The Rich Fool Preschool Sunday School Lesson (Free, Ages 3–6)
Preschool lesson (ages 3–6, 20 minutes)
1. Welcome (3 min)
Sit in a circle, greet every child by name and show one thing from the story to touch.
2. The little story (5 min)
Teach the refrain first: “Life is more than lots of things.”
Many people were listening to Jesus. A man in the crowd called out to him. “Teacher, tell my brother to share our family’s things with me!” He wanted his part of the money and things.
Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge over you?” A judge decides who is right when people fight.
Then Jesus said to all the people, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness.” Covetousness means always wanting more and more things. More and more and more! Life is more than lots of things.
Then Jesus told them a story. There was a rich man. He had big fields. One year his fields grew lots and lots of crops. Grain, grain, and more grain!
Can you show me how the grain grew? Crouch down small. Now grow up, up, up, tall!
The rich man thought and thought. “What will I do? I don’t have room to store my crops.” His barns were too small. A barn is a big building to keep food in.
Then he said, “This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, build bigger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods.” Goods are the things you own.
Can you show me with your arms? A big barn. A bigger barn. The biggest barn of all!
The rich man talked to himself. “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” That means: Now I can rest and have fun. He did not say one word about God. Life is more than lots of things.
But God said to him, “You foolish one! Tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared – whose will they be?” That very night, his life on earth would end. All his things would stay behind in the barns. He could not take even one grain with him.
Jesus said, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Rich toward God means having your treasure with God. Life is more than lots of things.
Then Jesus said to his friends, “Consider the ravens. They don’t sow. They don’t reap. They have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them.” Ravens are big black birds. To sow means to plant seeds. To reap means to bring in the crops.
Caw, caw! Can you flap your wings like a raven? The ravens have no barns at all. But God gives them food.
Jesus said, “How much more valuable are you than birds!” Valuable means very precious.
And Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, little flock. For it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” That means: God is glad to give it. A flock is a group of sheep. Jesus called his friends his little flock.
The best treasure is not in a barn. It is with God, who feeds the birds and takes care of you. Life is more than lots of things.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- Why do you think the rich man wanted bigger and bigger barns?
- What things are more important than having lots of toys?
4. Move (3 min)
Refrain Freeze: move around the room; when you say the refrain, everyone freezes and says it together.
5. Make (4 min)
Draw the rich man’s biggest barn, full of grain.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” — Luke 12:34 (your treasure → cup your hands like a little box; your heart → put both hands on your heart)
Dear God, thank you for all the good things you give me. You are my best treasure. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: True riches come from a giving heart
Memory verse: “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.” — Luke 12:15 · WEB
The Bible story
A rich man's fields grow so much grain that he builds bigger barns to keep it all for himself, until God shows what truly makes a life rich.
Talk about it
- Who was telling this story to the people? — Jesus
- What did the rich man's land produce? — A huge harvest
- What did a man in the crowd ask Jesus to do? — Tell his brother to share
- What problem did the rich man have? — Nowhere to store it all
- What did the rich man decide to do? — Build bigger barns
- Who was the farmer thinking about in his daydream? — Only himself
Where is Jesus in this story?
Jesus told this story to show that God cares far more about our hearts than about our stuff. Jesus himself was rich in heaven, yet he gave everything and came to us with empty hands so that he could fill our lives with God's love. He is the greatest treasure of all, and when we follow him we become rich in the ways that truly last forever.
What God wants to tell us
Jesus shows us that having lots of things does not make a life truly rich. The farmer filled his barns but left his heart empty because he forgot God and never shared. God wants us to be thankful for what we have and to open our hands to others. When we love God and share with people who have less, our hearts grow full of the kind of treasure that never runs out.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for everything you give me every day. Help me not to be greedy, but to say thank you and to share with others. Please make my heart full of love for you and for the people around me. Amen.
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