Parable of the Talents

OBJECTIVE

In this module, you will be discussing four parables over four weeks: the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Talents, the Parable of the Foolish Builder, and the Parable of the Pearl. We want to help the children learn the parable, but more importantly, we want the children to place themselves inside the parable and learn how to apply the lesson to themselves. This week, with the Parable of the Talents, you will want the children to start to look for the gifts God gave them and that we should use these gifts to glorify God.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Remind the children what parables are (stories that did not actually happen, but stories that Jesus used to explain lessons in an easy way for all people to be able to understand). Go over the Parable of the Sower from last week's lesson and quiz the children to see if they remember the lesson and if they were diligent in reading their Bible every day at home.

Option 1 - What is this for? Provide students with various items or pictures of items, such as appliances or tools. For each one, invite children to consider what the purpose of the item is, and what it is supposed to do. Explain that today we will explore how each of us has gifts and purposes to do important things.

Option 2:

Show and tell talent show: Have students perform charades or simply invite them to share some of their special talents with others.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 2 Minutes

Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28

Memory Verse
"Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord." Matthew 25: 21

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes

Share with the class that, in the Parable of the Talents, we will see that God wants us to use the gifts He gives us to give glory to His Name.

Review the parable with the children. In this parable, a man is about to depart to a far country and calls three of his servants and entrusts them with his property. He gives out to each an amount of talents (an amount of money) : five, two and one. The three men took the talents given to them and did different things. The two who had been given five and two talents invested with what they were given and doubled what had been given to them (the one who was given five now had ten, and the servant who was given two now had four).

The third took his one talent and buried it in the ground. When the master of the servants came back, he asked them what they had done with the money he had given them. The man who had received five talents brought back five additional talents for a total of ten. The man who had received the two talents brought back two additional talents for a total of four. The master was equally happy with both of these servants. The man who had received the one talent told his master he had dug a hole in the ground and hid the money and was returning to his master exactly the same amount given to him. His excuse was that he was afraid of losing the money. The master was angry with this servant, because he had gotten nothing in return for what had been given to him by the master. He didn't even get the interest that he would have gotten from putting it in the bank since that would have been something more. He ordered the talent to be taken from him and given to the man with the ten talents.

Explain to the children that the Master is our Lord Jesus Christ. The master in this parable was going to a far away country. Christ went to a far away country at the time of His Ascension; He traveled from the kingdom of earth to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Point out to the children that the servants have nothing of their own; the master gives them his own belongings and this is how they are able to trade and engage in business. The servants in the parable represent Christian people, who are purchased with Christ's blood. As God's servants, we have nothing of our own; everything we have is from God. This means we are stewards, not owners. Explain that a steward is not the owner of something, but the person who looks after the thing for the owner, to keep it safe and ensure it is returned in perfect condition.

What did Christ leave for His people when He ascended to heaven? He left us the Holy Spirit. (You can remind the children of the Spirituality Module, when the children learned the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control). Each of us is given the Holy Spirit by God. Explain to the children that our job is to light the fire of the Holy Spirit inside of us, by reading the Bible, by praying and by partaking of the sacraments, so that we can increase the flame of the Holy Spirit within us.

Explain to the children that, with anything we are given by God, whether it is money, abilities, skills, time, intelligence, we have to remember that we are stewards of these things and that we must use them to give glory to God. Christ is the guarantee of our inheritance (Eph 1:14). He supplies all our needs with His abundant riches (Phil. 4:19).

The one servant who buried his talent in the ground is like someone who was not full of the Holy Spirit and did not use the things God gave him to give glory to God. This servant is rejected by the master so we want to make sure we are not like this servant, but that we are full of the Holy Spirit and use God's gifts to us to give glory to His name.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 2-3 Minutes

Ask the children these questions:

Does God give everyone the same talents?
What does God want to teach us about the abilities He has given us?
What was the third servant afraid of? Are you ever afraid of God in the same way?
Can you think of one thing God has given you that you can use to glorify His name?

LIFE APPLICATION (Action) - 2-3 Minutes

Encourage the children to think of themselves as stewards throughout the week. Encourage them to recognize that everything they have - life, time, money, clothing, food, skills, abilities, intelligence - is a gift from God and to think of how they can use what He has given them to become more holy and to give glory to His name. Try to encourage them to take actions that give glory to God; for example, if someone with a beautiful voice uses it to sing hymns and praises, if someone with intelligence uses it to understand the Bible better, if someone with a lot of money uses it to help the poor, if someone who is very friendly chooses to spend time with someone who is not so popular, if someone who is patient helps someone who is struggling, etc.

CONCLUSION - 1 Minute

We want to remind the children that Jesus taught the Parable of the Talents to teach us that God gave us everything and that we are stewards of what God gave us. We are to do everything we can to increase the Holy Spirit and His work inside of us so that we can use everything God gave us - money, abilities, skills, time, intelligence - to give glory to God's name.

ACTIVITY - 5 - 10 Minutes

One possible activity would be to have the children put on a play about the Parable of the Talents.

Another option is to ask the children to write a list of the gifts in their lives that God has given. For each item on the list, write how they can be a steward with that gift.

Another possible activity would be to let kids list their hobbies or interests or draw pictures of themselves doing these activities, thinking about how they can use these hobbies and interests to give glory to God.

Alternatively, you can choose a coloring page or word search activity.

New Testament Books Song

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

We have encouraged the children to reflect on their stewardship and to seek out their own talents and use them to give glory to God. Because parents are more objective about their children's talents, we can encourage parents to offer to their children feedback on what they perceive as their child's strengths and gifts from God. Parents can oftentimes see that their child has a particular talent and offer the child additional ways on how to use that talent to give glory to God.