Matthew 15 · Grade 4

Lips and Hearts

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Read and Think

Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem. They accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the elders' tradition, because they did not wash their hands before eating. Jesus turned the question around. Their rule let people avoid caring for their parents. So their tradition cancelled God's command to honor father and mother.

Jesus quoted Isaiah: "These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." Then He explained that what enters the mouth goes into the stomach, but what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. Evil thoughts and evil deeds come from the heart. They make a person unclean.

In the region of Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman cried, "Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David!" She humbly kept asking, saying even the dogs eat crumbs from their masters' table. Jesus answered, "Woman, great is your faith!" Her daughter was healed from that hour. Later, Jesus healed great crowds and fed four thousand with seven loaves and a few fish.

Show What You Know

How had the Pharisees' tradition cancelled God's command?
What did Isaiah say about people's lips and hearts?
Where do evil thoughts and actions come from, according to Jesus?
What did the Canaanite woman's answer about crumbs show?

Think About It

Is it possible to say the right things about God while our hearts are far from Him? How can we guard our hearts?
The Canaanite woman kept asking. What does her example teach you about prayer?

Memory Verse

“But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.”

Matthew 15:18 (WEB)

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Prayer

Dear God, thank You for this Bible story. Help me to . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

How can you love God from the inside, not just by rules?
How can you welcome people from other places?