Lesson 5: The vineyard workers.
Passage: Matthew 20:1-16 - There was a man who owned a vineyard and he went out in the town to search for workers for the day. Early in the morning he found a group of people who agreed to work for one denarius. Throughout the day he found more workers to join the first group. At the very end of the day, he gathered them together to give them their pay, beginning with the last ones hired and on to the first. He paid each one the same amount — one denarius each. The workers who had been their since early morning felt that this was unfair and they complained. The owner responded that they had been paid the amount agreed upon, and that he was simply choosing to be generous to the others too. In this way, Jesus taught that in the Kingdom of God, the last would be first and the first would be last.
Big Idea: God’s generous grace.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome Activity: — 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. Introduce yourselves, and use this time to get to know the names of the kids in your classroom.
Leader: “Good morning friends! It’s so nice to see you! We are glad you are here today! We are going to start by playing a game today.”
Warm Up Activity: Find the Grapes
Tell the children that today we will hear a story about from the Bible about people who worked in a vineyard. They needed to pick grapes and collect them and put them in a basket.
In this activity they will have 2 minutes and they need to see how many grapes they can find around the room hiding (green and purple pompoms).
Set a phone timer for 2 minutes.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our last week talking about Jesus’ parables! We’ve talked about a bunch of Jesus’ stories so far and what we can learn from them.
Today’s story is about a man who owned a vineyard.
Does anyone remember what a vineyard is? A farm for grapes.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Play Secret Library: The Vineyard Workers from lesson playlist
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story, there was a man who hired a bunch of people to work for him in his vineyard… Some people worked all day long and other people worked for only one hour.
How did the people who worked all day feel about being paid the same thing as the people who worked for only one hour?
Do you think it would be fair for God to treat everyone the same even if one person worked harder in their life than another person did?
What do you think that teaches us about what God is like?
Leader: Alright friends I think we should get up and move around a bit before our craft can everybody stand up?
Body Break Activity: Sing/Dance
Select Thank you song Toddler Worship Playlist
Follow the singing and actions
After the song finishes head to the craft tables for the activity.
Activity: Grapes Craft
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided.
Extra activity pages will also be available.
If a child is not interested 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. Check parents pick up stickers to see that they match with the code listed on the iPad.
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Welcome Activity: — All Leaders
Have one leader greet the children with the iPad roster and Check-in the children as they arrive.
Have another leader invite the children in to have a seat. Introduce yourselves, and use this time to get to know the names of the kids in your classroom.
Warm Up Activity: Farmer Says
This game will be played just like Simon Says, but using the phrase "Farmer Says" because today’s story is about a farmer.
Preliminary Discussion
Today is our last week talking about Jesus’ parables! We’ve talked about a bunch of Jesus’ stories so far and what we can learn from them.
Today’s story is about a man who owned a vineyard.
Does anyone remember what a vineyard is?
In this story there is a man who was looking for workers all around the town - out on the roads, in the market, and everywhere he could look - and he promised to pay them for their work.
Now, We are going to watch a video about today’s story. If you would like a fidget to help you focus our leaders will pass around a basket of fidgets to use. Can you give a thumbs up when you are ready?
Play Video: Secret Library: The Vineyard Workers from lesson playlist
Leader: Good Listening friends! I have a couple questions for you about the video:
How did the people who worked all day feel about being paid the same thing as the people who worked for only one hour?
What do you think this story teaches us about what God's kingdom is like?
Activity: Grapes Craft
Have a leader collect the fidget’s before moving to the tables.
Explain the craft using the example provided and invite the children to the tables.
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided.
Extra activity pages will also be available.
Dismissal: Dismiss children manually with Roster iPad and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver. Check parents pick up stickers to see that they match with the code listed on the iPad.
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Welcome — All Leaders
Welcome the kids to class, ask how their week was.
Using the roster iPad manually check-in the kids who are in the classroom.
Use this time to get to know the names of the kids in your classroom.
A basket of fidget toys will be available, pass around fidgets to help kids focus during the lesson.
Warm Up Activity: Would you rather Thanksgiving Edition Game
Kids will hear a question provided by the leader and have to move to the side of the room based on their answer. The list of questions will be provided.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the last day of our series on the parables of Jesus! So far we’ve learned a bunch of different stories that Jesus told and what they can teach us about God and the kingdom of God.
Has there been any stories so far that have stood out to you? What were they are why?
What was one lesson that you’ve learned from the parables so far that you’ll remember and keep with you?
Today's story takes place in a vineyard. We've heard one other story from Jesus about a vineyard, in which there was a father who told his two sons to go and work in the vineyard.
Well in this story, there is a man who was looking for workers for his vineyard from all around the town, and he promised to pay them for their work.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Play video: Secret Library: The Vineyard Workers from lesson plan playlist.
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Can someone summarize the parable that was discussed in the video?
How do you think you might feel if you were one of the workers who worked all day long and got paid the same amount as the people who worked for only one hour?
What did the owner of the vineyard say when he heard the complaints? Do you think he was right?
How do you think this story relates to what the kingdom of God is like? What does it teach us about God’s character?
We might compare this story to the way God treats us, all of humanity, and how God gives the same amount of grace and kindness to all, no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life.
Activity: Grape Craft
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided.
Extra activity pages will also be available.
Return any fidgets to basket before dismissal.
