LESSON 19 | Giving My Resources

Bible Basis: Exodus 35:4 – 29; 36:1 – 6; Matthew 2:1 – 15

Key Verse: 2 Co rin thi ans 8:7: “Make sure that you also do well in the grace of giving to others.”

Key Question: How do I best use my resources to serve God and others?

Key Idea: I give my resources to help God’s plan.

Resource: Believe Storybook Bible, Chapter 19, “Giving My Resources” or story script (below)

Master Supplies List ❑ Believe Storybook Bible (optional) ❑ PowerPoint slides or printable posters of illustrations ❑ Treasure box (big enough to contain the items you choose) ❑ “Treasures” (one per child), such as pretend or real money,

clothes, shoes, pencils, books, stuffed animals, food, water, and magazine pictures of houses, televisions, smartphones, bicycles, skateboards, etc.

❑ Family Page (one per child)

Optional SuppliesYou will need the following supplies based on which option(s) you choose in STEP 3 | Explore More:

❑ OPTION 1: Wooden craft sticks (five per child), craft gems, glue, yarn

❑ OPTION 3: Several boxes (with lids) that can fit inside one another, wrapping paper, tape, slips of paper, whiteboard or flipchart with easel, dry-erase or regular markers, CD player or iPod, music

❑ OPTION 4: Crayons or markers, Let’s Color! sheet (one per child) ❑ OPTION 6: Two puppets

LESSON 19 | Giving My Resources

LESSON 19: Giving My Resources | PRESCHOOL 2

STEP 1 | Come Together (10 min)

Supplies: Treasure box (big enough to contain the items you choose); “treasures” (one per child), such as pretend or real money, clothes, shoes, pencils, books, stuffed animals, food, water, and magazine pictures of houses, televisions, smartphones, bicycles, skateboards, etc.

Teacher Prep: Place “treasures” inside the box.

TREASURE BOX• GATHER the children.• SAY, Today we are going to talk about treasures. Do you know what a

treasure is? (Take responses)• SAY, That’s right. When we say treasure, most people think about

money or jewelry. However, another word for treasure is resources. Can you say that word with me? (Resources)

• SAY, Resources are anything we have been given or the things that we own.

• ASK, Can you think of some things you own or that someone has given to you? (Take one or two responses)

• INSTRUCT, Well, we have a treasure box with us today to remind us of some of the treasures, or resources, that we have in our lives. I want each of you to come up, one at a time, and pull a treasure from the box. Then show the class and tell us what it is and whether you have that treasure or resource in your life.

• GIVE each child a chance to pull out and reveal a treasure to the class.

REVIEW• SAY, Today we are going to learn about how important it is to share

our treasures with other people. When we give other people what they need, we are really giving it back to God.

• SAY, In our story today, we will learn about how the Israelites and the wise men used their resources, or their treasures, to bless others and to carry out God’s plans.

KEY VERSE• REVIEW this week’s Key Verse. You may want to repeat the verse

slowly a few times until the children are able to say it from memory.• NOTE: You may also choose to review last week’s Key Verse together.


2 Co rin thi ans 8:7Make sure that you also do well in the grace of giving to others.

(Pretend to be handing things out to others)

STEP 2 | Hear the Story (15 min)

Supplies: Believe Storybook Bible (optional), PowerPoint slides or printable posters of illustrations

INTRODUCTION• TELL the children that they will be learning more about offering their

treasures, or resources, to God.• SAY, We already learned that each of us has resources that God can use,

and we learned how we can use them to help other people and to serve God.

• CONTINUE, In our story today, we’ll learn more about how the Israel-ites offered their resources to God in order to build a tabernacle, which was a special place where they could worship God.

READ CHAPTER 19• READ aloud the story script below or chapter 19, “Giving My

Resources,” from the Believe Storybook Bible.• SHOW the illustrations included with this curriculum on PowerPoint

slides or printable posters.

THE STORY OF THE TABERNACLE• God has given you and your family so much! He has given you

bodies, a home, clothes, money, toys, time, and things you’re good at. All of these good things, or resources, come from God and they belong to God. We can use our resources to serve God, just like the Israelites did!

• God’s people were living in the desert. They did not have wood or stone houses or buildings. They lived in tents. One day, God told them to build a special place for him called a tabernacle. Moses called the people together. He asked for their resources. “Bring your gold, silver, yarn, animal skins, wood, spices, oil,” he said. “We need everyone’s time and talent to build the taber-nacle. If you can sew, build, or make jewelry, please help.”


