Lesson 5: The vineyard workers.
Passage: Matthew 20:1-16 - There was a man who owned a vineyard and he went out in the town to search for workers for the day. Early in the morning he found a group of people who agreed to work for one denarius. Throughout the day he found more workers to join the first group. At the very end of the day, he gathered them together to give them their pay, beginning with the last ones hired and on to the first. He paid each one the same amount — one denarius each. The workers who had been their since early morning felt that this was unfair and they complained. The owner responded that they had been paid the amount agreed upon, and that he was simply choosing to be generous to the others too. In this way, Jesus taught that in the Kingdom of God, the last would be first and the first would be last.
Big Idea: God’s generous grace.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Find the Grapes — Activity Leader
Tell the children that today we will hear a story about from the Bible about people who worked in a vineyard. They needed to pick grapes and collect them and put them in a basket.
In this activity they will have 2 minutes and they need to see how many grapes they can find around the room hiding (green and purple pompoms). Set a phone timer for 2 minutes.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our last week talking about Jesus’ stories! We’ve talked about a bunch of Jesus’ stories so far and what we can learn from them.
Today’s story is about a man who owned a vineyard. We’ve talked about vineyards before in the story about the man and his two sons.
Does anyone remember what a vineyard is?
In the other story, there was a father who told his two sons to go and work in the vineyard. But in this story there is a man who was looking for workers all over the place - out on the roads, in the market - and he was going to pay them for their work.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story, there was a man who hired a bunch of people to work for him in his vineyard… Some people worked all day long and other people worked for only one hour.
Does anyone remember how much he paid them at the end of the day?
How did the people who worked all day feel about being paid the same thing as the people who worked for only one hour?
Do you think they were right about that? Why or why not? What did the owner say?
Do you think it would be fair for God to treat everyone the same even if one person worked harder in their life than another person did? What do you think that teaches us about what God is like?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for all the stories that we’ve learned from Jesus, and how they teach us lots of different lessons about you and your kingdom. Thank you that we know that you’re a generous God who gives good gifts to all, and shows love and grace to everyone whether we think they deserve it or not. You are so good and so generous, and we pray that we will become more and more like you too. Please help us to show your love and kindness to everyone we meet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Grape Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided. Extra activity pages will also be available.
If a child is 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 sit near the TV. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Farmer Says — Activity Leader
This game will be played just like Simon Says, but using the phrase "Farmer Says" because todays story is about a farmer.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our last week talking about Jesus’ parables! We’ve talked about a bunch of Jesus’ stories so far and what we can learn from them.
Today’s story is about a man who owned a vineyard. We’ve talked about vineyards before in the story about the man and his two sons.
Does anyone remember what a vineyard is?
In the other story there was a father who told his two sons to go and work in the vineyard. But in this story there is a man who was looking for workers all around the town - out on the roads, in the market, and everywhere he could look - and he promised to pay them for their work.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story, there was a man who hired a bunch of people to work for him in his vineyard… Some people worked all day long and other people worked for only one hour.
Does anyone remember how much he paid them at the end of the day?
How did the people who worked all day feel about being paid the same thing as the people who worked for only one hour?
Do you think they were right about that? Why or why not? What did the owner say?
What do you think this story teaches us about what God's kingdom is like?
Do you think it would be fair for God to treat everyone the same even if one person worked harder in their life than another person did? What do you think that teaches us about what God is like?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for all the stories that we’ve learned from Jesus, and how they teach us lots of different lessons about you and your kingdom. Thank you that we know that you’re a generous God who gives good gifts to all, and shows love and grace to everyone whether we think they deserve it or not. You are so good and so generous, and we pray that we will become more and more like you too. Please help us to show your love and kindness to everyone we meet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Grape Craft — Activity Leader
Explain the craft using the example provided and invite the children to the tables. Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided.
Extra activity pages will also be available.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Would You Rather — Activity Leader
Have the kids draw a slip of paper from the "Would You Rather" bowl and answer the question. (Help with reading if needed). Play until everyone has had a chance to draw a question.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the last day of our series on the parables of Jesus! So far we’ve learned a bunch of different stories that Jesus told and what they can teach us about God and the kingdom of God.
Has there been any stories so far that have stood out to you? What were they are why?
What was one lesson that you’ve learned from the parables so far that you’ll remember and keep with you?
Today's story takes place in a vineyard. We've heard one other story from Jesus about a vineyard, in which there was a father who told his two sons to go and work in the vineyard.
Well in this story, there is a man who was looking for workers for his vineyard from all around the town, and he promised to pay them for their work.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Can someone summarize the parable that was discussed in the video?
How do you think you might feel if you were one of the workers who worked all day long and got paid the same amount as the people who worked for only one hour?
What did the owner of the vineyard say when he heard the complaints? Do you think he was right?
How do you think this story relates to what the kingdom of God is like? What does it teach us about God’s character?
We might compare this story to the way God treats us, all of humanity, and how God gives the same amount of grace and kindness to all, no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life.
Activity: Activity Leader — Grape Craft
Kids will use materials available (paper, pom poms, crayons, etc.) to decorate grapes on the template provided. Extra activity pages will also be available.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Do you think it was fair for the owner of the vineyard to pay the same amount to the people who worked all day and the people who worked for only one hour? Why or why not?
Which character in the story do you think God is like? Why?
Do you think that it’s fair that God gives love and kindness to everyone no matter what? Does that make you feel like God is very unfair or very generous?
What do you think that teaches us about how we should treat people?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
How do you think you might feel if you were the workers who worked all day long and got paid the same as the people who only worked for a short time? Do you think it’s fair?
Why do you think Jesus told this story? What lesson was he trying to teach about what God is like?
How does it make you feel to know that God shows kindness and love to everyone equally no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life? Does it make you feel like God is very unfair or very generous?
What are some ways that we can try to follow this example?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What character do you think God is being compared to in the story? In what way is God like that character?
What would be your gut reaction to hearing that God is good and gracious to all no matter who they are or what they’ve done in their life, whether they’re deserving of it or not?
Do you think it might be difficult for the religious people of Jesus’ day to hear Jesus teach something like this? Why or why not?
What are some ways that we can be more generous and gracious towards others?
