Lesson 2: The unjust judge.
Passage: Luke 18:1-8 - Jesus tells a story about a widow who pleads for justice from an unjust judge; he listens to her only because she keeps bothering him. Unlike this judge, God is just and listens to us, but God also wants us to pray persistently for what we need. This helps us build trust and dependence on God.
Big Idea: Don’t give up when you pray.
For Teachers:
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug and introduce yourself.
Warm Up Activity: Story Stones — Activity Leader
Show the kids the 5 story stones, and say our story is related to the stones. Ask them what they think the story is about.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are going to be learning about another one of Jesus' stories. All of Jesus' stories can teach us something important about God. Today's story is about a woman who went to a judge to ask for help because she was being treated very unfairly.
Let's watch our video to find out more about what happens in the story...
Play Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Has there ever been a time when you were treated unfairly? What happened? Who did you go to for help?
Do parents or teachers usually help you when you ask them to?
What did the judge in the story do when the woman asked for help?
What did the woman do so the judge would listen to her?
Do you think God like the mean judge in the story or does God listen to us when we ask for help?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you that you are a good God who listens to us when we ask for help. Thank you for the grown ups that also love us and help us. Thank you that you are happy when we talk to you and you don’t get annoyed when we ask for something again and again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Decorating stones— Activity Leader
Make sure each child has a stone and access to the oil pastels, let them create their own prayer stones.
If children are not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children in a circle on the circle time rug and wait for other children to arrive.
Warm Up Activity — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are going to be continuing our series on the stories of Jesus. Today's story is all about a poor woman who was being treated very unfairly, and so she went to a judge to ask for help.
Let's watch our video to find out more about what happens in the story...
Play Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Do you know what a judge is? What makes a good or bad judge?
Did the judge in the story listen to the woman who needed help? What did she do about it?
Do you think that God is like the judge in the story? Why or why not?
Have you ever asked God for help and did God answer your prayers? What happened?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about the woman and the unjust judge. Thank you that we can learn from this story that you are the kind of judge who listens to us when we ask for help, and that you don't mind or get annoyed when we pray for something again and again. Thank you that you are a good God who loves and cares for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Decorating prayer and justice stones — Activity Leader
Each child gets a stone and can decorate it with markers.
Hand out colouring pages for those who finish early.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the students sit in the pillow area and introduce yourself.
Warm Up Activity — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are continuing our series on the Parables of Jesus. Last week we learned that parables are stories that have a deeper meaning or a message that we can learn from.
Today's story is all about a poor woman who was being treated unfairly and went to a judge to ask for help.
Let's watch our video to find out more about what happened in the story...
Play Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Has there ever been a time when you were being treated unfairly? What did you do about it?
What would you do if you tried to ask for help and you were just ignored by the person who was supposed to help you?
What did the woman in the story do when the unjust judge wouldn't listen to her? Then what happened next?
Do you think that God is like the judge in the story or different? How so?
Why do you think God wants us to not give up when we pray, even if we don’t get an answer right away?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you that you are a good judge who listens to our prayers and who cares about us. Thank you that you always want to help us when we need it, and you give us people in our lives who also care about us. Even when we don’t hear an answer right away, we know that you are listening, and that you won’t get annoyed if we ask for the same thing again and again, because you love us. Help us to trust you more and to pray without giving up. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Prayer and Justice Stones— Activity Leader
Each student is given a stone and markers. Have the students decorate the rock as a reminder to pray and seek justice.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who did the woman go to when she needed help? Did the judge listen to her at first? What did she do next?
Can you think of a time when you needed to ask a grown up for help? Do you sometimes have to ask more than once so someone will listen?
Do you think God is like the judge in the story or different? How so?
Have you ever tried praying to God? What kind of things do you pray to God about? Do you think God listens to our prayers?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What did the woman do when she was being treated unfairly? Who did she go to for help? Did the judge listen to her at first?
What did the woman have to do to get the judge to finally listen?
Do you think God is like the judge in the story or different? How so?
Have you ever tried praying to God for something? Do you think that God cares and listens to our prayers?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What was the judge like in the story? What did the woman do to make sure that he listened to her and gave her justice?
Do you think God is like the judge in the story or different? How so?
Can you think of a time when God answered your prayers?
What can you do when it feels like God isn’t answering your prayers?
