June 14, 2014 8:00am & 11:00am 1st - 2nd Grade
Leader BIBLE STUDY Use Week of: Jesus parable of the wedding feast is more than a simple story about a king s rude guests. The parable reveals the King (God the Father) who seeks to honor His Son (Jesus) with a banquet. Though many people are invited to the kingdom of heaven, few will choose to come. 2 When Jesus told this parable, He had been teaching for three years. Many people who heard Jesus opposed Him, including the religious leaders. It was to this audience that Jesus told such a shocking story in which the attitudes and actions of the people who rejected the king s invitation clearly paralleled the religious leaders. In the parable, the religious leaders are represented by the guests who refused to come to the wedding banquet. They had been invited, but when the king s servants told them the feast was ready, they did not want to come. Instead, they went about their lives to their farms and businesses. Some of them even killed the king s messengers! What an insult to the king! These people had turned down an invitation to the most wonderful and joyous event they could imagine. The king would have given His best to honor his son, and the king reacted justly. He punished those who rejected him and invited others instead those not in the city, both the good and the bad. Likewise, God invites Gentiles into His kingdom. No one is refused based on his or her economic or social standing. The King Himself provides the required attire robes of righteousness like those given to Joshua the high priest. (See Zech. 3:3-4.) The King rejects those who try to come by their own merit in their own clothes as the man without wedding clothes did. This story reminds us that we need to be clothed in Christ s righteousness. The kingdom of heaven is like a wedding feast for the Lamb (Jesus) and His bride (the Church). (See Rev. 19:7-9.) Those who receive the invitation to come will be clothed in Jesus righteousness, made fit for an eternity in the presence of a holy God. Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 1
Younger Kids BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Parable of the Wedding Feast Bible Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 Big Picture Question: Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. Key Passage: Matthew 13:10-11 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus taught in parables so His followers would understand how to live in anticipation of His second coming. U N I T 30 2 2014 LifeWay 2
The BIBLE STORY Parable of the Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus often told parables, or stories, to teach people about God s kingdom. One of the parables Jesus used to teach people was about a wedding feast. Jesus said, This is what God s kingdom is like. A king s son was getting married, so the king prepared a big wedding feast. The king sent out his servants to tell everyone who was invited to the banquet that the feast was ready. The servants went out and came back. They told the king that the people did not want to come. So the king sent out his servants again. The king said, Tell the guests that I have prepared a feast! I have killed the best oxen and fattened cattle. Dinner is ready! Come to the wedding banquet! The servants went out, but the people did not listen to the king s message. One man went to his farm, and another man went to his business. Some of the people even captured the king s servants and killed them. When the king found out what happened, he was angry! The king sent out his army, punished the murderers, and burned down their city. Then the king told his servants, The feast is ready, but the people who were invited do not deserve to come to my feast. Go out to the streets and invite everyone you see. So the servants went out and did what the king asked. They invited all the people they saw good people and evil people. The wedding feast was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. The king said to the man, Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? The man was speechless. The king ordered his servants, Tie this man up hand and foot, and throw him out. Jesus ended His story by saying, Many people are invited to God s kingdom, but only a few are chosen. Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 3
Christ Connection: Salvation is a free gift. We can t earn our way into heaven. Jesus did all the work when He died for our sins on the cross. This story reminds us that we need to be clothed in Christ s righteousness. Jesus invites us to join Him in heaven the great wedding feast. When we receive His invitation, Jesus gets us ready by clothing us in His righteousness. Want to discover God s Word? Get Adventure! Invite kids to check out today s devotional to discover that, like the wedding guests, we can choose to serve Jesus. We can choose to thank Him for dying on the cross for us! Order in bulk, subscribe quarterly, or purchase individually. For more information, check out www.lifeway.com/devotionals. 2014 LifeWay 4
