Here is our FREE Money Sunday School Lesson! By the end of this lesson, kids will understand why God created work and how he wants us to do work. Work is a gift from God that allows us to earn money and serve him. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School!  Work is how we earn money. It's not always easy, and it's not always fun, but work is a blessing from God that allows us to provide for ourselves and others. Work also gives us a chance to share our faith. When we develop an extra mile attitude, we can show people the love of Jesus through our work - and that's something far more valuable than money! Take a look at our  Piggy Bank University 4-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum. And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids!

Money Sunday School Lesson For Kids:

BOTTOM LINE:

Work is a gift from God that allows us to earn money and serve Him.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will understand why God created work and how he wants us to do work.

KEY PASSAGE:

Colossians 3:23. God’s will for work.

MEMORY VERSE:

“A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and even brags about it!” - Proverbs 13:16 (NIV)

SUMMARY:

Work is how we earn money. It's not always easy, and it's not always fun, but work is a blessing from God that allows us to provide for ourselves and others. Work also gives us a chance to share our faith. When we develop an extra mile attitude, we can show people the love of Jesus through our work - and that's something far more valuable than money!

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for work. Thank you for the opportunity it gives us to provide for our families and others. Give us a grateful heart so we can do our work for you.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

 

MEMORY VERSE

“A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and even brags about it!” - Proverbs 13:16 (NIV)

“Wise people act in keeping with the knowledge they have. But foolish people show how foolish they are.” - Proverbs 13:16 (NIrV)

LARGE GROUP:

Divide the room in half.  Pick one side to start and have them all shout the first word, then the other side shouts the second word, and so on until they finish the verse.

SMALL GROUP:

Give all the kids a Bible.  After you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

 

SKIT

 

CRICKET AND ADAM ANT

ITEMS NEEDED:

A blanket, two phones

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

2M, 2F

CHARACTERS:

Sarah- Narrator

Joey- A heckler

Cricket- A lazy girl

Adam- Cricket's best friend

Sarah and Joey enter and sit on the side of the stage.

SARAH- I'd like to tell you a little story.

JOEY- How little is it?

SARAH- This is the story about a Cricket.

JOEY- A cricket? Man, that is little.

SARAH- No, I'm not talking about a bug cricket.

JOEY- You mean it's a giant, evil cricket that's mutated and wants to take over the world?

SARAH- No, actually, she was a very nice girl.

JOEY- A girl? Well, that's close enough I guess. Girls are strange… like bugs.

Cricket enters.

SARAH- Her real name was Jessie, but all of her friends called her Cricket. She was a nice girl, as I said. But she had one flaw.

JOEY- You mean besides being a girl?

SARAH- Cricket was kind of, well, lazy. She never did any more work than she absolutely had to.

CRICKET- Eh, why should I? It's a big beautiful world, and I'd much rather play than work.

JOEY- Sounds like the good life to me!

SARAH- Cricket had a friend named Adam. Adam Ant.

Adam enters.

SARAH- And while Cricket was very lazy, Adam was a really hard worker. This frustrated Cricket to no end.

CRICKET- Hey, Adam, what's going on?

ADAM- Oh, you know me, work work work.

CRICKET- All work and no play? Come on, Adam, we need to go to the park. I need to practice my hoops.

ADAM- I'd love to, but I promised my mom I would have the house clean before Aunt Ruth and the cousins come into town. She’s paying me by the hour. Isn’t that great?

CRICKET- Whatever, Adam!

SARAH- Yes, Cricket found herself seeing less and less of her old friend. You see, they were both getting older, and able to take on more responsibility, but only Adam seemed willing to do that.

CRICKET- Hey, Adam! There's a Power Rangers marathon on TV Saturday! We should watch it together!

ADAM- Sorry, Cricket. I'm making some extra money raking leaves for the neighbors.

CRICKET- (sarcastically) Oh boy! That sounds like fun!

ADAM- Hey, I know it's a sacrifice, but I'm earning money.

CRICKET- But you could be having fun!

ADAM- I will have fun also. But right now, this is more important.

CRICKET- More important than spending time with your friend?

ADAM- Hey, you could come with me! Help me rake leaves! I'll split the money with you.  

CRICKET- Yeah, sure, Adam, sounds like a barrel of laughs.

ADAM- Well, okay, but some day you might be sorry you didn't work now and play later.

CRICKET- Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go watch Power Rangers.

Adam and Cricket exit.

JOEY- Whoa! I can't believe her!

SARAH- I know. She's pretty lazy.

JOEY- No, not that! A girl who likes Power Rangers? She must have been the coolest girl alive!

