Parable of the Talents Lesson 5 February 28 & March 1

Transcription

1 Parable of the Talents Lesson 5 February 28 & March 1 Session Title: Parable of the Talents Bible Passage: Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27 Big Picture Question: How can we serve God? God gives us special abilities to serve Him. 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 Matthew and Luke both record parables from Jesus. In Matthew 25, Matthew writes about the parable of the talents. Luke 19 accounts for the parable of the minas. Though these parables are similar, they are not identical. Both parables are about a master who gives money to his servants and then goes on a trip. When the master returns, he judges the servants for their faithfulness in their stewardship over what they possessed. As you teach kids this week, focus on the parable of the talents. Jesus was teaching His disciples at the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. The disciples asked Jesus to tell them about the end of time. (See Matt. 24:3.) He told them parables to help them understand what it will be like when the kingdom of heaven comes. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven will be like a man going on a journey. In this parable, the man is Jesus. Jesus was going to leave earth and return to His Father in heaven. Before the man left, he entrusted certain amounts of money to his servants. The relationship between a master and his servants would have meant that the master still owned the money they were given, and the master would own any interest they made on the money. The first two servants were faithful with the gifts, investing the talents and gaining more not for their own profit, but for the profit of their master. The third servant, however, knew that if he lost any of the money, the master would punish him. And if he gained any money, he wouldn t get to keep it anyway. So he took no risk and buried the money in the ground. When the master returned, he was pleased with the actions of the first two servants, but he punished the servant who did nothing. Jesus parable is a lesson to all believers. Jesus gives us the task of serving God while we wait for His return. We do not sit idly by, afraid of failure, but we serve joyfully for Jesus sake. We eagerly wait for the day we can share in the joy of our Master. Heaven is the joy of knowing, worshiping, and enjoying Jesus forever. 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 Play Master and Servant Stand at the front of the room and tell the children you are the master. Explain that a master is someone who is in charge, like a boss or captain. A servant is someone who works for a master, like an employee or soldier under a captain s leadership. A good servant does what a master asks and takes good care of the master s things. Give the kids easy, fun, and a few silly commands, such as Do 10 jumping jacks, Spin in a circle, Hug a friend, or Make a silly face. Each time the kids complete a task, say Well done! Say Jesus told a story about a master and three servants. When the master went away on a trip, two of the servants did what their master wanted them to do. One servant did not. Jesus told this story to show that He is like the master and we are like His servants. 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 Point to the timeline map as you review previous Bible stories. Remind kids that Jesus told the stories, or parables, to teach people about God s kingdom. Read the key passage, using any hand motions you may have created. Say Jesus told a story about a master who gave some of his money to his servants. This money still belonged to the master. It was not the servants money to keep, but it was theirs to use while the master went on a trip. Two of the servants made good choices with the money, and their master was pleased. The other servant did not make a good choice, and the master was not pleased. Watch or tell the Bible story

3 The Bible Story: Parable of the Talents Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27 Jesus taught many people while He was on earth. He taught them about God and His kingdom. Jesus told the people stories to help them learn. One day, Jesus was talking about a day called the last day. The last day is a day in the future when Jesus will come back to earth. Jesus said that no one knows when the last day will happen. Then Jesus told the people a story about three servants. Jesus said, This is what the last day will be like. A man was going on a trip. He called his servants, and they came to him. The man gave each servant some coins called talents. The first servant got five coins, the second servant got two coins, and the third servant got one coin. Each servant got what the master thought he could take care of. Then the man left and went on his trip. The first servant, who had five coins, used the money to make more money. He started with five coins, and he earned five more. The second servant did the same. He used his two coins to earn two more coins. But the third servant, who had one coin, did not use the money to earn more money. Instead, he dug a hole in the ground and hid the money in the hole. A long time passed, and the man came home from his trip. He asked his servants what they had done with his money. The first servant brought the money to the man. He showed his master that he had used the five coins to earn five more coins. Well done! the man said. You are a good servant. You did a good job taking care of a few things, so I will put you in charge of many things. Come and be happy with me! Then the second servant brought the money he had. He showed his master that he had used the two coins to earn two more coins. The master was happy. Well done! the man said. You are a good servant. You did a good job taking care of a few things, so I will put you in charge of many things. Come and be happy with me! The third servant brought the money he had. He gave his master the one coin and said, Master, I hid your coin in the ground. Here is the one coin you gave me. The master was not happy. You are a bad servant! he said. You should have put my money in the bank. Then you could give me back the coin plus the extra money it earned. The master took the coin from the bad servant and gave it to the good servant who had 10 coins. Then the master said, Everyone who takes care of what he has will get more, but anyone who wastes what he has will have everything taken away. Then the master sent away the bad servant. Christ Connection: Everyone who believes in Jesus can serve Him as Lord. God is happy when people know and love Jesus. One day, every believer will live with God in heaven and be happy with Him. People in heaven will be happy to know, worship, and be with Jesus forever.

4 Talk about the Bible story Ask the following review questions. Where was the master going? (on a trip) How many coins did the servant with five coins make? (five more) How many coins did the servant with two coins make? (two more) What did the servant with one coin do? (dug a hole and hid his coin in the ground) What did the man say to the servants with two coins and five coins? ( Well done! Come and be happy with me! ) What happened to the bad servant? (His coin was taken away from him, and he was sent away.) God is like the master in the story, and we are like the servants. How can we serve God? God (hand moves up and down center of face) gives (flat hand moves outward) us special (index finger is pulled up by the opposite closed hand) abilities (one hand grabs the edge of the other hand and pulls away) to serve Him (index finger points up). Say Everyone who believes in Jesus can serve Him as Lord. God is happy when people know and love Jesus. One day, every believer will live with God in heaven and be happy with Him. People in heaven will be happy to know, worship, and be with Jesus forever. SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES I can serve God Supplies: construction paper, crayons or washable markers Provide construction paper, crayons, markers, and watercolors. Invite the children to use the materials provided to complete a picture of them using an ability to serve God. Remind the children that an ability is something they can do. If you have time, invite kids to play charades with the abilities they drew. See if you can guess their ability or giftedness. Say How can we serve God? God (hand moves up and down center of face) gives (flat hand moves outward) us special (index finger is pulled up by the opposite closed hand) abilities (one hand grabs the edge of the other hand and pulls away) to serve Him (index finger points up). How are you serving God in your picture? God created each and every person with something they can do for Him. SNACK AND TRANSITION Enjoy your snacks and practice the Big Picture Question together while you eat. Be sure to place a Big Picture Question Sticker on each child while you practice. This would also be a good time to pray with the children. Pray that kids will remember that everything we have really belongs to God, but He has graciously given us good things so we can use them for Him. Consider reading Galatians 6:9 to the kids to remind them that sometimes even grownups get tired when trying to do what is right. Say Dear God, thank You for giving us special abilities so we can serve You. Dear God, sometimes it is easy for us to use our special abilities to make us look special or important. Help us to always show how important and how good You are. Thank You for sending Jesus to rescue us from our sins. We love You, Amen!

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