Rich Young Ruler - Sunday School Lessons

The bible story about the rich young ruler makes for a great Sunday school lesson. It can be told quickly, if needed, or it can be made into a lesson complete with discussions where the whole class can get involved.

When Jesus is talking to the rich young ruler, he ask him about the 10 Commandments. This is a great opportunity to touch on all ten which will also lead into a different branch of the story.

You can find this bible story in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30. We used the King James Bible and the King James Bible Commentary for this lesson.

When teaching this Sunday school lesson, a great verse to go over along with the 10 Commandments is...

Luke 1:37 KJV

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

 

 

In Matthew 19:26 (KJV), Jesus is talking to his disciples about the rich young ruler and how difficult it is for the rich to get into heaven (more on that below). Jesus tells his disciples, that with men things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.

 

Rich Young Ruler
Sunday School Lessons
Photo Courtesy of Theodore Scott, Wikimedia Commons

 

 

 

Rich Young Ruler Sunday School Lesson

One day, a young man came to Jesus and said, "What good thing must I do to have eternal life?"

 

You see, Jesus knows everything and he knew what was in the rich young ruler's heart. So, Jesus said to the young man, "Keep the commandments."

 

Jesus was talking about the 10 Commandments.

 

The rich young ruler asked, "Which commandment must I keep?"

 

Jesus said, "Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother, and Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

 

The young man replied, "I have done all of these things since I was a young boy."

 

Then, Jesus said, "If you have kept all the 10 Commandments and are perfect, take everything that you have and give it to the poor. Then, come and follow me. You will have treasure in heaven."

 

When the rich young ruler heard what Jesus told him to do, he got up and walked away very sad. How could he give up all that he had for he was very rich?

 

Instead of choosing to follow Jesus, the young man decided he would rather be rich here on earth than in heaven.

 

Ask the kids what they love more than anything. Wait for answers.

 

Some may answer their toys, their games, their pets or even their parents. Then, explain that we are to love God even more than those things we love the most.

 

We are to put God above all else. Of course, God doesn't expect us to give everything we have away, but he does expect us to put him first. When it is time for church, we shouldn't complain that our favorite TV show is on or that we'd rather play outside.

 

Instead, we are to be excited about going to church or Sunday school to hear about God and what we can do to tell others about him. We should want to hear bible stories and tell others so they may want to ask Jesus into their hearts too.

 

Get this FREE printable
Sunday School Word Scramble
for this Sunday School Lesson!

Jesus Talks to His Disciples

 

Even in bible times, Jesus taught his disciples just like we are learning now. When the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus used what happened as an opportunity to teach his disciples something important.

 

What did he teach them? Let  your Sunday school kids try to answer.

 

He taught them that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.

 

To help show the kids how small the eye of a needle is, you should have one with you for them to see.

 

The disciples were amazed at what Jesus had said and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

 

You see, Jesus was saying that most, but not all, rich people think more about the money they have right now than they do about life after they die. Many rich people believe that if they have enough money, they can buy all that they want, but sadly, they can not buy their way into heaven.

 

To answer the disciples, Jesus said, "With men this is impossible (getting into heaven); but with God all things are possible."

 

What did he mean?

 

Men can't do anything on their own, especially get into heaven. Thankfully, with God all things are possible. We must put our trust in God if we expect to get anywhere in this life or the life hereafter.

 

Extra for Sunday School Teachers

 

This would be a good time to have the children bow their heads and say a prayer. You may even want to ask if anyone would like to ask Jesus to come into their hearts.

 

 

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1 and 2 Samuel - Books of the Bible Coloring Page

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel are packed full of stories about the life of David. Of course, one of the most famous bible stories is that of David and Goliath.

It is a story that many children and adults know and love.

When I was very young, we had missionaries that attended our church. They were known as "The Crossons". They had one daughter, Joy, who was married to a wonderful man named Rick. Rick and Joy, along with her parents The Crossons, traveled from school to school spreading the Word of God to young children.

It was because of these four amazing Christians (and my parents) that I am who I am today.

During the time that I spent with our missionaries (whom I consider family), I learned the song 'Only a Boy Named David'. And since it was more than 30 years ago I learned this song, you can be sure it is an oldie, but a goodie!

After you teach your Sunday school class the song about David, let them color the picture below. I need to give credit to the Christian Unite website for the clipart of David and Goliath as I did not supply this one.

Click here for more Sunday school coloring pages!

 

 

1 and 2 Samuel Coloring Page

(double-click to print)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fruit of the Spirit - Sunday School Activity - Video

The fruit of the spirit need to be taught to Sunday school age children to help them grasp how God expects them to act toward others. Having a Godly attitude toward others helps others notice there is something different about you and often want what you have - Christ.

