Children's Church Lesson: The Great Dinner

Story

Say: How many of you have ever been to a wedding?  What was that like? (Let the children talk)  Have you ever thought about learning something about God from a wedding? You can!  Jesus told a story about a wedding dinner to teach us about God and about heaven.  Are you ready to hear it?  OK, let’s read it.

Read “The Great Dinner Party” in any children's story bible.  

Lesson

Say: What were the Jews talking about at the beginning of the story? (God’s Kingdom/Heaven) What happened when the Man first invited guests? (They didn’t come) What happened when the man invited more guests? (They came to the dinner until the table was full)    

Jesus told this story to help us see that God loves everyone and wants all people to love Him. One day, there will be a big banquet in heaven and God wants us all to be there to celebrate! Remember the king did not give up on the banquet. In the same way, God did not give up on us! He loves us and wants us to go to Heaven one day. How do we get to Heaven? We have to believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We must know that Jesus died for the wrongs we have done. We must tell Jesus we are sorry for our sins and ask Him to forgive us. Then, we must ask Jesus to come into our heart and help us live for God in all we do. Jesus promises to stay with us forever and take us to Heaven one day. If you want to know more about Jesus, talk to us anytime about it.

Memory Verse

God loved the world so much that He sent His son so that all who believe in him will be saved. – John 3:16

Big Idea

God loves everyone and wants everyone to love Him.  He loves us and wants us to go to Heaven.

Prayer (Take prayer joys and requests)

Say a prayer thanking God for being there for us and asking Him to help us remember that we need Him.

Craft

With craft materials such as paper, scissors and crayons, make a giant wall picture of a feast. Each child can draw and cut out his favorite food. Then talk about what good things God gives people, such as love, peace, joy and forgiveness.  If there is time children will draw their own picture of heaven.