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Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. ~ Proverbs 22:6 KJV

  • Sunday School Lessons

    Find Sunday School Lessons - Teach kids of all ages with these easy to follow bible stories and lessons.

  • Sunday School Coloring Pages

    Find Sunday School Coloring Pages - Print these FREE coloring pages to use with your lessons or as time fillers.

  • Sunday School Games

    Find Sunday School Games - Teach kids about the bible and help them learn their bible verses with these easy to follow bible games.

    Showing posts with label Parables. Show all posts
    Showing posts with label Parables. Show all posts

    Wednesday, February 5, 2014

    Parables of Jesus are earthly lessons with heavenly meanings. These lessons not only helped those Jesus was talking to at the time, they can help us on a daily basis.

    To go along with the parable about the lost coin, we've come up with a couple of activities for you to do with your Sunday school class.

    You can find the parable about the lost coin in Luke 15.

    Sunday School Activities


    In this first activity, you'll only need three things:

    • coins
    • white copy paper
    • crayons/pencils
    Each child will need one sheet of paper. Let each child place a coin under the sheet of paper. Let them use the crayon or pencil to make a stencil of the coin by rubbing the crayon over the coin until you can see the coin design on the paper. On the top of the paper, let the kids write:

    The Lost Coin
    Luke 15


    The kids can take this home as a reminder of how we are to look for that lost person we can tell about our Lord and savior.
     
     
    In the second activity, you will need either a real coin or a paper coin you've drawn or printed out. Have the kids close their eyes while you hide the coin in the room. Once you've hidden the coin, tell the kids to find the 'lost' coin.
     
    Whichever child finds the coin, let them hide the coin the next time. Continue playing until every child has a chance to hide the coin.
     
     
     
     
    Jesus sets example after example for us to follow in the bible. For one, he doesn't avoid sinners or people nobody likes. In this lesson, the people no one likes are tax collectors. In case you didn't know, tax collectors were hated during this time. Many would take more money than they were suppose to from the people just so they could put more money in their own pockets which made them hated.

    If you look in Luke 15, the chapter begins with Jesus sitting and eating with sinners and publicans (or tax collectors). The Pharisees and scribes began talking about Jesus saying, "Can you believe Jesus is eating and talking with those sinners?"

    Let's think about this for a minute - aren't we all sinners? They had no business judging when they were sinners too, but they did.

    This Sunday school lesson begins when Jesus starts telling the parable of the lost coin. You can get the FREE Sunday school lesson about the lost sheep, as well. The lost sheep parable comes just before the lost coin parable in Luke 15. You can use them hand-in-hand or as two separate lessons.

    Just this weekend, I told both parables during the same lesson since they express the same point Jesus was trying to make.

    Get the FREE lost coin Sunday school activity!

    The Parable of the Lost Coin - Sunday School Lesson


    This parable is very short. If you have children that can read, have the children turn to the passage in their bibles or have bibles ready for them to read from.

    Here is the lesson:

    Ask the kids, "Would you want to be around a sinner?"

    Wait for answers.

    Most kids will respond with the answer - no.

    Ask them, "Why wouldn't you want to be around a sinner?"

    Wait to hear what the kids will respond.

    Now say, "Did you know that you are a sinner?"

    This will get their attention. Then, say, "What if no one wanted to be around you? What if no one wanted to talk to you?"

    You see, if no one wanted to talk to you, you wouldn't have any friends. You wouldn't have had someone to tell you about Jesus. If you didn't know about Jesus, you wouldn't be here today.

    We are sinners because we've all done something that we shouldn't. Maybe we've told a lie. Maybe we've taken something that wasn't ours. Most of us haven't minded our parents at one time or another. What about complaining or griping? Did you know those were sins too?

    Philippians 2:14 KJV
    14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:


    We have all complained about something in our life, haven't we?

    When the Pharisees and the scribes started to talk about Jesus being around sinners, Jesus said this:

    There was a woman who had 10 pieces of silver. If she lost one of those pieces, wouldn't she light a
    candle, sweep the house and keep looking for it until she found it?

    Think about this for a minute - If you had 6 puppies and one got lost, wouldn't you want to look for it? You may even have called your grandparents or your friends and told them one of your puppies was missing.

    You would look and look and look and look some more.

    When you found it, wouldn't you tell all of your friends or grandparents that you found it? You would be so happy and want them to be happy with you, right?

