Unit 4: Parables of Jesus NT4.12 Parables about the Kingdom of Heaven

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1 1 Scripture: Matthew 13:24-52 Unit 4: Parables of Jesus NT4.12 Parables about the Kingdom of Heaven Lesson Goal: When Jesus lived on earth He taught people many important things about God and heaven. To help people understand what He was saying Jesus often told stories called parables. In Matthew 13 Jesus told six short stories to teach people about the Kingdom of Heaven. Introduction: This is the twelfth lesson in Unit 4: The Parables of Jesus. When Jesus lived on earth He taught people many important things about God and heaven. To help people understand what He was saying Jesus often told stories called parables. These are stories that illustrate certain truths He wanted to leave with His followers. In Matthew 13 Jesus told six short stories to teach people about the Kingdom of Heaven. These six stories are the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the Parable of the Net and the Fishes, the Parable of the Mustard Seed. the Parable of the Yeast, the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, and the Parable of the Pearl. These stories or parables are found in the book of Matthew. Matthew is one of the gospels in the New Testament. The gospels tell the story of the life of Jesus and are the first four books in the New Testament Attention Getter: Yard Sale Have you ever had a yard sale? It can be difficult to decide how much your old toys are worth. Or even if you want to sell them at all. Activities and habits in life are a little like a yard sale. We often have to decide how much certain things are worth to us. Should we keep them? Which is most important? In this lesson Jesus is telling us that the most valuable thing in our life is our relationship to God. Are we going to heaven someday? Do we love Jesus? Are we obeying Him? Lots of people wonder why it is so important to be a Christian. Some think that they can become a Christian later. Others think that everyone will go to Heaven. Have you ever looked in the Bible to see what it says about why a person should be a Christian? Jesus told several stories to help us see what Heaven is like and why we should want to go there. Let s think about the stories and what they mean. These six stories are the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the Parable of the Net and the Fishes, the Parable of the Mustard Seed. the Parable of the Yeast, the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, and the Parable of the Pearl. Optional: Bring a bundle of wheat along with some weeds that look similar to the wheat. Explain how the wheat seed is planted in the ground and then some weeds often sprout up alongside the good wheat plants. The tares growing along with the wheat are bad because they use up the good nutrients and growing space that the wheat needs to grow strong and healthy. Explain that in one of the parables in this lesson Jesus used wheat and tares to describe different people in the world and how they do or do not follow Him. Opening Prayer: Let's pray, "Dear Jesus, Thank you for teaching us about the kingdom of heaven. We love you and want to go to live with you in that beautiful place. Help our faith in you to grow and grow like the mustard seed. Help us to trust in you as our Savior. In Your Name we pray. Amen." Memory Verse: The memory verse is Matthew 13:9 "He who has ears let him hear." Lesson Video: A large crowd gathered by the shore and Jesus taught them from a boat. He told them parables to help them understand what the kingdom of Heaven is like. In this first parable or story Jesus is teaching the people about a day when everyone is going to be judged. Only God's people or those who believe in Him will be in heaven.

