BIBLE SKILLS & GAMES LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) Lower Elementary Workshop Focus: Big or small Jesus forgives it all! Keep these tips in mind as you welcome kids to the workshop and explore the story together. Each week, remember to welcome kids to the rotation. Keep in mind that for some kids it may be the first time they are visiting your workshop! If kids have heard the story several times during previous weeks, read it again! Kids learn through repetition, and every workshop will explore the Bible story in a slightly different way. Remember that the Shepherds are there to support you as they accompany kids each week. Be sure to visit www.sparksundayschool.org to download the Family Page for this story. Make copies of it and ask Shepherds to distribute it during the Wrap Up. bible SKILLS & games Open the Bible (10 minutes) Banquet with Simon Storytelling As kids arrive to your space, welcome them enthusiastically. Welcome to Bible Skills and Games, kids! I hope you re all doing well. I m glad to see you today. Today we re going to talk about something serious but we ll have some fun, too. Today we re going to talk about sin. Do you know what sin means? Allow time for kids to respond. Sin is anything we do that is wrong. Sins can be big like hurting someone or sins can be small like telling a lie or not listening to your parents. Big or small, sin is still sin. Even though we try not to do bad things in our lives, we all sin sometimes. Spark Story Bibles Today we re going to read a Bible story about 2 people who sinned. The first person, Simon, didn t sin too much. He went to church and invited Jesus for dinner. The second sinner, a woman who came to Simon s house to see Jesus, had a lot of sin. Which one do you think Jesus will forgive? Allow time for kids to share their ideas. Let s read our Bible story to find out. Distribute copies of the Spark Story Bible. Help kids find the story of Banquet with Simon (on pages 354-357). Read the story, inviting kids to follow along as they are able. Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School Banquet with Simon 31
After the story, take time to discuss. Who did Jesus forgive Simon with few sins, or the woman with many? (both) Jesus did point out that the woman needed more forgiveness because she had sinned more, but Jesus said that he forgives ALL who need it. Jesus forgives us for our big and little sins, too! Activate Faith (25 minutes) Three-Legged Race Set Up: Write each letter of the word SIN on a separate index card. You will need one set of letters for every two kids in your group. Put a piece or loop of tape on each letter, so that kids can tape the letters to the wall during the game. Using masking tape, create a start line on the floor on one end of your room. Activity Instructions Let s look more closely at the parable that Jesus tells in the middle of our Bible story. A parable is a story that has a message that people can understand. Strips of fabric or bandanas (1 for every 2 kids) Index cards Markers Masking tape In the parable that Jesus told in today s story, one person owed a bank A LOT of money, and one person owed a little bit of money. The bank told both people that they didn t have to pay the bank back. Yippee! What Jesus parable was telling us is that God forgives all our sins the big ones and the little ones. Let s have a three-legged race to show how being tied down by sin makes things harder to do! Get ready to play 1. Arrange kids in height order. 2. 3. 4. 5. Pair kids according to height. It will be easier for kids to maneuver if they are paired with someone of a similar height. Tie the pairs lower legs together (mid-calf level) using the fabric strips or bandanas. When we sin or do things that are bad, it can drag us down and make life hard. For this game, you are tied to a partner. Give each pair of kids a set of sin cards. Play the game 1. On go, the pairs of kids must walk down to the opposite wall from the starting line, carrying with them the letter S card. We walk as we are spelling the word sin. Sin drags us down, making it hard to live happily with God. 32 Workshop Leader Guides Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. When they get to the wall opposite the starting line, they must tape the S card to the wall. When the letter is taped, they must return to the starting line, and pick up the letter I, following the same process. The same process is followed with the letter N, so that each pair spells the word SIN on the wall opposite the starting line. When pairs have spelled the word SIN, they now must work together in the same manner to take down the word sin. Now you can run! When our sin is forgiven, no matter how big or small, we are happy and living with God! The first pair to spell the word SIN and take it down wins. Following the game, take time to discuss. Allow time between each question for kids to respond. How did it feel to do this game tied to a partner? Would it have been faster to do that game on your own? Sin is something that is always with us. It can drag us down and make it harder to live for God. But Jesus forgives our sins and in forgiving us he frees us from them. Follow the Leader Now let s play a game of Follow the Leader where we are on our own. Sin slowed us down before but now we can be just us! We are going to follow the leader. bible SKILLS & games Get ready to play Have the kids sit in a circle on the floor. Play the game 1. Choose one person to be it. Send that person out of the room with a Shepherd. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. As a group, choose a person to be the leader of the group. This person will be Jesus. Invite the child who is it to come back into the room. Explain that the leader who was chosen should start doing large movements (hand waving, silly faces, walking in place, patting their head, etc.). The followers must watch carefully and do what the leader does. Note: Warn the kids not to watch the leader directly or it will be too obvious. The person who is it gets three guesses to figure out who the leader is. After three guesses or the leader is guessed, the leader becomes the new it. Play can continue as long as time allows. Following the game, take time to discuss. Wow! That felt so much better to be free from our sin and able to follow Jesus. Jesus is worth following, too. Not Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School Banquet with Simon 33
only does he forgive all our sins and love us anyway, but he is always looking out for us. We will sin again of course, no matter how hard we try, but Jesus will ALWAYS forgive our sins big or small. Send (5 minutes) Wrap Up Remind the Shepherds to distribute the Family Page for this story if the kids haven t already received it, and come together for Wrap Up. Jesus doesn t HAVE to forgive our sins. We did the sinning. But Jesus loves us too much not to forgive us. He forgives ALL sins the big ones and the small ones. Jesus praises the woman for having faith to ask Jesus for forgiveness and we need to learn from her. When we sin it s better to ask for forgiveness, like the woman, than to pretend we did nothing wrong, like Simon. Family Pages Can you think of a sin you did recently that you d like forgiveness for? Maybe you yelled at your mom, or hit a brother or sister, or told a lie, or weren t nice to a friend. Think of one thing now and we re going to do a whisper prayer together. Prayer Time Instead of me praying out loud today we are all going to pray at the same time. We are going to whisper so we don t have to say our sin to anyone else. Cup your hands and whisper your sin into your hands and ask God for forgiveness. Then open your hands and let your sin fly away. When we ve all let our sin go, let s shout amen together! Let us pray together asking God s forgiveness... lead them in the whisper prayer... Amen! 34 Workshop Leader Guides Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School
BIBLE SKILLS & GAMES LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) Upper Elementary Workshop Focus: We can treat others with kindness, just like Jesus did. Keep these tips in mind as you welcome kids to the workshop and explore the story together. Each week, remember to welcome kids to the rotation. Keep in mind that for some kids it may be the first time they are visiting your workshop! If kids have heard the story several times during previous weeks, read it again! Kids learn through repetition, and every workshop will explore the Bible story in a slightly different way. Remember that the Shepherds are there to support you as they accompany kids each week. Be sure to visit www.sparksundayschool.org to download the Family Page for this story. Make copies of it and ask Shepherds to distribute it during the Wrap Up. bible SKILLS & games Open the Bible (10 minutes) Banquet with Simon Storytelling Hi, kids! Welcome to Bible Skills and Games! We re going to have a lot of fun today learning our Bible story and playing some fun games. First, I have an important question that I need help answering. Will you help me? Wait for kids to respond. Okay, here it goes: Where is Jesus today? Take the kids answers, encouraging them to think outside the stock answer of heaven or everywhere and to be specific. Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers One the one hand, Jesus is everywhere, including with God in heaven, but we also need to learn to see Jesus in everyone we meet. Jesus said in the Bible, Whatever you do to the least of my people you do to me. Jesus was saying that we should treat everyone as if he or she were Jesus. If we should treat everyone like Jesus, how do you think we should treat people? Allow kids to respond. In our Bible story today we are going to hear about two people who treated Jesus differently. Jesus forgives them both but there is an important lesson for us to learn about how to treat Jesus and how to treat others the same way. Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School Banquet with Simon 35