SARAH- You think so, huh?

JOEY- Can you give me any reason she's not that cool?

SARAH- Sure, let's fast forward to winter time. The weather changed, and one night, a huge snowstorm fell on the neighborhood where Adam and Cricket lived.

Cricket enters, shivering, wrapped in a blanket.

SARAH- It was very cold. And Cricket was very bored.

CRICKET- I am so BORED!!!

SARAH- So, of course, she called her best friend.

Cricket dials a phone. Adam enters and answers.

ADAM- Hello?

CRICKET- Adam? Oh thank goodness. It's Cricket. How are you?

ADAM- Kinda busy. Can't talk.

CRICKET- What?? Don't tell me you're out working in this snow!

ADAM- No, no. It's too cold and too deep. I'm playing Playstation 4 right now.

CRICKET- You're what?

ADAM- I'm playing on Playstation 4. It's so much fun.

CRICKET- Where did you get a Playstation 4???

ADAM- I bought it.

CRICKET- How?

ADAM- With the money I made raking leaves.

CRICKET- You made that much money raking some stupid leaves?

ADAM- Well, no, but I raked a lot of yards over the fall. And after a while, the money added up.

CRICKET- Do you have any games?

ADAM- Oh yeah, a bunch! I bought those with the money Mom gave me for working around the house.

CRICKET- Gee... sounds like you're having fun.

ADAM- Oh, lots! But I have to let you go.

CRICKET- What? No, Adam, don't go. I'm so bored! I need someone to talk to.

ADAM- Sorry, Cricket, I'm playing football with my brother, and the Bengals are about to win the Super Bowl! Gotta go!

Adam hangs up.

SARAH- So Cricket was left alone and bored all winter, while the hard-working Adam enjoyed the Playstation 4 his work had earned him. The end.

 

OBJECT LESSON

 

ITEMS NEEDED:

A toilet brush

Toilet brushes are a one of those things that little kids who can't work love to play with. They know they are forbidden, but they're just so fun! They have all those bristles on the end, perfect for back scratching, brushing hair, brushing their sibling's hair, brushing their teeth, or doing like mommy and daddy do and sticking it in the toilet.

Fast forward a few years, the toilet brush is no longer a thing of fascination. It's a symbol of work. The toilet brush is the tool for one of the grossest jobs in the house. It's nowhere near the grossest job in the world. There are jobs far more disgusting performed by grown ups every day. But in a kid's world, this has to be one of the most unpleasant ways we earn our allowance.

But just like any job, scrubbing the toilet is a gift from God. It's a chance to earn money, to do a service for your family, and to practice your work habits for the future. When you scrub a toilet for the Lord, you can choose to do so with gratitude. You can be thankful you not only have parents who let you earn money, but be thankful for the home you have.

And don't forget to give that "extra mile." If you see a spot that needs extra scrubbing, scrub it. If the garbage next to the toilet needs emptying, empty it. It won't earn you extra money, but it's a great way to show that you're working for something else besides a quick buck.

Work isn't easy. Neither is going the extra mile. But we can be thankful for the opportunity we have to earn money and use it to serve God and others - even when it is kind of gross.

 

LARGE GROUP GAME

 

COUNTING PENNIES

ITEMS NEEDED:

Six cans or jars, sealed, each with a different number of coins in them.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fill the coins with different numbers of pennies - 1, 5, 25, 50, 100, 200 - seal them, and set them on the table. Use your talents to determine how many coins are in each can and sort them in order from most to least. Get the cans in the correct order, and you win a return on your talents. Fail, and you lose everything. You'll end up like the servant who failed to invest and lost all he had!  

VARIATION:

Do away with the time limit or reduce the number of cans for younger kids.

 

LARGE GROUP LESSON

BOTTOM LINE:

Work is a gift from God that allows us to earn money and serve Him.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will understand why God created work and how he wants us to do work.

KEY PASSAGES:

Proverbs 14:23 (not referenced in the lesson), Colossians 3:23, Matthew 5:41 (not referenced). God’s will for work.

INTRO

How many people here today have some money to their name? If you left here today, went to the mall, saw something cool for like five bucks, how many of you have the money? You could make the call and just buy it?

How many people here would say they have "enough" money? However you would define it, who thinks they have "enough"?

If you haven't figured it out yet, we're going to be talking about money. Money doesn't seem like a church topic, but believe it or not, Jesus talked more about money than almost any other subject. Money is something we all need. Money provided this church building, the clothes we wore to come here, and all the cool props we used to set up for this lesson on money.

