All Aboard Week 4: I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Lionel thinks that his gift is too small, but that's not true when you give God your best.
Large Group
Large Group Instructions
- Play: Countdown Video
- Play: Rules Video
Host: Welcome to the Train Station, Jr. Conductors!
Co-host: Let’s start today with a fun game. It’s all about deciding who has more, less, or the same. I have some candy.
Host: So do I. Let’s count how many I have. 1, 2.
Co-host: Count mine. 1, 2. Do I have more, less, or the same? (Pause) That’s right, the same.
Host: Jr. Conductors, let’s count my stuffed animals. I have 1, 2.
Co-host: How many toys am I holding? (Pause) 4!
Host: How many do I have? (Pause) 2! Do I have more or less? I have less.
Co-host: Good job. We can give gifts even if we have less than someone else because God can use any gift to help people. Let’s keep having fun at the Train Station by giving a big, “Choo-choo!”
- Play: Conductor Carl Act 1
Host: and Co-host: enter.
This activity uses the Lotta Bowl illusion which can be purchased online. It is a powerful and effective illusion that can be used in both preschool and elementary classes. If you don’t have access to this illusion, you can substitute a different illusion or effect. One alternative option would be to use popcorn. Illustrate how popcorn begins as small kernels but blows up to fill a whole movie sized popcorn tub.
Host: Does Lionel think that his gift is big enough to give?
Co-host: He sure doesn’t.
Host: I’m glad that Engineer Kelly shared the Big Point with him. Let’s practice it with our friend, Miss Meagan
- Play: Big Point Video Short
Host: I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Co-host: How can we have faith to give what we have? If it’s a small gift, won’t God be upset?
Host: Shake your heads, “No.” We should give exactly what God tells us to give. That pleases God. God can use any gift to help people. Imagine that God asked me to give this cup of water to the Train Station.
Co-host: It’s so small that it would only be enough for everyone to have a small sip. Let’s pretend to sip.
Host: Watch what happens when we give it to God. (Pour the water in the Lotta Bowl) God uses it to help others. (Pour out the water into the bucket) And God can take a gift and make it bigger, (Pour out more water) and bigger, (Pour out more) and bigger! (Pour out more water)
Co-host: So, when we give, we trust God to use our offering. That’s why we can give what we have. I hope Lionel learns that so he can give, too.
- Play: Conductor Carl Act 2
Host: and Co-host: enter.
Co-host: Farmer Faith has some big pumpkins. I think it would be fun to visit her farm. Have you ever visited a farm before? What did you see there?
Host: I’m glad Farmer Faith talked to Lionel about our Big Point. I think he’s going to listen to her. Do you think he will? Let’s practice our Big Point again,
- Play: Big Point Video Short
Host: I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Co-host: Conductor Gordon shared an important verse from the Bible. Let’s read it together.
- Play: Big Verse Slide
Co-host: 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIrV), “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give.”
Host: Let’s practice making decisions. I’m have some friends who are going to come up and help me. (To the audience) You can help me decide what kind of dress up clothes our helpers should wear by clapping when I raise the one you like.
Hold up two items, for example a wig and glasses. Let the audience choose one of the items for that “helper” to wear. Continue to do this for each helper. After, dismiss the helpers.
Co-host: You guys helped us decide what to try on. Are friends the best people to help us decide what to give?
Host: Jr. Conductors, who do you think is the best One to help us decide what to give?
Co-host: Of course, we want to ask Jesus what we can give to help.
Host: I’m so glad we can be friends with Jesus! It’s a great idea to chat with Him and give what Jesus asks you to give.
- Play: Big Story Video
- Play: Big Point Video Short
It’s important to pray and talk to God before you decide to give something. That way you can ask God what you should give to help. It’s important to listen to God and follow what God says. Let’s close our eyes and ask God what we can give. (Pause) Good job. Now, I’ll pray. (Pray)
- Play: Conductor Carl Act 3
Host and Co-host enter.
Host: I’m proud of Lionel for deciding to give. He is using our Big Point. Let’s say it again with our friend Megan at the music store,
- Play: Big Point Video Short
Host: I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Co-host: Farmer Faith said that Lionel’s gift can grow just like her plants. Look at this seed. (Show apple seed) Is it giant or tiny?