REVIEW THE TABERNACLE• ASK, What did Moses want the people to do? (He wanted them to give

their resources so the tabernacle could be built)• ASK, How did the people feel about giving? (They were happy)• ASK, What kinds of things did they give? (They gave yarn, animal

skins, spices, and gems)• ASK, Some people gave things that were not money or items. What

were these things? (They gave their time and their skills to work and to help build)

• Everyone was excited to give to the Lord’s tabernacle. They gave their resources — things they owned, their time, and their skills. Soon, they had built the tabernacle just as God com-manded. By sharing their resources, they made God very happy.

THE STORY OF THE WISE MEN• Maybe you’ve heard this line from a song: “Our finest gifts we

bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum.” That song is about the wise men who visited Jesus after he was born in Bethlehem! They wanted to give their very best to the new baby king.

• The wise men followed a special star in the sky. It led them to bad King Herod in Jerusalem. “Where is the newborn king?” they asked. King Herod didn’t know, but his priests did. They sent the wise men to Bethlehem.

• “When you find the child, please tell me,” Herod commanded. “I want to worship him, too.” But Herod was lying. He did not want to worship Jesus; he wanted to kill him!

• The wise men followed the star until they found baby Jesus. They bowed down and worshiped him. They gave him gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Then, they had an important dream. God warned them not to go back to Herod. They went home a different way so Jesus would be safe.

• The wise men brought Jesus the best gifts they could possibly bring. They wanted to give the new King their very best. What can you do to give your very best to God? Give him your time, share your toys with others, spread love to everyone. Then you will be using your resources to serve God.


REVIEW THE WISE MEN• ASK, Why did the wise men want to give gifts to baby Jesus? (They

knew that he was a special king)• ASK, What can we give other than money to God and to others? (Our

time, our skills, and our love)• PRAY, God, help us to use our resources to serve you and to be a bless-

ing to others every day. Amen.

STEP 3 | Explore MoreChoose from these activity options, depending on your available time frame, to help the children explore the lesson further.

Option 1: The Treasured Star (10 min)

Supplies: Wooden craft sticks (five per child), craft gems, glue, yarn

• SAY, Today we are going to make a star like the one the wise men fol-lowed in order to reach young Jesus and give him their gifts.

• PASS out supplies and instruct the children to glue craft sticks together to form a five-point star. Glue craft gems to the sticks to decorate the star.

• ADD a small loop at the top with yarn and glue for the children to hang their stars at home.

Option 2: The Giving Song (5 min)• Gather the children and teach them this fun song (to the tune of “Twin-

kle Twinkle”).

We love giving, yes we do (frame your smiling face with hands, nod head)

There are many ways to choose (pretend to count on fingers)We can give our mo-ney (pretend to hand out money)We can give our tal-ents (pretend to strum a guitar)We can give our time to God (pat wrist)We love giving, yes we do! (frame your smiling face with hands,

nod head)

Option 3: Giving a Gift Memory Verse Game (15 min)

Supplies: Several boxes (with lids) that can fit inside one another, wrapping paper, tape, slips of paper, whiteboard or flipchart with easel, dry-erase or regular markers, CD player or iPod, music


Teacher Prep: Tape the last few words of the Key Verse on the outside of the innermost (smallest) box; on the outside of each larger box, tape another part of the Key Verse, working backward to the beginning. Nest the boxes inside each other, making sure the verse is in order from outside to inside. Wrap the outermost box in colorful gift wrap. This game is a fun way to continue reviewing the Key Verse for this week. The children can pass the gift around as music plays. Each time the music stops, the child holding the gift can open the next box to reveal part of the verse.

• INSTRUCT the children to gather in a circle.• SAY, We are going to play a game to help us remember the Key Verse

for this week.• SAY, When the music is playing, we will pass the box around. Whoever

has the box when the music stops gets to open the box.• WRITE down each part of the verse as the boxes are opened so that by

the end of the game the whole verse will be on the board or flipchart.• CONTINUE the game until the children have reached the innermost

box with the final part of the Key Verse.• REVIEW the verse as a class by reading it together from the board.

Option 4: Let’s Color! (10 min)

Supplies: Crayons or markers, Let’s Color! sheet (one per child)

Teacher Prep: Print and photocopy the Let’s Color! sheet (one per child).

• GIVE each child a Let’s Color! sheet.• PROVIDE a selection of crayons and/or markers for the children to share.• DISCUSS this week’s Key Idea as the children color.

Option 5: Praise and Worship (15 min)

“I’m in the Lord’s Army” by Patricia Martin© 1993 by Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

CCLI #1420705

“I Want to Be a Worker” by Isaiah BaltzellPublic domainCCLI #750610


Option 6: Act It Out (10 min)

What to Give

Use two puppets to act out the following short skit.

