Lesson 3: Jesus Eats With Sinners at Matthew's House

Welcome

            Thank kids for coming.

            Just for fun, have kids high-five three of their friends.

            Make announcements.

            Introduce new kids.

            Celebrate birthdays by having preschoolers whisper the “Happy Birthday” song.

            Collect the offering.

Introduce the Lesson

            Say: Today we’ll learn about a time Jesus ate dinner with a man named Matthew and a group of Matthew’s friends—even though a lot of people didn’t like Matthew or his friends. We’ll see that Jesus came for everyone—even people who are not very popular and who are left out by others.

Share

            Say: Each one of us is different, but we all have things in common, too—like the fact that Jesus came for all of us.

            Tell about something you have in common with a friend or co-worker and something that’s different from that person.

            In leader-led small groups, have preschoolers tell about one thing they have in common with the others in their group and one thing that’s different. Things preschoolers have in common could be a color they are all wearing or if preschoolers each have a sibling; differences might be hair color or favorite flavors of ice cream. 

Summarize

            Open a Bible, and say: No matter how different we are, Jesus came for everyone. Today we’ll dig into the Bible to find out about that. One way God talks to us is through the Bible—his special book. God is here right now, ready to talk to you!

            Pray, thanking Jesus that he came for everyone.

Tip 

Sing Songs to God

          Sing the three songs in any order.

Color Handprints

            Say: Jesus came for everyone. He even ate dinner with people who were very different from him. We’re all different, and it’s good to know that Jesus came for all of us!

            One thing that might be different about us is that we have different favorite colors. Ask kids to share what their favorite colors are.

            Say: Wow, you all have such fun, different favorite colors! Even though there are lots of things that are different about each of us, like our favorite colors, Jesus came for everyone—no matter how we are different or the same.

            Distribute four handprints to each child. Have kids color in the hands using their favorite colors.

            Say: We are also different from each other because there are different things we like. There are a lot of different kinds of stickers here. Hold up the stickers. Use your favorite ones to decorate the hands you colored.

Make a Book

            When kids have finished decorating their handprints, have them trade so that they end up with just one of their own handprints and three handprints from other friends. You’ll need to facilitate this.

            Then staple the handprint sets to make books.

Talk About It

            Ask: • What are some differences between the handprints in your book?

            Say: We’re all different, but Jesus came for everyone. In our Bible story today, the church leaders didn’t think Jesus should be hanging out with people who were so different from them. But Jesus did, because Jesus came for everyone.

            Have kids take their handprint books home as a reminder that Jesus came for everyone.

Talk About Being Left Out

            Say: Today we’ll hear about how Jesus spent time with people who were usually left out and ignored by others.  

            Have you ever felt left out before? For me… Share about a time you felt excluded by others.

            Ask: • Tell about a time you were left out. Let kids share about a time they felt left out—maybe when a friend wouldn’t play with them or a sibling got to do a special activity without them.

            Ask: • How does it feel when we’re left out?

            Say: We’ve all felt left out before. It can make us feel sad or lonely or different from other people. Hold up the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus came for everyone—he doesn’t leave anybody out of his love. Our Bible story today is about a man named Matthew. Most people didn’t like Matthew and didn’t want to be his friend because he was not very nice. They left him out because they didn’t like him. But Matthew learned that Jesus came for everyone—even him!

Collect Taxes

            Say: Matthew was a tax collector. That means he took people’s money to give to the king. Let’s see what that might have felt like. Give each preschooler three Starbursts, but tell kids they can’t open the candies yet.

            Say: People knew they had to give some of their money to the king. That was the rule. Hold up the basket. Everyone must put one Starburst into the basket for the king! Have preschoolers each put one of their unopened Starbursts into the basket.

            Say: Hmm…well, even though we had to give the king one of our Starbursts, at least we still have two to keep for ourselves! Pause. But Matthew took even more of the people’s money and kept it for himself. Okay, friends, I’m sorry but we each have to put one more Starburst in the basket for Matthew the tax collector. Have preschoolers each put one more Starburst into the basket.

            Say: We had to give one Starburst to the king and another Starburst to Matthew, so we only have one Starburst left. It’s not as many as we had before, but I’m glad we still have one! Go ahead and eat your treat now.

            Ask: • How do you think people felt when Matthew took so much of their money even though it didn’t belong to him?

            Say: Just like it was hard for us to give away two of our Starbursts, people were upset and angry about having to give away so much of their money that they worked hard for. People didn’t like Matthew for taking their money, so most of the time they probably ignored him and didn’t talk to him and didn’t ask him to be their friend.

            But then one day Jesus was walking by and saw Matthew sitting at his table in town, collecting people’s money. Jesus said, “Follow me” and invited Matthew to be his friend! Matthew stood up and followed Jesus—he wasn’t going to be a tax collector anymore!