Fruit of the Spirit
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia

When teaching the fruit of the spirit Sunday school lesson, have some fresh fruit available for the kids to munch on. In a bowl, put some red and green grapes, cut up some red and green apples, and toss in some watermelon or cantaloupe. Be sure to add lemon juice to the cut apples to keep them from browning. Many children love bananas too and can be cut in slices or given as a whole banana.

Other fruit options:

• strawberries
• pears
• coconut
• pomegranates
• oranges
• pineapple
• cherries

Here is a fun song by Kathy Vincent, otherwise known as 'The Scripture Lady'. There is an ad at the beginning of the video (sorry). Also, she does change up the words a bit to give the kids the 'meaning' of the fruit instead making it a good song to sing after the lesson has been taught.

Here you go. I hope you enjoy!

Fruit of the Spirit Song with Motions

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Fruit of the Spirit - Sunday School Lesson

Learning about the fruit of the spirit at a young age will help your Sunday school children grow to live a more Godly life. Without the basic knowledge of how God expects us to live, children may never grow to let God shine through and may even come short of the glory of God.

Fruit of the Spirit
Photo Courtesy of Yosarian, Wikimedia

While learning to get by in this world is a necessity, our eternal life is the most important thing children need to know about and how to share that knowledge with others.

That being said, let's begin our Sunday school lesson about the fruit of the spirit.

What Are the Fruits of the Spirit?

The fruit of the spirit can be found in Galatians 5:22-23. I've added the verse below for you.

 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

 

There are 9 elements to the fruit of the spirit as you can see in the verses above. For younger children, you may have to work on two at a time while older children can do three, four or even five one week and finish up the others in the weeks to come.

 

Trying to do all 9 in one lesson may result in the kids forgetting them or even becoming confused.

 

One of the best ways to learn all of the fruits is by learning them just as they are in the bible. Start with the first part of the verse - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness.

 

Again, if you have smaller children, just work on two - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy.

 

Many kids learn visually, so having these printed on a large piece of poster board will be your best option. Of course, if you have a black board or a dry erase board, those will work great too.

 

Print this on the board...

 

But the

fruit of the Spirit

is

love

joy

peace

longsuffering

gentleness

 





Don't add the other fruits until you are ready. Having too much on the poster board will only cause confusion.

 

When the kids have learned the first part, then and only then should you move on to the last part of the verse...

 

goodness

faith

meekness

temperance

against such there is no law.

 

 

So, what do these fruits mean?

 

Meaning of the Fruit of the Spirit

 



Get the FREE Fruit of the Spirit
Sunday school Song
and activity!

First, it is important to know that God calls them the fruit of the spirit not 'fruits'. The best way to
describe this is to say that it is ONE fruit with nine elements. The first three elements are in relation to God. The second three are in relation to man. The last three are in relation to one's (inner) self.

 

If you'd like to study these using the elements above, only do three each time you meet that way you can talk about the relation to God, man, and one's self as well.

 

We'll start with the first one and go through all nine. I've listed them below in case you need them.

 

• love - to be self-sacrificing and show a Christlike love.
• joy - to have an inner rejoicing in the Lord.
• peace - to have the peace (salvation) that only Christ can give and no one can take it away.
• longsuffering - showing patience in times of trouble or suffering especially when those troubles are brought on by other people such as being provoked.
• gentleness - to be kind, gracious, tender, and mild
• goodness - always ready to do good and to be moral
• faith - being true to his promise and tasks he performs
• meekness - having controlled strength and listening to hear God
• temperance - self-control

And, last but not least, the end of the verse. What does 'against such there is no law' mean?

 

This means that there is no law that says you can not possess these virtues. There are so many laws in this world telling us what we can and can't do, it is good to know that no man can take these things away from us.







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Free Christmas Plays for Kids - Play Scripts

Christmas Plays for Kids
Photo Courtesy of Vagner Carvalheiro

Christmas is just around the corner and it's time to be thinking about a Christmas play. Since we try to keep as much as we can free on our site, we've got a couple of free play scripts for you. Depending on what age Sunday school children you have, you may need to adjust these a bit.

 

Free Christmas Plays for Kids

Adding an extra line here and there to accommodate more children or adding Christmas music into the play will help with adjusting the length of the play if needed.

These Christmas plays for kids were written with smaller children in mind and to be short like a one-act play.

Again, don't be afraid to add a song or two or even add some extra lines. Make them work for you. After all, it is your Christmas play. Make it what you want!

Here are the links to the play scripts. I hope you like them and have a Merry Christmas!

Play Scripts

A Christian Children's Christmas Play
Children's Christmas Play for Church
Free Christmas Programs

Merry Christmas!
 

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Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man Song with Lyrics

As a child, the bible story of Zacchaeus was one of my favorites. I'm not sure why except for the fact that it was short, I heard it often, and we always sang this song on the day it was being told.

A bit of background about Zacchaeus...

