The Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet: Luke 7:36-50
We believe that spiritual development happens in the home as well as at church. We hope that these ideas will help you engage as a family. It’s designed to help you connect with your child about the lesson they had this past week. Use all the ideas one night, or spread them out throughout the week. Enjoy!
- ACTIVITY Items Needed: Bible
The kids learned the story of the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume. It’s found in Luke 7:36-50, and we encourage you to reread it straight from the Bible this week with your kids. Talk about the following questions as a family:
- How did the woman show extravagant love?
- Why do you think Jesus told the parable of the moneylenders to Simon?
- What did Simon not understand?
- Do you sometimes take your relationship with God for granted?
- How can we show extravagant love to God?
- How does loving the members of our family show extravagant love to God?
- KNOW YOUR BIBLE items needed: Bibles
Look up each of these verses and tell what each one says about love.
- Proverbs 8:17
- John 13:34-35
- Galatians 5:13
- Romans 13:8
- Ephesians 4:2
- Psalm 18:1
- 1 John 4:19-20
- ACTIVITY items needed: basin, water, towel
The woman in the story washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. How was that extravagant? We discussed that we can love Jesus extravagantly by serving Him. Get out a basin and towel, and then wash each other’s feet. How did you feel when doing this? Why is it important for us to humble ourselves before God and others in order to serve them with a true and generous heart?
- ACTIVITY items needed: baby food jars, cotton balls, essential oil, nail, hammer
We learned that the woman anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. Create a fragrance jar to help kids remember her extravagant gift. Take a small glass jar and put a few cotton balls inside. Add a few drops of essential oil (found in the candle/ potpourri aisle of most department/craft stores). Punch holes in the top of the jar by tapping a nail through it with a hammer. (You could also place a piece of netting over the top and secure it with a rubber band.) Decorate the jar, if desired. Then put it under a bed, in a closet, or any other place that needs a little fragrance.
- Science Experiment items needed: film canister, water, alka seltzer tablet, paper towels
What does it mean when you say, “I’m so excited, I’m just about ready to burst”? What does it mean when you say, “I’m bursting with joy”? It means that it’s way more than you could imagine. It’s extravagant! Then, I guess when we show extravagant love to God, we can say we’re bursting with love for God. What does that feel like to you? Let’s do a little experiment to see a physical picture of what “bursting with love for God” means.
Fill a film canister that has a snap-on lid about two-thirds with water. Break one Alka-Seltzer tablet in four pieces and drop them into the container. Snap the lid on, shake, and then quickly set the canister on the table.
What happened? The canister just couldn’t contain everything that was building up inside it. It had to come out. How is that like what our love for God should be? Daily experiencing His love should build up inside us so that we’re not able to keep it to ourselves. We have to let God know and we have to tell the people around us. We have to express our extravagant love for God! Or maybe we should say our “explosive” love.
For an added delight, try the same experiment only set the canister on its lid when you put it on the table. Or, see what happens if you use cola instead of water. Always test your experiments before presenting them in front of the kids. Have fun!
- Scripture Memory
Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.“
- Thought For The Week
WE CAN SHOW OUR LOVE FOR GOD IN EXTRAVAGANT WAYS!