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Four Lesson Set
Zacchaeus, and the Rich Young Man

Summary of Workshops:

  • Cooking: make "Zach cookies." "Faith sprinkles" do not stick until "God icing" is added. (Zacchaeus only)
  • Games: eye of needle game (Rich Young Man only)
  • Drama: Through interactive drama the youngest class will learn the story of Zacchaeus and the choice he made to follow Jesus. The older classes will speculate the possible rest of the story of the Rich Young Man making the choice to follow or not.
  • Video: Treasure in Heaven (Nest) - covers both stories.

Scriptures:

Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus

Luke 18:18-25 Rich Young Man




Zaachaeus
Cooking Workshop

Mary and Martha's Bed and Breakfast

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will make "Zach cookies." "Faith sprinkles" do not stick until "God icing" is added.

Scripture Reference:

Luke 19:1-10

Memory Verse:

For your heart will always be where your riches are. Matt. 6:21

Goal:

To know that we all have many “treasures” in life, but our relationship with God must take the place of priority.

Lesson Objective:

Through the story and baking activity, the children will explore the importance of God in their life.


Teacher Preparation:

  • Read the scripture ahead of time.
  • Gather the materials.
  • Go over the cooking project.

Supplies List:

  • Refrigerated cookie dough
  • Foil
  • Powdered sugar
  • Milk
  • Sprinkles


Presentation

Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

  1. Start in the kitchen. Explain to the class that they are going to make two cookie people which will help us to learn about God!
  2. Have a foil square for each child and give them two slices of refrigerated cookie dough. Using their fingers pinch an outline of a figure. If they want to do just a head, they could form ears and a nose. Let them create! Bake.
  3. While the cookies are baking, go to the tables. (one teacher watch cookies and put on a cooling rack when done) Read the story of Zacchaeus from The Bible in 365 Stories, Lion Pub. #312. Discuss with a focus on the changed life of Zacchaeus after he knew Jesus – the happy, full life. Work on Journal page together. The younger class can just put a smiley face or a sad face to respond to the questions.
  4. Return to the kitchen to whip up a little God icing. This is a bit of imagining so it will be important for the teacher to walk and talk the students through it. If you “see” the cookie as Zacch. and the icing as God, and the sprinkles as “faith sprinkles” for a faith-filled life, so will the children!
  • point out that the first cookie is Zacchaeus. Ask each of the kids to hold up their Zacch.
  • now you are going to make a little “God”. Working in 2-3s make some icing of powder sugar (1 cup) and milk (2-3 Tbs. –teacher add as needed) Children mix until their God is just right.
  • show the children the “faith sprinkles”
  • give each child a few sprinkles for a good life for Zacch. Ask them to put them on. What’s the problem? (nothing sticks) What does Zacch. need? (God)
  • add God (icing) to Zacch. and then try the faith sprinkles again!
  • repeat the activity with the second cookie but this cookie is the child.
  • talk about the important part God is in our life.

Closing:

Return to the table for cookies and milk.

End with a prayer.

A lesson posted by Karen Carver

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.




The Rich Young Man
Games Workshop


Summary of Lesson Activities:

Through story, activities and discussion the children will reflect on the things that are important in their lives and where God fits in.

Scripture Reference:

Luke 18:18-25

Memory Verse:

For your heart will always be where your riches are. Matt.6:21

Goal:

To know that we all have many “treasures” in life, but our relationship with God must take the place of priority.


Leader Preparation:

  • Have play money, a variety of boxes labeled with names of “cool” things kids covet (large size), family/friends – people boxes (medium size), and a small box of God’s love - FREE.
  • Set up a narrow spot for a child to squeeze through, almost impossible, with many of the boxes.
  • Read the scripture ahead of time.


