jesus gives zacchaeus a new life Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus was one of the richest Jewish men in Jericho. That's becuase he was the most powerful tax collector in that town. Tax collectors gathered money for the Romans. They also kept much of it for themselves. That's why they grew rich and powerful. Since Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, he was even more rich and powerful than the others. When Jesus came to Jericho, Zacchaeus wanted to see Him. But as always, people crowded around Jesus. Zacchaeus was a short man, so he couldn't see over the other people. But Zacchaeus had an idea. He climbed up into a sycamore tree beside the road. He would wait there so he could see Jesus as He passed by. When Jesus came close to the tree, He saw Zacchaeus. Jesus knew his name. "Hurry! Come down, Zacchaeus," Jesus said. "I want to go with you to your home today." Zacchaeul scrambled down the tree. He was so happy to have Jesus come to his house! But some people nearby grumbled. "Jesus is going to eat with a terrible man," they complained. But being with Jesus changed Zacchaeus. He became a different person. "Jesus, I will give half of my money to poor people," he said. "I will also give back to people four times the amount of money I cheated them out of." "You've been saved from your sin at your home today," Jesus said to Zacchaeus. "You were lost in the sinful, bad things you did. But I have come to look for lost people and to save them. I came to bring you to God."
DISCUSSION: What kind of work did Zacchaeus do? How did he get to be so rich? Why couldn't he see Jesus? Why did he climb a tree? What did Zacchaeus say to Jesus? What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus? When we believe in Jesus, we change and become different. We turn from bad things and turn to God. Are you living the way Jesus wants? Are you doing anything that Jesus does not like? Ask Jesus to help you stop. He will. Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
a story about using money wisely Luke 19:11-26 Some people thought God's Kingdom would come soon. Jesus wanted them to see that this was not true. So He told this story to help them. "An important man was called away to another place to be crowned king. After he became king he would come home again. But before he went away he called for 10 of his servants. He gave them ten pounds of silver. He told them to invest this money for him while he was gone. "When the man came home as a king, he called for the ten servants. He asked what they had done with his money. "The first servant told the king he had earned ten times the money he had been given. 'Wonderful!' the king said. 'I see that I can trust you. So not I will put you in charge of ten cities.' "The second servant told the king he had earned five times as much as he had been given. The king was happy to hear this. 'You have done very well,' the king said. 'I will put you in charge of five cities.' "The third servant brought the king's money back to him. He had earned nothing. 'I hid the money to keep it safe,' the servant said. 'You are a hard man to work with. I was afraid of you, so I didn't do anything with the money at all.' "The king was angry. 'You could have put the money in the bank to earn a little interest,' he shouted. 'You did nothing!' "Then the king gave orders to the people around him. 'Take this man's money and give it to the man in charge of ten cities,' he said. " 'But he has so much already,' the people answered. " 'That's true,' said the king. 'But when people use what they have well, even more will be given to them. If people do not use what they have very well, even the little they have will be taken from them.' "
DISCUSSION: How much did the king give his servants? What did he want them to do while he was gone? What happened to the man who was afraid of the king? Who got his money? What does this story tell you about being faithful to God with what He has given to you? God gives us many special gifts. He not only gives us money, but He gives us the ability to do many different things. He expects us to use His gifts wisely for Him. Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
mary pours expensive perfume on jesus John 12:1-11 On the way to the Passover holiday in Jerusalem, Jesus stopped to see His friends in Bethany. Martha served the dinner. Her brother, Lazarus, sat with Jesus at the table. Lazarus was the one Jesus had raised from the dead. While the two men talked, Lazarus's other sister, Mary, came in with a jar of expensive perfumed oil. It was worth about 300 full days' pay! Mary poured the perfumed oil on Jesus' feet. Then she wiped his feet with her long hair. The entire house smelled wonderful. Judas Iscariot did not like this. He was the disciple who was in charge of the disciples' money. Sometimes he kept some of the money for himself. That perfume should have been sold," Judas grumbled. "We could have given the money to poor people." He didn't really care about poor people. He was just hoping to get some of the money for himself. "Leave her alone," Jesus said. "You will always have poor people with you. But soon I will not be here with you anymore. Mary has done this to honor me and to get ready for things that are going to happen." The religious leaders were making plans to kill Jesus and Lazarus. They hated Jesus because so many people believed in Him and followed Him instead of them. They hated Lazarus too. That's because when people saw him, they remembered that Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. And then many more of the people believed in Jesus. DISCUSSION: Where was Jesus? What did Mary do for Him? Who complained? What did Jesus say to Judas? No gift is too good for Jesus. Do you ever think you are giving too much to Jesus? You can't! Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
JESUS RIDES INTO JERUSALEM matthew 21:1-11 Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerualem. When they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the men ahead. "When you go into the village, you will find a donkey tied up," Jesus told them. "The donkey's young colt is beside it. Untie both of them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, tell them I need the donkeys." This brought true the words of two prophets, Isaiah and Zechariah. Many years before they had said, "Tell the people of Israel that their King is coming. He will ride humbly on a donkey's little colt." The two disciples obeyed Jesus. When they brought the donkeys to Jesus, they laid their coats on the young colt's back. Then Jesus got onto the colt and rode towards Jerusalem. Many people spread their coats on the path ahead of Jesus. Some cut branches from trees and put them on the path. Crowds of people pushed against one another all around Jesus. "Praise God for the one who comes from King David's family," they shouted. "Praise to the one who comes in the name of the Lord." "Praise God in heaven." Everyone in the city of Jerusalem was excited as Jesus rode in. "Who is this?" some asked. "Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth," the crowd of people answered. DISCUSSION: Why did Jesus ride a donkey's colt into Jerusalem? What did people put on the path in from of Him? What did people say about Jesus? The people were excited because they thought Jesus would become their king.