    That is exactly what the woman did in this parable of Jesus.

    She looked until she found it. Then, she called her friends and neighbors together to rejoice with her.

    What This Teaches Us


    This parable was told to help us understand that we are to talk to those who need to hear about Jesus. We are to spread his word.

    At the end of the parable, Jesus concludes...

    There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

    Whenever someone gives their life to the Lord (is saved), the angels rejoice in heaven. Imagine, for any of those who have asked Jesus to be their Savior, the angels in heaven were rejoicing with you!

    If we don't tell others (sinners) about Jesus, how will they ever know.

    We need to spread God's word to whoever we can and then, if they accept Jesus as their Savior, we can rejoice with them along with all of the angels in heaven!



    Photo of puppy was taken by Sigismund von Dobschutz (Wikimedia Commons).


     
    A parable is a earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus used parables to help get his point across. In one parable of Jesus, he talks about one lost sheep.

    This is a great story for all ages to help them understand the importance of trying to find that one person who needs to come to Jesus.

    The parable begins when the church leaders start to talk bad about Jesus. Why were they talking bad about him?

    Jesus was eating and talking with sinners (which we all are) and tax collectors. Tax collectors were hated during this time because many of them took more money from the people than they were suppose to.

    The point of this Sunday school lesson and this parable is to help the kids understand the importance of bringing people to Christ. If we don't tell people about Jesus, who will?

    Just as Jesus' disciples spread the word of God, we too should tell as many people about him as we can.

    This Sunday school lesson can be found in Luke 15: 1-7 KJV.

    You can start your lesson by having the kids turn to the verses in the bible. If they are old enough, let them read along with you. It is good practice to show the kids that the bible stories you teach are found in the bible and where.

    Parable of Jesus - One Lost Sheep


    Jesus told this parable to the church leaders who were saying bad things about him spending time with the sinners and tax collectors.

    The parable of Jesus began with a question to the leaders. It went like this...

    If you had 100 sheep and one got lost, which one of you wouldn't leave the 99 sheep and go out to look and find the one lost sheep?

    When you find the lost sheep, wouldn't you put it on your shoulders and rejoice (be happy) because you found it?

    Then, when you got back home, wouldn't you call all your neighbors and friends and say, "Rejoice, with me. I have found my one lost sheep?"

    Just as you would be happy about your one lost sheep, all of heaven will rejoice when one sinner turns to God (repents)? They will be more happy that the one comes to God than 99 people who do not need to repent.

    You see, Jesus wants us to go looking for that one lost sheep.

    Of course, this doesn't mean that we are to go buy a bunch of sheep and wait until one gets lost so we can find it.

    In the bible, the Lord is called the Shepherd and we (people) are the sheep.

    Psalm 23

    The Lord is our shepherd; I shall not want.

    For very small children, have them learn the first part of this verse. For older kids, have them learn the whole verse and discuss what it means to 'not want' (more on that below).

    If you are teaching teens, have them learn the whole 23 Psalm. Maybe even offer them a prize for whoever can recite it the following week. It doesn't have to be a big prize - a bag of chips, a pack of gum, a sucker or even a book mark.

    Not only does this verse give us the assurance that the Lord being our shepherd will find us if we are lost, it shows us that he will provide. We do not need to want things. He will give us what we need.

    As part of his flock, we are to search for those people (or sheep) who do not know him as their savior. We are to tell them how much Jesus loves them and wants to be a part of their lives.

    What We've Learned


    From this parable of Jesus, we learn that we are to go looking for that lost sheep, or friend that doesn't now about him.

    We can pray for them. We can invite them to church or Sunday school. If your parents can, how about picking them up and bringing them with you. Maybe their parents will start coming if their children do.

    If you have youth meeting or VBS, invite them to that as well.

    This week, tell the kids it is their job to be a shepherd and look for one lost sheep to tell about Jesus or invite to church. As a Sunday school teacher, do the same. It's not good enough to tell the kids what they should do. We have to set the example and invite someone too.

    Find more Sunday School Lessons!

     
    Jesus' parable about 'one lost sheep' explains that when one person is lost, he needs to be found. While the parable is using an earthly story to explain the importance of leaving 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep, the heavenly meaning behind the parable is much deeper.

    The deeper meaning is so that we can understand that when one lost person is brought to Christ, the heavens rejoice! Imagine playing a part in all of heaven rejoicing!