Let s read together in Luke 7:36-50. Invite kids to take out their Spark Bibles and find the story starting on page 1139. Read the story aloud, or ask a volunteer to do so. Encourage the kids to use their Spark Bible Stickers as desired. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Backward Simon Says In our Bible story today, Simon was the host of Jesus. In that time, typically the host offered the visitors a chance to wash their feet, since they got dusty in the sand. Simon doesn t do that in our story. He s glad to have Jesus there but he doesn t treat him with very much respect. On the other hand, the woman not only washed Jesus feet, but she washed them with her tears and her hair. While that may sound strange to us, it was a sign of respect and appreciation for Jesus. Why does Jesus say that the woman treated him with such respect? (She had a lot of sin.) That s right. The woman had sinned a lot in her life and knew that Jesus could forgive her. She was afraid and guilty of all her sin. Simon, on the other hand, thought he was a pretty good guy. Even though he had sinned in his life, he didn t think he needed too much forgiveness. He thought maybe he needed just a little forgiveness! Since Simon didn t treat Jesus very well, even though he was the host, we are going to play a game of Backwards Simon Says to help us remember the story. Get ready to play Explain to the kids that you re going to play Backwards Simon Says. Normally when the leader says, Simon Says, you follow Simon s instructions and when they just say, Do, you don t. In this case, when the leader says, Simon Says, the kids should ignore that command. They should only do things when the leader gives instructions without saying Simon Says first. (Example: Run in place. ) Play the game 1. Gather your group in an open area, where kids have room to move. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Choose one person to be Simon. Invite that person to the front of the group. Play the game, as described above. When a person does the action in the phrase starting with, Simon says... they are out for the rest of the round. Play until one person remains. That person becomes the new Simon. Play as many rounds as time allows. 36 Workshop Leader Guides Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School
Following the game, take time to discuss. Was it hard to do this game backwards? Allow time for kids to respond. You had to think before you did something. That s what our Bible story helps us remember, too! Jesus wants us to think about how we treat people and treat all people like he does: with kindness, love and respect. In our story Simon didn t do that but the woman did. Banquet Bible Toss Set Up: Write Jesus, Simon, and The Woman on separate pieces of paper. Tape one sign onto each of the three bins or garbage cans. Using masking tape, tape a line across the floor, near one end of your space. Set the bins a few yards away. Sometimes it can be hard to treat all people the same and knowing this story well will help us to remember Jesus message to us when we start to forget. What does Jesus want us to do? (Treat others with respect and kindness, just like we would treat Jesus.) Let s play a game called Banquet Bible Toss to practice our knowledge of the story. Get ready to play 1. Line the kids up behind the masking tape line. 2. 3. Give each kid a ball. Invite the kids to try a few practice tosses. The amount of strength needed to get the ball into the bin will depend on the type of ball. Large plastic bins or garbage cans, 3 Paper Marker Masking tape Large quantity of plastic balls tennis, racquetball, ping-pong, etc. (at least 1 per kid) bible SKILLS & games 4. 5. Adjust the bins as needed so that they are within a comfortable tossing distance from the kids. I will be asking questions. There are only three possible answers: Jesus, Simon, or The Woman (indicate the bins). After I read each question, you will get a chance to toss your ball into the bin labeled with what you think is the correct answer. Play the game Read each of the questions below. Following each question, give kids a chance to toss their ball into the bin labeled with what they think is the correct answer. Have all the kids toss at the same time so there s no opportunity to see how the others are guessing. After the kids have tossed the balls, reveal the correct answer. Every correct answer earns the tosser a point. Invite kids to keep track of their own points. Following each question, have the kids retrieve their ball and return to the line. The one with the most points at the end wins. Questions for Banquet Bible Toss 1. Who is a Pharisee? (Simon) 2. Who invited Jesus over for dinner? (Simon) 3. Who cleaned Jesus feet with tears? (The Woman) 4. She dried whose feet with her hair? (Jesus) Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School Banquet with Simon 37