Characters

AnyaNorman

Props: Two puppets

Anya: Are you going to put any allowance money in the missionary giving box this week?

Norman: I wanted to, but I don’t have any allowance money left.

Anya: That’s too bad.

Norman: I know. I feel bad about it. I didn’t know that our teacher was going to ask for money or I wouldn’t have spent all of mine.

Anya: Maybe you could give something else?

Norman: What do you mean? She said it was a box for our allowance.

Anya: Right, but missionaries need other things too, like encouragement.

Norman: Why do they need cheering up?

Anya: Because they are far from home and have a very hard job to do. Can you imagine being far away from everyone you know for a long time? I bet sometimes they get homesick or discouraged.

Norman: What could I give that would encourage them?

Anya: Maybe you could write them a letter or decorate a card. You could tell them you appreciate their hard work.

Norman: Well, my grandmother did just give me a brand-new box of cray-ons. I could draw them a picture with my new crayons!

Anya: Yeah, that would be great.

Norman: But do you think it will really make a difference?

Anya: I know it will. God will bless your letter because you are giving it from your heart. Money is not the only way we can give to others.

Norman: I think I will draw them a picture of our Sunday school class. Then they can see who the people are who gave the money in the giving box.

Anya: That is a wonderful idea.

Norman: I’m going to get started right now.


STEP 4 | Going Home (5 min)

Supplies: Family Page (one per child)

Teacher Prep: Print and photocopy the Family Page (one per child).

• GIVE each child a copy of this week’s Family Page.• SAY, Give this page to your family when they pick you up. It will

remind you to tell your family what you learned today about giving your resources to God.

• HAVE the children practice telling you the story of the Israelites build-ing the tabernacle.

• REVIEW this week’s Key Verse as well as today’s story and Key Idea from the Believe Storybook Bible as you wait for the children to get picked up.

• MAKE sure each child remembers to take home any activity sheets or craft projects and the Family Page.

Lesson 19

Lesson 19

Lesson 19

Lesson 19

LESSON 19: Giving My Resources | PRESCHOOL

Let’s Color! Name:

[Coloring page to come]


FAMILY PAGE | Lesson 19: Giving My Resources

Bible Basis: Exodus 35:4 – 29; 36:1 – 6; Matthew 2:1 – 15

Key Verse: 2 Co rin thi ans 8:7: “Make sure that you also do well in the grace of giving to others.”

Key Question: How do I best use my resources to serve God and others?

Key Idea: I give my resources to help God’s plan.

Resource: Believe Storybook Bible, Chapter 19, “Giving My Resources”

How to Use This PageThis week, your family can either read the story from the Believe Storybook Bible or read the Bible Basis passages from your Bible to help your child remember the lesson. Use the Table Talk questions below to start a discussion around the dinner table, while driving in the car, or just about anywhere. The Living Faith activity is designed to remind your child of the Bible lesson through a drama or other engaging activity. The Extra Mile idea provides interactive ways for your child to connect with the story.

Table Talk

1. What is a resource? (It is like a treasure; it’s something we own or have; it’s anything we can use to carry out God’s plans and to bless others)

2. What kinds of resources can you use to be a blessing to your family? (I can use my energy to help around the house; I can encourage my parents and my siblings; I can clean up after myself)

3. Is helping at home the only way to use our resources? (No, we can be a blessing to others every day — at home, at school, at church, on the playground, etc.)

4. What other resources do you have to offer others?


Living Faith

Option 1You can reenact the building of the tabernacle by first reviewing the story and then building a blanket fort with your child. You can pretend that pillows and cushions are the resources the Israelites brought. While constructing your blanket fort, let your child pretend to be Moses and supervise you as you build.

Option 2Find Internet sources that show how grand the tabernacle was. Use this to point out how generous the Israelites must have been to give so many beautiful things for the building of the tabernacle.

Extra Mile

• Children love to learn about different ways to give to the church or to other organizations that help people. When children receive a small allowance, you can teach them how to set aside a portion of their money. Ask your child if there is a specific ministry, missionary, or nonprofit he or she might want to support financially. Encourage your child to give a portion of their money each month.

• If your child does not yet receive an allowance, encourage your child to begin a change jar for a worthy giving goal. Instruct your child to encourage all family members to give to the cause. Your child can be in charge of counting the money at the end of the month.

• During family prayer time this week, mention the importance of giv-ing our resources to God. Discuss as a family ways that you can give together.

Documents

LESSON 19 | Giving My Resources