The Lord has more in store for us than we can possibly imagine! But, before He can give us all that He has, we must prepare ourselves to receive it.
In the parable of the talents, the Lord gives a certain number of “talents” to three servants. Two of the servants act in faith. While the Lord is away, they multiply the talents that they were given. The third servant acts in fear, and this servant hides the talent that he had received.
The Lord has also given each one of us many unique gifts and talents, and during our mortal journey we have a choice to make. Will we act in faith? Will we multiply the blessings and talents the Lord has given us? Will we use our talents to bless, serve, and lift others?
If we choose to act in faith, the time will come when the Lord will say to us: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)
LESSON BUNDLE DOWNLOADS:
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 O P E N I N G S O N G : "Give Said the Little Stream"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N
You will need some blocks, paper cups, or some other objects that can be stacked up to build a tower.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Give the children a set of blocks. Challenge them to build a tall castle, but tell them that they live in “Fear Town!” Explain that in “Fear Town,” no one is allowed to stack any blocks on top of each other (because they might fall down!). Set a timer for one minute.
After the timer rings, give the children the same challenge but tell them they now live in “Faith Town!” Explain that in “Faith Town,” anyone is allowed to stack the blocks as much as they want! If the blocks fall over, the people have faith to keep trying!
After the activity, invite the children to return to their seats and discuss the following questions:
1) Did both towns have blocks to use? (Yes!)
2) Which town built the tallest tower? Faith Town? Or Fear Town? (Faith Town!)
3) What was the difference? (Acting in faith instead of fear.)
Explain: As children of Heavenly Father we were all given blocks to build with too! Heavenly Father has given us our life, our health and strength, our mind, our talents, our testimony, and our dreams and goals! But we have a choice to make. We can choose to live in “Fear Town” and not build up our blocks, or we can live in “Faith Town” and try to build our blocks into a life of great joy and to bring glory to God!
(Optional: Give a block to each child as a gift and invite them to use a marker to write the talents and gifts on the block that Heavenly Father has given them!)
🎥 V I D E O : "The Parable of the Talents | Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video about a farmer who had a wheat field. The farmer decides to hire some servants to help him grow more wheat. Let’s see what the servants will do with the seeds that the farmer gives them!”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) Which of the servants lived by faith? (The ones who planted the seeds!)
2) Which of the servants lived by fear? (The one who hid his seed.)
3) What are the seeds a symbol of? (The seeds represent the gifts and talents that Heavenly Father has given to each of us!)
4 ) What does Heavenly Father want us to do with the gifts and talents He has given us? (He wants us to live by faith and to use the gifts and talents to bless and serve others!)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the scriptures below and discuss the questions that follow.
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
1) What do you think it means to be a “faithful servant?” (It means to live by faith, and to not be afraid to try our best!)
2) What did the Lord give to the faithful servant as a reward? (He trusted the faithful servant with many more gifts and talents and blessings!)
3) What are some talents and gifts that the Lord has already given you? (Discuss.)
4) What can you do to build those talents with faith? (Discuss ways that the children can be faithful with their gifts and talents.)
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
1) Did Nephi live by fear? Or by faith? (He was faithful, and he wasn’t afraid to do his best!)
2) Why did Nephi say he was able to have faith? (Because He knew that the Lord would prepare a way and would help Him!)
3) Do you think the Lord will help all of us to do the things He has commanded us to do? (Yes! He will help us and we can have faith in Him just like Nephi!)
Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.
1) Should we be afraid to do good? (No! We should fear not to do good! We should have faith and try our best!)
2) What will happen if we live by faith and try to plant seeds of goodness everywhere? (After a long time, more good will grow all around us!)
➤ C O L O R I N G P A G E S
Pass out the coloring page, one to each child. Invite them to color the scene from the video. Use this time to talk about being faithful with the gifts and talents that the Lord has given to us!
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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