Host: It is tiny. How big do you think this tiny seed could grow? Show me with your arms. Let’s see how big it actually grows.
Co-host: Wow! Stand up on your tippy toes and reach high to show me how big that tree is.
Host: You can sit on your pockets. Look at this. Do you know what it is? (Pause) It’s an acorn. Is it small or big? It’s small. Let’s see how big it can grow.
Co-host: Is that a giant tree? It’s even bigger than the other tree. Let’s reach really high like we’re pretending to touch the top of the oak tree.
Host: Small things can grow really big. Your gifts can be a big help, too. That’s because God is powerful, and He can do great things with any size gift. That’s what you get to do in this week’s Big Do.
- Play: The Big Do
Co-host: The Big Do is to use the money you’ve collected in your jars to help someone else. You could buy food or clothes or even give it here at church.
Host: All you have to do is follow our Big Point. Let’s say it together,
- Play: Big Point Video Short
Host: I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Host:
Let’s Practice our Big Point again. Hmm, did our Big Point say I Have Faith To Give What I Have! or I Have Faith To Give Nothing? I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Let’s count to ten. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Who had ten coins at the Train Station today? Lionel Did Lionel think his gift was big or small? Small Did Lionel not want to give his gift? Yes
Let’s pretend to lift a heavy bag of gold. Lift it over your head. Did the older lady or the rich people have bags of gold in the Big Story? Rich people What did the older lady give in the offering? 2 coins
Can you make a big smile? Make it even bigger. Make it so big that it covers your whole face. Show someone beside you that smile. Let’s see how long we can make our face freeze with the smile. Whose gift did Jesus say God was pleased with? The rich people or the older lady? Older lady Did Jesus said it was because the older lady gave her worst gift or her best gift? Best gift
Let’s pretend to eat some fruit. What kind of fruit do you like? Let’s pretend to spit out the fruit seeds. Did Farmer Faith say that fruit trees start out with big, giant seeds or small ones? Small ones Did she tell Lionel that just like small seeds grow into trees, God can grow His gifts? Yes
Pretend you are getting dressed for school. Let’s choose the silliest outfit to wear. What color shirt would you want? What else should we put on? (Let them choose additional items. Encourage them to be silly) What does our Big Verse say? 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIrV), “Each of you should give what you have ______ in your heart to give.” a. Decided b. Not decided
- Play: Preschool Clean Up Song
Mid Week / Classroom
Mid Week / Classroom Instructions
Download and print the activity sheet for Engage 2.
Begin by splitting the kids into the desired number of small groups.
Welcome to the Train Station, Jr. Conductors! Let’s count our eyes. 1, 2. Let’s count our legs. 1, 2. (Continue counting the different parts of your body ending with counting your hands) God gave us a body that can do lots of things. We can wave. Let’s wave. We can stomp. Let’s stand up and stomp. We can use our one mouth to smile. Let’s smile. We all have something we can use to help other people. That’s what we’re going to discover at the Train Station today, how to give what we have. Let’s shout, “Choo-choo!” and get ready to worship Jesus!
I have an idea. Let’s all work together to build the tallest tower that we can build. Each group has blocks. When I point to your group, your leader will send one person to bring me a block and I’ll use it build the tower.
Have the different groups bring blocks as you call on them. You can use wooden blocks, large LEGO style blocks, Magna-Tiles, cardboard bricks, etc.
Look at our tall tower. Even though each person only brought up one block, it all helped build the tower. Everyone had something to give. Let’s visit the Train Station and see if our friend, Lionel, understands that he can give.
- Play: Conductor Carl And Friends Part 1
Does Lionel think that his gift is big enough to give? (Pause) He doesn’t, does he? I’m glad that Engineer Kelly shared the Big Point with him. Let’s practice it with our friend at the Music Store.
- Play: Big Point Video Short
I Have Faith To Give What I Have! Let’s practice giving in our groups.
