeying parents. But, the whole Bible is God’s Word. If we’re going to have the abundant life God wants us to have, it’s important that we obey all of God’s Word. Restore the strip.

Sin and Restoration

Talk about what sin is. When we sin, sin hurts us, sometimes sin hurts people around us, and our sin always hurts God. Tear up the strip, to illustrate how sin destroys our lives. Share how Jesus died to take our punishment so we could live and restore the strip.

This mind reading magical object lesson can be used to teach that only God knows the future, or that God knows everything about us, and loves us anyway. (Or you can do it just for fun.)

Effect

Three different colored cards are displayed. An audience member freely chooses any card. The magician reveals a prediction that correctly identifies the card that was chosen.

Preparation

You’ll need an envelope and three different colored cards. You can cut three cards out of different colored construction paper, red, yellow, and blue. On the back of the red card, write “You will choose RED” On the back of the envelope, write “You will choose Yellow”. Finally, on a slip of paper, write “You will choose Blue”. Place all three cards and the slip of paper in the envelope.

Instead of using colored cards, you can use cards with numbers, pictures, letters, or whatever.

Presentation

Remove the three cards from the envelope. (Be sure to hold the envelope so the prediction on the back can’t be seen.) Ask a volunteer so choose one card. After they have made their selection, tell them you knew what they were going to choose before they did. To prove it, reveal your prediction.

If they chose red, tell them to turn all the cards over, revealing your prediction on only the card they chose.

If they chose yellow, turn over the envelope to reveal the prediction.

If they chose blue, hold the envelope, keeping the prediction on the back out of sight, and ask the volunteer to reach into the envelope and get your prediction.

Applications

Only God Knows the Future

There are many people who claim to have the power to foretell the future. Only God really knows what the future holds. It’s important that we turn to God to know how to live our lives, and not so-called “psychics.”

God Knows Everything about Us

After the prediction, share that God knows every choice we make, both good and bad. God knows everything there is to know about us, and he still loves us. His love for us is unconditional.

The Vault is an area on my website that contains magical object lessons you can do, as well as other free ministry resources. I just added a new object lesson for you to use.

It is an uncanny effect where a strip of paper is cut apart and put back together. You can keep cutting pieces out of the middle of the paper and restore what’s left. This can be used to illustrate how sin cuts us off from God, or how some things need to be cut out of our lives to bring us closer to God.

I hope you’ll find this and the other resources useful to your ministry.