LESSON OVERVIEW Session Title Bible Passage Luke 16:19-31 Big Picture Question What is heaven? Heaven is the place where God is. Key Passage Matthew 13:11 Unit Christ Connection Jesus taught in parables so His followers would understand how to live in anticipation of His second coming. TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Prep Time In Luke 16, Jesus taught His disciples about money. The Pharisees listened, and they did not like what they heard. The Pharisees loved money. (See Luke 16:14.) Then Jesus told them a parable about two men. The first man was rich, wearing expensive clothes and feasting daily. The second man, whose name was Lazarus, was poor and sick. He sat outside the rich man s gate. Lazarus suffered greatly, and he died. Then the rich man died too. Nothing the rich man had on earth helped him in eternity. The parable reveals that the rich man went to Hades. Hades is a Greek word that translates to hell, the place of the dead. Luke says that the rich man was in torment there. (Luke 16:23) He looked up and saw Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith. At Abraham s side was the poor man, Lazarus. Lazarus was comforted in heaven while the rich man suffered in hell. There is a great chasm between heaven and hell, and no one can cross it. No one can change his mind and trust in Jesus after he has died. Remember that having wealth on earth is not a sin, and living in poverty is not a one-way ticket to heaven. Lazarus was saved by faith, but the rich man was consumed by his wealth. He devoted his life to living in luxury, and he did not love God or other people. In his suffering, he asked Abraham to warn his brothers. Abraham refused. Sending Lazarus would not help. The rich man s brothers had access to God s Word, and Scripture is clear about salvation. Even a miracle would not convince the brothers, as Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead and the religious leaders still plotted to kill Him. (See John 11:43-53.) As you teach kids about Jesus parable, clearly share the gospel. Getting into heaven has nothing to do with who you know, what you wear, or what you do. Entering into heaven requires faith in Jesus, the Son of God. The Bible says those who trust in Jesus will be with God forever, but those who reject Him will suffer without God forever. Note to Teachers: Any materials highlighted in red are provided in the classroom 2 & 3 Year Old Classroom Teachers: Classroom structure varies due to scheduled playground time Schedule is posted in each classroom

TRANSITION Time 15 minutes WELCOME 1{T I M E WELCOME/TRANSITION TIME (15 minutes) Greet boys and girls as they arrive. Direct them to work on the color/activity page. After that, they may choose to play with a favorite toy or do another activity that you have provided. 2{ 3{ COLOR PAGE ACTIVITY SHEET ACTIVITY Sort Food - Provided Crayons or colored pencils Color/activity sheet, 1 per child Guide the children to draw a line from the fruits to the basket, the vegetables to the bowl, and the meats to the plate. Say What is your favorite kind of fruit? vegetable? meat? In our country, most people have plenty to eat, but many people go to bed hungry at night. Jesus told a story of two men, one who had plenty to eat all the time and the other who had no food at all. When we have our snack today, we ll make sure to thank God for the food He has provided for us. Talk About Needs vs. Wants Provided Tell the children that a need is something they cannot live without, and a want is something that they can live without. Then hold up two of the provided pictures, one that is a need and one that is a want. Ask the children which is the need and which is the want. They can point to the need first and then to the want. Say God promises to provide for all of our needs. He does not promise to give us everything we want. Jesus told a story of two men. One man had everything he needed and spent his life trying to get everything he wanted. The other man didn t even have everything he needed, but he put his trust in God. We will find out what happened to these two men after they died. 4{ WORSHIP Classroom DVD contains worship songs for each unit that the children will enjoy learning. Unit 30 DVD 5{ TRANSITION TO LESSON Use your usual transition cue to signal that it is time for Bible study. Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention.

