The Watermelon Story

I included a picture of me ready to go to the river --so you can see I did not spend the whole afternoon on my computer.
I have never told a story on line but I will try and tell it like I told the children. Excuse all punctuation errors. I can't see your faces but eye contact is very important as well as the use of my hands. Yes, when I am talking and teaching you should watch out for "the hands".
And I must give credit to Child Evangelism Fellowship--the story came from them. They have incredible tools to use when teaching children. Enjoy--and don't forget you will now be responsible for telling the story.



Looking out over the acres of corn, John wondered why he had even come back for a visit. In disgust he turned and headed back to the farm house.
As he entered the house his aunt met him and said, “I’m glad you are back. I baked your favorite pie.” He was happy, but as he reached out to take it his aunt told him that dinner was soon. Maybe he should go on up and wash up and they would have some after dinner.
Upstairs looking out the guest window, he started thinking of his visit to the farm two years ago. There had been a boy named Andy--he wondered if he still lived across the way. To excited to wait until dinner he ran down the stairs and asked, “Aunt Laura, do you remember that boy that I played with last time I was here? His name was Andy.
His Aunt looked surprised, just then Uncle Jim came in and answered his question, “Of course we remember Andy, anyone who knew him would welcome him into their home.”

“Last time I was here Andy and I had so much fun together. He was real cool, and we had a great time playing ball and swimming in the creek. Did you know that I almost drowned and Andy saved my life, asked John.”
“John, you did not tell us about that,” his Aunt was shocked.
“Andy also helped me in other ways, Aunt Laura. I was pretty upset my parents just dropped me off here. I thought maybe they didn’t want me around anymore. But, Andy told me how cool ya’ll were and how wise Uncle Jim was. He told me that Uncle Jim had told him the secret of the watermelon. And he was going to tell me, only his mom called him home and the next morning I had to leave.
“So you never learned the secret of the watermelon,” his Uncle Jim asked.
“No, and Andy said it had changed his life.”
Picking up a watermelon John’s uncle said, “Come on out to the porch and I’ll tell you the secret.”
Sitting in his old rocker Uncle Jim told John that only a few years ago he had sat in the same spot with Andy and told him the secret.
As they sat there Uncle Jim told John about God creating the earth. And how when he finished creating all the plants and animals that maybe he looked around and did not find anything to have a relationship with, so He made Adam and then Eve. He put them in a beautiful garden and told them they could have free reign over the whole garden and all the creatures---but, of the fruit of the tree of good and evil--they could never eat its fruit. Now things were fine for a while and then one day Eve met up with an old snake. This snake began to tell Eve lies and she listened. Not only did she listen but she ate of that fruit and then she gave some to Adam. She let a little seed of curiosity be planted in her heart by the devil himself and sin was able to enter the world.
“Do you see this seed from the watermelon? Is it bright and light or is it dark and black?”
“It is black,” said John. “Well, just like these seeds are all over the watermelon, sin spread all over the earth. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That is found in Romans 3:23.”
John thought, “That means I am a sinner too.”
“When we eat the watermelon we spit out the seed and get rid of it, but we have no power to get rid of sin. Can you tell me what is covering the seeds in the watermelon?”
John said, “The red part.”
“That’s right! That reminds me of the blood of Christ. You see, God knew that there was nothing we could do to get rid of the guilt of our sin. And sin can never get into heaven. So God sent his son, Jesus, to earth to die on the cross for you and me. He came and lived a perfect life and then he died a sinners death so that you and I could go to heaven when we die. Because of his death it is possible to have our sins forgiven so we can be with him forever.
In the Bible there was a king whose name was David. He had done some horrible things and he felt really bad about them. He called out to God and admitted what he had done and then asked Jesus to wash him and he would be whiter than snow.
You see the white part of the rind? It reminds me that when Jesus forgives my sin, my sins are washed away and my heart becomes white as snow.”
“Andy believed on Jesus , would you like to too? “
And John could do was nod his head saying, yes.
So John sat right there and said a simple prayer admitting to God that he was a sinner. And that he was sorry, and he believed that Jesus had died for him. He asked God to wash away his sin and make him white as snow.
When they finished John jumped up and asked if he could go over to Andy’s. He wanted to tell him that now they were both Christians.
Aunt Laura asked John to wait they needed to tell him something.
John sat down not sure why they were both so serious.
“John do you remember telling us about your accident at the swimming hole?”
John nodded, yes.
“Well last summer Andy went swimming down there but he didn’t have a friend go with him. He got into a little trouble and with no one to save him, and he drowned. We all miss him very much, he was a very special young man.
But, we are also happy that we know he knew Jesus.
That reminds me we haven’t finished the story. Many people do not know what happens before that watermelon starts to grow. Not long before you see the first little watermelon there is a beautiful flower on the vine. It is gold like the gold streets of heaven. The Bible says that the streets are made of pure gold, and that is where Andy is right now. He is with God--the God who love him and who loves you.”
“He’ll be glad to see you again one day,” said Aunt Laura.
Uncle Jim leaned forward and pushed both halves of the watermelon back together.
“What color do you see now, John?” “All I see is green,” said John.
Uncle Jim told him he was right and that the Bible tells us that we are to grow in our knowledge of God. One way to do that is to read the Bible. The more we know about God and His word the better we are able to turn away from temptations.

“I was not happy when I got here, said John, but now I am so glad I came this summer.”
“We are glad you are here too. Soon your Mom and Dad will come to pick you up and you must promise me that you will spread the secret of the watermelon to other people.”
In a few days John’s parents got there to pick him up and John was happy to see them and to tell them his little secret.