252 Groups
May 2016, Week 4
Small Group, 4-5
If I Were a Rich Fool (May 22nd 4th grade)
Bible Story: If I Were a Rich Fool (The rich fool: Bigger barns) • Luke 12:13-21
Bottom Line: When you focus on stuff, you can miss what matters.
Memory Verse: “I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am
content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not
enough.” Philippians 4:12b, NIrV
Life App: Contentment—deciding to be happy with what you’ve got.
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes)
Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience
today’s story.
Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group
for the first time. Most kids this age are somewhat materialistic or possessive of things they have. Pray
for them to learn how to avoid prioritizing what they have over WHO they have (their relationships with
friends and family). For most kids, this might be a change of habit. Ask God to give kids the discipline to
change their focus.
1. Early Arriver Idea
What You Need: Offering container
What You Do:
• Invite kids to put their offerings in the offering container as they arrive.
• Ask kids where they put their magnets they made last week.
• What were things they thanked God for during the week?
• [Make It Personal] (Be sure to share what you thanked God for during the week. Did
remembering to thank God help you be content with what you have now? Why or why
not?)
2. String Art
What You Need: “Stuff Cards” Activity Page, pre-cut yarn
•
•
•
A kid selects a “Stuff Card” and, using the yarn, creates the object on the card.
The group guesses what the object is and whoever guesses correctly gets to be the next artist.
If time, kids can come up with their own objects to create for the group to guess.
What You Say:
“You are certainly creative string artists! And you did a great job creating a lot of stuff with string during
this game. [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to hear about a man who had more stuff than
he could possibly store.”
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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252 Groups
May 2016, Week 4
Small Group, 4-5
5/6 Challenge
What You Need: “Surprising Stats” Activity Page, cup or hat to hold strips
What You Say:
“There are some mind-blowing statistics out there about Americans and their stuff. Reach in and draw
out one of these papers. Read what it says and think for a minute about it. Do you agree with this
statement? Are you surprised? Then we will take turns reading our statistic and sharing our reactions
with the rest of the group. (Take a few minutes to let kids read their stats and then discuss their
reactions.) [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to hear about a man who had more stuff than
he could possibly store.”
Lead your group to the Large Group area.
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes)
Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through
interactive activities and discussion questions.
* 1. Comic Strip Parables (application activity / review the Bible story)
What You Need: Bibles, paper squares; 5 for each kid, colored pencils, smart phone or tablet
(optional)
What You Do:
• Review the Bible story. Read the Bible story, Luke 12:13-21. Ask the kids:
o What was the issue between the two brothers? (They were concerned about the
inheritance; they were greedy for more money; they were more concerned about stuff
than about their friendship)
o In verse 16, Jesus tells a parable. What is a parable? (A story used to teach something)
o What was the problem the man had in the parable? (He had more stuff than he could
store)
o What was the man’s solution for handling all his surplus of stuff or crops? Who was the
man focused on? (Build bigger barns and keep it for himself so he could take life easy)
o What is God’s reply to the man? (He calls the man a fool; tells the man he won’t get to
enjoy any of it because he is going to die)
o Why do you think God calls the man a fool?
• Hand out the paper squares and colored pencils.
• Let kids draw a cartoon representing the story, one scene per paper square. They can create a
character that is focused on getting more and more stuff. What will their character collect?
Maybe she can’t get enough M&Ms® or phones or dogs. Where will she store her stuff?
Encourage the kids to be creative. What happens to their character because she is focused on
her stuff? How does her stuff end up hurting her?
• For kids who struggle with drawing: Give them an option to write a story script. You could also
let kids work in groups of three and use a camera to video themselves acting out the story. One
more option is to provide a tablet or smartphone and use a free app called ChatterPix Kids. Kids
can create their own characters and then record voices for them.
• Share the cartoons or stories.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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252 Groups
May 2016, Week 4
Small Group, 4-5
What You Say:
“You came up with some really creative stories. Your characters were certainly focused on their stuff
just like the rich man in the parable. The rich man was only concerned about how much he had and
how he wanted to keep it ALL for himself. But Jesus doesn’t want us to live that way. What does Jesus
say matters? What is more important than stuff? (our relationship with God; loving others more than
stuff) [Bottom Line] When you focus on stuff, you can miss what matters. Don’t be like the rich
man in our story, who was so focused on stuff that he missed what mattered.”