2 2 Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field." But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. "When the wheat sprouted the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants asked him, "Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?" "An enemy did this," he replied. The servants asked, "Do you want us to go and pull them up?" "No, he answered, "because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat also. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned. After that, they will gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." When Jesus left the crowds and went into a house, His disciples asked Him to explain the parable to them. Jesus answered, "the person who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man or Jesus." The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are the angels. "Just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, at the end of the age the Son of Man will send out His angels to gather up all those who cause people to sin and all those who do evil things. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth with pain. These people will be punished for being selfish and not obeying God. Those who do not believe will be separated from God forever. Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!" Jesus was saying that we must be sure that we are ready for God's day of judgment by believing and having faith in Him. A second parable was like the weeds and the wheat. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be much sorrow. Jesus asked, "Do you understand what these things mean?" The story of the net and the fish and the wheat and the weeds help us see that God will not allow everyone to go to heaven. It is not about just knowing Jesus in your mind. You have to believe and trust Him with your heart. So these two parables teach us that the Kingdom of heaven is only for those who believe in Jesus. Jesus always used stories and illustrations when speaking to the crowds. This time Jesus wanted the people to know how his kingdom would grow. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds. But it becomes the largest of garden plants. It grows into a tree and birds come and make nests in its branches." Jesus was teaching us that even though his kingdom would begin very small it would grow and grow until it was very large. Jesus also used another illustration to teach this lesson. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she mixed only a little yeast in a large amount of flour, it worked itself through every part of the dough." The yeast grew and grew until it permeated the whole loaf. How is the Kingdom of Heaven like a mustard seed and the yeast? Well, it started very small with just a few people in the city of Jerusalem. Before you know it, we read in the Bible that the church had spread all over the world. Today we see that the Lord is being worshipped all over the world, too. So just like Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven grows and grows." Jesus told many parables that began, The Kingdom of Heaven is like One day he told a parable and it said this: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field." He began to dig it up to see what it was. He was so excited that he hid the treasure again. The man found out who owned the land. He

3 sold everything he owned and bought the field where he had hidden the treasure. He knew that this treasure was better than anything else in the whole world. Jesus told another story about a merchant who goes out shopping. The merchant had been searching everywhere to find a special pearl. One day as he was buying and selling jewelry, he found it! He saw the most beautiful pearl in the whole world! It was so beautiful and so valuable that he decided that he just had to have it.. He went home and sold everything he had to get enough money to buy that one pearl because he knew that it was the biggest and the best. Jesus was teaching us that Heaven is the best place a person can ever go. It s like the biggest treasure or the best pearl in the world. God is there and we can be with Him forever. Jesus is like the people in the story. They gave all they had to buy something very precious. Jesus gave His life, all He had, to buy something precious US! Jesus knew that there was only ONE way for us to get to Heaven. IT wasn t by being good or just living a good life. It was by believing in Him as our Savior. So the kingdom of heaven is a great treasure. Many times at the end of a parable Jesus would say, "He who has ears, let him hear." That is our memory verse. In this verse Jesus is warning us to be ready. He wants us to know about heaven and to believe in Him. Let's say our verse together. Matthew 13:9 He who has ears let him hear. Let's think again about what Jesus taught us about heaven. We need to remember the meaning of the parables of the kingdom. First, The Kingdom of Heaven is only for those who believe in Jesus. Second, The Kingdom of Heaven grows and grows! Third, The Kingdom of Heaven is a great treasure! Lots of people think that everyone goes to heaven. But Jesus said that heaven is only for those who believe in Him. Will you trust him as your Savior today? God loves you so much and wants you to be with him in heaven. You can ask Him today to give you the gift of eternal life. Let's pray, "Dear Jesus, Thank you for teaching us about the kingdom of heaven. We love you and want to go to live with you in that beautiful place. Help