Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21) | Games

This parable talks about the two sons and encourages us to reassess, to be willing to change our mind, to question our answers. The games therefore link to these key ideas and sprinkled in there is the idea of two, matching two, and counting.

Yes/No

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Under 7’s

Any sized group icon

Any size group

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No Setup time

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Noisy game

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Space needed

Ask the youngster(s) “can you…(insert action)” and have them shout out yes or no. Then specify a single child and say “X will you….(insert action demonstrate or mime)”. Examples – Can you do a star jump? Can you whistle? Can you tidy your room? Saying you can/will and doing are different things.

Pairs

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All Ages

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Small group

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Requires setup time

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Quiet game

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Can be seated

Print this little pair’s set and see if you can match them all up and say how they relate to the parable of the two sons. Pairs is played by having all the cards faced down. Players take turns in flipping two cards hoping to get them to match, matches are left face up, non-matches are returned to face down and the next player tries. Access the PDF by clicking on the image.

Second answer

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All Ages

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Any size group

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Requires setup time

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Quiet game

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Can be seated

A simple guessing game. Hide some small prizes under many cups — there must be more cups than prizes. Ask a child to guess how many prizes there are. Turn over 1 cup or remove an empty cup. Would they like to change their answer? Talk about how we change our beliefs when new information appears.

Stop/Freeze

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All Ages

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Any size group

No setup-time required icon

No Setup time

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Noisy game

Suitable for seated groups icon

Can be seated

This is a great game just to get the wiggles out. Start but shouting out an action (walk, wiggle, hop etc) and let the kids begin to make it their own movements. Give them a few seconds, then shout Freeze! Award the most interesting pose with a high five and start again. Talk about how the kids changed the starting instruction to make it their own, how do we change from one viewpoint to another.

Simon says

Age group recommendation icon

Under 7’s

Any sized group icon

Any size group

No setup-time required icon

No Setup time

Noisy game icon

Noisy game

Space needed icon

Space needed

Use this classic following directions game to link to how the sons did or did not follow the fathers’ request or their reply.

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