Lesson Aim:
God wants us to understand that everyone has something to give and no one is too poor to be generous; every believer can experience the grace and joy of giving by sharing according to his means.

Activity:

• Give one half of the people in the group a packet of dry soup. (1 packet per person)
• Give the other half a cup of hot water. (1 cup per person)
• After a few moments, ask these questions:
• How do you feel about having a packet of soup but no hot water?
• How do you feel about having a cup of hot water but no soup?
• If you share and give what you have to another person in the group, what happens?
• If someone shares with you, what happens?
• How did you feel when you put your resources together and shared?
• Dry soup without hot water does not taste good. Hot water without soup lacks nourishment and is not nearly as satisfying as delicious, hot soup. But if we give to each other, we can all have delicious, nutritious soup to eat.
• Make the soup and enjoy eating it while watching this video: A Handful of Rice

Main Lesson from Activity:
No matter how much or little we can give, it all makes a difference. It brings joy and a fulfilled life when we give to others.

Scripture:
Mark 12:41-43 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (read all or just this part of the passage) The Macedonian Church’s Generosity—And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

V14 … The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

Responding to God’s Word (Discovery Bible Study)–Read the scripture passage for today out loud three or four times, with someone different reading it each time. Then ask these questions, allowing time for everyone to respond:

• What does this tell me about God?
• What does this tell me about myself (and people in general)?
• How does God want me to respond to this? Does He want me to change something, to repent of something, to take action (obey)?
• What will I do to obey God this week?

Pray to end your Devotional time–Use this time in prayer as another opportunity for your family to learn to communicate with each other and the Lord. Consider these formats for your prayer time:

• After listing prayer requests, ask one person to open and another to close, and tell everyone they are welcome to pray for one of the needs on the list in-between those prayers
• Divide up into pairs and have people pray for each other (pair older siblings or a parent with younger children)
• Use the acronym ACTS to pray—Adoration (praising God for who He is); Confession (admitting anything you’ve done wrong and asking forgiveness); Thanksgiving (thanking God for your life and God’s blessings); Supplication (praying for the needs of others).