Parable of the Talents

Miracles of Science Laboratory
Small Gifts That Can Do Great Things

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Use a balloon demonstration that shows what can happen if they use their gifts to help God’s work on earth.

Lesson Objectives:

• To teach the children that God gives each person talents/abilities and that even children can benefit the body of Christ.
• The children should be able to describe how their talents can be used within the church. At the end of the unit they should be able to recite the memory verse.
  
  

Scripture Reference:  Matthew 25:14-30

Memory Verse:

“God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you.”  1 Peter 4:10

Materials List:

• Bibles
• Sink or a five gallon jug of water with a spout, a stool (to put the jug on), a bucket, drop cloth
• A balloon for each child
• A piece of carpet
• A permanent marker
• Memory Verse Sheets
  
  

Leader Preparation:

• Read Background Information – "The Good Stewards of our God-given Talents.”
• Read and familiarize yourself with the lesson and experiments and try them at home.

 
Presentation

Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction: 

Welcome the children to Miracles of Science Laboratory. While you wait for all the children to arrive, have them work on their memory verse. Start a discussion about what they think it means. The older children can write the verse in their journals.

Ask the children to name something they do really well. Ask them how they used their talents during the week.

Open with a prayer.

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

Enter the Story:  Gather the children together to read the Bible Story. Read or tell the story yourself or ask for volunteers to take turns reading it.

Talk about the third servant. What was he afraid of?
What is scary about God to some people?

Should we be scared?  We are saved by God's grace. I suppose we should ONLY be scared of letting God down. Did the servant know that?

Do you think the Master cast out the servant forever?  
Think of the Good Shepherd. He goes out after even the lost sheep. Jesus said he came to save sinners, not cast them out.  But God does get disappointed and even angry with us sometimes. Perhaps the servant was put in TIME OUT !!

Ask the children if they have ever been afraid to use a talent or a gift even if they are really good at it. Prompt them with things like: singing in public, trying out for a sports team, giving a hug to someone who looks sad, making a gift, earning or saving money, telling your friend about Jesus?

What does this parable encourage us to do? Will God like it if we try or if we never try?

The Experiment. (Adapted from Amazing Science Devotions for Children)

• Tell the children that they are going to do an experiment that show what can happen if they use their gifts to help God’s work on earth.
• Ask for volunteers to blow up two balloons and tie them off (or do this yourself if you’re working with younger kids).
• Lay out the drop cloth and towels on the floor and put the stool on top of them. Make sure it isn’t tippy. Put the water jug on top of the stool and the bucket beneath the spout.
• Have a volunteer draw a sad face on one of the balloons and a happy face on the other. 

Show the sad faced balloon to the children and say, “This is Chris the Balloon." (Hint: Chris and Pat can be either boy or girl names. Always refer to the balloons by their names and not he or she. This way the children can decide in their own minds if they are boys or girls.)

Chris has talents but is afraid to use them. Chris thinks his talents are weak. That he's not faithful enough.  Maybe people have told Chris he isn't good at things. 

Put your hand near the water. Can YOU make it change directions just by putting your hand near it? No, you don't have that miraculous gift!!  

Let's see if Chris can change the flow of water.”

Turn on the spout so a slow stream of water comes out and slowly bring the balloon close to the water. Turn off the spout. Ask the children if they saw anything happen.  NO, Chris didn't have the gift of moving the water either!   Actually, Chris COULD have moved that water. Chris had the talent, but he just didn't know how to use it.

NOW..... Show the happy faced balloon and say, “This is Pat. Pat has talents and decides to use them.” Ask for a volunteer to rub the balloon on a carpet square. Make sure the child doesn’t rub too hard!  This works particularly well in a cool room with low humidity, btw.

• Turn on the spout so it’s running in a slow stream like before. Ask, “Do you think Pat’s gifts can make a difference to this stream of water?” Slowly bring the balloon close to the water. Do not let the balloon touch the water because that will uncharge the balloon. As the balloon gets close to the water, the stream of water will curve out toward the balloon!
• Ask, “What happened? Why?
• What caused the water to move?”
• Say, “Static electricity made the water move. When we rubbed the balloon on the carpet, it charged the balloon with an "electric charge." The charge attracted the water molecules toward the balloon because water is a conductor of electricity and the static electricity wants to MOVE!  It wants to transfer.  
  
  

Let the kids take turns rubbing the balloon and making the water move.

Then give them a balloon and let them rub it on their hair or carpet and put near their hair. The static charge will attract the hair. You might even get a small spark of electricity!

We all have things we can do, even small thing. We have all been given GIFTS by our Master, we just need to know what to do with them. And even small gifts can do amazing things.

More Life Application.

• Gather the children together and talk about what they observed when “Chris” did not use his gifts and when “Pat” did use their gifts.
• Ask the children to tell you some of their gifts. (This may be redundant to them if they have been in another workshop first, but remind them that you do not know what their gifts are.)
• Ask the children what this experiment and parable mean to each of them. Get each child to give you an answer.
• Tell the children that it is now up to them to use their gifts in order to give pleasure to God. 

Life Application Activity: Light as a Feather

I know some of you think you are too small to change the world. That some problems are TOO BIG to solve with just your little gift.  But what happens when we come to church so that we can POOL our gifts together?

Let's see!

Have one person lay flat on the floor. Tape a sign on their belly that says things like "care for the sick, help the weak, feed the hungry, teach others about Jesus". 

See if one student can lift this problem/person with one hand. They can't.

Now have the class gather around the student and each place one hand (or two with younger children) underneath the student. The teacher should take the HEAD. Lift together and UP they go!!!

Closing:

Dear God, We have so many talents and abilities. Guide us this week as we use our talents to help others and teach them about you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen 

Resources:

Amazing Science Devotions For Children’s Ministry by Group Publishing, 1999.

A story from Neil's Church:
We had the kids collecting pennies in a jug for mission. Then the pastor suggested that some wealthy members give in proportion to what the kids were giving. He told them not to bury their gifts in their wallet, or bury their ability to give in their stomachs by going out to eat after church. while the kids collected pennies.  Suddenly, $5 and $10 bills started appearing in the jug.  

A lesson posted by member Jane Kampion.

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