Scripture Reference: Luke 18:9-14 Suggested Emphasis: Be humble, and do not compare yourself with others. Memory Verse: “Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But everyone who…
Are you familiar with the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector? If not, you can read as this can be found in Luke 18:9-14: “Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselv…
Lesson: Let us boast in Jesus 1. Story: Tell the Parable of the "Pharisee and the Tax Collector" based on Luke 18:9-13. Jesus told a story about 2 people — a Pharisee and a Tax Collector Who was a Pharisee? He is part of a religious/political group that prides themselves in keeping the law. The word “Pharisee” means set apart — they wanted to keep themselves holy and were careful not to mix with anyone who did anything wrong. Who was a Tax Collector? Tax collectors were Jews who helped the Roman government to collect taxes from their own people. Jews hated the Romans. So they also hated the tax collectors who worked for the Roman government. The tax collectors also often collected extra money for themselves. So if they were supposed to collect 100 dollars, they would collect 150 dollars instead and keep 50 dollars for themselves. Both these men went to pray in the temple. The Pharisee stood apart by himself — he didn’t want to be with the “common” folks in case they contaminated him. He prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income." The Pharisee took pride in the things that he could do that made him better than everyone else, especially the tax collector — he was not greedy, not dishonest, not an adulterer, fasts two days a week, gives one-tenth of his income. He thought that by doing all these, he will be able to earn or deserve God's favour. God will be happy with him, and he will be right before God ("righteous"). But actually he was only self-righteouse because he thought he could be good enough on his own — he didn't need God. On the other hand, there was the tax collector. He hid his face down, ashamed. He knew all the wrong things he had done. He knew he could not be right with God on his own. He was a hopeless case. He knew only God could save him. So he beat his chest and said, "God have pity on me, a sinner." Jesus told his disciples that it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who went home righteous that day. Why? The Pharisee was self-righteous. He believed, by what he does, that he was good enough and didn’t need God. But the Bible tells us that none of us can meet God’s standards on our own (“There is none righteous, not one.” Rom 3:10). But because the Pharisee didn’t see himself as needing a Saviour, he didn’t accept God’s forgiveness. The tax collector was unrighteous. And he knew it. He didn’t pretend to be better than he was. He didn’t try to hide it. He just called out for help. And God heard him and answered him. 2. Lesson: When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, we told Him that we couldn’t do it on our own and we needed His help. God heard us, and answered us, and Jesus lives in us forever. Today, because of Jesus, you and I don't have to beat ourselves up like the tax collector any more. We can stand before God boldly, not boasting in our works like the Pharisee, but boasting in Jesus' works — Jesus is our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness and our redemption (1 Cor 1:31). We can say, "I thank you, God, that because Jesus was not greedy, not dishonest, and not an adulterer, because Jesus was completely sinless and completely righteous, we are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!" Praise the Lord! Memory verse: 1 Cor 1:31 "Therefore, as it is written, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 2. Activity Suggestion Any related craft with the memory verse or the words “I will boast in Jesus” Worksheet
Scripture Reference: Luke 18:9-14 Suggested Emphasis: Be humble, and do not compare yourself with others. Memory Verse: “Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But everyone who…
Lesson: Let us boast in Jesus 1. Story: Tell the Parable of the "Pharisee and the Tax Collector" based on Luke 18:9-13. Jesus told a story about 2 people — a Pharisee and a Tax Collector Who was a Pharisee? He is part of a religious/political group that prides themselves in keeping the law. The word “Pharisee” means set apart — they wanted to keep themselves holy and were careful not to mix with anyone who did anything wrong. Who was a Tax Collector? Tax collectors were Jews who helped the Roman government to collect taxes from their own people. Jews hated the Romans. So they also hated the tax collectors who worked for the Roman government. The tax collectors also often collected extra money for themselves. So if they were supposed to collect 100 dollars, they would collect 150 dollars instead and keep 50 dollars for themselves. Both these men went to pray in the temple. The Pharisee stood apart by himself — he didn’t want to be with the “common” folks in case they contaminated him. He prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income." The Pharisee took pride in the things that he could do that made him better than everyone else, especially the tax collector — he was not greedy, not dishonest, not an adulterer, fasts two days a week, gives one-tenth of his income. He thought that by doing all these, he will be able to earn or deserve God's favour. God will be happy with him, and he will be right before God ("righteous"). But actually he was only self-righteouse because he thought he could be good enough on his own — he didn't need God. On the other hand, there was the tax collector. He hid his face down, ashamed. He knew all the wrong things he had done. He knew he could not be right with God on his own. He was a hopeless case. He knew only God could save him. So he beat his chest and said, "God have pity on me, a sinner." Jesus told his disciples that it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who went home righteous that day. Why? The Pharisee was self-righteous. He believed, by what he does, that he was good enough and didn’t need God. But the Bible tells us that none of us can meet God’s standards on our own (“There is none righteous, not one.” Rom 3:10). But because the Pharisee didn’t see himself as needing a Saviour, he didn’t accept God’s forgiveness. The tax collector was unrighteous. And he knew it. He didn’t pretend to be better than he was. He didn’t try to hide it. He just called out for help. And God heard him and answered him. 2. Lesson: When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, we told Him that we couldn’t do it on our own and we needed His help. God heard us, and answered us, and Jesus lives in us forever. Today, because of Jesus, you and I don't have to beat ourselves up like the tax collector any more. We can stand before God boldly, not boasting in our works like the Pharisee, but boasting in Jesus' works — Jesus is our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness and our redemption (1 Cor 1:31). We can say, "I thank you, God, that because Jesus was not greedy, not dishonest, and not an adulterer, because Jesus was completely sinless and completely righteous, we are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!" Praise the Lord! Memory verse: 1 Cor 1:31 "Therefore, as it is written, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 2. Activity Suggestion Any related craft with the memory verse or the words “I will boast in Jesus” Worksheet
Tomorrow I'm going to be talking about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. When I've taught this before, I've focussed on how we come to God in prayer, but this time I'm looking at the idea of grace. Here's an easy but very visual way to tell and teach the story! You will need: A beautifully wrapped box, a smaller, torn and battered box, a gold bag filled with enough sweets to overflow out of the smaller box. The beautifully wrapped box is like the Pharisee. He has a lot of things to tell God and others about how good he is. All his good works are on show for everyone to see. He wants everyone to notice him for his goodness. The small, battered and torn box is like the tax collector. People really don't like him. They think, like this box, that he is like rubbish. The tears symbolise the things he has done that probably aren't that good. Put the small box at a distance from the wrapped box (make sure that the wrapped box has centre stage!) When the Pharisee comes to the temple he tells God all the good things he is doing. We could say that he talks AT God. The tax collector stands far off because he knows he isn't a good person but he ASKS God for his mercy (his love and forgiveness). Which one of these people goes home right with God? The answer is the tax collector, which seems quite unfair! He understands something, though, that the Pharisee doesn't seem to... None of us, no matter how hard we try, will never be perfect. We'll always end up doing something wrong that keeps us apart from God. If we come to Him, though, and ask God for his forgiveness, we can be made right with Him. Only God can do this for us! God has so much love and forgiveness for us (show gold bag), but we have to be open enough to ask for it The Pharisee thinks his Good deeds will get him to heaven, but good deeds are not enough. Only God can make us right with Him. It's like a gift that only He can give. Try to pour sweets from the bag into the box. Because the lid is on the box, nothing will get inside! The Pharisee is not open to God. He trusts in himself alone to get into heaven and this will never work. The tax collector, on the other hand comes to God and opens himself up, asking for God's mercy. Because he knows he needs God to make himself right, the tax collector is open to receiving God's gift of forgiveness (pour the sweets into the open box and let them flow out). Invite the children to take a sweet from the open box as a reminder of the story.
