Parable of the Vineyard Workers Lesson 1 January 31 & February 1

Transcription

1 Parable of the Vineyard Workers Lesson 1 January 31 & February 1 Session Title: Parable of the Vineyard Workers Bible Passage: Matthew 20:1-16 Big Picture Question: What does God give us? God gives good gifts. Key Passage: Matthew 13:11 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus taught in parables so His followers would understand how to live in anticipation of His second coming. LEADER BIBLE STUDY The religious leaders who listened to and watched Jesus had some problems with the things He said and did. He taught about a righteousness that comes by faith rather than works, and He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners. So Jesus told a parable to make clear that entering God s kingdom was not a matter of merit but of grace. The parable of the vineyard workers is about a landowner who hired workers to work in his vineyard. The first group agreed to work for a denarius, a fair wage for a day s work. Throughout the day, the landowner hired more groups of workers. At the end of the day, the landowner paid every worker one denarius. The workers who had put in 12 hours did not think it was fair that those who worked just 1 hour were paid the same. In Jesus parable, the second, third, fourth, and fifth groups of workers represent people who are not a part of the nation of Israel. The Israelites had been following God for generations. They faced trials, paralleling the men who worked through the heat of the day. God promised blessings to Abraham s family, Israel. (See Gen. 12:2-3.) God kept His promise, yet He also poured out blessings on tax collectors, sinners, Gentiles. Like the landowner and his wealth, God is free to share His grace as He desires. Jesus gave salvation to the criminal who was crucified next to Him and to Saul, who persecuted believers. Does God act fairly in saving people who have not followed Him their entire lives? The reward eternal life is God s grace to those who believe, whether they believe at the first or at the last. God is generous; He gives good gifts. Jesus parable teaches about God s grace. God does not owe us anything, yet He pours out blessings on us. He makes salvation possible for us, regardless of our abilities or efforts. The last will be first, and the first last. This gospel does not make sense to the world, but it is good news for sinners. We deserve to die for our sins, but God gives us what we don t deserve salvation through His Son, Jesus. Welcome Activity (15 minutes) Playground (15 minutes) Large Group Chapel (20 minutes) Small Group Activities (15 minutes) Snack and Transition (10 minutes)

2 WELCOME ACTIVITY Make vine art Supplies: white paper or cardstock, green washable markers; green, red, purple, and/or black washable inkpads. Vineyard Picture. With a green marker, draw vines on each child s paper or show them how to draw their own vines. Guide the kids to press their thumbs on the washable inkpads to make thumbprint grapes. Say Jesus told a story that took place in a vineyard. A vineyard is like a farm where grapes grow on vines. [Show picture of a vineyard.] Do you like to eat grapes? Which color of grapes do you like? Green, white, red, or black? Do you like grape jelly? How about grape juice? PLAYGROUND LARGE GROUP CHAPEL Music Mighty, Mighty God Our God is mighty! What are some examples of how we know this to be true? What are some ways that God serves us? Marvelous! Matchless! Magnificent! What are some other ways we can describe God? I Will Love and Serve You What are some things God has given us that show us His love? What are some ways we can show Jesus we love him? How can we serve others to show we love Jesus? Introduce the Bible story Open your Bible to Matthew 13:11 and show the kids where to find the key passage. If your Bible shows Jesus words in red, mention those words are Jesus. Say Our key passage for the next few weeks is Matthew 13:11. Matthew was one of Jesus disciples, or friends. Jesus often told people stories called parables about God s kingdom. Matthew and Jesus other friends asked Jesus why He told parables to the people. This is what Jesus said! Read the key passage a couple of times. Create hand motions to help kids remember the key passage each week. Say Jesus explained that God was helping them understand things about God s kingdom that some people could not understand. This is still true today! But God can help us understand truths about His kingdom. Watch or tell the Bible story

