SUNDAY SCHOOL @ HOME – 11th Sunday after Pentecost/August 16, 2020

Bible Passage (for parents)
Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 15:21-28)

A woman, who is a mom, goes to Jesus to ask him to heal her daughter who is sick.  Jesus answers in a way that is difficult to understand.  He says, “It’s not right for me to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  Let’s watch the story together and learn more about what this strange answer means.

Watch this video together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTET-Kf-QwM&feature=youtu.be

 

Read:

The woman said, “Even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”  What she was asking for was what no one else would want or miss.  It was just a crumb, but it mattered to her and her daughter.  In fact, it mattered a lot to them.  By hearing Jesus’ words and the woman’s response, we can be reminded of two things.  We can know that Jesus loves us so much that he cares about even the small things about us.  Even though Jesus is strong and mighty and big, he cares about everything about us.  Jesus’ love for us is complete.  We can also know that when we do even small things with love in Jesus’ names, we can make a big difference…a big difference for someone else and a big difference in our world.

 

Discuss

  • How do you see Jesus’ love at work in your life?
  • How do you see Jesus’ love at work in our world?
  • What can you do in love that makes a difference for someone?

 

Song

My God.  Sung by Go Fish Guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_eRnF0oXaE&list=TLGGmrN2wrLhNg4xMTA4MjAyMA

Activity

Mother Teresa often said that we should do small things with great love.  Check out these two very short videos to learn more about Mother Teresa.

10 Facts about Mother Teresa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JED0CKFV1Sw

Mother Teresa biography:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkjH5vUrt3M

Activity

Heart Hanging.  Use colored paper (or white paper and color it) and cut out hearts that get bigger in size.  Attach them to a piece of yarn, string, or ribbon.  Write something small that you can do in love for someone else.  Display it somewhere you can see it and be reminded to do those things.

Discuss

Jesus has a conversation with a woman whose daughter is ill.  The mom asks Jesus to heal her daughter.  Jesus says that he can’t take the food from the table and throw it to the dogs.  The mom says that the dogs eat the crumbs from the table.  Jesus heals the mom’s daughter.  The mom wanted something that wasn’t necessarily wanted by others, it didn’t matter to them – it was a crumb – but it mattered a lot to the mom and her daughter.  They wanted the daughter to be made well.  Jesus loves us so much that even the smallest things about us matter to him.  Even the small things we do for others can make a big difference for them.

 

  • How does it feel to know how much Jesus loves you?
  • When was a time you were sick?
  • Who is someone you know who makes a difference by doing small things with great love?

 

Closing Prayer

Pray:  God, we thank you for your Son Jesus who loves us so much that even the smallest things about us matter to him and to you.  Help us do small things with great love so that others may know of your love.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

Pastor Dan Fugate, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, put this lesson together for Sunday School @ Home.  There will be a new one for each Sunday while we are unable to gather together physically in our congregational buildings.  Contact him at [email protected].