Sunday School at Home for September 18

The Dishonest Manager

Theme: Honesty
Scripture: Luke 16:1-13
Complete Supply List:
● A Bible
● Masking tape
● “The Dishonest Manager” video lesson
● Something to play the video
● Graham crackers - 1 per child
● Green icing
● Plastic knives - 1 per child
● Napkins
● Paper plates - 1 per child
● Small white candies
● Supplies for the kids’ favorite game
● Key chain rings - 1 per child
● Chenille wire - 1 per child
● Paper
● Scissors
● Clear tape or Contact paper
● Markers

The Children’s Sermon
You’ll Need:
● A Bible
● Masking tape

Get Ready: Divide the room in half with a masking tape line.
Do This:
SAY: Today we’ll be learning from Jesus about honesty. Let’s do an activity to help
us think about honesty before we hear what Jesus says about it. (Have the kids
gather along the masking tape line.)
Pretend your mom gave you two cookies to bring to your next door neighbor. This
is your favorite kind of cookie, and it smells so good! Your mom said after you
come back from your neighbor’s and eat some lunch, then you’d get to have four
cookies, but you’re hungry right now.
When I say “Go,” if you think the right choice is to eat one cookie on the way to
your neighbor’s—he would never know, right—go to this side of the room. (Point to
one side of the room.) If you think the right choice is to bring both the cookies to
your neighbor and return home for lunch, you’ll go to this side of the room. (Point to
the opposite side of the room.) Go! (Pause, and allow kids to make their choice.)
The honest or trustworthy choice is to give your neighbor the two cookies. If you
can be trusted with two cookies, then you can be trusted with many cookies,
right?
Have kids return to the line, and repeat the same process for the following scenarios:
● Grandma gave you $10 to buy her a soda at the church craft show. After you do,
you notice you have enough money leftover to buy a cool toy you saw. Do you
bring the change back to grandma, or do you use the money to buy the toy
before you go back to her?
● You’re at the arcade and you find a wallet with $30 in it, but there’s nothing in it
that says the name of the owner. Do you put the $30 in your pocket and leave
the wallet where it is, or do you turn the wallet into the lost-and-found?
Honesty is shown by both what we say and what we do. We always have a
choice—like we did in our activity—to be honest about what we say and do. And
when we’re honest with small, easy things, then Jesus says we can be trusted
with bigger and harder choices.
Jesus told a story about a rich man who had a manager working for him who was
dishonest. The rich man asked his manager to explain how he’d been using the rich
man’s money, and sure enough he had been taking some of the money for himself
and cheating his employer.
ASK:
● What do you think happened, and why?
● Explain whether you would trust the worker if you were his boss.
The manager was fired, but before he was, he made up a plan to make some
friends who could help him when he was out of work. He went to all the people
who owed his employer. He found out how much they each owed, and said they
could pay a much smaller amount, if they paid now. These people were happy to
pay a fraction of what they owed, and the manager became their friend since he
gave them a discount.
After Jesus told this parable, he said to his disciples, "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." If people know that they can trust us in
small things, they will know that they can trust us in the big things too.
PRAY: God, help us to remember what Jesus taught about honesty--and help us to
be honest in every situation--big or small. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Video Lesson
You’ll Need:
● “The Dishonest Manager” video lesson
● Something to play the video


Do This:
Show the video.
ASK:
● Explain how well you think the characters in our video did at being honest.
● If you were the brother in our video, what would you have done? The sister?

Money Snack
You’ll Need:
● Graham crackers - 1 per child
● Green icing
● Plastic knives - 1 per child
● Napkins
● Paper plates - 1 per child
● Small white candies
Do This:
Follow these steps for the 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!

Trusted
You’ll Need:
● Supplies for the kids’ favorite game
Do This:
SAY: Jesus says when we can be trusted with little, we can be trusted with big
amounts. I was thinking about that, and how much you all love to play [kids’
favorite game]. Let’s practice being trustworthy today.
Follow these steps for the game:
● Review the rules of the game.
● Invite kids to talk about the ways dishonesty might mess up the big fun of the
game.
● Invite all the children to commit that they can be trusted in the game.
● Allow time for kids to play.
ASK:
● What did this game teach you about why you want to be trusted with little?
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 Keychains
You’ll Need:
● Key chain rings - 1 per child
● Chenille wire - 1 per child
● Paper
● Scissors
● Clear tape or Contact paper
● Markers
Do This:
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, everyday.
● Explain that they’ll be making “Honesty Keychains” they can take through their
days.
● Have kids each take a chenille wire in their color of choice and wrap it into a
tight circle.
● Have them attach these to the key chain rings.
● Have each child cut a shape for their keychain pendant.
● Have them decorate their pendant on both sides in a way that will remind them
of honesty.
● They’ll use the clear tape to cover their pendants.
● Then they’ll attach the pendant to their chenille wire using tape.
SAY: Keep these keychains as a reminder to be honest all the time, and in all you
do.

Honesty Prayers
Do This:
Lead kids to pray in this way:
● Read aloud Luke 16:10.
● Have kids pair off.
● Invite kids to share with their partners an area they’d like to grow in honesty.
● Have kids pray for one another.
● 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.