Small Group OPENING Session Title: Parable of the Wedding Feast Bible Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 Big Picture Question: Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. Key Passage: Matthew 13:10-11 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus taught in parables so His followers would understand how to live in anticipation of His second coming. square paper napkins construction paper scissors tape Dressed and Ready activity page, 1 per kid pencils Welcome time Arriving Activity: Napkin folding Provide a few paper napkins for each child. Let children think of creative ways to fold their napkins or shape them into different figures. Some children may want to cut construction paper strips and tape them together to make napkin rings. Say Your folded napkins look great! They look like they belong at a fancy dinner or banquet. In our Bible story today, we are going to hear a story Jesus told about a wedding banquet a king hosted for his son. Activity page (5 minutes) Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say When you go to a wedding, you typically wear your best clothes. It would not be appropriate to show up in dirty clothes or something completely off the wall, like a soccer uniform or a swimsuit. In today s Bible story, we are going to find out what happened to a man who wore the wrong clothes to a wedding feast for a king s son. Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 5
LOW PREP large sheets of white paper, 1 per table markers Tip: Explain that a feast is a large meal to celebrate a special occasion. A typical Thanksgiving meal is a good example. Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Come over game Separate children into two teams. Invite each team to hold hands and form lines on opposite sides of the room, facing their opponents. The first team will choose a player from the other team to come over to their line. After a child is chosen, the team will call out, The feast is ready, let (chosen child s name) come over. The chosen child will then come to the other team s line between two children and say either over or under. If the chosen child says over, the children should lower their hands for the child to step over. If the child says under, the children should raise their hands for the child to step under. That child then joins that team. Alternate turns between each team. Say What would have happened if the kid who was called refused to come over? Today in our Bible story, we are going to hear about some people who were invited to a wedding feast for a king s son, but they refused to come! Option 2: Feast mural Cover tables with large sheets of white paper. Tell children to pretend that they are sitting at a feast of delicious food. Invite each kid to draw a plate at her place at the table. Encourage kids to draw on their plate foods they would like to eat at a feast. Allow them to share what some of their favorite foods are and why. Say You all have created quite the feast! Today in our Bible story, we will hear a story Jesus told about a feast. This was a special feast because it was to celebrate the wedding of a king s son. Transition to large group 2014 LifeWay 6
Large Group LEADER Session Title: Parable of the Wedding Feast Bible Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 Big Picture Question: Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. Key Passage: Matthew 13:10-11 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus taught in parables so His followers would understand how to live in anticipation of His second coming. large appliance box cell phone various movie snacks Introduce the session (1 minute) [Large Group Leader comes out from behind the concession stand (a large appliance box with a window), carrying snacks and a cell phone.] Leader Hello! Welcome back to Parables Drive-In Theater! My best friend Nathan is coming to the drivein tonight! Our favorite movie is playing, so Nathan is going to hang out with me and watch the movie from the concession stand. I have all his favorite snacks ready. I cannot wait for him to get here! This is going to be the best night! Oh! Here s a text from him now! [Leader looks at phone. Perplexed expression on face.] Well, this this isn t going to be the best night after all. Nathan isn t coming. He is going to stay home and clean his room. Who would rather clean their room than see an awesome movie at the drive-in with their friend? Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 7
Who is going to eat all these snacks now? This actually reminds me about a story that Jesus told about a king and a wedding banquet he had for his son. Timeline Map Timeline map (1 minute) Leader Let s take a look at our timeline map. Remember that all the stories in the Bible tell one big story about God s plan to save His people through His Son, Jesus. Last week we learned that Jesus told a story about workers in a vineyard. All the workers received the same pay even though they started working at different times. Was the vineyard owner wrong to give all the workers the same pay? No, they all received what was promised to them. The vineyard owner was generous with his money. We learned the vineyard owner is like God, generously giving good gifts. Why does God give good gifts? God gives good gifts because He is generous. Today, we are going to hear another parable that Jesus told. Parables are stories Jesus told to help people understand more about God and His kingdom. Would someone like to point out where we are on our timeline map? [Allow a child to come up and point to the Bible story picture on the timeline map.] Good job! Today s parable is the Parable of the Wedding Feast. Big picture question (1 minute) Leader The kingdom of heaven is greater than anything we can imagine. It is not like a kingdom on earth. Jesus told many stories to show what it is like. Our big picture question for today is Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? We will discover the answer in our Bible story. 2014 LifeWay 8
