Week 13: March 30

Our theme for March is "Jesus Shows Us What to Do"

Week 13- Ask, Seek, Knock (Matt 7:7-12)

This week's lesson is a tough one that many adults struggle with. 

I'll start out with a lame knock knock joke. Something like...

Knock, knock...
                    Who's there?
Stan
                    Stan who?
Stan' back. I'm gonna sneeze!

Knock knock jokes are funny. But what do people usually do when someone knocks on their door? Yes, they open up to see who it is. When you go to a friend's house and you knock on their door, what does your friend do? Yes, she opens the door. Today's story is a lesson Jesus taught. Jesus liked to use stories to get people's attention. In this lesson, He used a door as His first illustration. 

In the book of Matthew, chapter 7, He says in verse 7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." 

If you ask your mom a question, she'll answer you. If you search for your missing sock, you'll find it. If you knock on a friend's door, your friend will open the door for you. Jesus used these things we already know to teach us how we should act. 

If we ask Jesus a question, He'll answer us. If we are unsure of something and search the Bible on what we should do, we'll find the answer. And if we knock on the door to talk to God, He will open it for us. God loves us so very much He wants what's best for us. Sometimes we might not get what we pray for, but that's okay. God knows what's best! The next part of the lesson is for you to fill out.

(I'll hand the kiddos the sheet I made for our activity. They'll use a pencil/crayons to write/draw their responses.)

Listen carefully as I read verses 9 through 11. Then we'll go through and fill out the chart together.

"Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"

So in Jesus' story, if your son asks for bread, what does He suggest the mean thing to do would be? (To give him a stone). Write or draw a stone in the 'mean' box. What would be a nice thing to give your son if he asked for bread? (Bread). Write or draw a piece of bread in the 'nice' box.

If you son asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? That would be really mean! Draw or write 'snake' in the mean box. What would you give your son if he asked for a fish?

Now let's think of something someone might ask us for. On my sheet, I'm going to say 'a pencil,' because kids ask me for sharp pencils all the time. If you asked me for a pencil, should I give you a pair of scissors? No way! I'm going to draw a pair of scissors in the 'mean' box because that would be very unhelpful to you. If you need a pencil, what should I give you? Yes, a pencil! I'm going to draw a pencil in the 'nice' box because I know that you need a pencil and I should give you one. Go ahead and think of something someone might ask you for. What would be something mean to give them, and what would the nice thing be? 

Now in the next box think of something you need that you might ask someone for. On my sheet, I'm going to say 'candy for Easter eggs' because I need a lot of candy for our Easter Egg Hunt in a few weeks. If I ask your parents for candy and they gave me a dishcloth, would that be nice? No! That would be mean. You do not want to open your Easter eggs and find dishcloths intend of candy! I am going to draw a bag of candy in the 'nice' box because if I ask for candy for our Egg Hunt, the nice thing to do would be to donate candy. Now it's your turn to write or draw something you have asked someone for that you needed.

In the last section, let's think about God. We pray to Him all the time. Now remember He doesn't always answer our prayers the way we think that He should, but let's think about what He said earlier, in verses 7-8. They said, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

Instead of asking God for something in particular, like, a new cat, let's think of those verses. What if we ask God to help us get through a bad day at school. Would He help us? What about, we ask God to forgive us of our sins. Will He forgive us? What if we ask Jesus into our hearts, will He join us? Choose one of those questions- Ask, Seek, or Knock, and tell how someone 'mean' would respond and how God will respond.