CrossKids Devo | Lost Coin

Activity – How RU Doing

Draw a line on a sheet of paper. Place a 1 on the left end of the line, a 10 on the right, and a 5 in the middle. As kids arrive, ask them to pencil in their initials on the line.

Say: If your day was so awful you wish you'd slept through it, place your initials by the 1. If it was a great day and you wish you could repeat, put your initials by the 10. Place your initials anywhere on the line that shows how you feel today.

Bible Time – Lost Coin – Luke 15:8-10 Religious leaders in Jesus' day were upset to see Jesus hanging around with people who had bad reputations--including tax collectors.

Tax collectors at that time deserved their bad reputations. They worked for the Romans, the army that had conquered their country. Tax collectors made money by taking more money from citizens than Rome required.

The result: tax collectors got rich--by stealing.

Jesus told this story about a lost coin to make a point: that he came to seek and save lost people--even terrible sinners like tax collectors. And when a sinner came to God, there was a celebration just like when the woman found her lost coin.

That's how much your kids are worth. That's what you're worth. Help each of your children hear this message loud and clear: God wants us--a lot!

Say: Jesus told a story about a woman who lost a coin--a silver coin-- one of only ten she had. The value of the coin, which was a drachma, was high: about a full day's pay for a worker. Let's see how she reacted to her loss.

Read: Luke 15:8

Say: There are two clues that this woman was poor. First, she had just ten coins. Second, she had to light a lamp to find her coin. That meant her house had no windows or natural light, which a more expensive house would have had. So what did she do? She looked for the coin! Ask: Where would you look for the coin if you lost it?

Age-Alert Tips

Let younger kids draw simple pictures of where they would look for the lost coin.

Read: Luke 15:9, 10

Ask these questions:

• Why did Jesus tell this story?

• Why do you suppose angels are happy when people come to God?

• Why do you think God wants a friendship with us?

Say: God gave us his laws. He sent prophets to tell us what he wanted. He sent his Son to save us. He left his Holy Spirit to help us. God wants us--a lot! The question is: do we want him too? Of course we do!

Pray: Give your kids a coin while you pray so they can think about how much God values and loves them.