Key Passage Slide or Poster Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven song Parable of the Wedding Feast video Bibles, 1 per kid Bible Story Picture Slide or Poster Key passage (4 minutes) Leader Our key passage tells us why Jesus taught in parables. Let s take a look and see Jesus reason. Show the key passage slide or poster of Matthew 13:10-11. Lead the boys and girls to read the verse. Sing together Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. Tell the Bible story (10 minutes) Leader Our Bible story comes from Matthew 22. Let s find that in our Bibles to see what the wedding feast is about and what it has to do with God and His Kingdom. Listen closely to find out the answer to our big picture question, Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Show the Parable of the Wedding Feast video, or tell the Bible story in your own words using the script provided. For a shorter version of the story, read only the bolded text. Leader The king planned a big, fancy feast for His son s wedding, and the guests he invited did not come. How sad! It seems so strange to turn down such a wonderful invitation. Jesus told parables to teach about God s kingdom, so we need to ask what this parable says about God and His kingdom. God is like the king, and Jesus is like the king s son. The invited guests remind us of God s chosen people, the Jews. Most Jewish people rejected Jesus as Messiah Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 9
just as the guests refused the invitation to the banquet. The king told his servants to then invite everyone they saw. They invited anybody, good and bad. Not even one of us deserves an invitation to God s kingdom, but God invites us to the kingdom of heaven! Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. The guest who was not wearing the right clothes was thrown out. The prophet Isaiah wrote that all the righteous things we do are like dirty clothes. [See Isaiah 64:6.] We cannot be part of God s kingdom because of our sin. Even the good things we do are never completely good apart from Christ. We can never be good enough to earn a place in God s kingdom. Only one person has ever been good enough to do that. Do you know who that is? Yes, Jesus! To enter God s kingdom requires we ask Jesus to take away our sin and cover us with His righteousness. Ask the following questions: 1. Did the original guests invited to the king s feast attend? (No, they refused to attend, Matthew 22:3,5) 2. What did some of the original guests do to the king s servants? (captured them and killed them, Matthew 22:6) 3. Where did the servants find guests to come to the king s banquet? (from the streets outside the city, Matthew 22:9-10) 4. Why was one man thrown out of the wedding feast? (He was not wearing wedding clothes, Matthew 22:11-12) 5. Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. 2014 LifeWay 10
The Gospel: God s Plan for Me (optional) Use Scripture and the guide provided with this session to explain to boys and girls how to become a Christian. Assign individuals to meet with kids who have more questions. If this is not possible, encourage boys and girls to ask their parents, small group leaders, or other Christian adults any questions they may have about becoming a Christian. Big Picture Question Slide or Poster Prayer (5 minutes) Show the big picture question slide or poster. Leader Who remembers the big picture question? Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. Encourage kids to find two friends. Invite them to take turns asking the big picture question and giving the answer. Before transitioning to small group, make any necessary announcements. Lead the kids in prayer. Pray that kids will know what a great gift it is to be invited to the kingdom of heaven and that they will respond with faith when they hear the gospel. Pray that kids would not trust in their own good works but in Jesus righteousness alone. Dismiss to small groups Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 11
The Gospel: God s Plan for Me Ask kids if they have ever heard the word gospel. Clarify that the word gospel means good news. It is the message about Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation. Use the following guide to share the gospel with kids. God rules. Explain to kids that the Bible tells us God created everything, and He is in charge of everything. Invite a volunteer to read Genesis 1:1 from the Bible. Read Revelation 4:11 or Colossians 1:16-17 aloud and explain what these verses mean. We sinned. Tell kids that since the time of Adam and Eve, everyone has chosen to disobey God. (Romans 3:23) The Bible calls this sin. Because God is holy, God cannot be around sin. Sin separates us from God and deserves God s punishment of death. (Romans 6:23) God provided. Choose a child to read John 3:16 aloud. Say that God sent His Son, Jesus, the perfect solution to our sin problem, to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. It s something we, as sinners, could never earn on our own. Jesus alone saves us. Read and explain Ephesians 2:8-9. Jesus gives. Share with kids that Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. Because Jesus gave up His life for us, we can be welcomed into God s family for eternity. This is the best gift ever! Read Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; or 1 Peter 3:18. We respond. Tell kids that they can respond to Jesus. Read Romans 10:9-10,13. Review these aspects of our response: Believe in your heart that Jesus alone saves you through what He s already done on the cross. Repent, turning from self and sin to Jesus. Tell God and others that your faith is in Jesus. Offer to talk with any child who is interested in responding to Jesus. 2014 LifeWay 12
