Week 986 · about 45 minutes
Matthew 25
Matthew 25 · Memory verse Matthew 25:21
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Matthew 25), the matching word search and answer key (Matthew 25 word search), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a cup of water
Hold a cup of water. Read Matthew 25 in about four minutes, stopping at Matthew 25:21: ““His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Ask, “What does this prop have to do with Matthew 25?” Let two children answer, then say the memory verse together.
Story script
Matthew 25 is a real chapter from the New Testament. It starts, ““Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.
Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, ““He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.” Matthew 25 opens with these words: ““Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.” The line to keep is Matthew 25:21: ““His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of…” Carry the word “well” from that verse into the rest of the day.
The line worth learning out loud is Matthew 25:21: ““His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.
What happens first in Matthew 25? Then try this: Read ““His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.
Group game
Walk the room as if you are moving through Matthew 25. Every time you freeze, a child says one word from Matthew 25:21. The last child says the whole verse.
Craft
On a US Letter sheet, draw one picture from Matthew 25 and write Matthew 25:21 under it. Send it home as tonight’s reminder, not as a decoration contest.
Memory verse
Matthew 25:21
““His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
Take-home prayer
Father, thank you for Matthew 25. Help us remember Matthew 25:21 when we wake up, and teach us to notice you in an ordinary night. Amen.