our faith in you to grow and grow like the mustard seed. Help us to trust in you as our Savior. In Your Name we pray. Amen. Remember Jesus wants us to go to heaven with him. Review Questions: "Hang Man" (Grades K-5) Say: In this lesson Jesus used the parable of the Mustard Seed to teach the people about the kingdom of heaven. What did the mustard seed grow into? (A tree). For our review activity we are going to use a tall tree like the mustard seed. We are going to play "Hangman." We will divide our class into two teams. I will ask the following questions. If the first team gets question correct then their tree will remain the same. If they miss the question, then we will add the head to their "hangman." Repeat allowing the second team to answer a question. If they miss the answer then a head will be added to their "hangman" tree. Continue until all questions have been answered. Winning team is the one who has the fewest parts of their "hangman." 1. In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares what did the farmer sow in his field? (He sowed good seed.) 2. What happened during the night to the farmer's field? (An enemy came and sowed weeds.) 3. What did the farmer's servants ask him when they saw the weeds growing in the field of wheat? (The servants wanted to know if they should pull of the weeds.) 4. What did the farmer say would happen to the weeds? (They should be left alone in the field until the harvest and then the harvesters would gather the weeds and burn them up. If the servants pulled the weeds too early then some wheat would be killed too.) 5. Who did Jesus say the sower was in the parable? (Jesus said the sower was the Son of Man or Jesus.) 6. Who did Jesus say was the field? (Jesus said the field was the world.) 7. Who did Jesus say that the "good seed" was in the parable? (He said it was the people of the kingdom or the believers.) 3

4 8. Who was the enemy and the harvesters in the parable? (The enemy was Satan and the harvesters were the angels.) 9. What lesson was Jesus teaching us in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares? (At the final day of judgment (the harvest) the wicked (the weeds) would be punished and the believers (the wheat) would be a part of God's kingdom. Only believers will be a part of God's kingdom.) 10. In the Parable of the Net and fish, what did Jesus say the fisherman would do after they pulled the net ashore? (They would separate the good fish from the bad fish and throw the bad fish away.) 11. What lesson was Jesus teaching in the Parable of the Net and the Fish? (On the day of judgment Jesus would separate the believers from the wicked and the wicked would be punished or destroyed.) 12. What lesson did the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares and the Parable of the Net and Fish teach us? (The kingdom of heaven is only for those who believe in Jesus.) 13. In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, what happened to the little seed? (The mustard seed even though it was small grew into a very large tree that the birds of the air could come and live.) 14. In the Parable of the Yeast, what happened when the woman made bread? (She put in a little yeast to a lot of flour and the yeast grew until it permeated all the flour and made lots of bread.) 15. What lesson was Jesus teaching in the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Yeast? (The kingdom of heaven would grow and grow.) 16. In the Parable of the Treasure in the Field, what happened to the man who discovered a treasure? (He found a treasure that was hidden in a field, so he buried it again. Then he went out and found the owner of the field and sold everything he owned so he could buy the field.) 17. In the Parable of the Merchant and the Pearl, what did the merchant do when he found the pearl? (He went out and sold everything he had in order to have enough money to buy the pearl.) 18. What lesson was Jesus teaching us in the Parable of the Treasure in the Field and the Parable of the Merchant and the Pearl? (Jesus was teaching us that the Kingdom of heaven is a great treasure.) 19. Why did Jesus tell us these six parables? (He loves everyone so much that He wants all of us to go to heaven to be with him. He paid the great price of dying on the cross for our sins so we could go to be with him.) Bible Memory Verse Activity: "Listening Ears" (Grades K-3) Say: "The memory verse is Matthew 13:9 "He who has ears let him hear." In this verse Jesus is warning us to be ready. He wants us to know about heaven and to believe in Him. Have students look up the verse in scripture and repeat together several times. Procedure: Give each student a small paper plate. Have students cut the paper plate in half. Draw big ears on the paper plate or cut out some clip art ears and glue to each half of the paper plate. Glue a pipe cleaner to the top of the paper plate to create a headband for their ears. draw a face on the center of the plate. From construction paper have the students draw and cut some ears and glue them to the sides of the plate. Say: "Jesus wants us to have listening ears when we read the Bible. He wants us to not only know the scripture but to obey His commands. Let's use these "listening ears" to help us remember our verse, "He who has ears let him hear." Group Learning Activity: "Plant a Seed" (Grades K-4) Materials: bean seeds of any kind; cotton balls, sandwich size Ziploc bag Procedure: Plant a seed and watch it grow together. Wet 3 or 4 cotton balls and place in bag. take 3 bean seeds and place them next to the cotton balls in the bag. Zip the bag shut. Children can take the bags home and tape them to a window or take them to a window in your church classroom. Seeds should sprout in 3-5 days. When the sprouts are about 1 inch they can be planted, Or, bring small cups and beans or any other type of seed to class. Label the cups first with the students' first names. Allow each student to put some potting soil into their cup. Give each student a seed. Have your students push their seed into the soil with their finger. Show students how to pat the soil down lightly. Send the cups home or keep them at church. Be sure to water them every other day. 4

