Lesson 12: Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13

March 18-24
Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13
"Who Hath Ears to Hear; Let Him Hear"

Materials: Puzzles, video, copy of chart

Opening Song: "Teach Me to Walk In the Light" (Children's Songbook, 177)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Matthew 13:15 "For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Attention Activity: Show your family the puzzle below printed on a piece of paper. Ask them to find the message that is hidden among the numbers.


Explain that when Jesus taught the people, he sometimes taught in parables, which are short stories that have hidden spiritual messages.

Lesson:

Jesus liked to teach people in parables. One day he was teaching by the seaside and he told a story about a wheat field. 

One day a man went out and planted wheat seeds in his field. While he slept at night his enemy came and planted tares or weeds out in the field. The wheat grew, but so did the tares.  The servants came and asked the man, "Didn't you plant good seeds?" And he answered by saying, "I did but my enemy planted tares."

The servants asked if they should pull the weeds but the man said, "No, if we pull the weeds the wheat will come up too. They should both grow together. And when it is time to harvest them, we will separate them. We will bundle and burn the tares, and put the wheat in the barn." 

Explain that the wheat and the tares are symbols. They represent something else. Use the chart below to help your children understand what each thing in the parable represents. (The owner/sower--Jesus, the field--the world, the enemy--Satan, the tares--followers of Satan, the wheat--followers of Christ, the servants/reapers--angels, the harvest--the second coming.)
 
Now they understand the symbols of the wheat and the tares, show your family the following video. Ask, what will happen to the tares at harvest time? What will happen to the wheat? Do you want to be like the tares or the wheat?

Watch Video "Jesus Declares the Parable of the Wheat & Tares, Mustard Seed, and Leaven"

One of the reasons Christ like to use parables is that only the people who were ready to learn would understand the parable. Those who aren't ready to receive God's message might hear the parable, but they won't understand it in their heart. 

"What do you do with your ears? eyes? heart? Have the children read Matthew 13:15. What did Jesus say we should do with these parts of our bodies? Apply this verse to the parables and to the gospel. If we really hear the word of God, see the truth in it, and do what Jesus wants us to do, whom will we be like in the parable of the wheat and tares?" (Primary 7: New Testament Manual, Lesson 17.  Found here.)

As we read the parables this week, I hope our eyes, ears, and hearts will be open so that we can understand the messages Christ is trying to teach us, willingly receiving the word of God. 

Closing Song: "I Know Heavenly Father Loves Me" verse 2 (Children's Songbook, 228)
Closing Prayer:


Refreshment: Cup of Dirt

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 (4oz) pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
8 oz cool whip (thawed)
1 (16oz) pkg Oreos
gummy worms to garnish

Beat milk and pudding mix together in a bowl until well blended and slightly thickened; let stand to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Stir whipped topping and 1/2 of the crushed cookies into pudding. Spoon 1 tablespoon crushed cookies into each serving cup. Fill each cup 3/4-full with pudding mixture and top with remaining crushed cookies. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Top with 1-2 gummy worms. 

Lesson 11: Matthew 10-12; Mark 2; Luke 7; 11

March 11-17
Matthew 10-12; Mark 2; Luke 7;11
"These Twelve Jesus Sent Forth" 

Materials: two brown sacks (one with candy and one empty or with something undesirable),  video, match game cards

Opening Song: "Called to Serve" (Hymnal, 249)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Matthew 10: 40-41 "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward: and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward."

Attention Activity: Have prepared two bags or boxes. Have one filled with candy and have the other empty or filled with something like trash, rocks, etc. Tell the children to point to a bag they think will have the candy inside, but don't let them look or feel the bags. Then, pull one family member aside, and have them peek inside the bags so they know which one has the candy. Have your family vote again on which bag they would chose. Say that they can listen to the advice of the person who saw inside the bags. After all your family members have chosen the correct bag, let them each have some candy. How did you know which bag had the candy in it? Explain that when you let your family member peek in the bags they were seeing something the others could not. They led you to make the correct choice based on the additional knowledge they had. This is like having the prophet and his apostles. They guide us in the Church because they have been chosen by God to be His helpers here on Earth. 

Lesson:
Last time, we talked about Christ preforming miracles and healing the sick. As he continued to do this, he realized that there were a lot of people who needed help and a lot of people that needed to be taught the gospel. Jesus called some of His disciples to help Him do his work. Read Matthew 10: 5-8. Jesus asked his apostles to help Him teach, heal the sick, and perform other miracles. Do you know any of the names of the Savior's apostles? (Simon Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, John the Beloved, Phillip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Judas/Lebaeus Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot) 

View video: "Jesus calls twelve apostles to teach and bless others"

 Today our Prophet is Russel M. Nelson, and he has 12 Apostles who help him run the affairs of the Church and testify of Jesus Christ.   

Jesus' apostles came from all different backgrounds. Some were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and one was an accountant. Our apostles today are just as diverse. They all had normal jobs like doctors, lawyers, teachers, and even a car salesman! When they were called to serve the church, they retired from their jobs to do the Lord's work as His disciples. They oversee the whole church as they strengthen, encourage, and teach church members across the world.

Do you remember the names of the twelve apostles? Show the picture The Quorum of The Twelve Apostles.

To help your family remember the current apostles, you can sing this song to  the tune of "Ten Little Indians".

Ballard, Holland, Uchtdorf, Bednar, 

Cook, Christofferson, Anderson, Rasband, 

Stevenson, Renlund, Gong, and Soares. 

Those are the Twelve  Apostles. 

Refer back the activity at the beginning. Explain that the prophet and his apostles are like the people who get to peek inside the bag. They can receive additional knowledge because they have been called by God. Just like in ancient times when Christ called His apostles, these men have been called to preach to us. In less than one month, we get to hear from these men again in General Conference. Read Matthew 10:40 Explain that when we receive the apostles, it is the same as receiving Jesus and Heavenly Father. How can we receive the apostles? (A good additional scripture for this concept is D&C 1:38.)

Bear your testimony of our living prophet and his apostles. 

Activity: Apostle Match Game

Print the following pictures of the apostles and their names. Cut and glue onto cardstock to make 24 cards for a matching game. Play the game matching the apostles picture to his corresponding name card. 

Closing Song: "We Thank Thee Oh God For a Prophet" (Hymnal, 19)
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment: 

Chocolate Mint Puppy Chow

Ingredients

2 (8.5oz) bags of Andes Mints unwrapped
10 c. Chex Mix
2 c. powdered sugar
1 (8oz) bag mint m&ms

Instructions

1. In microwave, melt Andes chocolates together for one minute, stir and continue melting in 30 second intervals until smooth (mine took a total of 2 minutes).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal with melted chocolate. Folding with a large wooden spoon until all cereal is coated.
3. In a large, gallon sized ziploc bag, add powdered sugar. Spoon in chocolate cereal mixture. Seal bag and shake until powdered sugar is coating all the cereal completely. Pour onto a large piece of wax paper and allow chocolate to set (about 20 minutes). Combine candies with chex and store in an airtight container. ENJOY!