The of the Leaven

Background

Focus: the woman and the leaven (:33)

Material

The gold box for The Parable of the Leaven is on the shelves.

It contains: tan triangular felt underlay 30”X36” paper woman figure 3 round pale yellow paper pieces tiny gold paper triangle paper flask with paper lid 3 paper loaf pieces paper table

Movements Words

Go to the New Testament Watch carefully where I go so you will always know where shelves and bring the gold box to find this lesson. containing The Leaven to the circle.

Place the box in the middle of I wonder if this is a parable? Hmm… It might be. the table. Touch the box gently, are very precious, like gold, and this box is gold. with wonder.

Gently run your hand over the This looks like a present. lid.

Lift the box and admire it like a Well, parables are like presents. They have already been present. given to us. We can’t buy them, or take them, or steal them. They are already ours.

There’s another reason why this might be a parable. It has a lid.

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Trace the lid of the box with Sometimes parables seem to have lids on them. But when your fingers. you lift the lid of a parable, there is something very precious inside.

I know. Let’s take the lid off and see if this is a parable.

Lift the lid and peek inside. Put the lid back on and move the box to your side. Open the lid and prop it against the box so the children aren’t distracted by what’s inside.

Take out the tan underlay with I wonder what this could be? It’s a different color. It’s not wonder and spread it out. really yellow. And it’s not really brown. I wonder what it could be?

Incorporate the children’s It could be a mud puddle… answers into the story. Don’t discuss them.

Sit back a moment… Once there was someone who said such amazing things and did such wonderful things that people began to follow him. As they followed, he told them about a kingdom: the Kingdom of Heaven. But they did not understand. They had never been to such a place. And they didn’t know anyone who had. They didn’t even know where it was. So one day they simply had to ask him, “What is the Kingdom of Heaven like?”

Take the leaven triangle from And he said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven… the box and place it on the lower part of the underlay near the center.

Place the person and table in … which a person took… the center of the underlay. Place the leaven in the person’s hand.

Take the three containers and … and hid… the flask with its lid from the box and place them on the table.

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Move the leaven to the flour and … in three measures of flour. mix them together.

Pour in the water and continue mixing.

Place the partly risen loaf over And as the person waited, it grew… the dough.

Place the half-risen loaf over the … and it grew… dough.

Place the fully risen loaf over … and it grew… till it was all leavened. the dough.

Pause and sit back for a moment, then begin the wondering.

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 I wonder if this loaf has a name?

 I wonder if you could take this loaf of bread and put it back to where it was before the leaven was hidden in it?

 I wonder what the leaven might really be?

 I wonder if this person has a name?

 I wonder what this person was doing while the loaf was being leavened?

 I wonder how this person felt while the loaf was being leavened?

 I wonder if this person spoke any words while the loaf was being leavened?

 I wonder why the person put the leaven in the loaf?

 I wonder if you have ever been close to this table?

 I wonder where this whole place could really be?

 I wonder if you would like to make something that shows how this parable feels to you?

When the wondering is over, begin to place each of the objects back into the parable box with great care. Do not hurry. Name each one as you put it away.

Take the parable box back to its shelf and return to the circle. Help the children decide what work they will get out.

Sonja M. Stewart and W. Berryman, Young Children and Worship (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1989), pp. 160-161.

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