            Let’s pretend we’re Matthew, and we’ve decided we’re going to follow Jesus! Have kids stand up and follow you on a short trip around the room. Then have kids sit back down with you.

Have a Dinner Party

            Say: After Matthew started following Jesus, he invited Jesus over to his house for dinner. Matthew also invited Jesus’ other friends and his own friends who were tax collectors like him. Let’s pretend we’re getting ready to have Jesus over to our house for dinner!

            Lay the tablecloth on the floor, and have preschoolers help you “set the table” by placing the toy plates, utensils, and plastic food on the tablecloth. If you have a large group of kids, you can also have some preschoolers help clean up the room for guests by pushing in chairs at tables or picking up any toys or trash on the ground. Then have kids sit around the tablecloth with you.

            Say: There were so many different people at Matthew’s house for dinner—it probably felt like a party with people eating together, talking, and laughing. Let’s have our own dinner party! Set out the plates of snacks and pour cups of water, and let preschoolers enjoy munching on the snacks for a minute or two.

            Say: Jesus, Matthew, and all of their friends were enjoying having dinner together. But some other people who were the church leaders noticed that Jesus was eating with Matthew and other tax collectors and people they didn’t like. They asked Jesus, “What are you doing? Why are you eating with these bad people?” They thought Jesus should ignore Matthew and all of his friends, just like they ignored them. They didn’t want to hang out with people who weren’t like them.   But Jesus came for everyone! He told the church leaders, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” What Jesus meant was that he came to show love to people who are good, people who do bad things sometimes, people who are different from us—he came for all of us! He didn’t want anyone to be left out from his love.

Sharing Jesus’ Love

            Say: Because Jesus came for everyone, we can show his love to everyone, too! Earlier in our Bible time, we talked about how it feels to be left out. Turn around where you’re sitting and face away from our circle of friends. Have preschoolers remain sitting down, but have them face away from your circle. While you’re turned around, think about what it feels like when other people aren’t kind to you or you feel left out. Pause for 15-20 seconds. Okay, you can turn back around now toward our circle.

            Since we know that it can hurt when other people aren’t nice to us, we can be kind and show Jesus’ love to others—so that nobody feels that way!

            Ask: • What are ways we can show Jesus’ love to other people so that they don’t feel left out or ignored?

            Say: Thanks for sharing! There are so many ways we can show Jesus’ love to other people, like saying kind words to each other or inviting other kids to play with us on the playground. Sometimes it might feel hard to show Jesus’ love to others if they aren’t always nice to us or they like different things than we do, but we can remember that Jesus came for everyone and he wants us to share his love with everyone, too!

Tip 

Discuss and Watch “Spying on Jesus”

          Ask: • Have you ever spied on someone? Maybe you spied on your brother or sister or sneaked around to listen in on what your parents were saying. For me…Tell about a time you spied on someone. Try to keep your story humorous to set the tone for what you expect kids will share when it’s their turn.

          After you share, ask: • What about you? Tell about a time you spied on someone. What happened?

          Have kids share in groups of three, and after a few minutes, invite a few children to share their stories with the larger group.

          Say: In the Bible story, a group of people called Pharisees were upset that Jesus was eating and spending time with sinners—people who did wrong things. The Pharisees thought that Jesus should spend time only with people who tried their best to be good. But since Jesus came for everyone, he also came for people who don’t even know about God. Let’s see what might have happened when the Pharisees spied on Jesus to see what he was doing.

          Watch “Spying on Jesus.”

          Ask: • What did you think was funny about this video?

          • Why do you think the Pharisees were so worried about what Jesus did and who he hung out with?

          Say: The Pharisees were always watching Jesus to see if he would make a mistake. They kept trying to trap him doing or saying something wrong. But their plans never worked. This time, Jesus told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”

          Ask: • What do you think that means?

          Say: Jesus came for everyone, not just people who are always good. And that means Jesus came for each of us! That’s great news!

Tip

• Before printing, turn on page numbering in Word to keep the pages in order (or simply hand-number each page after printing). You may also find it helpful to highlight your part and set the script on a music stand nearby during the skit.

Leader: It’s time for our puppy friend, Theo, to come for a visit. Let’s call him to our class with a “woof, woof.” Ready? (Leads kids to bark until Theo is brought into view.)

Theo: Hi, friends! I really, really want a good scratch. I was wondering if you’d scratch my back? (Circulates among kids so each child can pet him.)

Leader: Thanks for the big welcome to Theo, kids!

Theo: I’m so happy to be friends with you!

Leader: We’re happy to be friends with you too, Theo!

Theo: Thank you! What are you learning today?

Leader: We’re learning Jesus came for everyone.

Theo: What do you mean?

