Jesus Calls Levi to Follow Him

Sunday, May 10th, 2020

Read

Read through Mark 2:13-17 with your child(ren).

Watch

Watch the video below created by Saddleback Kids!

https://youtu.be/xgy6TWuUkK0

Discuss

  • Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector and people did not like tax collectors, because they did things that were not right. Take a minute to explain what a tax collector is and why they weren’t liked.

    *OBJECT LESSON: Give them a handful of coins or objects. Say you are the tax collector and they have to give you a certain amount of items/coins. When they give it to you, tell them that you actually need more and take more items. This is sort of what tax collectors did. No wonder people didn’t like them!

  • Jesus went to eat dinner at Levi’s house and the Pharisee’s couldn’t believe Jesus was eating with sinners and cheaters. This was not new for Jesus, because Jesus hung out with everyone. Do you spend time with people who aren’t like you? What about people who don’t believe what you believe? What if you HATE peas and someone LOVES peas? Would you stop hanging out with them? Just because people are different doesn’t mean they don’t need God’s love. The message of Jesus is for EVERYONE! Ask them to think of someone to share Jesus with this week.

  • Levi follows Jesus and becomes one of Jesus’ disciples. His name got changed to Matthew and he even wrote a book in the Bible. Can you believe that this was the guy that everyone hated?? God can change our lives just like this. He takes all our icky-ness, all the yucky sin in our heart and gives us clean hearts if we follow him! Share your story with your kiddos if they don’t know it already.

  • We are all sinners, just like Levi in this story, but God sent his son, Jesus, to die for us so that our sin might be forgiven. It’s the best news!

The words/concepts below were touched on in the video and text that your child(ren) heard but may not fully understand. We encourage you to discuss them.

  • Tax collector

  • Cheaters

  • Sinners

  • Disciple

  • Pharisee

Questions (Ages 3-11)

  • What was Levi’s job?

  • What did Jesus ask Levi to do?

  • Who is the message of Jesus for?

  • What is your favorite part of the story?

Activities

People Craft

Use this craft as a way to remind your child(ren) that everyone needs to hear the message of Jesus. Have several magazines available for your child(ren) to cut pictures of people out of.  Have them cut out people and glue them to a piece of paper. Write “Everyone Needs Jesus” somewhere on the piece of paper. 

Coloring Sheets

Hide and Go Tell Game

  • The seeker should be like a disciple going out to find people to tell about Jesus. When the seeker finds someone hiding, they have to tell that person one thing they know about Jesus. 

 
April Medina