The parable of the talents is a simple story for younger groups, we invest our ‘talent’ and it will grow, or we bury it and it will remain the same. This craft is basic for younger kids too, make a bag that contains your talent!
The use of the word talents in this story allows a beautiful double meaning. We are all blessed with talents and yet not equally, or at least not equally in our eyes. This story tries to keep to the idea that a talent was an actual sum of money and that is how Jesus’ listeners would have heard it, only bringing in the double meaning at the end.
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 25:14-30
Have you ever imagined what you would do if you were given a lot of money? That’s what happened in a parable Jesus told…
“There was once a rich man, and he was going on a very long trip. He wanted to keep his money safe, so he decided he would split it up and put it in many places. He called his three top servants to help.
The rich man had 8 bags of gold. Each bag measured one talent worth, that’s the same as 10 years’ wages. He gave the first servant 5 bags, the second servant 2 bags, and the last servant 1 bag, to look after. Then he left to travel.
The three servants looked at their money. What would they do with it? When the master returned, would he be pleased?
The first servant took his talent of money and went to work. He worked hard, using the money to make more money, the second servant did the same.
A long time passed and the master returned. He called the three servants and asked what they had done. The first presented the master with his five talents of gold and five more he had made.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
Along came the Second servant. He returned the master’s two talents and two more he had made.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
In came the third servant, carrying his one talent. He returned it to the master. He explained that he had kept it safe by burring it in the ground. The master was furious that the servant had not even tried to use the talent. He took the money from the servant and threw him out of the house.”
Perhaps we don’t have a talent for money, but what talents do we have? How can we use them?
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.
The main element in the parable of the 10 bridesmaids is not the bridesmaids but the oil for their lamps. This craft ties into that by letting the youngsters associate oil with revealing, as the lamps would have illuminated and revealed the world in the dark.
To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, some coloured paper (tissue paper is perfect, but any paper will work), a glue stick, a paintbrush, and some oil (any oil will work).
Cut out the main framed shape.
Glue your colours on the back. The only area you need to cover is where the objects are, but you could cover the whole space.
Turn your creation over – at this point make sure you are working on a surface you can clean oil off – a plastic tray or varnished table you can wipe is ideal.
Dip your paintbrush in the oil and start to fill the centre of the shapes. The paper should turn translucent pretty instantly.
Fill both shapes with oil. You can also fill the numbers. Please beware the oil will continue to spread — after 24 hours, this picture had a spread of around 2 cm away from the edge of the painted area.
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This passage is sometimes called the 10 virgins or the 10 bridesmaids: what we know about this is that they were young girls. A gaggle of girls waiting with the bride would probably be quite a fun, if not exhausting, way to spend an evening, it’s not surprising they fell asleep. Here is a selection of games that tie into various elements of the story, choose the one that would best suit your group, age range and setup.
Hidden light
Under 7’s
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Play ‘hide the object’ with use a torch or glow stick. How easy was it to find? Was it easier to find when the room was brighter? Did its light make it easier to discover?
Bridesmaid Search
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
A printable pairs game available by clicking on the image. Play classic pairs or use the scoring system written out on the page to try to beat your opponent.
Running out of oil
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
If you have access to a water friendly space, this is a fun game. The aim is to float a candle in a container by filling it with water. You may not touch the candle, though you can blow it off the top of the container. Give each child a cup they can fill with water and have them run back and forth from the water source. Make it a bit more challenging by making a few small holes in the base of the container!
He’s arrived
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
When the music stops, someone knocks on the door and the groom arrives, but don’t let him find you sleeping. Each pair of kids shares a dice, taking it in turns to roll. If they roll a 5 or 6, they fall asleep — sit/lay down. A roll of 1 or 2 wakes both people up — kneel/stand up. Make sure you have a third person to randomly stop the music or set a timer if you only have 2–3 kids. As a group game, all those asleep are out for the next round.
I Packed My Bag
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
This classic game, also called “when I went to grandma’s” is a memory game listing all the things you’d take with you. Take it in turns to recite the whole list of items in the bag before listing a further item. How many can you remember?
