Lessons Archives - Page 34 of 112 - Jesus Without Language

This story of the Canaanite woman is an encounter of healing, of acceptance, of determination and of an unlikely party receiving the abundance of God’s love. These games play on the idea that the Canaanite woman didn’t appear to belong in this narrative, as well as the words Jesus used in the passage about dogs and tables. There are a variety of games, suitable for different sized groups and spaces.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Table roll

Under 7’s

Small group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

You will need a big table for this one and some small balls, ball pit balls or table tennis balls would be ideal. Pour the balls over the table. Have the kids positioned under or around the table with baskets to catch them when they drop off the edges.

That doesn’t fit

Ages 7+

Big group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Can be seated

Split the group into teams of 5-7. Each team has to choose a theme and then pick items that will support that theme and one red herring. Teams take it in turns to present their items, one per person, to the whole group and the other teams have to work out the red herring and why.
Examples.
Group of 5 – red, yellow, pink, purple, orange – the odd one out is yellow because it doesn’t contain red.
Group of 7 – James, Peter, Paul, Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, Judas – the odd one out is Paul as he wasn’t one of the 12.

Whose zoo

All Ages

Any size group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Select a child to be the zookeeper and send them out of the room, each child selects an animal to be and shares their animal noise and movement with the group. Have the children move around the room. Invite the zookeeper back in and say the animals have escaped, they will come back (to their seats) if the zookeeper calls out their animal names.

This is for

All Ages

Any size group

No Setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

The aim of this game is to collect attributes. The first child/team to have 5 wins. The attributes can be anything – wearing a colour, having a sibling, going to a certain school, a size of shoe, being taller than your neighbour etc. Very few of these you can control, just like the woman didn’t choose her religion or birthplace.

Find Jesus

Under 7’s

Small group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

A classic game of hide the thimble but with a small picture of Jesus. The woman searched for Jesus too.

The Canaanite woman fell to her knees, begging Jesus to help her – this craft captures that moment. The way the craft folds makes the viewer the third party in the encounter, seeing both the face of Jesus and that of the woman. It’s a simple craft, the hardest part is cutting out the smaller pieces, so you may want to do that in advance for very young groups.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, and some paper glue.

Cut out all the pieces – if you want the best results, slightly trim the edge lines off the small glue tabs.

Fold the background in half along the dotted line – printing on the inside.

Fold all the tabs on the smaller pieces. The folds all go with the printing on the inside.

Glue the hands together, so the printed side is showing.

Add the arms onto the background either side of the Canaanite woman’s shoulders – so the tabs are visible.

Finally, add in the speech bubble in the same way as the arms.

The finished piece should stand up.

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A4 size
(210 x 297 mm)

Download colour Download no colour

These are the Character resources provided for: Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15)

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

For each passage, there is a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page. All other graphics are extra’s!

Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).

These images are NOT copyright free.

These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only.
Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decorations, big screen presentations, flannel graphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group.
You may not use them in products you are going to sell (both printed and digital). Nor may you upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos.
Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.

This passage is sometimes avoided in kids ministry circles because it seems Jesus’ actions are derogatory, he appears to insult the woman and those who do not come from the Jewish nation. It’s certainly a discussion older children may want to have as to why Jesus chooses to use this soft insult. But this passage contains a much bigger challenge for churches today, the challenge to include the outsider, to allow God’s abundance to spill over the edges of the table we set.

This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.

Main Passage : Matthew 15

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Jesus and his friends had left the crowds behind and gone for a walk somewhere different. Jesus hadn’t done any miracles in this gentile area, so the people didn’t know him — or that’s what the disciples thought.

They hadn’t been walking for long when a woman rushed towards them.“Lord” she called, breathing heavily as she ran, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me”

The disciples looked uncomfortable. This local woman wasn’t one of the chosen people, she wasn’t an Israelite. Why was she bothering Jesus?

“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me, My daughter is suffering terribly.” Now she was alongside them, but Jesus still didn’t say anything. He was watching the disciples.

“Jesus, send her away” called one of the disciples, “Yes, do send her away” said another. “She won’t stop, we don’t want this woman crying out at us all day” Jesus stopped walking and turned around.

“I was sent for the lost of Israel” said Jesus, but before he could say another word, the woman had pushed through the people and knelt at his feet. “Lord help me” she begged.

Jesus looked around him, he was going to teach his disciples something very important, and he wanted to make sure they were listening.

“Is it not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs?” said Jesus. None of the disciples had a chance to answer because the woman at the feet of Jesus answered first.

“Yes Lord it is” she said as loudly as she could manage. The whole gathering grew quiet. She wasn’t insulted, she was fighting for her daughter the only way she knew. Jesus smiled and nodded, “go on” he whispered.

“Even the dogs get the crumbs from under the table”, said the woman, her voice now shaky. Jesus reached down to help the woman up, “You have great faith” Jesus said, “Go home, your daughter is well.”

Jesus looked at his friends. Did they realise what the woman had shown them? Did they realise how God’s love was bigger than just one people? That’s God’s love for the world was so huge it would overflow just like the crumbs would fall from the table.

Today’s heroes is the Canaanite Woman because she shows us the gift of Abundance

This passage can feel a little abstract as it relies on symbolism, so the activities suggested here stick pretty solidly with exploring bread. For the older kids we can spread out to the ideas of symbolism and the confusion of the crowd. There are some printable ideas here as well to try to give you variety without moving away on a tangent.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Bread dominoes

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Print this sheet of dominoes and play a round. It’s a small set, so double up if you have extra kids. Grab the printout by clicking on the picture. The PDF is accessible by clicking on the picture.

Crumbs

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Jesus’ teaching was full of really obvious hints about his future, but the disciples didn’t see it. Set up a treasure to find crumbs (words) that make up the phrase – I am the bread of life (6 words)

I give, you ask

All Ages

Small group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Can be seated

This is an association word game that you take turns playing. The first person says “I give you…” followed by an object, the next one replies “I ask for…” followed by a slightly different object. The objects must be linked but not the same, you also can’t repeat an object. Play in pairs or a large circle.
Example : I give you bread, I ask for butter, I give you jam, I ask for fruit, I give you salad, I ask for meat…

Bread buddies

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Bread is remarkable and can be used to sculpt shapes out of, cut with cookie cutters and stuck together. Use a few slices of bread to make a bread character.

Whispers

Under 7’s

Any size group

No Setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

(A classic game sometimes known as Chinese whispers) The crowd in the story went off on a tangent by discussing and arguing among themselves rather than listening to what Jesus was really saying. This classic game of passing along whispered messages from one person to another illustrated that perfectly. Sit in a circle near enough the other players so you can lean in a whisper the chosen message and the rest of the group won’t hear.

This bread of life craft uses the classic split-pin wheel to reveal the message. It’s a super simple craft and great for younger groups or groups who like to colour.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, split pin (brad), and a hole punch or awl.

Add colour onto your design if necessary, and cut out the two pieces.

Where the small dotted circles indicate, make a hole.

Push the split pin through the bread and then the backing circle and open out the arms.

Spin your creation!

Help keep the free items on this site free by donating. This site supports my family as we live by God's great economy.

Donate in UK pounds

Donate in US dollars

Donate in euros

A4 size
(210 x 297 mm)

Download colour Download no colour

This bread of life craft is all about piecing together the parts and while the final product may look simple, it’s easy to get it muddled. You can make it more sturdy by backing it onto thicker card, though it works with just paper too.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.