[Make It Personal] (Share about a time when you were so focused on your stuff that you missed
out on what mattered. Maybe you were hanging with friends and you were so focused on what
people were wearing or what you would eat that you didn’t enjoy the time with your friends. Or
share about a time you used your “stuff” to help someone else, or a time you gave your stuff to
someone else.)
5/6 Challenge
What You Say:
(Use the following as a discussion starter for your group.) “Think about a time at home when you chose
your stuff—something you owned—over people. Maybe you didn’t want to share or you were furious
when something was broken. Now think about a time when you were the victim and someone else
chose stuff over you—they refused to share or were mad at you for getting too close to something they
thought mattered more than your feelings. It’s tough to remember sometimes that stuff is never more
important than people. What can you do to remind yourself this week? Maybe post a note up in a place
where you have this problem most.”
2. More and More (application activity)
What You Need: Blocks
What You Do:
• Divide the group in half and give each group an equal pile of blocks.
• Both groups will build a tower simultaneously. Assign each group one of the following building
methods:
o For one tower, place one block on the table. Each layer of the tower is built by placing
one block perpendicular to the block below it.
o For the other tower, place two blocks next to each other to form a rectangle. Each layer
of the tower is built by placing two blocks placed perpendicular to the blocks below it.
• Let the groups build until one tower gets too tall and crashes down.
• Optional: After the first towers have been built, allow the groups to switch building methods and
do the activity again.
• After the two towers have been built, ask the following questions: Both towers used the same
number of blocks. Which tower was taller? Which tower was more stable and lasted longer
before it fell?
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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252 Groups
May 2016, Week 4
Small Group, 4-5
What You Say:
“Bigger is not always better; more is not always good. It is a dangerous thing when we let our stuff
become more important than people—when collecting more and more things causes us to miss what
matters most. When you can’t share your stuff with friends, you are showing your friends your stuff is
more important than they are and your relationships become like our wobbly tower; they become
unstable. But when you focus on Jesus and you prioritize people over stuff, you show your friends they
matter to you and your relationships are more like our stable tower. [Bottom Line] When you focus
on stuff, you can miss what matters and you can miss out on opportunities to show others Jesus’
love.”
3. Opposite Verse (memory verse activity)
What You Need: “Opposite Cards” Activity Page, Bibles
What You Do:
• Sit in a circle and look up the verse and read it together.
• Set the “Opposite Cards” in the center of the circle.
• Kids draw a card and think of the opposite or antonym to the word. For example, if the word is
cold, the opposite could be hot; if it is bored, the opposite could be excited, etc.
• Kids say “I am content whether I am _____ or _____,” filling in the word from the “Opposite
Card” and its opposite in the blanks. For example, if the word on the card is “cold,” he would
say, “I am content whether I am cold or hot.”
• Continue until everyone gets a turn or you run out of cards. If time allows, kids can create their
own opposites.
What You Say:
“It is easy to be content when things are going our way—when we have everything we need or want.
But God wants so much more for us. He doesn’t want our contentment to be tied to our stuff or to
situations in our lives. God wants us to be content no matter what. Whether you have tons of stuff or
not a lot, you always have Jesus and that is what matters most. [Bottom Line] When you focus on
stuff, you can miss what matters most. When you need stuff in order to be content, you can miss out
on what matters; you can miss out on your relationship with Jesus and you can miss out on showing
others Jesus’ love.”
5/6 Challenge
What You Need: Scrap paper, pens, index cards
What You Do:
• Instead of giving the students “Opposite Cards,” let them work with a partner to come up with as
many different extremes as they can in a set amount of time.
• Let them share with the rest of the group and cross off any that are repeats.
• Then take their unique pairs of opposite words and write each set on an index card. You can
use these student-generated cards for the activity above.
If you lead mostly older kids, consider asking these discussion questions:
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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252 Groups
•
•
May 2016, Week 4
Small Group, 4-5
Imagine you are stranded on an island. What would you want to have with you and why? (This
is a way to get kids thinking about what matters to them.)
Imagine your life without these things that you would miss. How would your life be different? Are
these things wants or needs? Would it be hard to be content without them?
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
• Pray with the kids, praising God because He is awesome. Go around the circle and let each kid
say something about God (He is great, He is trustworthy, He is always present, etc.).
• Next pray with the kids, thanking God for all the stuff in their lives. Go around the circle and let
each kid thank God for something they have (food, clothes, games, family, video games,
football, etc.).
• Close with asking for help to be content no matter what and rather than focusing on stuff, ask
God to help us to see what matters most: our relationships with Christ and with one another.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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