‘I’m Treasured’ Childrens Lesson on Matthew 13:44-46

BIG IDEA: I AM TREASURED BY GOD

AIM: The ‘I am Treasured’ Childrens Lesson on Matthew 13:44-46 aims to help children recognise that they are God’s treasured possession and valuable to Him.

SONG IDEAS:

1. ‘Treasure’ by Seeds Family Worship
2. ‘The Pearl’ by The Donut Man (available on Spotify)
3. ‘Who You Say I Am’ by Yancy

GAME IDEAS:

1. Treasure Hunt. (regular/widescreen) You will need a treasure chest/box for each team and the kids cash printable available in different varieties. Place printed kids cash around the room and have children race in their teams to place them inside their treasure chests.
2. Trash Treasures. (regular/widescreen) Give each team the same trash items; clean but used packaging and bottles, some tape and some (safe small) scissors. Teams must compete to create the best treasure out of the trash in a certain amount of time.
3. Team Treasure. (regular/widescreen) Children race through an obstacle course in their teams and each player collects a mini treasure box Printables at the end. The team with the most treasure at the end of the game is the winning team.

BIG VERSE: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14.

Download Bible verse cards here.

(regular/widescreen)

Intro Video: You could use the Toy Story 2 clip where Woody is cleaned up and fixed because he is treasured as a vintage toy.

You could also use this fun skit to introduce the theme.

 

SET the Scene:

Read the parables of the Treasure in the Field and Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:44-46). 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. The man was very happy to find the treasure. He went and sold everything that he owned to buy that field.

Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. One day he found a very valuable pearl. The man went and sold everything he had to buy that pearl.

VIDEO IDEAS:

1. ‘Treasure in the Field: Bible Story’
2. ‘Parable of the Hidden Treasure/ Pearl of Great Price’ by Strong Hands Enterprises, LLC

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. What is the kingdom of heaven like? (v44 – Treasure in a field)
2. Who found this treasure? (a man)
3. What did the man do with this treasure? (hid it again)
4. How did the man feel to find the treasure? (very happy)
5. What did the man do to gain the treasure? (sold all he had to buy it)
6. What else is the kingdom like? (a man looking for fine pearls)
7. Did the man find a valuable pearl? (yes)
8. What did the man do to gain this pearl? (sell everything he owned)

 

SPOT the Simple Meaning:

1) WE ARE GOD’S TREASURED POSSESSION

Trash or Treasure? (regular/widescreen) Children hold up one of the printables with ‘trash’ or ‘treasure’ written on them and must decide which they think the item is. Alternatively have a pile of items that the children must choose to put into a pile labelled ‘Treasure’ or a pile labelled ‘Trash’.

Say: We may all have different opinions about what is ‘trash’ and what is ‘treasure’. There’s an old saying that goes; “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” That’s because what one person thinks has no value, somebody else may be able to use to make something amazing. Lots of people make art sculptures out of trash and create something beautiful! [you could find some examples of this on the internet].

[Ask the children how much they would pay for everything in the trash pile. Ask children how much they would pay for everything in the ‘treasure’ pile].

Say: God calls you His treasure. That means He values you. He puts a high price on you and says you are worth more than you believe you are. He wants you. Just like the man in our parable was happy to find the treasure in the field, Jesus rejoices over you. You are His treasure. You are very precious to Him.

2) GOD GAVE EVERYTHING FOR US

You could use the clip at the end of Toy Story 3 where Andy gives all his toys to Bonnie.

Say: God loves you so much, and you are so valuable to Him that He was willing to give it all up for you. He gave His one and Only Son Jesus so that you may live and know God as His friend. How amazing is that?! Jesus gave His life so that you might know God. That’s how treasured you are!

God cares for you and wants you so much that He gave it all for you. Andy in the Toy Story clip gave all his toys away to Bonnie. That was a kind thing to do, it was all his toys. Yet Andy had already finished with his toys. He was growing up and he couldn’t and didn’t want to use them anymore. He had other things to treasure.That’s not what happened with God.