5. Who was upset with Jesus for allowing this? (Simon) 6. Who told a parable? (Jesus) 7. Who answered Jesus questions? (Simon) 8. Who did not wash Jesus feet when he got there? (Simon) 9. Who used expensive perfume on Jesus feet? (The Woman) 10. Who forgave sins? (Jesus) 11. Who was a sinner? (The Woman AND Simon) Following the game, take time to discuss. That was a fun game to play! You all did very well and really know the story. Even though Simon was the host of Jesus, it was the woman who showed Jesus the most hospitality. Jesus wants us to treat all people with that same kindness and respect. Since foot-washing isn t a custom any more, what are some other ways we can show people respect in the world today? Allow time for kids to respond. Send (5 minutes) Wrap Up Remind the Shepherds to distribute the Family Page for this story if the kids haven t already received it, and come together for Wrap Up. We ve talked about many ways to treat others as Jesus wants us to today, but there is another important message that this lesson shares with us. Even though both the woman and Simon are sinners, Jesus forgives them both. He will also forgive us when we fail to treat others like him, or when we sin. Jesus knows that we will sin sometimes no matter how hard we try to avoid it, but Jesus also always promises us forgiveness. Family Pages Prayer Time For our prayer today we re each going to pray for the person next to us. There s a line in the prayer that says, Help me to see Jesus in all people, including. At that time, I ll name the person to my left, and we ll keep going around the circle until everyone has been named. I ll start and end the prayer. Dear God, Thank you for forgiving us when we sin and sharing your stories with us so we can learn. Help me to see Jesus in all people, including. Indicate to the kids to continue around the circle. Thank you for all you do for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 38 Workshop Leader Guides Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School
BIBLE SKILLS & GAMES LEADER GUIDE Banquet with Simon (Luke 7:36-50) All Kids Workshop Focus: Jesus forgives our sins, no matter how big or small. Keep these tips in mind as you welcome kids to the workshop and explore the story together. Each week, remember to welcome kids to the rotation. Keep in mind that for some kids it may be the first time they are visiting your workshop! If kids have heard the story several times during previous weeks, read it again! Kids learn through repetition, and every workshop will explore the Bible story in a slightly different way. Remember that the Shepherds are there to support you as they accompany kids each week. Be sure to visit www.sparksundayschool.org to download the Family Page for this story. Make copies of it and ask Shepherds to distribute it during the Wrap Up. bible SKILLS & games Open the Bible (10 minutes) Banquet with Simon Storytelling As the kids arrive, welcome them warmly. Invite them to gather on the floor or around tables. Hi, everyone! Are you ready to have some fun today at Bible Skills and Games? Today we re going to hear a story that is really two stories. The first story is our Bible story about a man named Simon who invited Jesus over for dinner. The second story is one that Jesus tells Simon. That story is called a parable. Does anyone know what a parable is? Allow time for kids to respond. A parable is a type of story that Jesus used a lot. Parables teach a lesson about faith, God, or the world, by comparing those things to other things that are easier for people to understand. Spark Story Bibles Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers For example, sometimes Jesus tells stories about shepherds and sheep but he really means God and us (we are the sheep!). In our Bible story today Jesus is going to talk about people who owe money to a bank. But he isn t really talking about people who owe money. Instead he is talking about people who sin. Let s read our Bible story. Invite kids to take out their Spark Bibles. Help kids find the story in Luke 7:36-50 on page 1139. Read the story aloud, or invite a volunteer to do so. If your group is made up of primarily younger kids, read the story from the Spark Story Bible (pages 354-357). Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School Banquet with Simon 39