    Each day, we go about our busy lives and think only about the tasks at hand.

    As Sunday school teachers, we may think about getting our Sunday school lesson ready for the following week or maybe even about what snacks we are going to serve.

    But, guess what.

    These things aren't nearly as important as spreading God's word and looking for that one 'lost sheep' that God is waiting for to join his flock.

    It is our job as Christians and as Sunday school teachers to go looking for that one 'lost sheep' and teach our class to do the same.

    Below is a coloring sheet with the words "ONE LOST SHEEP' written on the side. Have the kids color the page and take it home.

    Tell them to hang it somewhere they will be able to see it every day.

    If they hang it on their door, they will be reminded to talk to someone about Jesus each day. If they hang in over their bed, they will be reminded to pray for someone each night.

    Make sure to encourage them to move the sheep around the house to keep reminding them of their job for Christ - finding the lost and leading them to salvation!

    Sunday School Coloring Page

    The Sunday school coloring page below can be colored and left as is or use your imagination and let them cut it out and paste it on a colorful sheet of paper. Maybe even let them add cotton balls to the sheep. If you don't mind a mess, let them use glitter!

    Let the kids have fun as they will hopefully use it as a reminder for a long time to find the 'lost sheep'.




    Find more Coloring Pages for Sunday School!

    I found this great site that offers amazing ideas for the lesson of One Lost Sheep.
    I hope you like it!

    Click for more FREE "One Lost Sheep" material!

     
     
    

    Tuesday, April 30, 2013

    The Good Samaritan - Parables
    Photo: Martin Bodman, Wikimedia Commons
    Parables were Jesus' way of teaching a lesson or getting his point across for others to understand simply and easily. There are many parables in the bible with each one teaching something different, yet all with the same goal in mind - to teach us how to be more Christ-like.

    This week's Sunday school lesson is about The Good Samaritan.

    The parable of the good Samaritan is a wonderful story to help teach kids to love their neighbor as themselves, to be more humble, and to look at one another through God's eyes.

    Below is the Sunday school lesson. Be sure to check out the Sunday school activity that goes along with this lesson.

    Sunday School Lesson - The Good Samaritan

    There are so many great bible verses about loving one another it was hard for me to choose just one, so I added several below. Now, you will have the hard choice of choosing which one you like best. Good luck...

     
    Verse #1
    

    1 John 4:11 KJV
     
    Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
     
     
    Verse #2
     
    1 John 3:18 KJV
     
    My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
     
     
    Verse #3
     
    Luke 10:27 KJV
     
    ...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all they mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
     
     
     

    Ask the kids - "Do you know what a parable is?"

    A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Jesus told many parables in the bible.

    Today we are going to learn about one of those parables. It is about a Jewish man who was traveling on a road from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30-37 KJV).

    As this man was traveling, some thieves jumped him, took his clothes, beat him up, and left him.

    It wasn't long until a priest came by that way and saw the hurt man. Do you think that the priest

    The Good Samaritan Crossword Puzzle
    Sunday School Activity
    helped him?

    No.

    Instead, the priest went around him and left him there without helping him.

    A bit later, a Levite came by the place where the hurt man was lying. Do you think the Levite helped him?

    No.

    Instead, the Levite looked at him, but did not help him. He just went around him leaving him there.

    Finally, a Samaritan came by the place where the hurt man lay. You see, at that time, the Jewish people did not like the Samaritan people and the man who was hurt was a Jew. The Samaritan man who was walking by could have left the Jewish man, but unlike the other two men, the Samaritan decided to help.

    Not only did the Samaritan man clean out the Jewish man's wounds, he wrapped them up in bandages, then he put the hurt man on the animal he was riding. Maybe it was a donkey or maybe it was a camel. The bible does not say.

    He took the hurt man to an inn which is like a motel. He even paid for the man to stay longer. He even paid for the man to be taken care of while he was away.



    What Can We Learn from the Good Samaritan?


    We should never judge people on how they look, how they act, or where they are from. We are to treat everyone with kindness just like the Good Samaritan.

    Jesus told this story to teach us that we should act kindly to everyone. After all, God made everyone and he loves each and everyone of us.

    If we are not kind to each other, we are not obeying God's word.

    God lets each of us choose how we act. We can choose to be mean and unkind to people or we can choose to help others. By showing others kindness, we are letting God shine through.