5 Or, if you will not be at the church often, make a terrarium out of a milk jug or plastic soda bottle. The closed top keeps moisture inside and waters the plant while you are not there. Optional: Take the students outside to pull weeds around the church. Make sure they know which are good plants and which are weeds Say: "What does it mean to be a Christian and live for God? Some people say that they believe in Jesus but the things they do seem to show that they only love themselves. God wants us to love Him with all our heart and walk in His ways. That means we must do things God s way and follow Him. There is a difference between knowing Jesus in your head and knowing Jesus in your heart. The weed people know Jesus in their heads but have never trusted Jesus in their hearts. Jesus wants us to trust Him with all our heart and follow him." Group Learning Activity: "Bread Making" (Grades K-5) Materials: bread making machine, bread dough mix, other ingredients Procedure: Bring an electric bread maker to your classroom and make bread for your class. Have your students watch you as you measure out the flour and other ingredients. Leave the bread to cook while you are teaching and singing and making crafts. Enjoy fresh bread at the close of the lesson. Say: "Jesus taught the Parable of the Yeast to show us how the kingdom of heaven would grow and grow. Have you let the love of Jesus grow in your heart?" Group Learning Activity: "Leaven" Object Lesson (Grades K-5) Procedure: Bring leavened and unleavened bread (crackers) to class and compare them to each other; pictures of or real examples of baking soda, baking powder, yeast, etc. Write the entire verse Matthew 13:33 on the whiteboard or chalkboard. Review the parable and its meaning. Say: Do we know what 'leaven' is? There are many kinds of leavening agents, such as baking powder, baking soda, yeast, sourdough, cream of tartar, egg whites, etc. What leaven does is causes dough such as breads or cakes to change or to rise. Leaven makes flour expand or get bigger by releasing gases. That's what makes the difference in 'leavened' bread and 'unleavened' bread. Leavened bread is big, puffy, is usually soft, and most often comes in a loaf. Unleavened bread is flat and is usually harder, much like a cracker. Jesus talked about leaven to the people. Speaking again in a parable, Jesus told the crowds of people who were listening something that was very familiar to them. He talked about simple things like bread and leaven. He said that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven. He told them that a woman took leaven and hid the leaven into three measures of meal until all of the meal was leavened. When the woman hid leaven in those three measures of meal or flour, something was going to happen! The leaven was going to make the rest of the meal rise, too! By putting leaven into those three measures of meal, some say that a woman could make eleven loaves of bread! That a lot of bread! What does this parable mean? Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is just like that leaven. The leaven was small, but it made the meal rise and get bigger and bigger. Jesus was saying that the church would start out very small, but it would grow until it filled up the whole world. This sounds like the parable of the mustard seed, doesn't it? From something small, great things would come!" Older Students: Contrast the parable of the leaven to the parable of the mustard seed. A Christian can be a 'changing' force in the world. A Christian can stand for something good and right and can change the minds of others who might not be thinking about doing right things. Christians need to be brave, confident, and never afraid of doing things the right way, God's way." 5

6 6 Group Learning Activity: "Multiplication Geometric Sequence" (Grades 3-5) Materials: white board; dry erase markers Procedure: Discuss with your students the fact that if you tell someone about Jesus, who in turn tells someone else and on and on, they have essentially had a part in many people hearing about Jesus! To demonstrate how this process works, draw two stick figures on the whiteboard. Below these two figures, draw four figures to indicate that these two people told someone else about Jesus. Now we have four people who know about Jesus. If these four people tell one person each, then we have eight people who know Christ. (Draw 8 stick figures.) Keep repeating the drawings of stick figures in continuous lines. (Row 1: 2 people; Row 2: 4 people; Row 3: 8 people; Row 4: 16 people; Row 5: 32 people, etc.) Let students see how rapidly the people in the world could hear the message of Christ if each one told one more. Older students will like to solve the progression for 10 to 15 to 100 rows and see how astronomical