Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

 Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but he was too short to see above the crowd. He ran ahead to a place where he knew Jesus would come. He climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and saw Zacchaeus in the tree. He said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus came down quickly. He was pleased to have Jesus in his house. All the people saw this and began to complain, “Look at the kind of man Jesus stays with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!”

But Zacchaeus said to the Lord, “I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay that person back four times more!”

Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today. This man truly belongs to the family of Abraham. The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”

Discussion Questions

• Why was Zacchaeus in the tree?   He wanted to see Jesus but he was too short to see over the crowd.

• What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus? “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.”

• How did Zacchaeus respond? He was pleased to have Jesus come to his home. He said, “I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay that person back four times more!”

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for the story of Zacchaeus.  Thank you for teaching us to be kind to each other.

Amen.

Bible Verse for March

“Always try to be kind.”   1 Thessalonians 5:15

Activities

Singing: Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus was a wee little man,

And a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree,
For the Lord he wanted to see.


And as the Savior passed that way.
He looked up in that tree,
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today,
For I’m going to your house today.”

Cooking: Gingerbread People

Ingredients: (makes about 2 dozen)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 3/4 cups flour, plus extra flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Guide Your Child To:

• Beat the sugar, shortening, molasses, and water in a large bowl. Add flour, salt, ginger, baking soda and
•       cinnamon.
• Chill the dough in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.  When you remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Place some dough on a piece of aluminum foil.
• Pat the dough flat, putting flour on his hands to keep the dough from getting too sticky.
• Cut a figure out of the dough using a person-shaped cookie cutter, and remove the excess dough.
• Place the foil with his cookie on it  onto the baking sheet.
• Let you bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes.

Talk About:

• Who made people?
• How are you like other people? How are you different?
• How was the person in the story special or different? Did God still love him? What happened?

One Man Thanks Jesus

Luke 17:11-19

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Traveling from Galilee to Samaria, he came into a small town. Ten men met him there. These men did not come close to Jesus, because they all had a harmful skin disease. But they called to him, “Jesus! Master! Please help us!”

When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”

While the ten men were going, they were healed. When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus. He praised God in a loud voice. Then he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (This man was a Samaritan.) Jesus asked, “Ten men were healed; where are the other nine? Is this Samaritan the only one who came back to thank God?” Then Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go on your way. You were healed because you believed.”

Discussion Questions

• How many men came up to Jesus and asked for his help? Ten

• What did Jesus tell the men to do? To go and show yourselves to the priest.

• How many men thanked Jesus?  One

• How did he say thank you? He praised God in a loud voice and bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for all the blessings you give us.  Please help us to remember to always thank you.  Amen.

Bible Verse for march 
“Always try to be kind.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15

Activities

Science: Light to See

Materials:

• Flashlight

Guide Your Child To:

• Sit in a darkened room and wait for you to say, “Around and around I shine my beam. When
• it stops, what do you see?”
• Look at the object that you are shining the flashlight on, and tell what it is.
• Then tell how the object is used.
• Thank God for that object.

 Talk About:

• Who made our world? Who gives us all the good things we have?  How can we thank God?
• Is there something for which you want to thank God?
• How can we talk to God? Who said thank-you in our story? What happened?

Active Game: Doctor, Doctor, Where Am I Sick?

What To Do:

Ask the family members to stand on one side of the room. Choose a “doctor” to stand on the other side (you be the first doctor, and then take turns).  Have everyone chant, “Doctor, doctor, where am I sick?”  The doctor says, “head,” “tummy,” “arm,” or another part of the body.  Then the family members must hold that place and jump across the room to the doctor.  Then the doctor chooses someone to take his place at the opposite side of the room, and play continues until everyone has had a turn being the “doctor”.