Parable of the Pearl
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 Pearl, we hope to show the children the choice between the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom and to explain that, if they build a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they will experience heaven here on earth.
INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes
Remind the children what parables are (not stories that actually happened, 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 Foolish Builder from last week's lesson and quiz the children to see if they remember the lesson.
Give each child a blank piece of paper, and something to write/draw with, tell them that they will be given instructions one step at a time.
- Once the children have settled, say to them: "You will have two minutes to list or draw things you like or are important to you, the challenge is to write or draw as many things as you can that you like in two minutes. Remember this is your list, so you should list things that you like or things that are important to you, this can be anything from ice cream to football. However, you may want to consider other things that are not things, like Mom, friends, love, etc."
- Now say: "OK, now that you have your list of things, I want you to circle the five most important things to you".
- Have the children share what they chose as most important, and see if God was mentioned.
- Intro the lesson by saying "Let's see what this man did when he found something very valuable".
HOLY SCRIPTURE - 2 Minutes
Matthew 13:45 - 46: "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one Pearl of Great Price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
Memory Verse
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18
CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes
Explain to the children that in this parable, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that a man was seeking great pearls and when he found a pearl of very great price, he went and sold all that he had to purchase that pearl of great value.
Explain to the children that pearls are made by oysters, deep in the ocean and that it is very hard to find them because they are deep down on the ocean floor and hidden inside a closed shell. Because they are very deep and hidden and hard to find, they are very precious.
Tell the children that God is describing the Kingdom of Heaven as the most valuable of all pearls. God tells us that the man in the parable was seeking a beautiful pearl. He wanted something valuable. He had other things that were valuable, but when he saw this pearl of great price, he knew it was unlike anything else he had ever seen before.
In our lives, we have things of value - maybe we value our popularity, maybe we value our family, maybe we value money, maybe we value our education - but God tells us that there is a Pearl of great value that makes everything else seem unimportant. What is the pearl of great price? It is our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, Whom we find in the gospels. If we find Jesus Christ and feel the priceless value of the peace and happiness of His kingdom, we will give everything up to be part of His kingdom. This is what all the martyrs of the church discovered. They did not care for their lives, their jobs, their wealth, their popularity, their positions, their relatives, or anything else; they were willing to give up everything, even their lives, to be with Jesus Christ forever.
If we experience the peace and happiness of Jesus Christ, we will not care about our popularity or the things we have, we will not care if we are different from others or even rejected by others, we won't care if our family makes fun of us for making time to pray, we won't care if we aren't included by others - we won't care because our relationship with Jesus Christ will be so much more valuable than any of these other things. It will be the pearl of great value for which we can give up all other lesser treasures in our life.
To read about a saint who gave up everything to be with God, see the story of Saint Queen Anasimone attached below. This story may be used to supplement the lesson.
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes
Ask the children these questions:
- Can you think of something you want so badly that you would be willing to give up all your toys and money to get it? Maybe a puppy or a new bike or a video game system. If you could have that thing by selling all your toys and using all your money, would you?
- In the Parable of the Pearl, what was the merchant looking for? The finest pearl
- What did he do when he found it? He sold everything he had and bought that pearl
- Do you think that God wants to be the most important or valuable thing in your life?
- What was the lesson in this parable? God should be the most important thing to us in our lives and/or when we find the peace and love of Jesus Christ, we will be willing to give up everything else in our lives in order to enjoy the Kingdom with Jesus.
- What are some ways we can find the peace and love of Jesus Christ? Spend quiet time with Him, go to church regularly and participate, partake of the sacraments, pray, read the Bible, do acts of kindness, help the poor and needy.
LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes
Remind the children that we should treasure the kingdom of heaven more than anything else on earth. We will experience the kingdom of heaven if we get to know Jesus Christ and feel His peace and love. Remind the children that, in the Parable of the Pearl, God tells us that the kingdom of heaven is so valuable, that if someone recognizes how precious it is, they will give up everything to have that kingdom.
You can challenge the children to practice quiet time with Christ every day for 5 minutes. During this quiet time, they can sit before a favored picture of Jesus Christ and spend time thinking about His love for us, His life, death and resurrection and His great love for us. The true goal is to feel the presence of Christ and form that personal relationship with Him so they can feel His peace and love.
ACTIVITY - 5 - 10 Minutes
One possible activity is to have the children draw something they treasure deeply and have a discussion about whether they would be willing to give it up for Jesus Christ.
Another possible activity is to write each word of this parable on a separate piece of paper: "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Distribute the papers to the children and see if they can assemble the story in the right order.
- Summarized story of Queen Anasimone is attached below
- The full story of Queen Anasimone can be found here
Alternatively, you can choose a coloring page or word search activity.
New Testament Books Song
PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK
We have encouraged the children to spend quiet time with Jesus Christ for 5 minutes, preferably before a favored image of Jesus Christ. Encourage parents to set up a space in the child's room that has a cross and the favored picture of Jesus Christ to foster the quiet time. If the parents are so inclined, this may be a good opportunity for the family to set up a prayer corner together with favored icons and candles to be a consecrated place of prayer in the home.