- Play: 3min Countdown
What did Lionel count? Coins! Let’s count the coins that I have. (Count the coins) I’m going to give each of you one coin to put in this bucket to practice giving an offering.
Pass out the coins to the kids and have each of them take a turn putting their coin in the bucket.
Each of you gave one coin but look at how many are in the bucket. (Dump out the coins) Everyone gave a small gift that turned into a large gift. Do you think that God is happy whether we give something big or small? (Allow for answers) He loves any gift we give when we give our best.
We can give what we have because we trust that God can use any offering we give to help others. I wonder if Lionel has learned our Big Point yet. Let’s watch and find out.
- Play: Conductor Carl Act 2
Farmer Faith has some big pumpkins. I think it would be fun to visit her farm. I’m glad Farmer Faith talked to Lionel about our Big Point. Let’s practice our Big Point again,
- Play: Big Point Video Short
I Have Faith To Give What I Have! Conductor Gordon shared an important verse from the Bible.
- Play: Big Verse Slide
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIrV) says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give.” God wants us to be cheerful when we give. Can you show me what a cheerful face looks like? Let’s let out a big laugh. (Laugh) That was good, but I want you to let out the biggest laugh in the whole world! (Laugh) That was fun. Let’s talk about giving in our groups
- Play: 5min Countdown
Ask questions about each of the sets of pictures on the activity page and have the kids color the picture you direct them to color. Then, talk about why that is correct and how it fits with what they’ve learned about Lionel’s story at the Train Station.
Questions:
- Farmer Faith showed us a pumpkin and a pumpkin seed. Which one is smaller? Let’s color the seed. Can a small seed make a great, big pumpkin?
- I see a kid and an adult. Can only adults give or can kids give, too. That’s right, both can give. Let’s color both pictures.
- What kind of faces do you see? Does God want us to give with a happy face or with a sad face? That’s right, he wants us to give with a happy face.
Great job! I’m glad that we can all give. Let’s listen to a story about a lady who gave her best to God.
- Play: Big Story Video
It’s important to pray and talk to God before you decide to give something. That way you can ask God what you should give to help. Then, use your listening ears to help you follow what God says. Let’s close our eyes and ask God what we can give. (Pause) Good job. Now, I’ll pray. (Pray)
- Play: Conductor Carl Act 3
I’m proud of Lionel for deciding to give. He is using our Big Point. Let’s say our Big Point again,
- Play: Big Point Video Short
I Have Faith To Give What I Have! Conductor Carl gave us a great idea for the Big Do.
- Play: The Big Do
Use the money you’ve collected this month to give. It doesn’t matter how much it is, just give it to God. What kinds of things could we do with our offerings? (Allow for answers) Those are great ideas. I’m so glad that we can all give.
Let’s Practice our Big Point again. Hmm, did our Big Point say I Have Faith To Give What I Have! or I Have Faith To Give Nothing? I Have Faith To Give What I Have!
Let’s count to ten. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Who had ten coins at the Train Station today? Lionel Did Lionel think his gift was big or small? Small Did Lionel not want to give his gift? Yes
Let’s pretend to lift a heavy bag of gold. Lift it over your head. Did the older lady or the rich people have bags of gold in the Big Story? Rich people What did the older lady give in the offering? 2 coins
Can you make a big smile? Make it even bigger. Make it so big that it covers your whole face. Show someone beside you that smile. Let’s see how long we can make our face freeze with the smile. Whose gift did Jesus say God was pleased with? The rich people or the older lady? Older lady Did Jesus say it was because the older lady gave her worst gift or her best gift? Best gift
Let’s pretend to eat some fruit. What kind of fruit do you like? Let’s pretend to spit out the fruit seeds. Did Farmer Faith say that fruit trees start out with big, giant seeds or small ones? Small ones Did she tell Lionel that just like small seeds grow into trees, God can grow His gifts? Yes
Pretend you are getting dressed for school. Let’s choose the silliest outfit to wear. What color shirt would you want? What else should we put on? (Let them choose additional items. Encourage them to be silly) What does our Big Verse say? 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIrV), “Each of you should give what you have ______ in your heart to give.” a. Decided b. Not decided
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