Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 21:28 - 32

Setup:

Lesson

1. Ask a few of the children to share their "new" names that they created in small group time. Explain the following

    Our big idea for today is "Obey all the way." When we do things half way, it's just not very good. Just like those weird nursery rhymes you heard or your strange new names, when we don't do things all the way, things get messed up.

    It's the same way with obeying God. Let's see how God feels when we don't obey all the way.

2. Explain the following:
    Our story is found in the book of Matthew, and it's actually a story Jesus told when he was teaching others about obeying God. This story is about a father and two volunteers.
    Ask for two volunteers to represent the two sons. Since the story doesn't tell the name of the two sons, have each volunteer make up a name for the son they are going to represent. Write each name on a name tag sticker and attach it to the children.
    Write "Father" at the top of the chalk/wipe board. On one side of the board, write one of the son's names. Write the other son's name on the opposite side.
    For each of the references to "Son #1" and "Son #2" in the dialogue below, substitute these names. When reading the father's dialogue, speak like a very old man.

3. Have the children stand off to the side of the teaching area and explain the following:
    There was a father who owned a vineyard and had two sons. A vineyard is a place where people grow grapes. When the grapes were ripe, they could be eaten or made into juice or wine. But these grapes didn't grow big and tasty all by themselves. They needed to be taken care of.
    Now, we can't set up an entire vineyard, or even a big grape vine in this room, so a pot of dirt will have to do for us.
    On the side of the teaching area opposite from the two sons, place the flowerpot, bag of seeds, and water can. Show and describe each of these items to the children as you set them down.
    So, the father called over Son #1. (Have one child come over by you. He is son #1.) He said to his son, "Son #1, will you please go and work in the vineyard today?" But Son #1 said, "No way, old man!" (Have Son #1 repeat this.) And Son #1 walked away from his father. (Have Son #1 return to where he was standing.)
    Since his first son had refused to obey and work in the vineyard, he called over Son #2. (Have the other child come over by you. He is Son #2.) He said to other son, "Son #2, will you please go and work in the vineyard today?" Son #2 look his dad right in the eyes and said, "Sure, no problem, daddy-o!" (Have Son #2 repeat this.) And Son #2 also walked away from his father.

4. Explain the following:
    Now Son #1 was starting to feel bad about saying, "No way, old man!" (Have Son #1 repeat this.) to his father when he asked him to work in the vineyard. He knew that he had disobeyed and done something wrong. So, in order to make it up to his father, he headed to the vineyard to work. (Instruct Son #1 to walk over and stand by the flowerpot, but to not do anything with it yet.)
    When Son #1 got to the vineyard, he noticed someone was missing. His other brother, Son #2, the one who had told his father "Sure, no problem, daddy-o!" (Have Son #2 repeat this.) when he asked him to work in the vineyard, was nowhere to be found.
    Son #2 decided he'd rather take the day off than work in his father's vineyard. Jesus didn't say exactly what he did, but he might've just decided to curl up under a shady tree somewhere and take a nap, so that's what we'll have him do. (Hand the blanket and pillow to Son #2 and have him lay down on the pillow and cover himself up with the blanket).

5. Explain the following:
    Son #1 got to work in the vineyard. He might've had to trim vines or collect grapes in a basket. Regardless, he wanted to please his father after he'd said, "No way, old man!" (Have Son #1 repeat this.) so he worked really hard.
    Have Son #1 plant one of the seeds in the soil, cover it up, and pour some water on it.
    Meanwhile, his brother still hadn't shown up at the vineyard. He might've napped the whole day. He might've gone out to have a bite to eat. If they had movie theaters back then, he might've gone to catch an afternoon movie. We don't know exactly what he did, but we know one thing he definitely didn't do: work in his father's vineyard.

6. Have the two sons stand by you. Explain the following:
    This is where Jesus ended his story. But he wasn't done. He decided to ask the people listening a question. I'll ask the same question to you: which one of these two did what his father wanted? (Allow the children to respond.)
    Although the father was probably upset when Son #1 said, "No way, old man!", (Have Son #1 repeat this.) he certainly was happy that he chose to obey him.
    On the other hand, the father most likely felt pretty good when Son #2 said, "Sure, no problem, daddy-o!". (Have Son #2 repeat this.) But, when he found out that Son #2 hadn't done what he was supposed, I'm sure he was furious!
    Ask the children to return to their seats.

6. Explain the following:
    In this story, the father stands for God. (On the board, write "God" below "Father.") He didn't come to us and ask us to work in a vineyard. But, he has asked us to obey him. He's given us a lot of things he wants us to do. Things like being kind to others, telling the truth, and telling others about him.
    The two sons represent people like you and me. (On the board, write "You and me" in the middle, between the two sons' names.) Some of us are like Son #1. We've done things wrong in the past, but we know we need to change and obey God. (On the board, draw an arrow from "You and me" to Son #1).
    Some of us are like Son #2. We tell God we'll obey him. We tell others that we're a good person. We tell them about all the good things we've done. But, when it comes down to it, especially when nobody's looking, we don't do what God asked, even though we said we would. (On the board, draw an arrow from "You and me" to Son #2).
    God knows that we've all done things wrong before. He knows we're not perfect. But he still wants us to obey him. He doesn't just want us to say that we'll obey him. He wants us to actually do it, to obey all the way!
    So, which son will you be? (On the board, around "You and me", write a bunch of question marks.) Will you be the like Son #1, who made a mistake in the beginning, but decided to obey God all the way. Or will you be like Son #2, who said he was going to obey God, but when the rubber hit the road, he decided to quit and do what he wanted instead?