Ten Virgins Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free ten virgins Sunday school lesson teaches kids that Jesus is coming again, so we want to be ready. In Jesus' parable, ten young women "took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom" (Matthew 25:1). Five were wise and took oil, and five were foolish and took none (25:2–4). At midnight the bridegroom came, "and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut" (25:10). Jesus said, "Watch therefore" (25:13). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a Wake Up! game with paper flames, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("Watch therefore") with a motion, and a lamp to draw and color.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: a Midnight Call game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Pass the Flame memory verse game, and My Ready Lamp.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a Ready Right Now? game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the disciples' question on the mount of Olives, the oil in their vessels, the long wait, the midnight cry and the shut door), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Matthew 24:42–44 and 25:1–13 out loud themselves, then discuss looking ready versus being ready, why readiness can't be borrowed, and God's patience (2 Peter 3:9). Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Matthew 25:13 and Matthew 24:44).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Matthew 25:1–13
• Main point: Jesus is coming again, so I want to be ready for Him.
• Memory verse: Matthew 25:13 (KJV), with Matthew 24:44 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about being ready when the call comes.
2. Bible story: ten take their lamps to meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1), five wise take oil and five foolish take none (25:2–4), all sleep while he tarries (25:5), the midnight cry (25:6), the lamps gone out (25:8), the ready ones go in and the door is shut (25:10), and Jesus says, "Watch" (25:13). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Matthew 25:13.
5. What this means for us: be ready for Jesus, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the ten virgins craft, My Ready Lamp, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the ten virgins

• With young children, call them "ten young women." The KJV word virgins means young women who were not married yet (Matthew 25:1).
• Use paper flames for the games and the craft. Never light a real lamp or candle in class.
• Notice that all ten slept (Matthew 25:5). Being ready was about having oil before the cry came, not about staying awake.
• The parable doesn't say what the oil stands for, so the lesson keeps to Jesus' own point: "Watch therefore" (25:13).
• Teach it warmly, without dates or fear: Jesus is coming again (John 14:3), and He wants everyone ready (2 Peter 3:9).
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.