Unselfishness-

The Little Boy Who Shared His Lunch

 HOOK:
Bring in a simple snack that would be a special treat for the kids.  Show it to them and tell them all about it.  Go into great detail of how you shopped for it or if you baked something all the ingredients you put into it.  Ask them all kinds of questions like does it look good to them, do they want to try some, have they ever had it before?  Pretend to be selfish about it and tell them how you want to keep it all to yourself and if you shared with anybody, that would mean there would be less for you.  Try to get them drawn into how selfish it would be to eat this in front of them and how important it is to share and be generous.  Just put it aside until later.

BOOK:
Mark 6:38-39
There were many times in the Bible that Jesus did miracles.  A miracle is something special that only God can do.  Can you tell me any miracles that you learned about in Kingdom Kids?  (Jesus turning the water into wine, Jesus walking on the water, Jesus healing the blind man).  Jesus doesn’t need anybody to do something powerful and miraculous, but He wants to show us His power.  Sometimes He takes something small that we give him, and turns it into something big.  When Jesus was teaching, many, many people came to hear Him.  They wanted to be near Jesus and hear what He had to say.  A lot of people wanted Jesus to heal them or help them in some way and He did.  One day when there was a big crowd around him, it was time to eat.  The people had been listening to Jesus a long time, and now they were getting hungry.  You were told from the Bible how Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and fed thousands of people (which is a whole lot!)  That was a miracle!  But where did the bread and fish come from that Jesus used for the miracle?  Somebody had to give up what might have been there lunch so that lots of people could eat.  Do you think you would give away your lunch if you hadn’t eaten all day and were starving!  That’s a tough question! But there was somebody who was so unselfish and willing to share, and because of that, many, many people were able to eat.  I bet this person was so glad that they weren’t selfish with their lunch.  Jesus took their little meal and did a miracle!

LOOK:
Everyday, we have lots of chances to share.  We can share our toys and our snacks with our friends.  What kind of stuff do you have that you like to play with that you can share with other people?  Is it easy to give something away that you like, or would you rather keep it for yourself?   When you do share your toys and treats with others, how does it make you feel?  Does it make your friend (family) happy?  When you are selfish, you don’t make anyone happy and you can’t even be happy yourself because you have to fight to keep something for yourself.  Jesus wants us to share with others and not to hoard things for ourselves. Sharing always makes others happy and then we feel good because we did what Jesus wants us to do.  God loves a cheerful giver.

TOOK:
When we are in church, it’s fun to share the toys in the nursery because then we have someone to play with.  When we’re eating with a friend, it’s nice to share because we can taste their food and they can taste ours.  When you share something of yours, you have a little less, but you made someone happy.  When somebody shares something with you, they have a little less (or have less time to play with something), but now you have something that you didn’t have before and that makes you feel happy.  It hurts people’s feelings if you leave them out and don’t include them.  God has blessed us so much.  Holding onto something and not sharing is just selfish. We make God happy and other people happy by giving what we have to others.  Just like the person who gave up their meal so thousands of people could eat food and not be hungry, God wants us to share so that others can be taken care of.

MEMORY VERSE:
“God loves a cheerful giver.”  2 Corinthians 9:7

CLOSING PRAYER:
Thank you, God, that you gave your Son Jesus to love me and die on the cross for my sin.  Please help me not to be selfish and to be  happy to give my things, share my toys and snacks with other people.  In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!