Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Stories of Jesus for Children 4 - Jesus tells us how to live

I told you yesterday that Jesus carried on teaching in the temple, even though the important people there wanted to get rid of him.He told the people a lot of difficult things - some were easy to understand but some were quite confusing, or hard to believe.
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But suddenly he saw something happening that helped him to explain part of what he wanted to say - he saw rich, important people, dropping loads of money into the temple collecting place, letting everyone know how rich and generous they were! Then he saw a poor woman drop in a tiny coin. 'What a rubbish gift for the temple!' thought the rich people. But Jesus knew differently.
Jesus said to his friends: 'This poor woman gave more than all the others. She only had one little coin, and she gave it all to God. They had thousands, and they gave just a little bit of their thousands to God.'
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Jesus said so many things that upset the important people that they were even more sure that they had to get rid of him. They plotted in secret, trying to find a way to get him killed when he was away from the crowds of ordinary people who protected him.
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Question for younger children: Do you like giving gifts? Who do you give them to?
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Question for older children: Why did Jesus say that the poor woman gave most, when she actually gave less money?
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Activity: Have you made an Easter Garden? If you have, could you show a photo of it? Let me know if you do, please! You could also put a tiny coin in your Easter garden to remind you of how we can give good things even if they are only little.

2 comments:

Suzy's Vintage Attic said...

Hi Floss

I have enjoyed catching up with your posts. Such a great idea to have the stories of Jesus aimed at children. When I have taken Miss P to church sometimes I have been aware that some of the things I am not keen on her hearing about, some passages of the bible are too explicit for younger children I feel. It is sometimes hard to find a version more suited to their young ears.

I have like your story telling and so has Miss P.

Warm wishes
Isabelle x

Joy said...

Floss, you've done a beautiful job sharing these stories of Jesus. Love the Q & A you added.
♥ Joy