Lesson: Let us boast in Jesus 1. Story: Tell the Parable of the "Pharisee and the Tax Collector" based on Luke 18:9-13. Jesus told a story about 2 people — a Pharisee and a Tax Collector Who was a Pharisee? He is part of a religious/political group that prides themselves in keeping the law. The word “Pharisee” means set apart — they wanted to keep themselves holy and were careful not to mix with anyone who did anything wrong. Who was a Tax Collector? Tax collectors were Jews who helped the Roman government to collect taxes from their own people. Jews hated the Romans. So they also hated the tax collectors who worked for the Roman government. The tax collectors also often collected extra money for themselves. So if they were supposed to collect 100 dollars, they would collect 150 dollars instead and keep 50 dollars for themselves. Both these men went to pray in the temple. The Pharisee stood apart by himself — he didn’t want to be with the “common” folks in case they contaminated him. He prayed, "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income." The Pharisee took pride in the things that he could do that made him better than everyone else, especially the tax collector — he was not greedy, not dishonest, not an adulterer, fasts two days a week, gives one-tenth of his income. He thought that by doing all these, he will be able to earn or deserve God's favour. God will be happy with him, and he will be right before God ("righteous"). But actually he was only self-righteouse because he thought he could be good enough on his own — he didn't need God. On the other hand, there was the tax collector. He hid his face down, ashamed. He knew all the wrong things he had done. He knew he could not be right with God on his own. He was a hopeless case. He knew only God could save him. So he beat his chest and said, "God have pity on me, a sinner." Jesus told his disciples that it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who went home righteous that day. Why? The Pharisee was self-righteous. He believed, by what he does, that he was good enough and didn’t need God. But the Bible tells us that none of us can meet God’s standards on our own (“There is none righteous, not one.” Rom 3:10). But because the Pharisee didn’t see himself as needing a Saviour, he didn’t accept God’s forgiveness. The tax collector was unrighteous. And he knew it. He didn’t pretend to be better than he was. He didn’t try to hide it. He just called out for help. And God heard him and answered him. 2. Lesson: When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, we told Him that we couldn’t do it on our own and we needed His help. God heard us, and answered us, and Jesus lives in us forever. Today, because of Jesus, you and I don't have to beat ourselves up like the tax collector any more. We can stand before God boldly, not boasting in our works like the Pharisee, but boasting in Jesus' works — Jesus is our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness and our redemption (1 Cor 1:31). We can say, "I thank you, God, that because Jesus was not greedy, not dishonest, and not an adulterer, because Jesus was completely sinless and completely righteous, we are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!" Praise the Lord! Memory verse: 1 Cor 1:31 "Therefore, as it is written, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 2. Activity Suggestion Any related craft with the memory verse or the words “I will boast in Jesus” Worksheet
These were the Pharisee and the Tax collector, but could be anyone. A nice easy craft for the teacher - very little to prepare! You will need: Wooden spoons. The small disposable ones used for parties etc. (Or plastic spoons, but you'd need permanent markers to draw on them.) Pipe cleaners. Felt cut into rectangles with a small slit in the middle. (I say felt - I actually used this kind of cleaning cloths!) Felt tip pens. Loom bands, small rubber bands, or wool. What to do: First, poke the handle of the spoon through the hole in the felt. Below this, wrap the pipe cleaner round the handle to make arms. Fold the felt down front and back, and use a loom band or wool as a belt. Draw a face.
Use the The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Word Shape as a fun activity for your next children's sermon.
In level II (ages 6-9) we have spent the week discussing the parable of The Pharisee and the Tax Collector. A child brings her painting of parable to the drying table. When asked why she chose to include a rainbow in her picture she responded adamantly: I put the rainbow over both the Pharisee and Tax Collector - even though the Pharisee has a bragging heart he is still one of the Good Shepherd's sheep.
