March 15 Preschool Materials
Watch with your child:
2/3 year olds
Bible Story to tell your kids: Click here for play money to go along with lesson
PARENT : “Come sit here with me! I have an awesome TRUE story straight from the Bible, and it begins in a town with lots of people. And in this town, there was a man named Matthew. What was his name?”
CHILDREN: “Matthew!”
PARENT : “Yes, Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector. (Pull out the play money and count it out in front of you on the floor.) That means his job was to collect money for the town from everyone. (Stop counting the bills.) But the problem was that tax collectors took more than they were supposed to (pick up ALL the money and set it on your lap), which meant that nobody wanted to be their friend.
“One day, someone SUPER important came to town. Can you guess who it was? (Pause.) Yes. It was Jesus, God’s Son. The most important leader ever had come to town! Can you guess who Jesus talked to? (Pause.) Yes! Jesus talked to Matthew. He walked right up to Matthew and said, ‘Follow me!’ Do you think Matthew followed Him?
“Of course! Matthew got up and followed Him because Jesus is the most special leader. The people who saw Jesus talk to Matthew were confused. Show me your confused face. (Pause.) They didn’t know why Jesus wanted to be friends with a tax collector. But everyone can follow Jesus and be His friend.
“Later, Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, and everyone was invited. And I mean everyone!
“Jesus came so that EVERYONE can follow Him! You can follow Him even if you’re like Matthew and made a bad choice. Jesus came for ALL the people. Everyone can follow Jesus. So, who can you follow?”
CHILDREN AND LEADER: “I can follow Jesus.”
PARENT : “I can follow Jesus. You can follow Jesus. EVERYONE can follow Jesus. Let’s pray and thank God for sending Jesus so that everyone can follow Him.”
PRAYER: “Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us. Thank You for showing us that everyone can follow Jesus! We love You so much. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
4/5 year olds
Bible Story to tell your kids: Click here for images to go along with lesson
PARENT: “Your memory verse reminds you that we can follow Jesus! Let’s watch and say it together.
“Good job, friends! Jesus is the MOST special leader, and we can follow Him always! I can follow Jesus. Who can you follow?”
CHILD AND PARENT: “I can follow Jesus.”
PARENT : “I have an awesome TRUE story straight from the Bible, and it begins in a town with lots of people. And in this town, there was a man named Matthew. What was his name?”
CHILD: “Matthew!” (Story Image W3 01)
PARENT : “Yes, Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector. That means his job was to collect money for the town from everyone. But the problem was that tax collectors took more than they were supposed to, which meant that nobody wanted to be their friend.
“One day, someone SUPER important came to town. Can you guys guess who it was? (Pause.) Yes. Jesus, God’s Son—the most important leader ever—came to town! Can you guess who Jesus talked to? (Pause.)
(Story Image W3 02)
“Yes! Jesus talked to Matthew. He walked right up to Matthew and said, ‘Follow me!’ Do you think Matthew followed Him?
“Of course! Matthew got up and followed Him because Jesus is the most special leader. The people who saw Jesus talk to Matthew were confused. Show me your confused face. (Pause.) They didn’t know why Jesus wanted to be friends with a tax collector. But everyone can follow Jesus and be His friend.
(Story Image W3 03)
“Later, Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, and everyone was invited. And I mean everyone! Jesus came so that EVERYONE can follow Him, even if you’re like Matthew and made a bad choice. Jesus came for ALL the people. Everyone can follow Jesus. Who can you follow?”
CHILD AND PARENT: “I can follow Jesus.”
PARENT : “I can follow Jesus. You can follow Jesus. EVERYONE can follow Jesus. Let’s pray and thank God for sending Jesus so that everyone can follow Him.”
PRAYER: “Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us and for sending Jesus. Thank You for showing us that everyone can follow Jesus! We love You so much. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
All ages
Fun activities:
Click image to see a fun activity you can do with your child to remind them Matthew was a tax collector, but he collected too much money from the people in the town! No one wanted to be his friend… except for Jesus! Jesus wants to be everyone’s friend!
Sit and draw people with your child. You can draw everyone from Grandma to your child’s favorite TV character. Write the names of the people under their pictures for your child. Talk about how everyone can follow Jesus—everyone!