Hard and Soft Hearts

 Last Sunday, in the main service upstairs, there was a guest speaker and this week we did a slightly similiar version of what he did. We focused on Hebrews 3:15, which says "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts". We explained the difference between a hard heart and a soft heart-a heart unwilling to obey or hear God, and a heart open to Him. As a visual represention, we had a rock and a sponge, with hearts drawn onto them. In every situation we are in, we can choose to have a hard heart or a soft heart. 

 We talked about various scenarios and had the kids choose what kind of heart they'd pick in that situation. Then we did the story of Samuel, when he was a young boy in the temple. High Priest Eli had two sons who had hard hearts, doing whatever they wanted all the time. Though God constantly told Eli to deal with his sons, Eli had a hard heart as well and did nothing. One night, as Samuel was sleeping, he heard a voice calling his name, and thought it was Eli. But it wasn't. This happened three times and Eli realized that Samuel was hearing God. So the next time Samuel heard the voice, he said "here I am", and God gave him a message for Eli. 

 Because of Eli's hard heart, God took away the High Priesthood from him and his family, and gave it to Samuel. Hard hearts don't listen to God and eventually, when you've hardened for so long, you stop hearing from God altogether, though He's still there and still wants to talk to you. 

 We had another heart doctor skit where one person didn't hear from God at all because their heart was so hard. Another person came in and heard from God but just ignored what he said. The third person said that heard from God and also did what God asked. This person had a soft, healthy heart.