The fourth Sunday school lesson in this series focuses on the sower's seeds that fall on good soil. The children will discover how the wonderful the Word of God helps us grow spiritually and gives us everlasting life with Jesus.
TOPICS
Eternal Life, Parables, Witnessing, Spiritual Growth
AS KIDS ARRIVE (10 minutes)
You will need to have a small watermelon (not a seedless watermelon) cut up into several pieces. There should be one small piece of watermelon for each child. As the children eat the watermelon have them place all the watermelon seeds into a single bowl. Have them guess how many seeds may be in the bowl.
Then, count the seeds and say, "Isn't it amazing that when we plant just one watermelon seed we get this delicious watermelon full of all these additional watermelon seeds! If we planted all of these seeds, we would have more watermelon than we would know what to do with!"
OPENING PRAYER AND PRAISE (5 minutes)
Further info? Click here
MEMORY WORK (12 minutes)
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.' " Matthew 9:36-37 NIV
Read the verse together several times, then write the verse on the board. Say the verse together as a class, erase a word or two and say the verse again. Continue in this manner until the words are all erased.
SCRIPTURE READING AND DISCUSSION (15 minutes)
Introduction:
This is the final lesson of the series. Today we will read the story about the seed that fell on good soil. It grew very well, in fact it grew so well that it produced more seed. These seeds also grew to be strong plants. As Christians we should be sharing our faith with others, that way other people will hear the Good News and they may become Christian. The body of Christ continues to grow when we share seeds (the Good News) with others.
Matthew 13:8,9; 23 (Parable of the Sower - seed that fell on good soil)
Give each child a copy of the handout (Click here for handout) or have the kids find Matthew 13:8,9; 23 in their Bibles. Ask for volunteers to read the passage or if you prefer, read the passage to the children yourself.
Discussion Questions:
1. In our story today, where did the seeds fall? (Good soil.)
2. What happened to the seed that fell on good soil? (It produced a crop -- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.)
3. How does the seed falling on good soil compare to us being a Christian? (We need to share our faith with others so they can become Christians. This also helps us grow spiritually.)
4. Is this an important message? How do we know? (Yes, Jesus said "He who has ears, let him hear.")
5. How can we share the Good News about Jesus with others? (Tell them, pray for them, share the Good News out of the Bible, ask them to come to Sunday school.)
CLASS EXERCISE (10 minutes)
Ask A Friend (Object Talk) Click here
ALTERNATE CLASS EXERCISE (5 minutes)
Fake Flowers (Object Talk) Click here
ALTERNATE CLASS EXERCISE (5 minutes)
Sow the Word (Song) Click here
APPLICATION (2 minutes)
Those who hear the Good News and take it to heart, can accept the free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ. We should live a productive life for our Lord. Please note that we cannot work our way into heaven, but if Jesus is the Lord of our lives we will want to live for Him. We will follow His rules and tell other people about Him. We won't be prefect, and we will still make mistakes, but we will try our best to live a life that is pleasing to God.
NEXT WEEK
Time for a new lesson! Make it count, make it fun!
CLOSING PRAYER (2 minutes)
Further info? Click here
TAKE HOME PAGE
Give one copy to each child at the end of the class to take home. Click here for NIV or KJV [PDF]