This is an old favourite of mine. In my home town, I'm known as the ‘coin man’ by the youths in the streets and skate park.
I didn't set out this way it just happened. I have a full toolbox of gospel bridges that I use. One of them is some coins I keep in my wallet. One is a Roman 1st-century silver denarius coin from the region of the Holy Lands. Yes, the same type and age as the coins Jesus spoke of and used as illustrations. (It's not worth much as it is in bad shape so it was very cheap to buy). The other is a worthless large Australian commemorative gold coin.
(My wallet has an eclectic assortment in it actually and requires replacing with a bigger one. In addition to the coins it also has an actual speeding ticket that was pardoned, a fossilised shark tooth, a bag of real coins to give away, a list of 5 lost people I am currently praying for and the names of three disciples I am praying for.)
With the Roman coin, I ask if they want to hold something that is 2000 years old. If they do then away we go. We can talk about anything from the life of Jesus to the special nature of that particular coin which experts said for the longest time didn't exist and once again the bible was right and the experts wrong!
The gold coin (and its inseparable two sides) I use as part of the introduction to the full gospel as the ‘Mark 1:17’ part of what they are getting themselves into. It can be a reinforcement of something like the Lordship circle, etc... You can use it to illustrate any number of the parts of God’s solid and inseparable nature. You could use it to illustrate any of the dichotomies that exist. At Easter sometimes you could hand out those chocolate gold coins and then talk about the parallels of the real gold coin. Just use your imagination.
Anyone who knows me knows the Mark 1:17 story. Some years ago in the local state park, I was playing ‘the 10 Commandments’ game (another coin game actually) at a skate competition. It went well and I moved to the gold coin with a small group who responded to the invitation of eternal life. Later I issued a challenge to those who had seen the exchanges but had not responded to the call. If anyone found me in public without my gold coin I would give them $20.00. I also left the ‘10 Commandments open to play anytime. I have had many take up the challenge (some in very random places and times) and thus far the money is still mine. It’s nice when they seek you out to hear more about God ;-D
Cheers Macka
PS: If you don't know the Mark 1:17 tool; here is a quick summary...
Mark 1:17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (ESV and 'men' in Greek means both sexes BTW) Following and Fishing can be represented by the two sides of the same coin. You cannot easily separate them, and if you do, it will no longer resemble a coin but something ruined. Our job is to follow, and it is His responsibility to make us fishers of men. If you are truly following Him, are you also fishing? When you read the Bible (using a tool like SOS) it is always good to think of a coin and look for things that are joined to two sides. Look for things that can be divided into "What does God expect me to do?" and "What can I expect God to do?". It will always end in frustration if you try to do his job while expecting him to do your job. Many other things come in these types of joint pairs.
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