Dismissal: Dismiss children manually with Roster iPad and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver. Check parents pick up stickers to see that they match with the code listed on the iPad.
-
Welcome:
Greet the children, check-in the children on the tablet as soon as they arrive in the classroom.
Introduce yourself, get to know the kids’ names.
Leader: “Good morning friends! It’s so nice to see you! We are glad you are here today! We are going to start by playing a game today.”
Warm Up Activity: Find the Grapes
Tell the children that today we will hear a story from the Bible about people who needed to pick grapes and collect them and put them in a basket.
In this activity they will have 2 minutes and they need to see how many grapes they can find around the room hiding (green and purple pompoms).
Set a phone timer for 2 minutes.
Body Break Activity: Sing/Dance
Select Thank you song Toddler Worship Playlist
Follow the singing and actions
Activity: Grapes Craft
Kids will use materials available (paper, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: As they leave, check-out children manually on the tablet and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver. Check parents’ pick-up stickers to see that they match with the code listed on the tablet.
-
Welcome:
Greet the children, check-in the children on the tablet as soon as they arrive in the classroom. Invite them to sit on the carpet.
Introduce yourself, get to know the kids’ names.
Warm Up Activity: Farmer Says
This game will be played just like Simon Says, but using the phrase "Farmer Says" because today’s story is about a farmer.
Preliminary Discussion
Today is our last week talking about Jesus’ parables! We’ve talked about a bunch of Jesus’ stories so far and what we can learn from them.
Today’s story is about a man who owned a vineyard.
Does anyone remember what a vineyard is?
In this story there is a man who was looking for workers all around the town - out on the roads, in the market, and everywhere he could look - and he promised to pay them for their work.
Now, We are going to watch a video about today’s story. If you would like a fidget to help you focus our leaders will pass around a basket of fidgets to use. Can you give a thumbs up when you are ready?
Play Video: Secret Library: The Vineyard Workers from lesson playlist
Leader: Good Listening friends! I have a couple questions for you about the video:
How did the people who worked all day feel about being paid the same thing as the people who worked for only one hour?
What do you think this story teaches us about what God's kingdom is like?
Activity: Grapes Craft
Have a leader collect the fidgets and explain the craft before moving to the tables.
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided. (Note: gluing the pom poms works best if you put lots of glue on the paper, press the pom pom down hard and then let it sit and dry for a while)
Dismissal: As they leave, check-out children manually on the tablet and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver. Check parents’ pick-up stickers to see that they match with the code listed on the tablet.
-
Welcome:
Welcome the kids to class, ask how their week was.
Use the tablet to manually check-in the kids who are in the classroom.
Use this time to get to know the kids’ names.
A basket of fidget toys will be available, pass around fidgets to help kids focus during the lesson.
Warm Up Activity: Would you rather Thanksgiving Edition Game
Kids will hear a question provided by the leader and have to move to the side of the room based on their answer. The list of questions will be provided.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the last day of our series on the parables of Jesus! So far we’ve learned a bunch of different stories that Jesus told and what they can teach us about God and the kingdom of God.
Has there been any stories so far that have stood out to you? What were they and why?
What was one lesson that you’ve learned from the parables so far that you’ll remember and keep with you?
Today's story takes place in a vineyard. We've heard one other story from Jesus about a vineyard, in which there was a father who told his two sons to go and work in the vineyard.
Well in this story, there is a man who was looking for workers for his vineyard from all around the town, and he promised to pay them for their work.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Play video: Secret Library: The Vineyard Workers from lesson plan playlist.
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Can someone summarize the parable that was discussed in the video?
How do you think you might feel if you were one of the workers who worked all day long and got paid the same amount as the people who worked for only one hour?
What did the owner of the vineyard say when he heard the complaints? Do you think he was right?
How do you think this story relates to what the kingdom of God is like? What does it teach us about God’s character?
We might compare this story to the way God treats us, all of humanity, and how God gives the same amount of grace and kindness to all, no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life.
Activity: Grape Craft
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided. (Note: gluing the pom poms works best if you put lots of glue on the paper, press the pom pom down hard and then let it sit and dry for a while)
Return any fidgets to basket before dismissal.
Dismissal: As they leave, check-out children manually on the tablet and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver. Check parents’ pick-up stickers to see that they match with the code listed on the tablet.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you think it was fair for the owner of the vineyard to pay the same amount to the people who worked all day and the people who worked for only one hour? Why or why not?
Which character in the story do you think God is like? Why?
Do you think that it’s fair that God gives love and kindness to everyone no matter what? Does that make you feel like God is very unfair or very generous?
What do you think that teaches us about how we should treat people?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
How do you think you might feel if you were the workers who worked all day long and got paid the same as the people who only worked for a short time? Do you think it’s fair?
Why do you think Jesus told this story? What lesson was he trying to teach about what God is like?
How does it make you feel to know that God shows kindness and love to everyone equally no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life? Does it make you feel like God is very unfair or very generous?
What are some ways that we can try to follow this example?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What character do you think God is being compared to in the story? In what way is God like that character?
What would be your gut reaction to hearing that God is good and gracious to all no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life, whether they’re deserving of it or not?
Do you think it might be difficult for the religious people of Jesus’ day to hear Jesus teach something like this? Why or why not?
What are some ways that we can be more generous and gracious towards others?
