Anyone have any good biblical applications (not necessary a gospel presentation, but it could be) using the sucker die box.

I have used mine for 40 years now as an illustration of the resurrection.

Presently, my die is a Rubik's Cube and represents Christ. Colors represent aspects of his character. White - purity (no sin). Green - evergreen - everlasting life. Blue- true blue - loyalty - always did the Father's will. Red - shed His blood. Yellow - gold - King of Kings. Flourescent Orange - like a bright light - Light of the world.

So I place the cube in the box (the tomb) and do the routine. When the cube makes it's reappearance at the end (Jesus appearing to Mary), I have found it to be a "wow" moment.

Some on the Café may not care for the routine, but hey - it's worked for me for all these years. It has been a good closer for all ages.

Terry

You're right, Terry. I don't like it at all. Now if you had started with the Enchanted Cube, I might like that.

Terry, I love "sucker" routines done right. I have never found a place for the Die Box in my act. I think you may have changed my mind. The wheels are turning. Thank you!!!

HIDING OUR SIN

(Start with box sitting empty with front doors open and the die and gimmick sitting on top of the box. The hat or container sitting tipped forward revealing it to be empty is suggested. Never a good idea to say, “See the hat is empty” as that only makes people suspect it isn't. Show them it casually and let them draw their own conclusion that it is empty.)

Today I want to share with you about the Ten Commandments. To do this I want to use this hat to represent our church, and a die to represent different kinds of sin talked about in the Ten Commandments.

(Place the die inside gimmick into the hat and then pick up the die box)

This box will represent a person. Now as you can see…there is nothing in this box…so it would be a person without sin. However, the Bible clearly tells us that we are all sinners. But what is sin?

The Bible tells us that sin is when we don't live up to the expectations that God has for His children…and that's you and me by the way. It says in Romans 3:23 that, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” So what ways can we come up short? Well, in the twentieth chapter of the second book in the Bible, Exodus, it tells us ten things we need to be sure we follow.

(Take die out of the box leaving gimmick in the hat. Rotate the die to the number of the commandment as you are talking)

The first commandment tells us we are to have no other things more important to us than God.

The second commandment tells us we better not make or buy anything that we let be like a god to us…they call it an idol.

The third commandment tells us we better not use God's name for anything but talking about Him.

The fourth commandment tells us we better set aside the Sabbath Day and remember that He is the creator. It is also a day to rest so we can keep going and be strong.

The fifth commandment tells us we are to respect our parents.

The sixth tells us we better respect the lives of others and not do something that would end their life or ours.

(Turn the die over a few times and then place the die in the hat)

Oops. Guess I should have gotten a ten-sided die.

(Continue using fingers to show the numbers)

The seventh commandment is that we stay faithful to our husbands or wives.

The eighth commandment is that we don't take what isn't ours.

The ninth is that we are to tell the truth.

The tenth is that we are not supposed to be jealous of people who have things we don't have.

Now sin is when we break the rules. When we lie, we are sinners. When we take something that belongs to someone else, we are sinners. When we let something be more important in our lives than God, we are sinners.

(Remove die gimmick from hat…leaving the solid die in the hat…and place in the die box)

So if this box really represents a person, and since all people are sinners, this die goes into this box. When we look into someone's life, we can see they have sin.

(If you can, show the “die in the box” but if not, adjust what follows to fit the operation of your device)

This person has the five showing…and does anyone remember what the fifth commandment is? It is respecting our parents. And that isn't always something kids are very good at are we?

(Note: “We” here is very important. Never say that the audience by saying, “You,” have fallen short or are bad. Always include yourself)

Now we probably would like people to think we aren't sinners. In fact, let’s do just that and see how well it really works.

(Close doors and tilt box producing the sound of the die moving into the other compartment…open door on the tilted up side to show the die is missing)

What do you know? The sin seems to be gone. Let’s look on the other side.

(Box is tipped again and the sound of the die sliding is heard)

Not in there either. I guess the sin has vanished from this person's life.

(If you can show “the die” in the box, it is fun to have it “accidentally” revealed a couple of times)

As you can see…we certainly can't hide the fact that we are sinners. And you know what? If we have sin in our lives…we can't go to Heaven. Now how many people here want to go to Heaven?

(Raise your hand which will encourage others to raise theirs)

So what can we do about this sin?

Well God, who made the rules, also knew we could never live up to them after Adam and Eve sinned by not following God's rules. So God did something that can make it so our sins will be taken away. Jesus came and died on a cross for our sins. All we have to do is believe that and change our ways. And when we do…

(Open box to show die is not in the box)

…it is like we never had sin in our lives. You see the Bible says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.”

(Pick up die from the hat)

And that's what they are teaching us in church when we learn about the Ten Commandments.

At this point an invitation can be given to let those who would like to accept Christ into their lives or re-dedicate their lives.

Tip: One way you can help with the moving of the gimmick is to use a collapsible top hat. Have the gimmick held into the hat by the folds of the inside of the hat and while you never show it empty, the audience assumes that nothing could be in it. Just be aware of the audience sight lines if you are doing this method.

Kif - that is a great routine - and would go great with my Babcock die box!

Kif, I am always utterly amazed on how many Gospel applications you can come up with. God has gifted you in so many ways, and it's so humbling to see you using those gifts so openly. God bless you for that.

Kif, thanks for the application. I will definitely use it.

sthielman, I have the Babcock die box.

Since I work with kids and my die box has the number 5 for the flaps, Kif's application will work perfectly as I emphasize the 5th commandment having to do with respecting their parents.

Thanks for the feedback. Prior to my ministry Oz and Wilde when I was doing a solo show, that was one of the staple routines I did. So it has been field tested and takes away the whole "sucker" aspect out of the effect. At least the "kids screaming" part. Most "flap" gimmicks have the five spot as it stand out really well. I don't do the routine anymore, but any who wish to use it are free to do so.

Wow, great application. Thanks!

MagicBob does a really neat "Empty Tomb" effect using a large die box. See it performed at More Than Magic! #1 (at the bottom of the web site) at the 23:38 mark in the video. http://www.ChristianMagician.org