Zacchaeus was a cheater who stole money from the people in his town, but despite the fact that no


Get the Zacchaeus
Sunday School Lesson

one liked him, Jesus went to his house.

The people didn't understand why Jesus would want to spend his time with a sinner. What they didn't realize was they were all sinners just like you and I. Thankfully, Jesus loved Zacchaeus enough to walk with him and talk with him. I am so blessed to know that even though I am a sinner, Jesus takes the time to walk and talk with me.

Get the Zacchaeus Sunday School Lesson!

I am also extremely thankful that I am one of God's children who will get to spend eternity with him in heaven.

Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man Song with Lyrics

I hope you enjoy this song. If you'd like, make up some simple motions to go along with the lyrics. Some motions may include: pretending to walk, pretending to climb a tree, and motions showing that Zacchaeus was a short man.





 

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Zacchaeus - Sunday School Lesson

The bible story of Zacchaeus can help teach kids that no matter what they've done in their lives or will do, Jesus loves them and will forgive them. Kids should always be taught God is a forgiving God and if they truly are sorry for what they've done, God will forgive them. They will also understand the importance of loving others and sharing God's word.

They can always start new and fresh without having to worry if God still loves them - He does.

Zacchaeus Tree - Jericho
Photo Courtesy of Tango7174, Wikikmedia

Zacchaeus

One day, Jesus was going to the city of Jericho. A crowd of people were gathered around to see Jesus as he walked by. Behind the crowd, a man was trying to see Jesus but couldn't.

Ask the kids, "Why do you think he couldn't see?"

Wait for answers.

The bible tells us he was little of stature. This meant that he wasn't very tall at all. His name was Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. A tax collector's job was to collect money the people owed the government, but Zacchaeus always took more money than he was suppose to take.

Guess what he did with the extra money.

He put it in his own pocket! He became very rich, but he was lonely. You see, all the people knew Zacchaeus took more money than he was suppose to, so no one liked him.

He may have been rich, but he had no friends.

Even if Zacchaeus would have tried to make his way to the front of the crowd to see Jesus, no one would have let him through because they didn't like him.

So, Zacchaeus came up with a plan.

Get the Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man Song with Lyrics!

The Sycamore Tree

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus so badly he decided to run ahead of the crowd to find a spot so he could see. As he ran up the road, he saw a sycamore tree.

Ask, "What do you think he did when he came to the sycamore tree?"

Wait for answers.

He climbed right up into the tree!

Now, he would be able to see Jesus. He may have been shorter than the others in the crowd, but he would be able to see Jesus better than most.

While he sat in the tree, Jesus came walking by. But, instead of walking past Zacchaeus sitting in the tree, he walked right up to him.

Jesus looked right up in the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, come down because I am going to your house." (Luke 19:5 KJV)

How did Jesus know his name? Did you know Jesus knows everyone's name?

Point to the kids and say, "Jesus knows _________ name and he knows _________ name." Fill in the blanks with the kids in your class.

Zacchaeus quickly came down out of the tree. The bible tells us that when the people in the crowd saw Jesus talking to Zacchaeus and then going to his house, they began to talk amongst themselves.

They couldn't understand why Jesus would want to go to Zacchaeus's house. He was a cheat and a liar. He took their money and was rich because he stole from them. How could Jesus want to spend time with him?

What We Learn

Think about this for a minute - why would Jesus want to spend time with a cheater and a liar? Why not spend time with someone who already believes in him and loves him?

Jesus knew that Zacchaeus needed him. He knew that Zacchaeus needed to know about God. No one in town liked Zacchaeus. How would he ever know how much God loved him and how to get to heaven if no one told him?

You see, because Jesus took the time to talk to Zacchaeus, the bible tells us that salvation came to his house (Luke 19:9 KJV).

Talk to the kids about the following:

If you have Jesus in your heart, one day when you get to heaven, you'll see Zacchaeus there.

Maybe you have kids in your class at school that no one likes or you have people in your family that you'd rather not be around. Instead of not talking to them, try telling them about Jesus or being a friend.

Not everyone will want to hear about Jesus, but some will. How will you ever know if you don't try?

You can pray for that person and ask God to help them too. Remember, God can do anything and you can ask him for anything.

After Zacchaeus was saved, he knew he had done all the people wrong. He decided to give half of what he owned to the poor and anyone who he took money from, he game them 4 times as much back.

Bible Verse for this Lesson

Romans 13:8 KJV

...for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Even though Zacchaeus didn't always do what was right, Jesus loved him. Do you think that after Zacchaeus was saved, he never did anything wrong again?

No.

We all make mistakes, but God loves us no matter what.

When we make a mistake, we need only to ask God to forgive us just as Zacchaeus did.

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Jacob Falls in Love Word Search Puzzle - FREE Sunday School Acivities

Jacob was always into something in the bible and there were many, many things written about him. God lets us follow Jacob from birth till death and we see all of his good and bad qualities through each and every verse.

