Romans 12:1-8 "...be transformed by the renewing of your mind"

Use this scripture to talk about what worship does (ex: changes us by drawing us close to God and makes us more like God). I concentrated on verse 2 and talked about what it means to be transformed and how your mind is "renewed." I found some of those sponge capsules that used to be popular when I was a kid...they're the kind that the capsule dissolves and reveals some kind of sponge shape: animals, insects, cars, etc.

I talked about how the capsule is like we are when we enter in worship - plain, not having reached our full potential...entering worship (or the water in this case) starts a change that results in something fantastic: a transformation! Now, be warned that the shells of the capsules don't dissolve quickly, so I'd drop one in at the start of the message and hope that it's done by the time you're through talking. Then you might have numerous bowls scattered throughout the worship space for the youth to drop their own capsule, you may want to advise them to drop it in the water, then go pray and return to see how their capsule has changed...I failed to test the capsules before worship and many of my youth simply improvised to get the quick result- tearing the shell or biting it off!!

Oh, I had to search all over for these capsules. I went to a few dollar stores, a toy store, Wal-Mart, and finally found them on the dollar aisle at Target! That's all. Enjoy and hope the worship is a meaningful and memorable one!