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?