Leader: I mean Jesus wants to be friends with every single person in the world. It doesn’t matter who the person is, where they came from, what they like or don’t like, or what they’re good at. Jesus came for everyone.

Theo: (Hops excitedly.) I have an idea!

Leader: What’s that?

Theo: Let’s all share about ourselves so we can be closer friends, and when we learn all the unique things, we can celebrate that Jesus came for everyone.

Leader: That’s an excellent idea! How did you come up with that?

Theo: Well, I just love learning about my friends.

Leader: We love learning about you too, Theo! Should we get started?

Theo: Yes! (Leads kids to get into one big circle, and then leads them to share about a variety of things as time allows. After everyone shares, he leads all the kids in shouting “Jesus came for everyone!” For example, he might ask kids to name their favorite color, listen to each child share, and then lead kids in the shout. Here are some ideas of questions Theo could ask: What’s your favorite food, ice cream flavor, toy, sport, TV show, or movie? What are you good at? Who is your best friend?)

Leader: It has been great learning all about you—and remembering that Jesus came for everyone, no matter how alike or different we are!

Theo: I think I’m going to go tell my friend Becky Beagle that Jesus came for everyone.

Leader: Great idea, Theo. We’ll see you later, then. Kids, give Theo a big “woof, woof, goodbye”! (Leads kids to say “woof, woof, goodbye,” and then places Theo out of sight.)

Choose a Toy

            Have preschoolers sit in a circle.

            Say: Jesus came for everyone. That means he came for you and for your family. It means he came for your friends and for people you don’t know. It means he came for people who are just like you and for people who are different from you.

            When I say “go,” choose one toy you like in our room, and then come sit back down in our circle.

           Have preschoolers each choose one toy and return to the circle. If you have a small group, encourage children to choose large toys so that the toys will not all be able to fit in the shoebox.

            Point out some similarities between toys that were chosen. (“These three friends chose toys that are alike—their toys are all baby dolls.”)

            Point out some differences between toys that were chosen. (“You chose a car, but this friend chose dress-up clothes.”)

            Say: Like your toys, you are like each other in some ways and unlike each other in other ways, too.

Try to Fit All the Toys

            Hold up the shoebox.

            Say: Let’s see if we can fit all of your toys into this box.

            Have the children try to fit all the toys into the shoebox. After the children notice that all the toys can’t fit in the box, say: Hmm…well, let’s see what toys we can make fit.

Have preschoolers each take back the toys they chose, and have kids put only some of the toys in the box, such as all of the baby dolls or all of the toys with wheels. Repeat a few times so different groups of kids can put their toys in the box.

           Say: We got some kinds of toys to fit in the box, but we weren’t able to fit all the toys inside. That reminds me of our Bible story. Some people thought Jesus shouldn’t spend time with people who weren’t like them—people they thought were different. They thought some people should be left out from Jesus’ love—like how some types of toys were left out when we tried to fit them in the box. But Jesus came for everyone. He wants everyone to be in his family.

Find a Box Where Every Toy Fits

            Bring over the large container, and have preschoolers put their toys inside.

            Say: Yay! All of our different toys fit in this box—every single one! This box is more like Jesus. Just like we were able to fit all of the toys inside this box and none of them were left out, Jesus came for everyone, and he doesn’t want anyone to be left out from his love. He wants every single person to be his friend!

Sort the Colors

            Have kids sit in groups of four. Give each group a bowl of beads.

            Say: In our Bible story, there were people who thought Jesus came only for very good people. Let’s think about what that’s like. Pick out your favorite color bead from the bowl. Allow time. Ask kids what their favorite color is and why. Ask them to think of things they like that are the same color.

            Say: Let’s sort the colors in our bowls. Have groups dump out the bowls and work together to make a pile of each color.

            Say: Think of the bowl as Jesus. Some people thought Jesus came only for the people who were their favorites. Tell kids your favorite color, and have them put all the beads of that color in their bowl.

            Say: But Jesus came for everyone! Especially people who really needed his help—even if those people weren’t everyone’s favorites!

            Have kids put all their beads back in the bowl.

Sing a Song

            Have kids each get out four colored beads, ideally pink, purple, blue, and green. Lead kids in singing this song to the tune of “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” When kids get to the colors, they can point to that color bead.

            Jesus came for everybody;

            Everybody in the world.

            Pink and purple, blue and green;

            They are precious as we’ve seen.

            Jesus came for everybody in the world!

Repeat several times. You might vary the colors you sing, having kids find the correct colors before you sing the new verse.

Tip

• If you used the Music Video block, consider repeating the songs from today’s lesson during the game. You can find the album here.

Bopping the Balloons      

            Place the balloons in the center of your playing area.

