Matthew 24 is a well-known but I believe largely misunderstood chapter.
Memory Verse: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14, NKJV.
Materials needed to create the Gospel to the Nations quiet book page:
- A4 felt background sheet - I used black
- this Globe Colouring Page from Colouring Home
- felt in dark/mid blue and light green
- about 40cm of 9mm wide ribbon, preferably with edging that resembles train tracks
- train button
- hot glue and glue gun (optional)
- sewing thread to best match the page
- scissors!
Use the colouring page as a template and create pattern pieces by cutting out each piece. Print it as many times as you need to.
Cut out the large world circle of blue felt - sew it down to more blue felt and cut it out again.
Choose a green felt that goes well with your blue felt, and a ribbon for the train. I would have chosen the black ribbon with white stitching above, but it wasn't quite long enough. I think it looks a bit like train tracks.
Cut out the land pieces from the green felt (remember to place them upside down if you are planning to draw around them so the drawing is on the wrong side). Position them on your blue world and sew down.
Measure the amount of ribbon required to circle the world easily and cut and melt the edges - see my post on
How to Stop Ribbons Fraying.
Lay the ends of the ribbon on top of each other beneath the train button and sew it on in place. You can hand sew or set your machine to zig zag setting and adjust the width to fit the button holes and set the length to zero and sew. I added a little hot glue to the back of the stitching just to be sure.
Position your world on your background page with the ribbon around it. Sew down the world along the top and bottom edges, leaving the sides open to allow the train and ribbon to slide through.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.
A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
- Matthew 24 - it is our job to take the Gospel to the nations
- Imaginative Play - pull the train around the world and take the Gospel to the nations
- String Pull - pull the train around the world and watch it disappear behind the far edge and re-appear at the other
- Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
- Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Read the Chapter
Matthew 24Devotional
Much of this chapter is about the destruction of Jerusalem and The Second Temple in 70AD. The Parable of the Fig Tree is about this too, and is often misunderstood. Perhaps the most important sentence in this chapter relating to the very end of time in which we find ourselves is that the gospel will go to the nations, and then the end will come.
It is our duty to take the gospel to the nations, not to worry about what terrible things may befall us. Jesus promises to be with us to the very end of the age - so what do we need to fear? I feel it is selfishness which drives us to prepare for the end by buying property in the country or hills so we can run to it in the future trials. Selfishness is never something that should be motivating us, therefore the theology behind it must be wrong.
Ultimately, what we need to worry about is if we took the gospel to the nations. If we spent all our time worrying about our future instead, it will be something to be ashamed of - but if we spend our time preparing others to enter Heaven, God will take care of us and we won't need to worry about anything that may or may not happen to us down here. In reality it doesn't matter - God can resurrect, restore, and re-build.