Presentation

Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

  1. Start with the Eye of a Needle activity. Explain that all through life we need to make choice. How do we learn what are the right or good choices? Who are some of the people who help us? We also have Jesus as a helper. God sent Jesus to be an example for us of right choices.
  2. Ask for a volunteer who would like to go shopping. Give them some money and choice of gifts as long as the money holds out. Make sure you have enough money to buy many things. Provide a backpack for some items and then just pile up the rest.
  3. Now, show the child where he/she has to go with all of the “things”. Hopefully, it will be impossible to get through. Tell the child to pick a box to give back and try again. Repeat until the child can make it through.
  4. Let other children have a chance if they like.
  5. Read “The Little Gate” from Stories Jesus Told, Nick Butterworth. Talk about Mark 10:25 and connect the scripture, story and activity.
  6. Use the Journal page to help the children think about things in their life that are important. There will be a huge pile of boxes printed on the page that the children will label with things that are important in their life. Explain that sometime we think of God last, but this time we will put God on the page first. How close to the top does he come? Add items to the rest of the labels, putting the most important at the top and least on the bottom.

Closing:

End with a prayer.

Sources:

“The Little Gate” from Stories Jesus Told (2005), by Nick Butterworth - NEWER VERSION is CALLED  "Favorite Parables from the Bible: Stories Jesus Told, by Nick Butterworth, ZonderKidz, 2012, Hardcover.

A lesson posted by Karen Carver

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.




Zacchaeus and the Rich Young Man
Drama Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Through interactive drama the youngest class will learn the story of Zacchaeus and the choice he made to follow Jesus.
The older classes will speculate the possible “rest of the story” of the Rich Young Man – making the choice to follow or not.

Scripture Reference:

Luke 18:18-25, 19:1-10

Memory Verse:

For your heart will always be where your riches are. Matt. 6:21

Goal:

To know that we all have many “treasures” in life, but our relationship with God must take the place of priority.


Leader Preparation:

  • Have supplies for younger group to set two scenes – inside Zach. House and courtyard with tree. Older classes will need an outdoor scene.
  • Read “Unfinished Story” from Crazy Clothesline Character, Group Pub. to help with the Benj-Levi activity.
  • Read the scripture ahead of time.


Presentation

Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

DAN (k-1)

  1. Ask the children what they know about Zacchaeus. Read the story from Arch Book, "The Great Surprise". Talk about how Zacch changes after he got to know Jesus and how Jesus loved Zacch.
  2. Decide what Zacch house must have looked like. Have half of the children set up that scene and the other children set up the courtyard scene.
  3. Have children pick parts and dress.
  4. Read the story again and children walk through play. When a character speaks ask the child what they might have said – help, using the book, if necessary.

LEVI/BENJAMIN (2-5 grades)

  1. Read the story of the Rich Young Man from the Bible but, end at Jesus’ final words to the man. Do not go into the needle/camel.
  2. Have your reading typed on a paper with the words, “The rest of the story...” at the end. The bible doesn’t tell us if the man followed Jesus’ advise or not. Divide the class in half and have one group write out what they think would have happened if he followed Jesus’ advise and the other group write as if he doesn’t follow the advise. Encourage them to expand the story to another scene of the man after his encounter with Jesus. Have them write their ending so it can be read by the narrator.
  3. Present story by having narrator read while others act.
  4. Discuss that we don’t know what happened to the man, but he had a choice, as we do, to follow Jesus.

Closing:

End with a prayer.

A lesson posted by Karen Carver

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.




Zacchaeus and the Rich Young Man
Movie Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Uses the Treasures in Heaven Video.

Scripture Reference:

Luke 18:18-25, 19:1-10

Memory Verse:

For your heart will always be where your riches are. Matt. 6:21

Goal:

To know that we all have many “treasures” in life, but our relationship with God must take the place of priority.

Lesson Objectives:

  • Through video and related activities, the children will learn of two people who encountered Jesus and how that affected their lives. We will ask the question, how does it affect our lives.

Leader Preparation:

  • Preview video so you know important stopping spots for discussion.
  • Have bibles for the students.
  • Using video booklet, make copies of coloring pictures to cover major points in the story.
  • Make copies of activity pages.
  • Have the words: publican, rabbi, salvation and a short definition on the board. Put the words of the unit’s bible verse in the pocket chart.