Following the story, take time to discuss. Allow time between each question for kids to respond. What did you think of Jesus parable? What do you think it meant for Simon and the woman? What do you think it means for us today? Today we re going to explore these questions as we play some games. Are you ready? Activate Faith (25 minutes) Parable Pairs Set Up: Create a set of parable pairs for every 2 kids in your group. To create a set, write each of the following phrases on index cards, one phrase for each card. The phrases are paired below to show you the correct answers. Mix up each set so that the cards are out of order. 1a. Two people borrow money from a lender 1b. The woman and Simon Spark Story Bibles Spark Bibles Index cards Marker 2a. One person owes 500 silver coins 2b. The woman crying at Jesus feet 3a. One person owes 50 silver coins 3b. Simon the Pharisee 4a. Neither person can pay them back 4b. Both Simon and the woman have sinned 5a. The moneylender forgives their debt 5b. Jesus forgives their sins To begin our games today we re going to play a game called Parable Pairs to help us learn and understand Jesus parable better. Get ready to play Pair kids, making sure to pair a reader with any non-readers. Give each pair a set of cards. Play the game Have each pair find an open space on a table or on the floor where they can see other pairs cards. Invite the pairs to lay their cards out and read them together. The goal is to pair the idea from Jesus parable to its match in the situation with Simon, Jesus, and the woman. Kids can refer to their Bibles as needed through the activity. When all the kids have paired their cards, review the correct answers, using the list from Set Up. 40 Workshop Leader Guides Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School
Following the game, discuss further. Was it easy or hard to make the parable pairs? Jesus told parables to help us understand big, important ideas that might be confusing. It s hard to understand how big the power of Jesus forgiveness is. But the parable in today s story helps us understand that Jesus will forgive OUR sins, just like he forgave the woman s and Simon s, no matter if the sins are large or small. Human Foosball Set Up: Set up a human foosball field in your game room. An example for 20 kids is shown below, but it can be altered for fewer children or less space. The lines in the illustration indicate lengths of the two masking tape colors. The dots represent each kid in your group. Each kid must stay along his or her length of tape. On either end of the field, set up a goal using playground cones. Masking tape, 2 colors Soccer ball Playground cones bible SKILLS & games The woman in our story knew that sin could drag her down, and keep her from living with God. She loved Jesus because she knew he had the power to free her from her sins. Sins can drag us down and slow us down. Let s play a game called Human Foosball to practice what it is like to live in sin. Get ready to play 1. Divide your group into two equal teams. 2. 3. 4. Assign each team a color that corresponds with the colors you used to mark the foosball field. Assign each kid a tape line that corresponds with their team color. You are now stuck to the line you are on. You can only move side to side on that line. Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School Banquet with Simon 41
Play the game When the field is set, play a game of soccer, in which each team s goal is to get the ball into the other team s goal. The game plays just like traditional soccer, except that each kid must have at least one foot on his or her line the whole time. As kids play, closely monitor the game to make sure that kids are staying on their assigned lines. After the game, take time to discuss. Was it fun or hard to stay on your line only? Sin is like this game. When we are stuck in sin we can only go in a few directions. But when Jesus frees us from our sin we can move in all directions, like if we were to play a game of regular soccer. We are so lucky, because Jesus forgives our sins, no matter how big or small. Send (5 minutes) Wrap Up Remind the Shepherds to distribute the Family Page for this story if the kids haven t already received it, and come together for Wrap Up. Parables are a way that Jesus taught the people. We can use Jesus parable to learn about the way God works in our world. Parables are not always easy to understand. Luckily Jesus helps us understand them by asking questions and explaining things more fully to us. Whenever Jesus is telling a story in the Bible it is something to pay attention to. Let s pray and ask Jesus for help understanding his stories and thank him for his forgiveness. Family Pages Prayer Time Dear Jesus, Thank you for sharing your parables with us. Help us to ask the right questions and learn to understand your stories. We are glad you shared the parable with Simon so we can always know that you will forgive us for our sins. Thank you! In your name we pray. Amen. 42 Workshop Leader Guides Bible Skills and Games Workshop, Banquet with Simon Rotation Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School