The Calling of Levi Sunday School Lesson
The Calling of Levi Sunday School Lesson for Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
We have a choice whether or not we will follow Jesus.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will be encouraged to ask Jesus to be their Savior.
KEY PASSAGE:
Mark 2:13-17, The Calling of Levi
MEMORY VERSE:
“You are the children that God dearly loves. So follow his example.” Ephesians 5:1 (NIrV)
SUMMARY:
In the fun size, there's only one so you don't have to choose between the right or the left Twix. Kids will learn that Jesus has specially chosen each and every one of us to follow him and enjoy life with him. The choice we get to make is whether we will follow Jesus to have a life of joy or choose a life of sin, which leads to sadness.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for choosing us!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children.” Ephesians 5:1 (NIV)
“You are the children that God dearly loves. So follow his example.” Ephesians 5:1 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Put the verse on the big screen and read it aloud with the kids.
SMALL GROUP:
Have each of the kids read or repeat the verse in a spooky monster voice.
SKIT
WHICH TWIX IS IT, LADY?
ITEMS NEEDED:
A Halloween costume, a fun size Twix, a Trick or Treat bag, a bucket of candy
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
1M, 1F
CHARACTERS:
Jake - A trick-or-treater
Candace - A neighbor
Candace is standing on stage with a bucket of candy. Jake enters.
JAKE: Trick or treat!
CANDACE: Oh what a great costume!
Candace puts some candy in Jake’s bucket.
CANDACE: Here you go. Happy Halloween!
JAKE: Wait just a minute!
CANDACE: What’s wrong?
Jake pulls the Twix out of his bag.
JAKE: Is this a left Twix or a right Twix?
CANDACE: Is it a what?
JAKE: Is this a left Twix or a right Twix?
CANDACE: It’s a Twix.
JAKE: I can see that. What I want to know is, is this a left Twix or a right Twix?
CANDACE: It’s a fun size. There is no right or left.
JAKE: Don’t play games with me, lady. There are right Twix bars and left Twix bars. One is made in the left Twix factory, one is made in the right Twix factory. Now which is it?
CANDACE: Does it really matter?
JAKE: Yes it matters! Left Twix bars taste better than right Twix bars! The cookie is crunchier, the caramel is gooey-er, the chocolate tastes better.
CANDACE: I really don’t think there’s a difference.
JAKE: Lady, I have a refined palate when it comes to candy. I can tell a left Twix from a right Twix. I’m going to know what this is the minute I bite into it, and if it’s a right Twix, well, I might never trick or treat here again.
CANDACE: I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that.
JAKE: Why not??
CANDACE: It’s a fun size Twix. The people of Twix have taken all the guess work and choosing out of this by giving you a fun size bar. It’s not right, it’s not left. It’s Twix. The only choice you have to make is whether you eat it or not.
JAKE: Wow, where have I heard that before? Oh I know! At church!
CANDACE: Church?
JAKE: Yeah! At church I learned that Jesus chose me to be one of his followers, and it’s my choice whether or not I follow him.
CANDACE: You got all that out of a Twix? Wow.
JAKE: Twix is a powerful candy.
CANDACE: I guess so.
JAKE: And the left Twix is way more powerful—
CANDACE: Look, if you’re not gonna eat the Twix, give it here. I’ll eat it. You can have an Almond Joy.
JAKE: Oh no! I’ll take my chance on the Twix, thank you.
CANDACE: And what about Jesus?
JAKE: Jesus? That’s a no brainer. I’m gonna follow him all my life!
OBJECT LESSON
ITEMS NEEDED:
A fun size Twix
When you buy a full size packet of Twix, how many candy bars do you get? You get two, don’t you? There’s a left Twix, and a right Twix. By show of hands, which one do you think is better? Who likes the left one better? Who likes the right better?
I don’t know whether there’s really a difference between the left Twix and the right Twix, but when it comes to fun size Twix bars, there is no left and right. There’s only one Twix in the wrapper. That means you only have one choice to make. Instead of choosing left or right, you can choose to eat the candy or go without. I doubt any of us here is going to go without a Twix!
Twix bars can remind us of the choice God gave us. God has chosen us to be his people, and he has a plan for all of our lives. The only choice we have is whether or not we want to follow Jesus. God’s not going to force us to do it any more than your parents will force you to eat a Twix bar, but when you consider all God has offered us, why wouldn’t you choose Jesus?
God’s taken all the guesswork out of this. He’s chosen us. He's given us the choice. Following Jesus is sweeter than any fun size candy bar you’ll ever eat!
LARGE GROUP GAME
LEFT OR RIGHT?
ITEMS NEEDED:
Twix bars
Blindfolds
INSTRUCTIONS:
Choose three kids for this game. One at a time, put a blindfold on the kids. Hand them a Twix bar - either a right or a left. Let them take a bite, and then try to guess whether they are eating a left or right Twix. If they get it right, they win the rest of that bar and the other Twix from the package.
VARIATION:
As a trick question, give one of the kids a fun size Twix. See if they get it.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
God gave us the choice to follow him.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
We have a choice whether or not we will follow Jesus.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will be encouraged to ask Jesus to be their Savior.
