Any suggestions?

I've often pondered about the possibilty of applying a Good News message to my performance but have yet only come up with vague ideas and frustrating stumbling blocks. I don't want to cheapen the Gospel with a cap in bottle routine and I don't want to dilute the visual impact of Prohibition with patter that may or may not seem relevant to the effect.

So far:

An idea to use an amber colored bottle to signify the tainted state of man versus using a clear and unblemished bottle to signify the transformation of man once they accept Christ into their hearts. The cap cannot exist inside the amber bottle (fail to penetrate the cap) but once you accept Christ (now using a clear bottle) the cap will reside within it. I also thought about using something other than a bottle cap for the penetration or use a blank cap and draw a red cross on it or even have them draw a cross on it with a red sharpie. The bending of the cap would then signify how Christ gave His Life for us and the penetration would signify His willingness to reside within us. Giving the bottle away would signify His Love is a free gift.

Just vague ideas so far. It's not as easy as I initially thought it could be.

peace, charlie

Interesting Charlie.

Here's some other vague ideas that came to mind:

In Matthew 19: 16-26, the rich young man asked, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” That's the heart of the Gospel question.
Show how impossible it is to "enter" the kingdom of God (neck of the bottle) with their good works, obeying the law, etc.... Then "crush" the cap signifying a "broken" and submitted life to God (trusting in Christ alone for salvation). Able to go through the bottom of the bottle is impossible for man but possible with God. There's so that can develop from those passages but be careful to be biblically correct in the illustrations.

As an object lesson for Christians: The "hardness' of the bottles could signify the hardness of an unregenerated heart (Mark 16:14, Romans 2:5, etc...) Mere persuasion,and other man centered means are just frivolous attempts to reach the hard hearts of the lost. Only the power of the gospel through His Word and the Spirit's work of regeneration can penetrate and reach the unbeliever (John 1:11-13, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:17, Titus 3:5, etc...). The cap entering the bottle could be the "seed" planted in "good" ground as in the Lord's parable (Matthew 13).

It is certainly difficult to do justice (excuse the pun Charlie ) to both the effect and the message. I certainly agree with your sentiments of cheapening the Gospel with a CIB routine (or any magic trick for that matter). Unfortunately, the novelty of the trick wears off and the message ends up quite diluted.

Bosco

Have a mental picture in your mind of...

"...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24 .

Bosco