LESSON Time 20 minutes TIME 1 { TELL THE BIBLE 2 { Say Jesus story about the rich man and Lazarus surprised a bunch of people! In those days, people thought if you had a lot of money then you were special and good enough to be in heaven with God. Jesus showed people it doesn t matter whether you are rich or poor, important or unimportant, young or old. To be in heaven with Jesus, you need to turn away from sin and trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. THE BIBLE Luke 16:19-31 Jesus had been teaching His friends. He told them stories to help them learn about God and His kingdom. One day, Jesus told His friends a story about a rich man and a poor man. Jesus said, A man was very rich. Every day, he dressed in nice, purple clothes made of the finest cloth. He ate wonderful foods whatever he wanted. But another man sat at the gate of the rich man s house. This man was poor, and his name was Lazarus. Lazarus did not have nice clothes made of the finest cloth, and he did not eat wonderful foods. Lazarus was hungry. He wished he could eat the crumbs and bits of foods that fell off the rich man s table onto the floor. But Lazarus could only sit outside the rich man s house. One day, Lazarus died. The angels carried him to heaven, and Abraham was there. The rich man died too, and he was buried. The rich man did not go to heaven. The rich man looked up, and he saw Abraham far away in heaven with Lazarus. The rich man called out to Abraham. Father Abraham! he said, Be kind to me! Send Lazarus to help me. I am hurting! Abraham said, Son, remember what your life was like. You had so many good things riches, nice clothing, and wonderful foods. Lazarus had nothing but trouble in his life. Now Lazarus is comforted here, and you are hurting. The rich man said, Then father Abraham, please send Lazarus to my father s house on earth. I have five brothers there. Lazarus could warn them so that they will not come to this place of sadness and pain too. But Abraham said, Your brothers have the Scriptures. They should read and learn from that. The rich man said, No, father Abraham! If someone came to them from the dead, then they will be sorry for their sin. They will turn away from their sin and turn to God. Abraham said, If they do not listen to the Scriptures, then they will not listen to someone who came back from the dead. Christ Connection: People who know and trust in Jesus love Him more than anything else. Going to heaven is not about who you know, what kind of clothes you wear, or what you do. People who trust in Jesus, God s Son, will be with Him forever * Use only the words in RED to review the Bible story or tell it to younger preschoolers.

REVIEW/ SNACK AND VIDEO - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 { BIBLE REVIEW Review/Key Passage Key Passage Poster Big Picture Question Poster Ask the following review questions. What was the rich man s life like? (He dressed in nice clothes. He had a nice house. He ate wonderful foods.) What was the poor man named Lazarus life like? (He was hungry. He didn t have a house, but sat outside the rich man s house.) Where did the rich man go after he died? (to a place without God, where he was in pain) Where did Lazarus go when he died? (to heaven, where he was no longer hungry, hurting, or sad) What is heaven? Heaven is a place where God is. What did the rich man want Lazarus to do? (to go to the rich man s father s house and tell his brothers how to go to heaven) Where can we learn about God and how to get to heaven? (in the Bible) Say People who know and trust in Jesus love Him more than anything else. Going to heaven is not about who you know, what kind of clothes you wear, or what you do. People who trust in Jesus, God s Son, will be with Him forever. 2 { SNACK Snack Signal for cleanup time using the countdown video or whatever method you prefer. Take a bathroom break and wash hands before the snack. Ask for volunteers to help set up and serve the snack. Remind kids to wait until everyone has been served before eating. Thank God for your snack. 3 { VIDEO Watch Video Show the video (from Classroom DVD)

ACTIVITY/ PICK UP 1 { ACTIVITY Jump the Gap - Provided Stretch out two hula hoops a foot or two apart. Invite kids to line up and jump from hoop to the other, then move to the back of the line. In the second round, make the gap bigger between the two items. If kids cannot make the jump, they must sit out and cheer on their friends. Continue until the items are too far apart for kids to jump successfully. Say In Jesus story today, He mentions a gap that no one can cross. Jesus was saying that we can t do whatever we want to do when we are alive and then change our mind after we die. It is important to love Jesus and trust in Him while we are alive. One day, everyone who trusts in Jesus as our Savior will be with Him forever. What is heaven? Heaven is the place where God is. 2 { PICK UP Preschool children need to be picked up by a parent/grandparent and the adult must show the parent receipt with matching I.D. number. If the tag is missing, the adult can go to the Welcome Center and have a receipt reprinted. Welcome the nect session teachers and tell them what they need to know about the children who are present.