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• • The first parable teaches us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure - specifically a hidden treasure.

  • The second parable teaches us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant, searching for fine pearls. In actuality, this parable should really be named, "The Parable of the Merchant."

• They both teach that we should treasure the things of God more than anything else in the world.

  • In the first parable, the treasure was not valued correctly by anyone until the man found it. How many people walked past that field and never knew the treasure was there? Surely the owner of the land didn't know it was there either, or he wouldn't have sold it!

  • In the second parable, the pearl was valued correctly, but the merchant thought it was worth selling everything anyway.

What are Parables?

Take this opportunity to teach your children what parables are. They are little stories Jesus told that teach us about the Kingdom of God. They are similar to fables in that they are stories with a deeper meaning. But fables give moral or ethical lessons. For example, the Tortoise and the Hare teaches us not to give up (if you are the tortoise) and not to be too full of yourself (if you are the hare). The Boy Who Cried Wolf teaches us that if we lie repeatedly, people won't believe us even when we are telling the truth. Parables teach us about life in the Kingdom of God, or life as a Christian.

Warm Up get your kids talking and engaged

Have you ever found money somewhere (not in your house)? How much did you find?

Today, we're going to learn about a parable about a man who finds a hidden treasure and about a merchant who is searching for fine pearls.

Teach the Story teach a holistic story

Teach the children what a parable is (see the Story Summary above)

Read the story directly from an age-appropriate Bible translation. Use the parable summaries above to help the kids think through the setting of the parables and really understand them.

Just imagine the scene at the end of the first parable: a man has nothing - no house, no car, no clothes, no food - but he's sitting in the middle of his new field, on top of buried treasure.

Imagine the scene at the end of the second parable: a merchant has nothing to sell, but he has one of the finest pearls in the world.

Comprehension Questions make sure they understand the story

• What is a parable?

       A little story Jesus told that teaches us what life is like as a Christian, in the Kingdom of God

• In the first parable, what was hidden in a field?

A treasure

• Did anyone know it was there?

No

• What did the man do when he found it?

He covered it back up, went and sold everything he had and bought the field that contained the treasure

• In the second parable, 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

• What was the kingdom lesson in this parable?

God should be the most important thing to us in our lives

• In these two parables, we learned that God should be more important to us than anything else in the world.

What do you value more than God? Ask God today to change your heart so you value you Him more than anything else.

Memory Verse hide God's Word in their heart

Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive each other, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done. Ephesians 4:32

Directions

1. Print the treasure chest template and cut it out. Trace it onto brown construction paper and cut out the chest. Fold the bottom piece up and the top piece down to create a chest that opens like a card.

2. While the chest is closed, use a brown crayon and outline the edges. Then draw a few lines across the chest to make it look like wood.

3. Use a crayon to write "My Heart's Treasure" on the lid of the chest.

4. Open the chest and write things your heart treasures on the inside of the lid and at the bottom.

5. Decorate the inside of the chest with stick on gems, sparkly craft foam cut to look like coins, glitter glue - anything shiny!

6. Once the glue holding the gems is dry, fold the chest back up so it is shut. Use a heart sticker or a piece of sticky-back craft foam cut in the shape of a heart to seal the chest shut.

Directions

1. Have the kids get a brown piece of paper and wrinkle it up, unwrinkle it, and repeat for as many times as the want to get an "old map" feel. 
2. Next, give them markers and have them create a treasure map. The end of their trail should lead to the MOST important treasure, God. But, along the way they can make pit stops noting other treasures in their life. 

Directions

1. Let the kids take turns being the "hider" and hiding the picture or object somewhere in the room while the other kids hide their eyes. The kids have 2 minutes to find the hidden item before the hider tells them where it was.