House of Prayer (Jesus clear’s the Temple)

One day Jesus went to the temple to pray. When He arrived, He was angry with what He saw. We read this account in Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48 and John 2:12-24.

Key points:

• We need to remove things which do not honor God,
• Jesus wants our lives to be filled by Him,
• We should not get distracted from what is most important.

Lesson Guide – House of Prayer

Show a clip of a busy marketplace. Alternately, you could visit a market during the week with your child. Try to speak about the senses. Is loud or quiet? What does it smell like? Is there lots to see and distract you? Ask your child if they think it would be easy to pray, read the Bible and learn about Jesus in a busy market.

Share how Jesus worshipped God in the temple similarly to how we worship God in a church building. Speak about how wonderful it is that we can worship God in church and learn about Him. Share how you look forward to spending time with God and His people.

Explain that when Jesus went to the temple, He saw lots of things he did not like. There were men selling animals and changing money right inside the temple. People were trying to make money from others desire to worship God.

Ask your child how they feel when different things happen. For example, 1) when you give them a gift, 2) when someone calls them a bad name, 3) when someone breaks their toy, 4) when you hug them and so on.

Share how these chapters of the Bible show a side of Jesus we don’t often see. Jesus is angry when he sees people selling and making money in the temple and clears them out quickly. Share how Jesus had a righteous anger. He was not angry by how people treated Him, but how they were treating God the Father and others.

Ask your child to complete a challenging activity. It could be counting, writing, or completing a jigsaw. First let them do it with peace and next time, make a lot of noise and try to distract them. Explain how the moneychangers were distracting people from the worship of God. Think about things which distract us from worshipping God.

Using a large piece of paper (lining or baking paper works well, alternatively use chalk or tape), create a life size outline of your child. Write some good actions and bad actions on cards. Ask your child to decide if the action is healthy or not. They should put the good things inside the outline and the bad things outside the outline.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:16. Explain that the Bible tells us that we are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in us.

Remind your children that their bodies represent temples which they must keep clean as Jesus did his Father’s temple. Sometimes we need to remove unhealthy things from our lives.

Pray together and thank God that He lives in you. Ask Him to help you remove things from your life which don’t honor Him.

Video lesson for children

Free Printable Bible Story

Games and activities

Sort out

Invite your child to help you sort out their toy box, paper pile, clothes or a kitchen drawer. Arrange the piles into things to keep, things to give away, things to recycle and things to throw away.

Think about how things start out clear but become cluttered. Share how we need to remove things from our life which distract us from God.

Set up a Market stall

Set up a small market stall and allow your child to have some pretend play. Help them to find items to sell on their stall and to create price labels for the objects.

Play with them and buy items from their shop. Help them to count the coins for the correct amount.

Creative prayer

Remind your child how wonderful it is that we can pray and talk to God. Speak about how we need to be careful not to forget God each day, like the people forgot Him in the temple. Set up some creative prayer ideas to do with your child throughout the week or use this week’s craft.

Worksheets

Free Bible Coloring Pages – House of Prayer

Craft – House of Prayer (Prayer box)

Help your child to write some prayers and post them in the prayer box.

What you need:

• Template page
• A cereal or cardboard box
• Coloring pencils
• Glue
• Scissors
• Craft knife

What to do:

1. Scale the template page to fit a cereal box or cut out the windows and doors. Colour parts.
2. Glue the template parts and paper onto the box to make a house. Leave space to cut a slot.
3. Adult – Cut out the post slot.

“My house will be called a house of prayer.” Matthew 21:13

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Translations