the number becomes. Say: "In the parable of the yeast and the bread and the mustard seed growing into a tree, Jesus was teaching us how the kingdom of heaven would grow and grow. But for God's kingdom to grow we must be obedient and share Christ with others." Group Learning Activity: Wheat or Tares? (Grades K-5) Materials: small bowl, dirt, toothpicks, black markers; With the marker blacken part of the toothpicks. Stick all the toothpicks into the soil. Procedure: Take a bowl full of dirt and several toothpicks. Color half of the toothpicks with black marker half-way down. Leave the others clean. Stick the clean toothpicks randomly into the dirt. Have the class close their eyes and read to them: Matthew 13:25 "...but while the man slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way." While you are reading, place the blackened parts of the colored toothpicks randomly into the dirt. Have the class open their eyes and read: Matthew 13:39a " The enemy who sowed them is the devil." Tell the class that while they were sleeping the enemy came in and planted weeds among the wheat. Give several children an opportunity to "weed" the toothpicks. As they pull out the "tares" make note of how much of the wheat that they are pulling up as well. Explain to them why we are not good at being weed pullers. Say: "One day God will make sure that the wheat or the believers are separated from the weeds or the unbelievers. When He returns, He will work everything out. Now we live in a world with a lot of evil people. One day, God will send the angels to pull up all the weeds and throw them into the fire. Weeds cannot get into heaven! Because we often cannot tell who are the wheat or who are the tares, we are to love one another and tell everyone about Jesus." Group Learning Activity: What kind of seed is this? (Grades 2-5) Materials: a collection of seeds such as apple, popcorn, watermelon, corn, tomato, pear, grape seed, green bean seed, pea, navy bean, etc. Procedure: Tape or glue each of the seeds above to a 3 X 5" note card. Number the cards to identify the seeds. Give each student a long strip of notebook paper. Have the students number the lines on the column of paper. Each student is to guess what kind of seed is displayed on the card just by looking. Give the students time to look at all the seeds and record their answers. After everyone has had sufficient time to observe the seeds and record their guesses, then give the correct answers. Give a prize to the one who identifies the most seeds correctly. Reward everyone with a favorite seed to eat--popcorn! As a group compare the different types of seeds. Discuss the type of plant that will grow from each seed. Continue to point out that huge plants will grow from these very small seeds. You could also cut some fruit and look at the seeds inside (then eat the fruit, of course). Strawberries are a good example because the seeds are on the outside and they are very small compared to the fruit. Other interesting choices are bananas, cucumbers, passion fruit and more. You might also be able to show acorns that grow into huge trees.

7 Say: "In the parable of the yeast and the bread and the mustard seed growing into a tree, Jesus was teaching us how the kingdom of heaven would grow and grow. Jesus has commanded us to tell others about Him and His gift of salvation so many more can be added to His kingdom. Let's pray and ask Him to help us obey Him." Group Learning Activity: String of Pearls Object Lesson (Grades K-5) Materials: a necklace of a string of pearls or a pearl ring or a single pearl and an oyster shell Say: "During the times of Jesus the main source of pearls was the Red Sea. People enjoyed pearls for their beauty as well as their monetary value. Merchants searched the market places of the world looking for pearls of great beauty. Today pearls can be found in rings, bracelets and earrings. Pearls come from way down under the ocean. People use to swim way down under the ocean to find oysters on the bottom of the sea. Then they brought these oysters up on the land, and opened them. Sometimes they found beautiful pearls inside. They took the pearls out and sold them at markets. Pearls today are mostly taken from oyster farms because going to the bottom of the ocean is dangerous.. The pearl itself actually begins as an irritant. Sand, a pebble, or a pesky parasitic organism gets inside the oyster's shell. To reduce the irritation, the oyster coats the intruder with layers of a solid, slick material called nacre. The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this: irritations get into his shell. The oyster does not like them. But when he cannot get rid of them, he uses the irritation to do the loveliest thing an oyster ever has a chance to do. In this lesson Jesus used the merchant finding the precious pearl as an example of how we are to think of heaven as a great treasure. Salvation is a precious gift that Jesus wants to give to us." Group Learning Activity: "Find the Pearl" (Grades K-3) Material: pearl ring or another piece of jewelry with a pearl Procedure: Divide your class into two teams. Have one member of Team A leave the room. A member of Team B hides the pearl in the room. When the person comes back he searches for the pearl. His team can coach him by saying "You're cold," when he is far from the treasure and, "You're hot," when he is close. Like the devil can lead us to wrong paths, the opposing team can give wrong commands, so the seeker will need to