Lesson: Humpty Dumpty and Human Brokenness (Romans 12:2) - Ministry-To-Children Bible Lesson Plans for Kids (2024)

What child does not love breaking and smashing things? This lesson takes advantage of that interest while emphasizing that, unfortunately, humans are irreparably broken creatures that only God can fix. The activities here take advantage of one of God’s simple yet remarkable treasures, as we look to eggs for inspiring Biblical truths.
Lesson focus: Although every human is sinful and broken due to the Fall, God still loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. Through sometimes challenging circ*mstances, He is able to transform our goopy, shattered lives into a new creation.
Passage: Romans 12:2, Isaiah 48:10, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Philippians 3:21, 1 Corinthians 15:20-34
Target Audience: All ages (K-6^th grade; even adaptable older or younger).
Materials Needed: Paper, decorative materials, eggs (some raw and some hard-boiled); boxes or other easily broken (but safe) objects.
Lesson Opening: Can you fix it? Start out by giving kids a fun challenge: let each student (or break into groups or pairs) have a box, foam piece, paper, or other disposable and easily torn item. Invite them to destroy the item as much as possible, smashing it, tearing it, and otherwise obliterating it. Then ask if they can put it back together again…sound tough? Well, sometimes our lives are this way. When we are born, we are broken creatures. It is only through God’s love and power that we can become whole again. But in fact, He changes us into something new and better.
Bible Lesson:
Explain to children that today we will be looking at an amazing object that teaches us a lot about our lives and God’s power. If students don’t already know what the lesson is about, see if they can guess what the object is with some hints:

• This golden treasure is sealed in an oval container with no hinges or locks
• When rotten, this item floats, but if it’s fresh it will sink
• This can be eaten, but consumed the wrong way it will make you sick
• After being put through extreme heat, the liquid inside turns solid
• This comes from a chicken (dead give away)

Once students have figured out that you will be discussing eggs, invite them to casually discuss their favorite type of eggs, or to share what they know about eggs. Explain how amazing and miraculous eggs are…aside from their connection to birds (you may wish to leave that part out…), eggs are a terrific source of nutrition for us. But consider the egg itself…
Provide students (again, depending on number and ability it could be in pairs or individually) with a raw and a hard-boiled egg. Show them the trick for determining which is which (spin it: a raw egg will wobble, while a cooked one spins quickly). Give students bowls in which to crack their raw eggs and observe what happens…is there any way of putting this nasty, goopy, yolk mess back into the shell? Can we somehow glue the shell back together? No…whether raw or boiled, regardless of what we do to the shell, it cannot be just as it was. Explain that this is how our human lives are. God wanted to make us whole and be with us in the Garden of Eden, but sin got in the way…our lives are broken from the moment we are born. We can’t fix ourselves on our own, no matter how hard we try. Fortunately, God had a plan, and Jesus made it so that we might have hope.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the deadcomes also through a man.22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. -1 Corinthians 5:21-22

But just how does God accomplish that? Let’s look back at the egg…we have a goopy mess, but how can we make it something usable? We can cook it! When we scramble, fry, whatever we do to these eggs, it makes them a new creation, just like God does with us.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, thenewcreationhas come: The old has gone, thenewis here! -2 Corinthians 5:17

So our present lives are really just the “shell…” we cannot fix them or make them just right…but God can and does do amazing things. Our insides (our soul, humanity) are where the center of our being is, and where God changes us. However, just as with eggs, the change is not always easy. Think about cooking or boiling an egg. It has to go through some intense heat before it is changed. Well, often when we are transformed, it doesn’t feel great initially…but winds up ultimately for the better.

See, I have refinedyou, though not as silver;
I have testedyou in the furnaceof affliction. -Isaiah 48:10

While God is at work within us, we can encounter temptations, trials, and challenges. We can “boil” or “fry” through these…but if we trust in Him and keep looking to God, eventually we can be changed into something new and wonderful. We no longer need the old shell because something entirely different has taken its place. That is the miracle and glory of God’s work in us.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatethe Lord’s glory,are being transformed into his imagewith ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. -2 Corinthians 3:18
But our citizenshipis in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,21who, by the powerthat enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodiesso that they will be like his glorious body. -Philippians 3:21

So while Humpty Dumpty could not be redeemed, fortunately we have the King Himself to put us back together…and He always will! So…who wants some eggs? Pass the salt, please! J
Craft:
Make an egg-cellent picture…if possible, have some of the hard-boiled (and even raw) eggs colored ahead of time. After cracking them open, invite students to use the shells to make a mosaic of sorts. They can glue the shell pieces to paper in a colorful arrangement or piece them into a deliberate picture.
Close with prayer and thanksgiving that God gives us hope and fixes our broken lives. Ask for peace and understanding in the midst of all our transformative experiences.

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