Taking Tea with Tax Collectors
AGE: Primary |
THEME: St Matthew: Taking Tea with Tax Collectors |
BACKGROUND: |
| On September 21st, Christians remember Matthew, the Apostle and Evangelist. In this act of worship, pupils are introduced to Matthew's story as he first encounters Jesus and decides to become one of his followers. You can read about Matthew's encounter with Jesus in Matthew 9:9-13. |
PREPARATION: |
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INTRODUCTION: |
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Begin by showing the biographies you have brought with you. Talk about what a biography is. Choose someone the pupils all know - it could be a celebrity or it could be someone from your school. What kinds of things would the children put into a biography of this person? Ask what the children would put into their own biography - how would they like to be remembered? Shift the focus to the copy of the Bible open at St Matthew's Gospel. The Gospels are like biographies of Jesus. There are four Gospels and the one that appears first is Matthew's Gospel (although it is not the first one to be written). September 21st is a special day when Christians remember St Matthew. Not very much is known about Matthew. There are just a few verses in his Gospel that tell the story of how he became a follower of Jesus. |
DEVELOPMENT - MATTHEW'S STORY: |
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Before Matthew knew Jesus he was called Levi. He was very unpopular because he was a tax collector. This meant he worked for the Romans. Tax collectors were often very greedy and would cheat people by charging them too much money. Levi was no exception; all he wanted to do was make money and become very rich. One day he met Jesus and Jesus asked him to become one of his followers. Everyone was surprised that Jesus had even spoken to Matthew. They could not understand why Jesus was befriending him; they were even more surprised when Matthew agreed. Jesus accepted Matthew's invitation to go to his house to have a meal with his friends. (To many onlookers, this was a shocking thing for Jesus to do - tax collectors were considered to be outcasts.) From this extraordinary day, Levi became known as Matthew, which means 'gift of the Lord'. He left behind his old life, his wealth and power, and gave up everything to become one of Jesus' followers. He devoted his life to telling others about Jesus and he wrote down his story of Jesus' life, called the Gospel of Matthew. It is the first book in the New Testament. |
REFLECTION: |
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Light a candle on the focus table and place the Bible next to it. Project the OHT of three money bags. As you light the candle, say... 'Matthew is often pictured with the symbol of three money bags as a reminder that he was a hated tax collector until he became one of Jesus' followers and found peace.' |
PRAYER: |
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Make us worthy Lord to serve others and by our understanding love bring peace and joy. |
SONGS: |
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'Love is something' No.16 in Come and Praise Beginning, BBC Educational Publishing 'The best gift' No.59 in Come and Praise 1, BBC Educational Publishing |
FOLLOW-UP IDEAS: |
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