3 The Bible Story: Parable of the Vineyard Workers Matthew 20:1-16 One day, Jesus was teaching people about God. Jesus told the people a story. The story was about some men who worked in a vineyard. A vineyard is like a farm where grapes grow. This story was to help the people know about God s kingdom. Jesus said, This is what God s kingdom is like. A man owned a vineyard, and he needed some people to work for him. So he went out early in the morning to find some workers. He told the workers that he would pay them one denarius (dih NEHR ih uhs). A denarius was a silver coin. So the workers went to work in the man s vineyard. Then Jesus said, A few hours later, the landowner went to find more workers. He found some men in the marketplace who did not have any work to do. So he told the men, You can work in my vineyard, and I will pay you what is right. So these men went to the vineyard to work. The man who owned the vineyard went out three more times that day to find workers. Each time, he found more men to work in his vineyard, and he agreed to pay them what was right. When it was almost time to stop working, the man found more men standing around with nothing to do. Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing? the man asked. No one asked us to do any work, they said. So the man invited the men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them what was right. At the end of the day, all the men who worked in the vineyard came to the man to be paid. The man paid the workers. First, he paid the men who had not been working very long. The men who had been working all day got their pay last. The man gave each worker a silver coin. The workers who were working all day saw that the men who had only been working for a little while received a silver coin, so they thought they would be paid more. They did more work, after all. But when it was their turn to be paid, the man gave them one silver coin too. The workers were not happy. We worked much longer than these men, and you paid them the same as us, they complained. The man who owned the vineyard said to one of the men, Friend, I was fair with you. I gave you what I said I would give you for your work. Are you upset because I am generous with my money because I gave these men more than they deserved? Jesus finished His story by saying, So those people who are last now will be first, and those who are first now will be last. Christ Connection: Jesus told a story to teach people about God. God loves us and gives us good gifts. No one can earn a gift. Everyone sins, or disobeys God, so everyone deserves to be punished. But God gave a good gift: His Son, Jesus. People who trust in Jesus will live with God forever.

4 Talk about the Bible story Point to the Bible story on the timeline map. Ask the following review questions. What is a vineyard? (a farm where grapes grow) Did the man hire workers just one time? (No, he hired more workers several times.) Who did the man pay first? (The ones who had arrived last.) Were the workers who worked all day paid more? (No, everyone was paid the same.) To be generous means to give someone more than they deserve. Was the man who owned the vineyard generous? (Yes!) What does God give us? God (hand moves up and down center of face) gives (flat hand moves outward) good (hand moves down from the mouth to settle on other palm) gifts (both hands move forward together). Say Jesus told a story to teach people about God. God loves us and gives us good gifts. No one can earn a gift. Everyone sins, or disobeys God, so everyone deserves to be punished. But God gave a good gift: His Son, Jesus. People who trust in Jesus will live with God forever. SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES Gather grapes Supplies: green and purple paper wads; green and purple craft pom-poms (optional); buckets, baskets, or bags Toss green and purple paper wads or craft pom-poms around the room. The kids will then gather the grapes and place them in the container provided. To make the game more challenging, you can call out the manner in which the children must gather the grapes (crawling, slow motion, tiptoeing, hopping, walking as a robot, using one hand). Say Some of the workers from our story worked in the vineyard all day. Some of them just worked the last hour of the day. Each worker was paid the same amount! The man who owned the vineyard was generous. God is also generous and good. Even though we do not deserve it, God gave us His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to take away our sins. God also promises to give us everything we need. What does God give us? God (hand moves up and down center of face) gives (flat hand moves outward) good (hand moves down from the mouth to settle on other palm) gifts (both hands move forward together). SNACK AND TRANSITION Consider serving seedless grapes or grape juice for today s snack. For younger preschoolers, you may need to preslice the grapes to prevent a choking hazard. Before eating, thank God for the snack. Practice the Big Picture Question together while you eat. Be sure to place a Big Picture Question Sticker on each child while you practice. Lead the children through a prayer time, asking God to show the children that they cannot earn their salvation through working hard or being good. Ask God to save each child through faith in Jesus alone. Thank God for His greatest gift: sending Jesus so our sins can be forgiven.

5 Vineyard Picture Instructions: Print and use as directed in the leader guide. UNIT 30 Session 1 Preschool Bible Study OK TO PRINT Jesus Taught with Parables

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