Lesson 4: Mary’s gift of perfume.
Passage: John 12:1-8 - Six days before Passover, Jesus visited his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in their home for dinner. While Martha served the food and Lazarus was relaxing at the table with Jesus, Mary took her very expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair, and the whole house smelled like perfume. Judas spoke up and asked why the expensive perfume wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor instead. But Jesus told Judas to leave her alone because she had anointed him in preparation for his death and burial. He said that while they would always have the poor among them, they would not always have him.
Big Idea: Giving our best to Jesus.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Play dough play — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our fourth week learning about some of the stories from the Bible about the friends of Jesus. Last week we learned about how Jesus made friends with a guy named Zacchaeus, who a lot of people didn’t like.
Can anyone remember why people didn’t like Zacchaeus? (he was a tax collector who took money from people)
How did Jesus treat Zacchaeus in that story? (he was nice to him and went to his house to spend time with him)
From that story we learned about how important it is to treat others well, no matter who they are, especially if they are feeling left out and lonely.
Today we’re going to hear another story about some of Jesus’ friends. Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Who were Jesus’ friends that he had dinner with in the story?
What was the surprising thing that Mary did for Jesus?
What did some of the others think about it? What did they say?
Did Jesus also think it was a waste for her to use the perfume on his feet? Why or why not?
What are some ways we can give our best for Jesus, just like Mary did?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Jesus’ friend Mary, and how she poured her very expensive perfume on his feet. Thank you for what this story teaches us about giving our best to Jesus. Please help us find ways to give our very best every day. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Paper Plate Perfume Bottles — Activity Leader
Perfume bottles made out of paper plates will be pre-cut. Kids will decorate them with the supplies available.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Hot Potato / Beach Ball Toss — Activity Leader
Kids will sit in a circle and either pass the ball around like a hot potato or throw it to one another across the circle while music plays. When the music stops, the kid who is holding the ball must answer the question written on the ball that’s facing them.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our fourth week of our series about the disciples of Jesus. Last week we learned about how Jesus made friends with a guy named Zacchaeus, who a lot of people didn’t like.
Can anyone remember why people didn’t like Zacchaeus? (he was a tax collector who took money from people)
How did Jesus treat Zacchaeus in that story? (he was nice to him and went to his house to spend time with him)
From that story we learned about how important it is to treat others with kindness, no matter what other people think about them.
Today we’re going to hear another story about some of Jesus’ disciples. Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Who were Jesus’ friends that he had dinner with in the story?
What was the surprising thing that Mary did for Jesus?
Who was it that spoke up and said they didn’t like it? What was their argument?
Did Jesus also think it was a waste for her to use the perfume on his feet? Why or why not?
What do you think Mary’s actions tell us about her and how she felt about Jesus? What can we learn from her example?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Jesus’ friend and disciple Mary, and how she poured her very expensive perfume on his feet. Thank you for what this story teaches us about giving our best to Jesus. Please help us find ways to give our very best every day. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Paper Plate Perfume Bottles — Activity Leader
Perfume bottles made out of paper plates will be pre-cut. Kids will decorate them with the supplies available.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Hot Potato / Beach Ball Toss — Activity Leader
Kids will sit in a circle and either pass the ball around like a hot potato or throw it to one another across the circle while music plays. When the music stops, the kid who is holding the ball must answer the question written on the ball that’s facing them.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
It’s now week 4 of our series on the followers of Jesus. Last week we learned about how Jesus made friends with a guy named Zacchaeus.
Can anyone remember who Zacchaeus was and why it was such a big deal that Jesus made friends with him?
What do you think that story teaches us about popularity and what’s really important?
Today we’re going to be learning about another one of Jesus’ followers. Someone who wasn’t one of the twelve disciples but was still a really close friend and follower of Jesus.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Who were the friends that Jesus visited for dinner?
What was it that Mary did in the story that shocked everyone?
Who was it that spoke up and what did he say? What did Jesus think?
Why do you think Mary decided to use her expensive perfume in this way?
What’s something we can learn form her example?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Jesus’ friend Mary who poured her expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet because she knew he wasn’t going to be around for much longer. Thank you for what this story teaches us about giving our best to Jesus, just like Mary gave her expensive perfume. Please help us find ways to give Jesus our very best every day. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Decorate Perfume Jars — Activity Leader
Kids will be given jars/bottles which they can decorate with colored tissue paper. They can also add a verse to it on a string.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Which of Jesus’ friends was the story all about?
What was the surprising thing Mary did for Jesus?
What did some of the others say about it? What did Jesus think?
What are some ways we can also give our very best for Jesus?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Whose home did Jesus was visit for dinner?
What was the shocking thing Mary did? Why do you think she did it?
How did the others at the dinner react? What did Jesus say?
What do you think is a lesson we can learn from this story?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Whose home did Jesus visit for dinner? What was their relationship to Jesus? (they were his friends and followers)
What was the shocking thing that happened during the dinner?
How did the other disciples of Jesus react? How did Jesus react?
Why do you think Mary decided to use her expensive perfume this way? What can we learn from her example?