            Say: I’m going to play some music during our game. When the music is playing, bop the balloons to keep them up in the air. When the music stops, catch a balloon as fast as you can and hold on to it. Then I’ll draw one of these cards out of my bag (show kids one of the colored index cards). If you’re holding a balloon that’s the color of the card, you’ll have to sit out for a little while. Point to an area off to the side of your playing area where kids should sit. But…if I pull out the card that says “Jesus came for everyone!” (show the card), everyone gets to stay in the game!

1. Begin the first round by playing the music and having preschoolers toss the balloons into the air, trying to keep them off the ground.
2. After about 15 seconds, stop the music and have preschoolers grab a balloon near them.
3. Once everyone has a balloon, draw a card out of the bag and show children which color you drew. Have preschoolers holding that color of balloon leave their balloon in the playing area, so that all the balloons remain in play, and sit down on the side.
4. Then return the card to the bag and start the music again, having the remaining preschoolers try to bop all the balloons up.
5. If you draw the Point card out of the bag, excitedly shout, “Jesus came for everyone! Yay! Everyone gets to stay in the game.” Have all the children remain in the playing area, no matter which colored balloon they are holding, and invite the preschoolers sitting on the side to rejoin the game for a new round.
6. Play several rounds. At the beginning of each new round, invite the preschoolers who sat out the last round to rejoin the game (even if the “Jesus came for everyone” card was not drawn out of the bag). This way, preschoolers will only ever have to sit out one round before getting to rejoin the fun!

Talk About It

            After several rounds, collect the balloons and have preschoolers gather around you.

            Ask: • How did it feel when you had to sit out of the game because of the color of the balloon you chose?

            Say: In our Bible story today, we learned that some people thought Jesus shouldn’t hang out with people who weren’t like them. But Jesus came for everyone—he didn’t want anyone to be left out! Just like we were excited when we got to stay in our game, we can be excited knowing that Jesus came for everyone and no one is left out from his love! 

Tip

• To cut down on prep time, you can play this game with just the picture cutouts (rather than taping them to the blocks).  

Search for Hidden Pictures

            Gather preschoolers in the middle of the room.

            Say: There are blocks with pictures on them hidden around the room. Show children an example of a block with a picture. Let’s see how many of them we can find!

            Have children find the blocks and bring them to you.

            When all the blocks have been found, choose a child to hide them again while the rest of the children close their eyes. You can help the child hiding the blocks.

            Repeat the game a few times, if time allows.

Talk About It

            Gather preschoolers, and sit with them in a circle on the floor.

            Set the blocks in the middle of the circle with the pictures facing up.

            Say: The blocks you found have pictures of different people on them. In some ways the pictures are alike. In other ways, the pictures are different.

            Ask: • What are some ways the pictures are alike?

            • What are some ways the pictures are different?

            Say: We all have ways we’re alike and ways we’re different, too!

            Ask: • What are some ways you’re like the person next to you?

            Say: You each have eyes. You each have a nose. You each have a mouth. Even though there are so many things about us that are the same, there are also things about us that are different! Some people have brown hair, and some people have blond hair. Some of us are wearing blue, and some people are wearing pink. Some of us might like vanilla ice cream, and some of us might like chocolate! No matter how we’re the same or different, we can know that Jesus came for everyone and he loves each of us so very much!

Pray for People We Know

            Say: Today we learned that Jesus came for everyone.

            Give each child a “World” handout, and say: This is a map of the world. Show children the general area where you live. Have children each point to that spot on their copy of the map.

            Say: We live here. Jesus came for everyone who lives here in [name of your community].

            Have kids shout out names of people they know who live in your community—family members, friends, neighbors.

            Say: Let’s pray for all the people who live where we live.

            Pray: Thank you, Jesus, for coming for us. Thank you for coming for our families and friends. Thank you for coming for all the people we see every day. Please help everyone we know believe that you came for them, too. Amen.

Pray for People Around the World

            Say: People live all over the world. Some people live in warm places, and some people live where it’s really cold. People in other parts of the world might dress differently than we do and even speak other languages. No matter how we might be different, Jesus came for everyone all over the world!  

            Have each child move a pointer finger over his or her own map until you say “stop.”

            After you say “stop,” choose one location a child ended on. Say the continent name, and then say: People live over here in [continent name]. We may not know those people, but Jesus came for them, too.

            Have the children move their pointer fingers over their maps again until you say “stop.” Point out that Jesus came for the people who live there. Repeat this several times, letting each child choose a place if time allows.

            Pray: Thank you, Jesus, for coming for everyone. Help all of the people in [name some of the continents you discussed earlier] and all over the world know that you love them and that you came for them. Amen.

            Say: Thank you for coming to church! This week, remember that Jesus came for everyone—and you can share Jesus’ love with all of the people you meet this week so they know that Jesus came for all of us.

           Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.