Lesson Continued

Read Matthew 7:13-14.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Do you think most people believe in Jesus or most people don’t believe in Jesus? (Most people do not believe in Jesus.)

What does Jesus mean when He says that “wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it”?

He’s saying that most people don’t believe in Jesus and they do the wrong things and end up going to Hell when they die. You can picture a bunch of people walking down the road, doing wrong things, and at the end of the road is Hell. That’s where they’re walking to.

What does Jesus mean when He says, “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”?

He’s saying that only some people, not most people, will believe in Jesus and do the right things and go to Heaven when they die. You can picture a couple of people walking down another road, doing the right things, and at the end of that road is Heaven.

But what do you think? Would you rather go down the narrow road and go to Heaven? Or would you rather go down the wide road and go to Hell?

What if most people are going down the wide road to Hell? Would you still go down the narrow to Heaven? Or would you want to do what everyone else is doing and go down the wide road to Hell?

Sometimes, it’s hard to walk the narrow road when everyone else is walking the wide road. It’s hard to be a Christian when other people aren’t. It’s hard to do the right things when other people do the wrong things. But we know that if we do walk the narrow road and believe in Jesus and do what He wants us to, then at the end, we’ll get the reward of going to Heaven.

Directions

For directions with pictures click here

Directions

1. Place painters tape on fingerpaint paper in the shape of a cross.

2. When children are done painting, help them remove the tape to reveal the cross.

Directions

1. Set up: Establish a course with a "narrow way" at the end for players to move through in order to reach a cross. We used a playground tunnel for our narrow way, and made a sign to represent the Gate, with Jesus' name on it, then attached it to the beginning of the tunnel. We also placed a cross at the opposite end of the tunnel for players to touch when they came out the other side. 

2. Shown here, teams raced in relay style kicking balls in, out, and around playground cones to reach the "narrow way," and then through the Gate, "Jesus," to tag the cross, and then raced back to their teams to tag off to the next player in line. The kids loved this game and wanted to play again and again!

Directions

Divide players into teams. (Maximum of 9 players per team)

Supplies and set up: 9 Post-It notes per team, 1/2" masking tape for indoors, or colored chalk for outdoors, 2 Ping-Pong balls, a straw for each player. Using your masking tape, or chalk, make a course for each team. The courses should be about two feet wide and 15 feet long. It can be straight, but it is better to put some curves into it to make it more interesting! Write Matthew 7:13-14 down on nine Post-it notes per team as follows: #1) "Enter through the, #2) narrow gate, #3) For wide is the gate, #4) and broad is the road, #5) that leads to destruction, #6) and many enter through it. #7) But small is the gate, #8) and narrow the road that leads to life, #9) and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14.

Copy, or type on a separate sheet of paper, the following fill in the blank worksheet; give one to each team:

"Enter _________ the narrow _______. For ________ is the gate and ___________ is the _______ that leads to ________ and many ________ __________ it. But ________ is the _______ and _________ the road that ________ to life, and ________ a few ________ it." Matthew ___________.

How To Play
First player on each team places a Ping-Pong ball at the starting point of his or her course. Players get on their hands and knees, and using their straws, blow their Ping-Pong balls to the end of their courses. When the players reach the end have someone standing there to place the #1 Post-It note on the player's back. When the player retrieves their Post-It note, they must turn around and blow the Ping-Pong ball back to start. The next player in line takes his or her turn until all the Post-it notes, # 1-9 have been collected. As the players collect their Post-It note clues, they fill in the blanks on their worksheets. If the players blow their Ping-Pong ball off course, they must go back to the start position and try again. First team to finish is the winning team! You can play this game using a multitude of different verses. However, the point being made with The Narrow Way game, is that it can be difficult at times to stay on the path.