The wise steward makes a good decision

All Activity Sheets

key words

serve talents ability

biblical reference

Matthew 25:14-30

lesson objective

To help the children learn to use their talents and abilities to serve God

memory verse

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, NIV*).

prepare yourself to teach

The majority of your children are beginning to have more responsibilities in their homes. They are also learning to take care of their belongings, and discovering their abilities and limitations.

Children must recognize that God is the owner of everything and the giver of all gifts. They are simply stewards of what He gave them and, as such, they must learn to be faithful to God.

biblical commentary

Matthew 25:14-30. This is the second in a series of three parables about God’s judgment. This means that, as Christians, we must prepare ourselves to give an account of our actions on that glorious day.

In biblical times, the steward was a high-ranking servant, or a slave who had proven to be a responsible person. His responsibility consisted of managing the assets of his master’s house. The steward was not the owner of the money, but was entrusted to take care of it. The steward was expected to be a faithful administrator and to handle with wisdom all that pertained to the master’s house. The faithful servant was given greater responsibility because he earned the trust of his master. The greater the responsibility, the more he had to administer. The punishment for the unfaithful servant was severe.

In the parable, the first two servants were rewarded for their faithful work with words of praise and a beautiful invitation: “Come and enter into the joy of your Lord.” In this statement, apart from the rich man who arranges the accounts with his employees, we see the reward for the faithful servants, whom Jesus invites to accompany him to his table in the kingdom of heaven. It is very significant that the two servants were rewarded for being “good and faithful”, and not for being “capable and ingenious”.

God wants us to put our gifts at his service and to fulfill his will.

introduce the lesson

What is a steward?

Write the word “STEWARD” on a piece of cardboard or poster board. Show it to your children and ask them what the word means.

After listening to their opinions, explain that a steward is a person who administers the

belongings of another.

Then, tell them: We are stewards of what God gave us. For that reason, we are responsible for taking care of everything that he entrusts to us.

Open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 4:2 and read aloud, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”

Tell them: “God has trusted us to take care of his creation. This verse tells us that we must be faithful stewards of God. Jesus told a parable about some stewards (administrators). A parable is a pretend story that teaches us a lesson. Listen carefully to what Jesus wanted to teach us through this story.”

My responsibilities

Give your children paper and crayons or colored pencils or markers. Ask them to draw jobs they need to do daily at home (e.g., make their bed, pick up their toys, wash the dishes, etc.). Discuss the different tasks for which they are responsible, and the way they carry them out. When they finish the drawing, ask them to write “MY RESPONSIBILITIES” at the top of the page. Once the activity is finished, hang all the works on the wall to make a mural.

teach the lesson

The wise servants

Crowds followed Jesus everywhere he went. Everyone wanted to hear his teachings.

Jesus often told stories to help them understand what he wanted them to know.

“Who is a faithful and wise servant?” asked Jesus. Then he told them this story:

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who had to make a long journey. He called his servants and handing them his money, he asked them to take care of his possessions during his absence. One servant was given five bags, and each bag had a large amount of money. To another servant he gave two bags, and to the third one he handed him one. He entrusted his money to each servant according to the abilities of each, and then the man went on a trip.

The servant who received the most money went to work immediately. He took the five bags, invested the money, and earned five more. The servant who had two bags did the same and earned two more. But the man who received a single bag of money dug a hole in the ground and hid the money for fear that it would be stolen.

The homeowner was on a trip for a long time. When he finally returned, he called his stewards to review the accounts. The man who had received five bags gave ten to his lord. “You gave me five bags. I have earned five more,” he said with satisfaction.

The servant with the two bags of money approached his master and said, “Sir, you gave me two bags of money. I’ve earned two more.”

His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servants! You have been faithful with the little I gave you; now I will give you more responsibility. Let us celebrate!

Then, the man who had received the one bag of money approached his master and said, “Sir, I know it is difficult to please you; that’s why I was afraid and hid your money in the ground. Here is the bag of money that belongs to you.”

His master replied, “You bad and lazy servant! You should have kept my money in the bank; at least that way I would have earned interest! Take the money and give it to the one who has ten bags. And the useless servant, throw him out,” ordered the master.

connect the lesson

Who was wise?

Hand out Student Activity Sheet #164-A and #164-B. Ask the children to complete the figures on Student Activity Sheet #164-A, adding the bags of money that the servants brought to their master (boss). Give them time to draw the expressions on the faces of the servants when they were in front of their master.

Use these questions to help them reflect on the meaning of the story:

How do you think the servants felt when they were in front of their master? What lesson did Jesus want to teach when he told this parable?

Then, go to Student Activity Sheet #164-B. Ask the children to draw a star on the figures that represent children who wisely use what they have.

Talk about the meaning of each drawing, and what makes children good or bad stewards.

practice the memory verse

Download Additional Memory Verse Activities PDF

Download Suggestions for Bible Memorization PDF

Divide into two groups. Ask one group to say the first sentence of the memory verse, while the other group repeats the second part. Then, let both groups say it together.

Exchange the phrases of the two groups to study the full text. Repeat the exercise several times, and then choose some to say it alone.

Hand out the Club cards of the verse of the month to take them home and review the verse of this unit.

wrap-up

Pray

Lead the group in a prayer, asking the Lord to help them be faithful stewards of what he gave them.

Encourage

Then, sing some songs, and before leaving, give time for everyone to cooperate in cleaning up, and organizing of the room and materials.

Invite

Say some interesting things about the next session to encourage the children to attend. Also, encourage them to come with a friend.

* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™