VERSES: Luke 10:38-42
MEMORY VERSE: Luke 10:42 "But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review the first five books of the Old Testament.
PRAYER: Pray that we will always choose the spiritual things in this life and treasure them up in our hearts.
SPECIAL SONG: Mary, Martha, And Lazarus (See May 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #5. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: TV Box (see February 2014 - Visual Aid #1 for instructions)
LESSON POINTS:
- Jesus was popular during the time we are studying right now. Because of His teachings and healing, there were always great crowds around Jesus. The people were eager to hear what Jesus had to say because He taught as one who had authority (Matthew 7:29). It did not matter what city or village Jesus traveled through, there were always crowds of people who needed healing, such as blind people or lame people.
- Jesus was the Son of God, but He was the also the Son of Man or was human and, because He was human, He got tired and needed to be alone at times. We can read how Jesus sometimes went into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1) or on a mountain (Matthew 5:1) or in a boat (Matthew 13:1, 2) to get away from the crowds of people.
- When Jesus traveled through the village of Bethany, there were no hotels or motels. There were a few inns where there were rooms to rent, but they cost money and Jesus and His disciples did not have much money. So, when a woman named Martha invited Jesus to come to her, her sister, Mary, and her brother, Lazarus' house (John 11:1), Jesus accepted her hospitality. While Jesus was staying in their home, Martha was overcome with attending to the food that she had prepared and felt a little frustrated. She came to Jesus to complain about her sister, Mary, who was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to what Jesus was teaching and not helping her. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Please tell her to come and help me."
- Jesus surprised Martha with His answer. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen that good part that will not be taken away from her."
- It is always good to be kind and hospitable, but Jesus said that there is something better than hospitality and that was to hear the words of Jesus. At this time, Martha was concerned with earthly bread, but Mary was interested in spiritual bread, the bread of life. Choosing to listen to Jesus' words is still more important today than serving people.
"Older Student" Tips:
- This a great lesson in making wise choices. Mary made the right choice in hearing Jesus' teachings, but Martha made a bad choice in choosing to worry about serving.
- Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were friends of Jesus and there is a miracle that we will study concerning this family in the near future.
ACTIVITY: Who Chose The Better Part?
Materials needed: 9" x 12" dark green construction paper, two 5" x 5" yellow squares, two 3" x 4" white rectangles, one 2" x 9" long white strip of paper, crayons, marker.
- Hand out dark green paper.
- Fold 2" down on top edge of green paper.
- Fold green paper in half.
- Unfold paper.
- Draw a black line on fold lines.
- Hand out one yellow square.
- Draw and color a picture of Martha in the kitchen preparing food.
- Write "Martha" at the bottom of her dress.
- Glue Martha's picture on the left side of the green paper, just under the black line (see picture above).
- Hand out other yellow square.
- Draw and color a picture of Lazarus in a chair and Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to Jesus speak.
- Write "Mary" on Mary's dress, "Lazarus" on Lazarus' robe, and "Jesus" on Jesus' robe.
- Glue Mary's picture on the right side of the green paper, just under the black line (see picture above).
- Hand out long white strip of paper.
- Write "Who Chose The Better Part?" and "Luke 10:38-42" on the white strip of paper.
- Glue white strip of paper at the top of the green paper.
- Hand out one white rectangle of paper.
- Fold in half, lengthwise.
- With folded edge on top, write "Martha?"
- Inside Martha's white paper, write "No."
- Glue the back of Martha's white paper to the bottom left side of the green paper under Martha's picture
- Hand out other white rectangle of paper.
- Fold in half, lengthwise.
- With folded edge on top, write "Mary?"
- Inside Mary's white paper, write "Yes."
- Glue the back of Mary's white paper to the bottom right side of the green paper under Mary's picture.
- Choose students to tell Martha and Mary's point of views in this lesson before leaving class.