Jesus rules over everything. But Jesus is not just any king. He is God's Son. He is King over all kings. Before you go to sleep tonight, take time to praise God and His Son, Jesus. Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
A STORY ABOUT A FARM Mark 12:1-12 Jesus told many wonderful stories. One was about a farm. But it was also a story about the religious leaders and the wicked things they were doing. "A man who wanted to grow grapes planted a big vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit where servants could squeeze out the grape juice. He built a tower where guards could watch over his vineyard. He was the owner, but he and the farmers would share the money from the grapes. "When the grapes had been picked, the owner sent a servant to get his part of the money. But the wicked tenant farmers beat the servant and sent him back with no money for the owner. Then the owner sent another servant, but the tenant farmers beat him also. They killed a third servant. Other servants were either beaten or killed. "At last the owner sent his son, whom he loved very much. "Surely these tenant farmers will respect my son," he said. But they didn't. They killed the son and took his body outside the vineyard. They thought they would get the vineyard for themselves. "So what do you think the owner will do to these wicked people?" Jesus asked. "I'll tell you. He will kill them all. Then he will find other tenant farmers who will honor him." The religious leaders knew Jesus was talking about them. They were like the wicked tenant farmers, and God was like the owner of the vineyard. They did not want to honor God's Son, Jesus. But they weren't going to hurt him yet because they were afraid of the crowds. So they went away. DISCUSSION: Who owned the farm? Who took care of it? How did the owner try to get his share of the money from the grapes? What did the wicked tenant farmers do? How was the owner going to punish them? God expects us to listen to His Son, Jesus. He wants us to honor Jesus and to do what He asks us to do. God gave us His Son, Jesus.
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
A STORY ABOUT A WEDDING Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus told several stories about interesting things. This story is about a wedding. But it is also a story about the Kingdom of Heaven. "A king prepared a great wedding dinner for his son. He sent invitations to many people. When dinner was ready, he sent his servants to the people who had been invited. But every one of them refused to come. So he sent more servants to tell them to come. Dinner was ready. The wonderful food was cooked. Everything was ready. But the people who had been invited still would not come. They all went on with their work. Some worked at a store and others worked at a farm. Some of the people who were invited grabbed the king's servants and treated them badly. They even killed some of the king's servants. "The king was angry. He sent his army to get rid of the killers and burn their city. Then the king sent his servants into the streets to invite other people. "The people I invited first aren't the kind of people I want to have," he said. 'Invite everyone else you can find.' "So the servants went out into the streets. They invited everyone they could find to come to the wedding dinner. At last the big room was filled with wedding guests. "The king went to meet the guests. But he saw one man who came without wedding clothes. 'Why are you here without wedding clothes?' the king asked. But the man could not answer him. " 'Throw him out,' the king said. "Toss him out into the darkness.' "Many people are called," Jesus said. "Few of them are chosen." DISCUSSION: When the king invited people to his son's wedding dinner, what did they do? Who did he invite next? This is a story about heaven. God has invited many people to His home in heaven. But some laugh at Him and won't come. So God invites others to come, even people who are terrible sinners. Of course they must let God's Son, Jesus, take their sins away first. When people trust Jesus to save
them from their sins, it's like being covered with the right wedding clothes. God doesn't see the sin anymore. The Bible tells us God's way to heaven. We must turn away from sin, accept Jesus as our Savior, and ask Him to forgive us and take our sins away. If you are trying to get to heaven by just being good, it won't work. We can't be good enough. We need Jesus. The Parable of the Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-14 parables kingdom heaven servants invited banquet refused dinner oxen cattle come wedding street corners filled guests Puzzle created with Vocabulary Worksheet Factory Sermons4Kids.com Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert
JESUS TALKS ABOUT CAESAR mark 12:13-17 The religious leaders hated Jesus. They were jealous because many people followed Jesus instead of them. So they often tried to trick Jesus into doing or saying something wrong. One day the religious leaders sent some of their people to Jesus. They hoped He would say the wrong thing. Then they could arrest Him. "Teacher, we know you are always honest," they said. "You always do what is right and say what is right. We know you teach God's ways. So please tell us if we should pay taxes to the Roman government or not." Jesus knew what these men were trying to do. He understood that they were trying to trick Him. "Who do you think you will trick with your question?" He asked. "Show me a Roman coin, and I will tell you." So the men gave Jesus a Roman coin. "Whose picture and title are on this coin?" Jesus asked. "Caesar's," they said. Caesar was the name of the ruler of the Roman government. "Then you should give Caesar what belongs to him," Jesus said. "But you should also give God what belongs to Him." Jesus' answer was a wonderful answer. The religious leaders could find nothing wrong with it. They were so surprised that they could not answer Him back. DISCUSSION: What did these men ask Jesus? What were they trying to do? Whose picture was on the coin? Should we pay taxes to the government? What should people give to God? Should we pay to help God's work? We should help our government and God. Each has an important work to do. Do you give some of your money to your church to help God do His work? You should. These monies are our offerings and our tithe to God. Someday, when you earn enough, you must give part of your money to the government. This is called "tax money." It helps our government do its work.
Some content taken from the One Year Bible for Children, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and V. Gilbert