KEY PASSAGE:
Mark 2:13-17, The Calling of Levi
INTRO:
Let’s be honest for a moment: not all candy is created equal. In just a few weeks, you will be going out in your neighborhoods, dressed in costumes, carrying sacks that you intend to fill with candy. Some of those candies will be good, and others, not so good. For example, how many of you have ever picked up those little flavored Tootsie Rolls? You know, the small Tootsie Rolls that come in flavors like orange. Or lime. Or vanilla. Has anyone ever eaten one of those things? Not exactly the best candy in the bag.
Thankfully, on Halloween, you’ll get so much candy that there’s bound to be some good stuff mixed in with the bad. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll come home with a whole bunch of fun size candy bars. From Snickers to Milky Way to 3 Musketeers to Twix, there’s nothing better than getting a mini-version of your favorite candy bar. Those fun size bars are the inspiration for our new series, Fun Size Faith!
Today’s theme candy is the Twix bar. Twix is one of the most unique candy bars, not only because it has a cookie crunch, but when you buy a full-size pack, you get two candy bars! Twix commercials would have us to believe that the left and right Twixes are not identical, but completely different. Some people prefer the left Twix. Some prefer the right. It’s up to us to decide which one is better and which one to eat first.
With fun size Twix bars, the guesswork is taken away. You only get one Twix in a fun size wrapper. The only choice you have with a fun size Twix is to eat or not to eat. Not a hard choice to make, is it?
God has given us a choice to make as well. You see God has chosen us to be his children. He sent his son to die for us and offer us forgiveness of sins and a new life. The choice we have to make is the choice a man Levi makes in today’s scripture: will we choose Jesus, or will we reject him?
READ MARK 2:13-17
MAIN POINT:
Levi - who the Bible tells us was also named Matthew - was a Jew and a tax collector. Tax collectors were not very respected people in Jesus’ time because many of them stole from the people. In spite of this, Jesus went to Levi and invited him to join Jesus’ disciples. Levi was happy to accept!
Jesus came to give us the same choice he gave Levi. We can choose to stay in a life of sin, or we can choose to follow Jesus. The Bible tells us that the punishment for sin is death, separation from God, but the gift of God is eternal life. We can choose sin. Or we can choose Jesus. That’s an even bigger no brainer than deciding whether or not to eat the Twix!
DRIVE IT HOME:
Some of the religious leaders were confused by Jesus’ actions in this story. Why would Jesus choose a sinful person to be one of his followers? Why is Jesus at the house of a tax collector instead of hanging out with the religious leaders?
Jesus answered them with these words: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
God knows that we are all sinners. God also knew that there was nothing we could do to save ourselves from sin. So God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Like a fun-size version of Twix, God has taken the guesswork out of this. We don’t have to choose between a right and left Twix. We must choose whether to eat the Twix, or go without.
In this case if we don’t eat the Twix, we are choosing a life of sadness. Sin is harmful to us, to others, and to God. And sin leads to eternal death and separation from God. If we eat the Twix, we will have our sins forgiven. We will receive Jesus as our Savior. We will have joy in our hearts, and we will have eternal life in Heaven!
Twix is as sweet a candy bar as you’ll find. It’s a one of a kind treat with a cookie crunch, caramel, and milk chocolate. Except for those who have an allergy to chocolate, I doubt there’s a kid anywhere that won’t eat their Twix bars this Halloween. It’s not about right or left. It’s about eating the candy or going without.
God has offered us something sweeter than Twix. He’s offering us new life in Jesus. I hope all of you will choose joy and choose Jesus. When you consider all Jesus did for us, it’s really a no brainer.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for choosing us!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER:
Which one tastes better, the left Twix or the right Twix?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
Ephesians 5:1
Have each of the kids read or repeat the verse in a spooky monster voice.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Pair all the kids up in your group. Have the two teams stand face to face. Each pair of kids will mirror one another, with one person taking the lead and the other copying all their moves. After about half a minute of mirroring, tell the kids to close their eyes. See if they can keep mirroring one another even with their eyes closed.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Mark 2:13-17
What was Levi’s job?
What did Jesus ask Levi to do?
What did people say when Jesus ate with Levi?
What did Jesus say to them?
What choice has Jesus given us?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for coming to be our Savior.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER:
Which one tastes better, the left Twix or the right Twix?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
Ephesians 5:1
Have each of the kids read or repeat the verse in a spooky monster voice.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Pair all the kids up in your group. Have the two teams stand face to face. Each pair of kids will mirror one another, with one person taking the lead and the other copying all their moves. After about half a minute of mirroring, tell the kids to close their eyes. See if they can keep mirroring one another even with their eyes closed.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Mark 2:13-17
What did Jesus ask Levi to do?
Why did the religious leaders question why Jesus ate with Levi?
What did Jesus mean when he said he had come for the sick?
What choice has Jesus given us?
Is anyone ready to make Jesus their Savior today?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for coming to be our Savior.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Noah Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link).
Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Calling of Levi.
Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching the Calling of Levi Sunday School Lesson:
Jesus Called Levi (Matthew)
Bible Lesson: Jesus' Message is for Everyone
Preschool Bible Lesson: Jesus Calls Levi — Ministry-To-Children
Who Needs a Doctor? - Children's Sermons from Sermons4Kids.com