Lesson 2: The calling of Matthew.
Passage: Matthew 9:9-13 - Jesus approached a man named Matthew who was sitting at a tax collector’s booth. He called Matthew to follow him, and Matthew got up and followed. Later, Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, along with many other tax collectors and “sinners”. The Pharisees asked Jesus’ disciples why this was, and when Jesus heard of it, he said that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick; that God desires mercy not sacrifice; and that he has not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
Big Idea: Jesus calls imperfect people.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome Activity: (10 minutes) - All leaders
Have one leader greet the children with the iPad roster outside the classroom door. Check-in the children in your classroom as they arrive.
Have another leader invite the children in to sit in a circle on the circle time rug.
Leader: Hi kids it’s good to see you this morning! I have a question for you today? Would anyone like to share what is your favourite food at dinner time? [Let everyone have a chance to answer.]
Transition to Bible Lesson
Leader: Those were great answers! Last week we learnt that 4 of Jesus’ friends were fishermen: Peter, Andrew, James and John.
Today we are going to learn about another one of Jesus’ friends, his name was Matthew. Do any of you know someone named Matthew?
Matthew had a job as a tax collector. He collected money from people like coins like this. [Show bag of coins] A lot of people didn’t like Matthew because of his job and didn’t want to spend time with him. But Jesus had a different plan.
One day Matthew was sitting at his job collecting coins at a booth when Jesus came by and said to him “Come and follow me.” and Matthew just stood up, left his job and joined Jesus. Later Jesus went to Matthew's house for dinner with Matthew’s friends and Jesus’s other friends too. Some of the religious leaders questioned why Jesus would be friends with Matthew a tax collector but Jesus said he was here for people like Matthew too. While some look on the outside Jesus looked at their hearts.
Leader: I’m going to pray for us now, can we close our eyes while we talk to God.
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Matthew, and how Jesus accepted him and called him to be his follower even though he made mistakes in the past. Thank you that no matter how many times we make mistakes, you still love us, forgive us, and accept us just as we are. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Transition to Play
Leader: Alright friends I think we should get some wiggles out before we do our craft could everybody stand up?
Body Break Activity: — (3 minutes) Follow the Leader Dance
Select Follow the Leader Dance from Activity Playlist from Youtube
Following body break move to the tables for craft time.
Craft Activity: Dinner at Matthew’s House (10 minutes)
Children will use play doh, mats, rollers and shapes to create food for a supper meal.
If a child is uninterested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Dismiss children manually with Roster Ipad and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — All Leaders
Welcome children to the front of the classroom. Introduce yourselves.
Have a leader check-in the children using the roster iPad.
Transition to Warm Up Activity
Follow the Leader Game:
Choose a Leader: One person is selected to be the "leader" or "head of the line".
Form a Line: Other players line up behind the leader.
Follow the Actions: The leader moves around the room and performs various actions that the rest of the group must copy.
Switch Leaders: To ensure everyone gets a turn, the leader can go to the end of the line, allowing the next person to take the lead.
Transition to Bible Lesson (10 minutes)
Leader: Last Sunday we started a brand new series where we are talking about some of Jesus’ followers.
Does anyone remember which follower we talked about last time? (Peter)
Can anyone remember what Peter’s job was before he started following Jesus? (Fisherman)
Today we’re going to learn about another one of Jesus’ followers who’s name is Matthew. Let’s watch the video to find out more about his story…
Video Lesson — Play Video: Followers: Lesson 2
Follow Up Discussion —Bible Story Leader
Does anyone remember what Matthew’s job was before he started following Jesus?
And people didn’t really like tax collectors right? Do you remember why?
Why do you think Jesus wanted Matthew to be his follower?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Matthew, and how Jesus accepted him and called him to be his follower even though he made mistakes in the past. Thank you that no matter how many times we make mistakes, you still love us, forgive us, and accept us just as we are. Please help us to also love and forgive others when they make mistakes, and not to think badly about them but to remember that you love them and they are your children too. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Transition to Activity (10 minutes)
Activity: Supper at Matthew’s House
Children will use modelling clay and small paper plates to create a pretend supper meal.
Dismissal: Dismiss children using the roster iPad making sure each child leaves with their care-giver.
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Welcome — All leaders
Introduce yourself and welcome the kids to class. Check in children using the roster iPad.
Warm Up Activity: Would You Rather Game
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Last Sunday we started a new series about some of the followers of Jesus.
Can anyone remember which one of Jesus’ followers we talked about last time?
What Peter’s job was before he started following Jesus?
Today we’ll be learning about another one of Jesus’ followers, a guy name Matthew. Let’s watch the video to find out more about his story…
Video Lesson — Play video Followers: Lesson 2
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Can anyone remember why people in Jesus’ time hated tax collectors so much?
Do you think it was surprising for Matthew when Jesus first approached him and ask him to be a follower? Why or why not?
What do you think it says about Jesus that he not only accepted Matthew, but was also willing to hang out with his group of people - other tax collectors and people considered “sinners” by society?
What did Jesus say to the religious leaders when they asked why he hung out with tax collectors and sinners?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Matthew, and how Jesus accepted him and called him to be his follower in spite of his past and the mistakes he’d made. Thank you that no matter how many times we mess up, you still love and accept us as we are, while at the same time changing our hearts and helping us to do better. Please help us to also be quicker to accept and love others, and slower to judge. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Activity: Supper at Matthew’s House
Kids will use modelling clay and small paper plates to create a supper plate related to the story.
Dismissal: Dismiss children using roster iPad and make sure each child leaves with their care-giver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you think that there is anyone in the world who is always good and never makes mistakes?
Do you think think that your mom/dad/parent will always love you even when you make mistakes? Do you think that God is like that too? How does that make you feel?
What do you do when you know you made a mistake? What about if someone else made a mistake or did something that wasn’t very nice?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you know anyone who is always good and never makes any mistakes? Do you make mistakes sometimes?
Do you think that your mom/dad/parent will always love you even when you make mistakes or do something wrong? Do you think God also loves us even when we mess up? How does that make you feel?
What do you think is the best thing to do when we’ve made a mistake? And what about if someone else made a mistake and they were sorry for it?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you think that people’s judgements of Matthew for his job as a tax collector were fair? Why or why not?
Why do you think Jesus didn’t judge him, but accepted him as a follower? Do you think Jesus cared what other people thought about the kind of people he hung out with? Why or why not?
How do you think it must have affected people when they realized that Jesus wasn’t judging them, but accepted and loved them despite their flaws?