In the Jacob Falls in Love bible story, Jacob is tricked into marrying the wrong girl, then finds himself with two wives! Below is a FREE word search puzzle to go along with the story of Jacob falling in love with Rachel only to find himself married to her sister Leah.

Sunday School Activity

Feel free to share this with others who may benefit from it. Use the Pin button, Facebook, or even twitter to let others know about the FREE stuff they can get here. Thank for sharing God's word with others!

Free Word Search Puzzle

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Jacob Falls in Love But is Tricked - Sunday School Lessons

While many of us only dream of falling in love at first sight and having someone love us so much it seemed like a fairy tale, Jacob experienced it. This bible story is a true real life love story about a man falling in love with a woman only to find out he had been tricked into marrying the wrong girl and guess who tricked him - her very own father!

Jacob
Photo: the Providence Lithograph Company

Jacob Sunday School Lesson

After Jacob left his home, he traveled toward Haran where some of his family lived. He had been traveling for a very long time. Finally, he was close to his destination and as he walked near the city, he came upon a well.

At the well were many shepherds. they were waiting to water their flock.

Ask the kids, "Do you know what shepherds are? What is there job?"

Wait for answers.

Some kids may not know what a well is either so you may want to be prepared to answer questions about it.

A well is a hole in the ground where shepherds would water their flocks. Often, a big rock or stone was put over the opening of the well and was only removed when it was time to give the animals their drink.

Jacob asked the shepherds if they knew where Laban and his family lived.

The shepherds knew Laban and said, "Look, here comes his daughter Rachel to water the flock."

Rachel was a shepherdess which means she was a girl shepherd.

 

Teach "Jacob's Ladder" bible story!

Jacob Makes a Deal

When Jacob saw Rachel coming, he went to the well, rolled the stone from the well's opening, and watered Rachel's flock for her. When Jacob told Rachel who he was, she quickly ran to tell her father Laban.



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Jacob Falls in Love Puzzle

After Rachel told him about Jacob being in Haran, Laban ran back to Jacob, hugged him, kissed his cheek, and brought him back to his house where Jacob talked about his mother and the rest of his family.

After a month, Laban decided he would pay Jacob to work for him.

Now, Jacob had a plan because he loved Rachel and said, "I will work for 7 years if I can marry your younger daughter Rachel."

The bible tells us that Jacob loved Rachel so much that the 7 years he worked seemed like only a few days had past which meant he loved her very, very much.

After the 7 years had passed, Jacob went to Laban and asked to marry Rachel as per their agreement. Laban gathered everyone together a held a big feast so he could marry her.

Jacob is Tricked

In those days, a marriage was quite different from the marriages of today and Jacob hadn't seen the face of his bride until after he was married to her. When he realized it wasn't Rachel he married, but instead her older sister Leah, Jacob was furious!

He went to Laban very mad and asked, "What have you done? I worked 7 years to marry Rachel. Why did you trick me into marrying Leah?"

Laban answered and said, "It is not right for the younger sister to get married before the older sister and so I had to give Leah to you instead of Rachel."

Guess what happened next.

Laban wanted Jacob to stay and work for him, so he said, "If you will stay and work for me another 7 years, I will let you marry Rachel too."

Jacob agreed and in one week, he finally married the girl he loved so much.

What We Learn

One thing we can learn from this bible story is that not everyone can be trusted. Sometimes, even our friends will try to trick us and often get us into trouble just like Satan tries to trick us. God doesn't want us to get others in trouble on purpose. He wants us to be loving and kind and do our best to do what he would like us to do. We need to know what is right so we don't let Satan trick us into doing something we shouldn't.

Another thing we learn is that we don't always get what we want. Sometimes we may want a new game or even a certain food for dinner, but we may not always get it. We need to learn to be patient and calmly wait for the things we want.

Lastly, you should explain to the kids that God does not condone having two wives, but in bible times this happened often. Sometimes, men would have more than two and one man, King Solomon, had 1000 wives (1 Kings 11 KJV). Whew!!

 

Bible Verse for this Sunday School Lesson

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV

 

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

 

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Book of Ruth - FREE Coloring Pages for Kids

The book of Ruth may be short, but there is so much to learn from each word. One thing many people like about this popular book of the bible is that it reads like a fiction story that someone has made up even though every word is true.

God allows us to step into the life of Ruth and see how choosing to follow God led her to the love of her life. This true love story captivates the hearts of kids and adults alike. Young children grasp the lighter part of the love story while adults can get deeply involved with each word.

Teach Ruth's story in this Sunday school lesson or read about Ruth in a different light at Christian Magazine Today.

Book of Ruth

FREE Coloring Pages for Kids

 

 

(double-click to print)

 



 

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