remember who is on his team. When he finds the treasure, (Pearl), a member of Team B leaves the room, and a different member of Team A hides the pearl. The game continues until everyone has a turn at hiding and finding the pearl. Say: "In this lesson Jesus told the Parable of the Merchant and the Pearl and the Parable of the Hidden Treasure to help us know that heaven is a great treasure. Jesus was teaching us that Heaven is the best place a person can ever go. It s like the biggest treasure or the best pearl in the world. God is there and we can be with Him forever. Jesus is like the people in the story. They gave all they had to buy something very precious. Jesus gave His life, all He had, to buy something precious US! Jesus knew that there was only ONE way for us to get to Heaven. IT wasn t by being good or just living a good life. It was by believing in Him as our Savior. So the kingdom of heaven is a great treasure." Group Learning Activity: "The Price is Right" (Grades 3-5) Materials: a collection of items that you can buy at the discount store such as a package of cookies, a game, a toy, pair of shoes, etc. Procedure: Students will play a game similar to the television show, "The Price is Right." You will hold up one of the above items and say, " I brought a package of cookies. Oreo cookies! Yum, yum! On the back of the package there is a tag with the price of the cookies. We will see how close you can come to guessing the price without going over the correct price. If you think that the price of this package of cookies is MORE than $4.00, raise your hand. No, if you raised your hand, you are out of the game because these cookies do not cost more than $4.00. If you think the price of this package of cookies is LESS than $2.00, raise your hand. If you raised your hand, you are out of the game because these cookies cost more than $2.00. If you think the price of these 7

8 cookies is MORE than $3.00, raise your hand. If you raised your hand, you are still in the game. This package of cookies does cost more than $3.00. Next, I am going to call out a price, If I call out the price that you think is the right price of the cookies, raise your hand. $ No, you're out of the game. $ No, you're out of the game. $ No! You're out! $ Yes! These cookies cost $3.69. If your hand is up, you are a winner! Continue with one or two more items. Say: "In this lesson Jesus told the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Merchant and the Pearl to show us that the kingdom of heaven is a great treasure. Jesus is like the people in the parables. They gave all they had to buy something very precious. Jesus gave His life, all He had, to buy something precious US! Jesus knew that there was only ONE way for us to get to Heaven. IT wasn t by being good or just living a good life. It was by believing in Him as our Savior. So the kingdom of heaven is a great treasure. Jesus now offers to us the gift of salvation. It is a free gift to those who ask Him! The price is right for us to go to heaven! Receive Jesus today." 8 Craft Learning Activity: Treasure Chest Materials: a small shoe box or other small box with a lid, one for each student. Before class spray paint the outside of the boxes with gold paint and let them dry; sparkly jewels, glitter, colored beads, glue Procedure: Have students make a pretty treasure chest out of a shoe box. Decorate the box with colored paper, sticky foam pieces, glitter, sequins or sparkly jewels. Optional: Let children build and glue a treasure box together with craft sticks, or with folded construction paper. Give markers and stickers to decorate the box to represent a GREAT treasure. Bible verses on small slips of paper could be put inside the treasure box when it is finished and encourage children to read ONE Bible verse a day! Say: "Jesus taught us that the heaven is a great treasure. Jesus paid a great price for our salvation by His death on the cross. Let's thank God for the treasure of heaven that He has promised to give to us." Craft Learning Activity: Pearl Bracelet (Grades K-5) Materials: white fun beads, chenille stems, scissors Procedure: Have the students string the beads onto the chenille stem. Twist the chenille stem to the desired length. Cut excess stem leaving a little to tuck into the bead so it won't poke the students. Say: "The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great price. It is a treasure of salvation that Jesus has given to us. Let's wear this bracelet to help us remember what Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross." Craft Learning Activity: Seed Shakers (Grades K-3) Materials: 2 paper cups per student (Alternatively, collect old toilet paper rolls instead of using cups. The ends can be flattened and stapled together); Aluminum foil Masking tape (or stapler if using toilet paper rolls); Dried beans or seeds; Scissors; Tissue paper or other decorations such as sequins; Whit e craft glue; Markers Procedure: Fill one cup halfway with beans or seeds. Tape the other cup so that the beans and seeds are enclosed in the maraca. Cover the maraca with foil. Glue on the decorations. Make music together! Pick your own favorite song to sing Say: "In the parable of the yeast and the bread and the mustard seed growing into a tree, Jesus was teaching us how the kingdom of heaven would grow and grow. Jesus has commanded us to tell others about Him and His gift of salvation so many more can be added to His kingdom. Let's pray and ask Him to help us obey Him."

