The Dishonest Manager

You’ll Need: Bibles, “Honest Money” handouts, Scissors

Get Ready: Print one handout for each small group, each on a different color of paper. Cut out the bills and coins. Hide them around the room.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10)

Have kids learn the Bible memory verse using this activity:

• Have kids open their Bibles to Luke 16:10.
• Read aloud the verse.

SAY: Today we’re learning what Jesus says about honesty.

• Form small groups, and assign a color to each group based on the colors you printed the handouts on.
• Have kids go on a “money” hunt to find all the bills and coins from their group’s handout.
• The group members will gather all their “money” and put it in the order of the Bible verse.
• Once all groups have found and correctly ordered the verse, read aloud the verse together several times.
• Remove one piece of money at a time, having kids say the verse without the visual reminder of the missing words.

SAY: Each day we can choose to make honest choices, and when we do, Jesus says that He’ll trust us with even more!

You’ll Need: Bibles, Paper plates, Markers

SAY: Today we’re learning that Jesus wants us to be honest in what we say and do. And He says when we can be trusted with a little, then we can be trusted with a lot. Let’s do something to help us think about that.

Follow these steps to explore the Bible passage:

• Give each child a paper plate.
• Set out markers.
• Have kids open their Bibles to Luke 16:1–13.
• Read aloud Luke 16:1-7.
• Have kids draw a small circle in the center of the paper plate and write “honesty” inside the circle.
• Have kids draw three spokes out from the small circle to divide the plate into relatively equal sections.
• Have kids draw three more circles around the center, each one larger than the previous. Now, outside the circle that says “honesty,” there will be four subsections on each third of the circle.
• Invite kids to discuss the three ways the manager was dishonest:
  • Wasting the employer’s money;
  • Sneaking to the employer’s debtors before he was fired; and
  • Reducing the debtors’ fees without asking the manager.
• Have kids write a word or draw a small picture inside each of the three sections just outside the center “honesty” circle to represent what the dishonest manager could have done instead that would have been honest.
• In the three sections of the next concentric circle, have kids write “morning,” “noon,” and “night.”
• Invite kids to discuss ways they might be honest during different times of day.
• In the next concentric circle, they’ll write, “school,” “home,” and “church.”
• In the final concentric circle, they’ll write, “time,” “money,” and “energy.”
• Allow time for kids to contemplate the different times and areas of their lives. Then invite them to pick one or two where they have an easy time being honest and draw a picture there or decorate it.
• Have them pick one or two areas where they have a hard time being honest and draw a picture to show how they might choose to be honest.

ASK:

• In this activity, what did you learn that Jesus can trust you with?
• What areas might you need to improve in so Jesus can trust you in big ways?

SAY: When we show we’re honest with little things, it helps our parents, teachers, and even Jesus to know that we can be trusted with big things.

Money Snack

You’ll Need: Paper plates, Napkins, Plastic knives, Graham crackers, Small white candies, Green icing

Follow these steps to make the “Money Snack”:

• Have kids clean their hands.
• Give each child a graham cracker and some white candies.
• Have kids ice their graham crackers and use the candies to make their snacks look like large bills.
• Enjoy!

SAY: The Bible story was about money, but honesty isn’t just about money. It can be about our words and the things we do. And Jesus wants us to be honest so we can be trusted with big things!

Unscramble Honesty

You’ll Need: Magnetic letters, Large magnetic board, Timer

Get Ready: Place the letters in the tray of the large magnetic board. Designate a section for each small group on the large magnetic board.

SAY: Jesus says when we can be trusted with little things, we can be trusted with big things. Let’s play a game about honesty.

Follow these steps for the game:

• Divide the class into small groups.
• Have each small group stand an equal distance from the magnetic board.
• When you say “go” one child from each group will run to the board and choose a letter to start a word that has to do with honesty. He or she will place that letter in his or her small group’s section and then return to his or her group.
• Each small-group member will take a turn, either adding to an existing word or starting a new word.
• The object is to get the most complete honesty words in three minutes.
• Start the timer, and say “go.”
• After three minutes, stop all small groups, and count how many complete words each group has. Congratulate the winning team.
• Clear the board, and repeat as time allows.

ASK:

• What are some reasons you want to be honest?
• How can the hope of being trusted with big things help you make honest choices?

SAY: Today we’re learning that we can be trusted with a lot when we show we’re honest with only a little. Jesus tells us this because He knows it’s what’s best for us, and it leads to rewards in life.

Honesty Clock

You’ll Need: Paper plates from the Bible activity, Markers, Hole punch, Construction paper, Scissors, Metal brad fasteners

To make the craft, have kids follow these steps:

• Remind kids of Jesus’ story in the Bible passage and how they’re learning to be honest all the time, every day.
• Explain that kids are each going to make an “Honesty Clock.”
• Using the back side of their concentric circles drawings, have kids write the numbers for a clock.
• Invite kids to draw pictures of ways they can be honest at different times of the day near those times on the clock.
• Have kids each cut two clock hands out of construction paper for their clocks.
• Help each child punch a metal brad fastener through the center of the clock and through the end of the clock hands to affix the hands to the clock face.

SAY: Keep these clocks as a reminder to be honest all the time and in all you do.

Honesty at All Times Prayers

You’ll Need: Bible, Honesty Clocks from the craft

Lead kids to pray in this way:

• Read aloud Luke 16:10.
• Invite kids to set their clocks at different times and pray silently for God’s help with honesty during those times.
• Close in prayer.

PRAY: Dear God, we really want to be honest; we don’t want to be like the dishonest manager. Please help us. In Jesus’ name, amen.