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The top random brown shapes are puzzle pieces that you can move around to form the name Jesus (seen below).

jesuspuzzle

If you can't see the name "Jesus" above, that's sort of the point. Have someone point it out to you (testify!).  Hint: Look at the white space, not the brown.

Attached is a larger version.


Next is a popsicle stick assembly that can be made to spell out the word "Jesus."

The first row of five squares are slots to put the other pieces into.

The second row has the pieces in the correct position prior to moving them up into each box to spell Jesus. It's very similar to the brown puzzle above.

jesusword

Again, the point is that some people see Jesus, some people don't. Some just need help.




Same thing with this next eye-puzzle. It's a picture of shadows in the snow that looks like a picture of Jesus. I've written about it in the Road to Emmaus forum here at rotation.  It's also a reflection activity in Sunday Software's "Jesus in Space" CD, the Road to Emmaus story.

jesus2

The true story about this photo of shadows in the snow is that it was taken many years ago around Bear Lake Calif by a man who showed it to his family. His daughter is still alive and remembers the photo hanging in their house. She gave us permission to use it to teach with. It got picked up in some 1970's youth material and the story morphed, though the photo remained unchanged.  The process of seeing the image of Jesus is ANALOGOUS to the process many people go through believing in Jesus and seeing him in their lives. Some get it right away, others need help.

For the key picture, look in my "Jesus in Space Guide", it's on page 3

2020 Update: Neil has donated several of his Sunday Software programs to be downloaded free-of-charge by our supporting members. They include Jesus in Space. Learn more and get the software.

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Last edited by Luanne Payne
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Wordsearch Jesus

Kids create a JESUS word search, where his name is in the middle, surrounded by distractions/sin words, and/or, faith words. This is puzzle with only ONE ANSWER that needs circled!  Almost an art project, really.

 

Crossword Puzzle Jesus

Kids spell "JESUS" and make crosswords coming off the letters related to the story their are learning.  The letter J, for example, is 1down = "what Baby John did when Mary and Elizabeth met". Each kids puzzle is different and can be shared.

More Optical Illusion object lesson ideas with possible application.

These images are attached to this post so that you can download them. They were collected from the web at http://www.dailyedge.ie/optica...11976-Jun2014. Some may be copyrighted, but because we are using them in a non-profit, educational purpose, for commentary, they fall under the "fair use" rule.

A few possible discussion topics these could be used in.

  • Learn to look at things in a new way.  
  • Seeing things you didn't see before.
  • Are you sure your opinion about (church, God, people) is correct? Or is there another way to look at them or see what you didn't see before?
  • Are you fooling yourself? Is seeing believing?
  • Beginning to see what others see when they look at Jesus.
  • Why some people see one thing, and others another thing.
  • How can God change your mind about what you see when you come to church?

Sometimes we are so sure of something, -or our opinion of someone, that we close the door to seeing something new and amazing about them.

Take this square for example. It is square, right?

square

But put it in motion by rotating it, and you can see something quite new that you didn't see before. It appears to pulse and change its shape.

squarespinning




Are you fooled by your opinion about something (God, going to church) ?

Take a look at this checkered box video. If you only saw the first part of the video, you would swear the person was making it float, but you're mind would be wrong.  It's really just a drawing on a folded piece of paper attached to a stick.

floatingbox

Maybe you are convinced that going to church is a floating box, and you need to give it another look to see what it REALLY is.




Judging Others
Sometimes, one bad or "off" thing about something or someone makes us believe that other things about them are crooked too.  Maybe you don't like the way a person speaks, or the minister's face, or the type of music, or the color of the classroom. You are convinced it is crooked. But is it?

Each of these horizontal layers looks crooked, but they are actually all parallel.

crooked




Often times, our perception, our "opinion" of things is "colored" by things around it. People influence what we think about God, for example.

Take these two squares for example, A & B. They are surely different shades, right?

greysquares

Wrong. They are the same shade as the following solution shows you. Our perception of the squares is affected by the surrounding colors and shadows, just like the people we surround ourselves with affect our perception of whether or not the two squares match.

greysquaresolution

Hanging around negative people.

Hanging around people who don't believe in God, or don't like going to church.




How can two people sit in the same Bible class or worship service and have two DIFFERENT experiences and opinions of the same thing?

Look at this simple graphic. At first, you see purple circles blinking.

rotating

Now stare at the cross in the middle. Pretty soon you will see a green circle rotating around over the purple circles,  ...and then the purple circles will disappear. Sometimes, you just need to PAY ATTENTION and FOCUS on the right stuff in study and worship.




Two people, same event, different experiences. What gives?

You sit in worship, or say your prayers, and it all seems very "blah blah blah." You and your friend go to the same worship, same Sunday School classes, same mission projects.  Your friend discovers God's presence and it becomes a life changing experience for them. You don't feel or see anything.

Try this:  Have one person look at this odd picture....glancing all around at it without really focusing, while the second person focuses intently on the center dot as instructed. When the picture becomes black and white, ask the friend who concentrated on the center dot what they saw. It only appeared for a moment.

building color






How will you know Jesus when he speaks to you? When he comes to you through other people?

It takes time, study, prayer, reading, openness. And eventually you may even see him in the face of the poor, the needy, the hungry, your family.

Stare closely at the dots in the middle of this picture for about 30 seconds. Lend quickly stare at the palm of your hand, or a piece of white paper. Who's face do you see?

seeing_jesus

This optical illusion utilizes "retinal burning"  ...the image temporarily burns itself so that you see its "after image" when you are no longer staring at it. How does worship and prayer help you see glimpses of Jesus in your life?

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Last edited by Luanne Payne

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