9 9 Craft Learning Activity: Seed Mosaic Art (Grades 3-5) Say: "Seeds come in all sorts of interesting shapes, colors, sizes and smells. Let's create a marvelous mosaic to help us remember the parable that Jesus told us about the mustard seed." Materials: Seeds (beans, rice, sunflower seeds, nut shells, etc.); Clear liquid glue or white glue Illustration board; paper board; Sand paper, or cardboard; Small spoon Instructions: Collect seeds of all sorts of shapes, sizes and color. Rice, beans, bird seed, corn kernels, and sunflower seeds are examples of seeds that you can use. Cut illustration board or any sturdy paper board into the desired size. (5" X 8" is good.) Think about a design for your mosaic and make a sketch on the board. Squeeze some glue on one portion of the image. Put seeds on the glue. Work on an area at a time. You may use a spoon to transfer the smaller seeds onto the glue. Continue until you've covered the entire image with seeds. Allow the glue to dry completely before using your mosaic. *If working with young students, handouts or pre-designed sketches can work well. Then the students can fill in the design themselves without worrying about drawing a picture at the beginning. Craft Learning Activity: "Wheat Collage" (Grades K-3) Materials: bundle of wheat stalks so each student may have several stalks of wheat to put in his or her collage; several stalks of weeds that look similar to wheat stalks for each student; large sheet of poster board (at least 8" x 11"; glue, markers, colored construction paper Procedure: Students will make a collage using stalks of wheat and weeds. Provide some glue and a large sheet of poster board. Encourage each student to draw the green grass along the bottom of the paper and the blue sky along the top of the paper. Show him how to glue the wheat stalks onto the paper as if they are growing in a field. He should make a field full of wheat stalks to fill up the paper. Finally, ask him to glue a tare or two amongst the wheat to hide them. If he wants, he can challenge a member of his family to find the tares within the wheat. Write the memory verse along the top of the page. Craft Learning Activity: "Net of Fish" (Grades K-3) Materials: Netting from bag of potatoes or onions for each child; construction paper, colored markers; large sheet of drawing paper; glue Procedure: Tell students that they are going to make a picture of a net full of fish. Give each student some plastic netting from a bag of potatoes or onions for the netting. Have students glue the netting to the drawing paper or card stock. Next have children draw and cut out little fish from colored construction paper or fabric and glue them to the netting. Students could also use crayons or colored markers to draw the fish and then cut them out. Students can show all of the fish in the net. Have students write the memory verse at the top or bottom of their picture. Say: "The story of the net and the fish helps us see that God will not allow everyone to go to heaven. It is not about just knowing Jesus in your mind. You have to believe and trust Him with your heart. This parable teaches us that the Kingdom of heaven is only for those who believe in Jesus." Snack Learning Activity: "Oyster Snack" (Grades K-2) Food Needed: Vanilla Wafers; Strawberry Cream Cheese; Miniature Marshmallows; and Popsicle Sticks Directions: Spread cream cheese onto two vanilla wafers with a popsicle stick. Place a marshmallow on one of the wafers. Put the other wafer on top to make an oyster.

10 10 Life Application Challenge: "What did you hear?" (Grades K-5) Say: "Our memory verse is Matthew 13:9 "He who has ears let him hear." What lessons did you hear as we studied the parables about the kingdom of heaven?" Review the importance of not only knowing about Jesus but really believing and trusting in Him as Savior. Lead students in a discussion of the three basic truths about the kingdom of heaven: First, The Kingdom of Heaven is only for those who believe in Jesus. Second, The Kingdom of Heaven grows and grows! Third, The Kingdom of Heaven is a great treasure. Encourage students who have not committed the life to Christ to do so. Those who are Christians should be encouraged to share their faith with others. All should be challenged to love each other as Christ has loved us.

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12 12 The Fishing Net Find the good fish.

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