God loves His Son Jesus so much! His Son is precious to Him. He didn’t have to give Him up. He chose to give His Son so that we might be set free from sin – from the wrong things we have thought, said and done. He gave it all for us. He gave everything for His treasured possession – His people, His creation – you and me.

3) GOD’S KINGDOM IS TREASURE FOR US

You will need a toy chest with toys inside.

Say: Don’t you just love it when you go to somebody’s house to play and they have a huge treasure chest of toys?! It’s the best thing ever when you get to delve in and find super cool toys that you’ve never seen before! You get to have so much fun playing with everything.

Well, that’s kind of what God’s kingdom is like for us. The kingdom of God is God’s rule and reign on the earth. It’s God’s will coming to life here on earth. And we get to play a part in it! We get to be a part of bringing God’s kingdom, His rule and reign to life in the world. We get to delve in and have fun – telling others about Jesus and how treasured they are!

The parable of the treasure in the field is asking, have you given everything you have for this treasure? Will you give everything you have to see God’s rule and reign on the earth. When we do this, and help others to see that they are God’s treasure too, we help bring life into the world. Why? Because when people know they are treasured, they realise that people are worth more – they treat others well and love others. If everyone knew how treasured by God they were, the world would be a different place.

So will you dive in and live as a treasured one? Will you tell others that they are treasured too?! Let’s be those that see God’s kingdom as treasure and go after it with all our hearts!

 

SEARCH the Scriptures:

Pearl Picture Relay. (regular/widescreen) Using the pearl pictures with scriptures, place them around the room and have the children race in teams to collect a pearl picture before coming back to their team and tagging the next person.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the kingdom of heaven?
2. Who is in this kingdom?
3. What is treasure?
4. What would you like to have most in the whole wide world?
5. What thing or person do you treasure most?
6. What does it mean to be treasured by God?
7. How do we know we are treasured by God?
8. How does God show us that we are treasured by Him?
9. Have you ever felt like God’s treasure? How did it feel?
10. When do you least feel like God’s special treasure?
11. Is everyone treasured by God? Why/why not?
12. How can we show others that they are treasured by God?

 

SENSE How You Feel:

Imagine you are the man that finds the pearl, or the man that finds the treasure.

How does it feel to find this treasured possession?

Encourage the children to think about their answer to this question as they do one or more of the activities below.

1. Decorate a treasure box picture with trash such as aluminum foil and bottle tops.
2. As a group make a giant collage picture of a treasure chest or a pearl in an oyster.
3. Stick a pretend pearl on the pearl picture.
4. String a pearl necklace together.
5. Mould a treasure chest out of playdough or clay.
6. Using the blank treasure chest craft printable children can follow the instructions on the PDF to color and fold their own treasure chest.
7. Sensory: Have strings of pearls and shells on your sensory table. Encourage the children to feel them as they think about how treasured they are by God.
8. Build a treasure island out of lego. Encourage the children to hide some treasure on their island and see who can find it.
9. Make a treasure map and hide some treasure.

SEEK God:

Invite the children to seek God by asking them to lie down on the floor in stillness. Remind them of how treasured they are by God.

1. Ask those who don’t or haven’t felt very treasured to raise their hand or place their hand on their heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to help these children feel a sense of God’s love and ask Him to give them a knowledge of how He feels about them. Expect God to show up. Tell the children that they might feel different, they may see a picture in their mind or sense a warmth (or any other way you feel the Holy Spirit is showing up). Tell the children that God works in different ways to show people they are loved, so they are not to worry if they don’t ‘feel’ anything at all. But ask that He would help them know how treasured they truly are.
2. For other children, they know they are treasured. For some, God is calling them to put Him in the driving seat and to be prepared to give it all up for Him. Ask the children: Will you give everything back to God? If this is something they feel God is calling them to do invite them to place their hands palm up next to them as they lie down and to tell God how much they love Him and to help them to give it all.
3. There may be a few children that know they are treasured and want others to know that too. Ask the children: Who do you know that needs to know they are treasured? Invite the children to write their names on one of the treasure boxes and commit to pray for them.