TITLE:A lamp needs fuel
AIM:We need to stay plugged into God's power if we are to keep shining
TEXT:Eph. 5:18b
OBJECT:Old fashioned oil or kerosene lamp with wick.
[Note: the oil lamp should have no oil in it and the wick should be dry]

This is a oil lamp. It's the kind of lamp that many pioneers or settlers in our country might have had - especially if they had a little bit of money.

Isn't it beautiful. Let's light it .

[Point out how it doesn't burn or give light]

The reason the oil lamp doesn't light or give our light is that there is no oil in it. An oil lamp needs oil to operate.

[Fill lamp with oil or kerosene. Make sure you pour some oil/kero on the top of the wick]

Now that we've filled it up with oil, let's try lighting it again. What a beautiful light it gives.

Our lives are a little bit like this oil lamp. When we are tapped into God's oil source - that is the holy Spirit - we give off a beautiful light. The same kind of light we learned about last week - the light of the world.

If you want your life to be what God want's it to be, that is the kind of life you were destined to lead - then make sure you're tapped into God's Holy Spirit. Just as this lamp was designed to be filled with oil before it can give out light, our life must be filled with God's Holy Spirit before we can live our life as God intended.

Let's pray.