BIBLE EXPLORE / NEW TESTAMENT / MATTHEW

Book of Matthew: Chapter 7

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Ask, Seek, Knock (Matthew 7:7-12)

Activities

• Prayer Box (Oh Amanda)
• Door Hangers (Ministry Ark)
• Door Craft (Children's Bible Lessons)
• Colouring (Ministry to Children)
• Card Game (Flame Creative Kids)

Media

Narrow and Wide Gate (Matthew 7:13-14)

Activities

• Pop up Card (Flame Creative Kids)
• Games (Sunday School Network)
• Game Idea (Egad Ideas)
• Game and Lesson (Ministry to Children)
• Object Lesson (Youtube)

Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-29)

The Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders, is a parable of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. The parable illustrates the importance of building one's life on obedience to the teachings and example of Jesus. This story is found in both Matthew 7:24-29 and Luke 6:46-49

Activities

• Moon Sand, Rock Painting, Lego and Cardboard Boxes(Flame Creative Children's Ministry)
• Salt Dough and Stones Craft (Church House Collection Blog)
• Story telling Idea (Church House Collection Blog)
• Paper Plate House Craft (Crafting the Word of God)
• Lego Game Idea (The First Grade Roundup)
• Jenga on an Unstable Foundation (Whispers Whispering)
• Pretzel and Chocolate Houses (Another Day in Ministry)
• Foolish Houses Snack (Almost Unschoolers)
• Two Ingredient  Moon Sand  (Little Learning Club)

House Building

What you need: lots of newspaper and cellotape
What to do: 

• ​Divide the children into groups of 3 or 4. give each group some newspaper and cellotape. 
• Tell them that they have 10minutes to ‘build’ a strong house.
  
• At the end of the time, you need to ‘judge’ the houses by putting them through a few ‘tests’.
• Eg. The wind test: using a fan or waving a big piece of card back and forth, see if the house will stay standing
• The rain test: using a spray bottle filled with water, squirt the house to see if it stays standing.

Messy and Hands on

Flame Creative have put together a list of ideas for hands on crafts and activities for the theme of 'Wise and Foolish builders'
You can find them here, and some of our favourites include: 

• Duplo building
• Junk Box city modelling

Image source: Flame Creative

Quick Questions

• What was your favourite part of the story?
• What is the first part of a house to be built?
• Why are foundations important in a house?
• How might that relate to our belief and faith in Jesus?
• What can we do to make sure our own faith has a solid foundation?

Colouring in

•  Ministry-to-children.com​

Faith Rocks

What you need: a large selection of rocks, paints (test pots of house paint are ideal!) paint brushes, glue, glitter, bibles. 
What to do. Get the children to think about some of the faith ‘truths’ that they know about Jesus, or God, or the Holy Spirit. Eg. John 3:16, or ‘Jesus loves me’, or Genesis 1:1, etc 
Using the paint, (or vivids if you prefer) get them to write these verses or faith truths on their rock. Get them to decorate their rocks. 
When they have finished, talk about how whenever they are feeling down, or unsure about life, that they can hold their rock and remember that Jesus’ love for them is stronger than solid rock!
Note: if you have smaller children or not much time, you may like to pre paint the rocks with a base coat, and then the children can use felts to write and decorate them! For smaller children you may also like to pre-write verses on the rocks.

Media

Max 7 have produced some beautiful bible animations, and their 'Wise and Foolish Builders' one is no different. Watch the video on YouTube or download it from Max7

Saddleback Kids: An animated video based on Matthew 7: 24-29 and Luke 6: 46-49.