Scripture: Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:12-19, Luke 19:45-48 and John 2:12-25
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn Jesus cleansed the Temple twice while he was one earth – the first time early in his ministry (John) and the second time three years later right before the Cross (Matthew, Mark and Luke).
- Students will learn Jesus does not want religious leaders to use their positions to make money off of worshippers by stealing from them or putting a heavy financial burden on them.
- Students will learn our first priority should always be to worship God, not to make money.
- Students will learn how to work with money and buy/sell items in a marketplace.
Guiding Question: Why does God want us to have Him as our first priority? How were worshippers tricked?
Materials: Toy/paper sheep, goats, birds, baked goods, pillows, blankets, etc., fake money
Procedure: Review the story of Jesus Cleanses the Temple. Remind students that the reason Jesus was upset was because the religious leaders were trying to make money off other people and taking advantage of them. That does not display a heart and mind of someone who puts God first. God wants us to put Him first so that we can work with others the right way and worship Him in all we do.
Remind students what a traditional marketplace looks like and what is sold there. Have the students come up with their own marketplace and have students make various price “signs” for different costs of animals to practice writing money amounts correctly. Prior to creating the signs, go over what different items would cost realistically and put examples on the board. Have students explain how to write money and review how to write money.
Additional Questions: How can students create their own budgets?
Supplemental Activity: Give students a blank budget with spots for certain expenses (gas, groceries, rent, entertainment, etc). Have students come up with what they think is a realistic amount of money that would be spent in each section and come up with their own budgets.