Bible Story: Pennies from Heaven (The Widow S Offering) Mark 12:41-44 s1

Small Group Leader Curriculum K-5th

January 27/28

Bible Story: Pennies from Heaven (The Widow’s Offering) • Mark 12:41-44

Bottom Line: Practice living for God.

Memory Verse: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8, NIV

Life App: Commitment—Making a plan and putting it into practice

Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Social: Small Groups (5:30, 8:45)

Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up.

Get ready to experience today’s story.

Early Arriver Idea

Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding

What You Need: An offering container

What You Do:

· Greet kids as they arrive and ask them to place their offerings in the container.

· Ask them what they’ve noticed about how animals move: a chipmunk scurrying, a cat pouncing, an elephant loping, etc.

· Call out different animals and see if kids can move like those animals: elephant, giraffe, ant, snake, dolphin, bear, flamingo, etc.

o If you have older kids who are reluctant to do this alongside the younger kids, allow them to be the ones calling out different animals. Or encourage them to be funny for the younger kids and “make up” animals and show the group what those animals’ moves would be.

· Ask who taught those animals to walk like that. Was it their parents? Did they go to school?

· Discuss why an animal would change the way it moves. Do they decide to be different from the others just to be cool?

· Tell kids that animals move the way they do because that’s how God made them. That’s why it would be weird (and potentially really funny) if they did anything other than what they were made to do!

Intro Activity

Penny Drop

Made to Move: an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy in the body

What You Need: Pennies, buckets, masking tape

What You Do:

· Divide the group into two teams.

· Make sure the teams are even, or assign one kid to go twice if necessary.

· Mark a starting line for each team with masking tape, and line up the teams behind it.

· Place a bucket about 15 feet away from each team.

· When you say, “Go,” kids will take turns placing a penny on the top of their shoes and hopping on one foot to the bucket without dropping the penny.

· Once they reach the bucket, they must tilt their foot and drop the penny into the bucket and run back to tag the next person in line.

· If they drop the penny, they must return to the starting line and try again.

· The first team to finish is the winner.

· Note: If this proves too difficult for younger kids, allow them to take off their shoes and hold the penny between their toes. Play the game the same way, except kids will be holding their penny with their toes instead of balancing it on their foot.

What You Say:

“Great job! Quick, someone raise your hand and tell me how much a penny is worth. (Pause.) That’s right! It would take ONE HUNDRED of these to make a dollar. A penny isn’t worth much, is it? [Transition] In our Bible story today, we’ll hear about someone who gave a little—like a couple of pennies—and someone who gave a lot. But one of these givers caught Jesus’ attention. Let’s find out who it was.”

Lead your group to the Large Group area.

Large Group (5:55, 9:10)

Line your kids up at the door and quietly head to the Large Group room. You’ll sit with your small group near the front of the stage. Stay with your kids the entire time you’re in large group. Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible story, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting.

LARGE GROUP TIMES:

Saturday:

5:55-6:15

Sunday:

9:10-9:30

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect

(6:15, 9:30)

Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences through interactive activities and discussion questions.

· Welcome visitors

· Go over memory verse—give candy to kids who can say it

· Offer snacks 5:30pm service only

Activity #1

Bandana Drama

[Talk about God | Bible Story Review | Application Activity]

Made to Imagine: an activity that promotes empathy and facilitates biblical application through role-play and reenactment

What You Need: “Bandana Drama Script” Activity Page, bandanas

What You Do:

· Gather the kids in a circle and give each one a bandana.

· Show them how to use the bandanas to become one of the three characters in the story:

o The widow has the bandana draped over her hair and tied under her chin.

o The rich people have their bandanas gathered up at the four corners like a giant pouch full of money.

o The disciples have their bandanas around their necks like cowboys.

· Read the script, pausing to make sure the kids can react with their bandanas appropriately.

What You Say:

“Wow! You guys really made me feel like I was in the story! There were two kinds of people we could be like in the story: the rich guys tossing big pouches of money into the offering container or the widow dropping in her precious few coins. The rich guys gave more money, but they had a lot more money left over. The widow gave just a tiny amount, but she had no money left over. Which person showed they had [Bottom Line] practiced living for God? (Pause.) Right, the widow. She gave everything she had. There was nothing really wrong with how the other guys were doing it; their offerings just cost them less.

“Have you ever given something away that was really special to you? (Pause for answers.) It may have been just a toy or a doll or a sweatshirt to someone else, but to you, that thing was important. When you share or give things that mean a lot to you, you [Bottom Line] practice living for God. When you spend time with an older relative instead of rushing outside to play, that’s another way you [Bottom Line] practice living for God. What are some other ways? (Pause for answers.) Those are great ideas!”

Prayer—All Services

[Pray to God | Prayer Activity]

Made to Reflect: an activity that creates space for personal understanding and application

What You Need: Bandanas

What You Do:

· Gather the group in a circle for prayer.

· If you’ve been holding on to the bandanas, pass them back out now.

· Hold up your own bandana.

· Tell kids that as you pray, they should tie the corner of their bandana to the bandana of the kid on their right. (Encourage them to do this calmly and somewhat reverently, since you’ll be praying while they do it.)

· At the end of the prayer there should be a circle of knotted bandanas, showing your commitment to grow together as a group and to [Bottom Line] practice living for God each week together.

What You Say:

“Dear God, we are so happy to learn to live Your way, even now while we’re young. Please help us to keep living for you our whole lives. Be with us as we work on our commitment to [Bottom Line] practice living for God. Amen.”

If you have extra time you may…

-ask kids questions to get to know them better

-practice the memory verse

-allow them to play any games available in your classrooms

Dismiss at the door

Pass out any fliers that are on your table by the door.

Please take all parent tags as parents enter for pick-up. If a tag is not available, do not release their kid to them and please send them to the lobby to fill out a Parent Release Form or to have their parent tag reprinted.

Return your name tag to the check-in counter when you’re finished for the day.

Thank you for serving today!