Kids, I was able to do something this morning that your moms and dads don't often let you do. I brought a toy with me to church. (Hold up the transformer.)
Do you know what this is? Right, it's a dump truck. But do you know what else it can be? A robot! (move the parts from a truck to a robot as you speak). This is really neat, isn't it!
They call this a transformer because it can be transformed or changed from one thing into another. It can be a truck or a robot and you can change it back and forth again and again.
Now, do you know what this is? (hold up a caterpillar or a picture of one). Right, a caterpillar. What do caterpillars become? Butterflies. That's right! They become transformed from a fuzzy caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.
Can a butterfly change back into a caterpillar? No, it can't. Once it's a butterfly it will always be a butterfly. But it's a beautiful change, isn't it?
You know, we can be changed too. God wants to work in our lives so that we are changed from the kind of person who doesn't care about Him to the kind who wants to please Him. The secret is in His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that if we are in Christ we are new creations — just like the butterfly and better than a robot. "Old things are passed away" it says, "and all things become new."
Isn't it exciting for us to know that we can be transformed by the power of God into new creations! Whenever you see one of these transformer toys or a caterpillar or butterfly, think about the way God wants to change you into someone very beautiful. (Chaplain Jeffrey L. Neuberger, McClellan AFB, CA)