Presentation

Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig - Main Content and Reflection:

  1. Introduce the video by telling the children that the story is about two men who met Jesus. We will see how it changed their lives.
  2. For the youngest group (Dan), read the story of Zacchaeus from the Family Story Bible, Ralph Milton. Briefly tell the Rich Young Man story in your own words. For the older classes, have them find the stories in their bibles and read.
  3. Look at the words on the board and discuss them so the children have an understanding before they watch the video.
  4. Watch the video, pausing the tape to emphasis important points or give explanation.
  5. Look at the unit bible verse, and see how it fits in the stories of the two men.
  6. Mix up the pictures you have of the video. Hand out one or two to each child and have them work together putting them in order. Review the story. Point out that each man had a chance to follow Jesus. They had to make a choice.
  7. Give each child a journal page. Have them make a list of their “treasures”. Since the children will think very concretely about this question, help them to think past things to include people, places, feelings. Have gold cross stickers to give to the children, and ask them to put it at the top of their list. God asks us to put him first.
  8. If there is extra time, let children pick a puzzle page to work on.

Treasures in Heaven - Video Notes

This video has many stories in one – Zacchaeus, Rich Young Man, Blessing the Children and the healing of Bartimaeus. Zacchaeus and the Rich Man are the two we will focus on.

Opening –
Introduction of two people who will meet Jesus.
Examine what kind of person each was. (kind, mean, happy, sad etc).

Rich Young Man:
In this section Jesus speaks in “King James Version” so you should pause and help in the understanding of, Suffer and Verily etc.

What did Jesus require of the man – sell his possessions and follow him.

It would be good to clear up that the problem was not that he was rich, but did he put his riches before God? That’s what Jesus wanted the man to think about.

Blind Bartimaeus:
Why did Bart call out to Jesus as the “son of David”? Wasn’t he Joseph’s son? (Bart knew Jesus was the Messiah who would come from the line of David. So Jesus’ great, great... was David.) Older children may understand this since we have studied David, and his family tree that ended with Jesus.

Zacchaeus:
Good point to bring out the unconditional love Jesus has even for the “bad people”. It sometimes got him in trouble.
Zach made a good choice. How did he change?

Last words of the movie are the unit bible verse. Discuss since it is a little abstract for children.

Closing:

End with a prayer.


A lesson posted by Karen Carver

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne
Original Post

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Treasures in Heaven DVD (Nest Series)
Nest Website - Treasures of Heaven

DVD Chapters:

  1. Zaccheus the Publican
  2. Kindness for an Old Man
  3. A Soul Cankered with Riches
  4. As a Little Child
  5. Sell All That You Have
  6. Pleading for Mercy
  7. The Blind Man Sees
  8. A Changed Heart
  9. Salvation for Zaccheus
  10. Treasures Forever
  11. Treasures in Heaven


DVD have 3 quizzes - kids can take turns using the DVD remote to answer questions - we like to discuss as a group and the person with the remote for that turn enters our group decision. Get's everyone involved in answering the questions.

DVD Quizzes

- Main Menu
- Additional Features
- Adventure Quiz

(Note: Depending on your time remaining suggest you do the quizzes in the following order - if only time for one quiz do #3 or #2 depending on which story you want to focus in on.

Quiz #3

  • Jesus Blesses the Children & the Rich Young Ruler

Bonus Movie Clip – Lost is Found – do bonus clip

Quiz #2

  • Zacchaeus
    Bonus Movie Clip - David & Goliath (David kills a lion) – skip bonus clip


Quiz #1

  • Blind Bartimaeus

Bonus Movie Clip - Jesus Temptation (skip bonus clip)

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Eye of the Needle Worksheet

I made a worksheet to go with the Eye of the Needle game. If you copy and paste it into a program such as Microsoft Word, you should be able to change it to suit your needs. I don't know if it's going to look as nice as on my document, but I couldn't figure out how to upload the actual document. I centered all of these things and underlined each option, so the kids could clearly see that "mom and dad" went together, for example.



What's most important?

Verse: For your heart will always be where your riches are.
Matthew 6:21

Mom and Dad    iPhone    Lego    Best friends

Grandma and Grandpa    American Girl doll    God    iPad

Computer    Brother and Sister    Nintendo 3DS

Last edited by Luanne Payne

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