But money can cause as many problems as it solves. Money creates divisions in relationships. The pursuit of money can consume you. It can, in a way, become a god.Over the next few weeks, we're going to talk about money, and we'll begin today with the question, "How do we earn money?"

Notice I said "earn," and not get? When we're young, we all "get" money on special occasions like our birthday, but you can’t live on birthday cash. If you want money on a regular basis, you have to do something for it - you have to "work."

Work is how we earn money. Work is something that kids can't wait to do when they're too small to do it, but as soon as they are big enough, they spend the rest of their life complaining about it. It's true! How many of you remember when you were real little and you watched mom and dad clean the house? You saw one of them using a rag to dust the furniture and baseboards so you ran and grabbed a rag and followed behind them. It was fun! You were being a big kid and helping mommy and daddy.

Work isn't play now that you're older. It's a "chore." That's such an ugly sounding word, isn't it? It's a chore to do the dishes, fold the laundry, run the vacuum, or cut the grass. But for most of you, tied in with that chore is the lure of money. If you can get through that chore, you can actually earn some money. That's why not just kids, but millions of people across the world, will endure jobs they do not like - so they can make money.

We all love money, but almost none of us are actually happy with the way we earn it. But work was all a part of God's plan, and with a little help from the Lord, we can take a new attitude about work.

READ Colossians 3:23

MAIN POINT

Work is a gift from God. Work is the way God made for us to provide for our needs. A wise man knows that working hard is the best way to provide for himself, and for his family.

Work also provides all the resources we all need. Imagine for a moment that God made a tree that grew money. We'd all become rich overnight picking money from the trees, but where would we spend it, and how? If no one worked, there would be no one to build houses, make clothes, grow food, or any of the resources we take for granted.

Finally, work is a gift from God because work is a way of helping each other. It's not just empty words when we say that certain professions provide a "service." From the waiters in restaurants, to plumbers, to kids who help around the house, everyone who works is providing a service to others.

DRIVE IT HOME

Providing that service is not always easy. Sometimes we have other things we’d rather do than work, like watch a movie or do homework. But it’s times like that when we most need to remember that we are not just working for ourselves, but working for God.

As Christians, we are the only Jesus some people will ever see. If we are mean and complaining when we work, no one's going to want to know more about Jesus, but if we are cheerful, joyful, and always loving in our attitude, we can show people that our faith in God is real. We can not only meet their physical needs, but their spiritual needs as well.I think this paragraph is a good example of the content being a little too mature for our audience. What does “we are the only Jesus some people will ever see” mean to a five year old?

Work is how we earn money. It's not always easy, and it's not always fun, but work is a blessing from God that allows us to provide for ourselves and others. Work also gives us a chance to share our faith. When people see the joy we have working for the Lord, it shows them that our faith is real. We can make a difference in the lives of others. All we have to do is remember who we really work for.

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for work. Thank you for the opportunity it gives us to provide for our families and others. Give us a grateful heart so we can do our work for you.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

The sections I underlined in the large group lesson are areas where I think the content could be altered somewhat to become more specific to elementary age kids. The examples are either a little too mature, or they are vague, and details could be added to make them more specific to our target audience.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER

What kind of chores do you do in the house?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Proverbs 13:16

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Have the kids do some charades by acting out different kinds of chores they do at home.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What kind of job do you want to have when you grow up?

Do you think that kind of work will be easy or hard?

What are some of the things we would miss out on having if people did not work?

Read Colossians 3:23

What does this scripture say about work?

How can we do our work for God?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Forgive us for the times we grumble and complain about work. Help us to remember we are working for you so we can be joyful about our work.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)

ICEBREAKER

What kind of chores do you do around the house?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Proverbs 13:16

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Have the kids act out scenes where they grumble over work and then where they do their work for God.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What kind of job do you want to have when you grow up?

What is a job you have to do every day at your house?

Do you know what sort of challenges you'll face at that job? What sort of things might make working that job less than desirable?

Do you like that job?  Why or why not? Do you do the job on your own or do you have to be reminded?  When you do that job, do you have a joyful attitude or do you grumble?

What are some of the things we would miss out on having if people did not work?

What would happen at your house if no one in your family did that job?

Read Colossians 3:23

How can we work for the Lord?

What happens when we do our work for the Lord?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Forgive us for the times we grumble and complain about work. Help us to remember we are working for you so we can be joyful about our work.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Money Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link). 

Here's a video from Children's Ministry Deals that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Money.

Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Money Sunday School Lesson: 

Bible Lesson about "The Love of Money" - Ministry-To-Children

Youth Group Lessons on Money | Ministry to Youth

Lesson 5 - The Truth About Money - Teen Sunday School Place