Small Group LEADER Session Title: Parable of the Wedding Feast Bible Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 Big Picture Question: Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. Key Passage: Matthew 13:10-11 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus taught in parables so His followers would understand how to live in anticipation of His second coming. Key Passage Slide or Poster dry erase board and markers (optional) Key passage activity (5 minutes) Make sure the key passage, Matthew 13:10-11, is visible for each child, either as the slide, printed poster, or written on a dry erase board. Read the verse together. Say Jesus told parables or stories to teach people about God s kingdom. This verse calls them the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Why do you think Jesus called them secrets? Was it because He didn t want people to know? No, it is a secret because it is hard to understand. The only way we can understand what God s kingdom is like is if God helps us understand. Jesus told parables to help His followers understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. Encourage kids to act out the verse. Choose one child to be Jesus and allow the other children to be the disciples. The children representing the disciples will say verse 10. The child representing Jesus will say verse 11. Encourage kids to use hand gestures and facial expressions. Allow kids to take turns being Jesus as time allows. Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 13
Bibles, 1 per kid Small Group Visual Pack Big Picture Question Slide or Poster Bible story review (10 minutes) Encourage the kids to find Matthew 22:1-14 in their Bibles. Help them as needed. Say Is the Book of Matthew in the Old Testament or the New Testament? (New Testament) Who knows what division of the Bible Matthew is in? (Gospels) Remember almost every Bible story that tells about Jesus life on earth can be found in the Gospels. Matthew is the very first book in the New Testament. Use the small group visual pack to show kids where today s Bible story is on the timeline. Review the Bible story provided using the bolded text, or summarize the story in your own words. Invite kids to jump up and say I will come! each time they hear the words feast, banquet, or dinner. Say How very sad that the invited guests did not come to the wedding banquet! But the king made sure people came to celebrate his son s wedding. The new guests must have felt so grateful to be included. God is so kind to include us in His kingdom. We have not done anything to deserve an invitation to the kingdom of heaven. In fact, because we are sinners, we have done a lot of things that should keep us out of God s kingdom. When we trust in Jesus to take away our sin, we can enter in. Remember the man who came to the wedding in the wrong clothes? He was thrown out. The only way we can enter the kingdom of Heaven is if we put our trust in Jesus, He clothes us in His righteousness. Show the big picture question slide or poster. Say Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. 2014 LifeWay 14
LOW PREP construction paper, 1 per kid markers baskets, 1 per team clothing items easy to put on and take off, 1 per kid tape Activity choice (10 minutes) Option 1: Invitations Demonstrate how to fold a sheet of construction paper in half to make an invitation. Children may use markers to decorate their invitations. Encourage children to write the big picture question and answer on their invitation. Kids may give their invitation to someone else who needs to hear the gospel, or they may keep it as a reminder of God s open invitation to the kingdom of heaven. Say Jesus used the parable of the wedding feast to show that many people are invited to God s kingdom, but only a few choose to come. These invitations can remind us to tell everyone about Jesus so they can be a part of the kingdom of heaven. Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. Option 2: Dress up relay Distribute dress-up clothing evenly between the baskets and place the baskets on one side of the room. Use masking tape to make a starting line at the opposite side of the room. Form teams, and invite teams to line up single file behind the starting line. Children should listen for the signal to go. The first kid from each team will run to the basket, put on a clothing item, and run back to the end of the line. The next child in line then takes a turn, and so on. Once all the children from one team have put on clothing items, the whole team says the big picture question and answer together. The first team to say the question and answer wins. Say In the parable that Jesus told, a man was thrown out of the wedding feast because he was not wearing the right clothes. The man in the wrong clothes reminds us that the only way into the kingdom of heaven Younger Kids Bible Study Leader Guide 2014 LifeWay Unit 30 Session 2 15
is through Jesus! Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. 2014 LifeWay 16
Then the disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? And he answered them, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Matthew 13:10-11 UNIT 30 Key Passage Poster (ESV) 2014 LifeWay OK TO PRINT
Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? UNIT 30 Session 2 Big Picture Question 2014 LifeWay OK TO PRINT
Who is invited to the kingdom of heaven? Everyone is invited to the kingdom of heaven, but few will choose to come. UNIT 30 Session 2 Big Picture Question 2014 LifeWay OK TO PRINT
UNIT 30 Session 2 Parable of the Wedding Feast 2014 LifeWay OK TO PRINT
Instructions: Draw a line between each person and the place he or she is likely headed. Unit 30 Session 2 Younger Kids Activity Pages
Parable of the Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-14