Give everything to God!
key words
biblical reference
Mark 12:41-44
lesson objective
To help the children give everything they have to God
memory verse
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
After debating with the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and preaching to the multitudes of people who followed him, Jesus wanted to rest. He sat down opposite the place where people brought their offerings. He watched a lot of people come and bring their offerings. But of all the people who gave their offerings, Jesus spoke to his disciples about a poor widow who came to give her money. She deposited in the offering only two very small copper coins, not worth very much. With this action of the widow, Jesus taught a big lesson about giving. She gave all the money that she had, everything she had to live on (v. 44).
In the verses prior to this, Jesus denounced the scribes for mistreating widows (v .40).
To give is a characteristic of humans that loses its meaning in an egotistical society. The Christian message that says that God wants us to give him everything is poorly interpreted.
This story of the widow and her copper coins clearly shows us the love we should have when we give. Her decision to give everything she had should be an example to us. We can learn how to love God and others in materialistic societies.
introduce the lesson
Remind the children about the past lessons about Christmas.
What is important to me
After reviewing the earlier lessons, have the children think about objects or things of value that are very important to them. If they have paper they can write them down.
When they are done, ask: “What would you be willing to give to a friend?”
Lastly, ask them, “Of that list, what would you give to a stranger?”
Talk with them about why it is hard to give things of value away to someone they do not know, and what they think God wants them to give to him.
teach the lesson
The tiny, powerful coins
Prior to this session ask two volunteers to be prepared to read the parts of Mony and Dolly. (These names can be modified to reflect local money.) If you can, bring something they can dress up in to look more like money. This way you can better impact the children.
Start the drama off by telling the children about the two little coins that belonged to the widow that she took out of her purse while she walked. The coins begin to talk:
Mony: Dolly! It is so great to see you again, where have you been?
Dolly: I have been around! I am always being passed around without stopping. Last week I was even in the purse of a tax collector!
Mony: Seriously? Are you kidding me? Tell me, what kind of coins did you meet?
Dolly: I met some coins made of platinum and some dinaris. Those other coins made fun of me and said I did not make a difference, I was only copper.
Mony: Yeah, I get it. I have also gone through a similar situation. It has been a couple weeks, but a while ago, my owner was a man of power. He had coins of gold in his purse. And you know what? That gold coin did not even want to talk to me!
Dolly: Its okay, I guess, here we are in the market again. I wonder who we will belong to next.
Mony: Who knows?! But I am ready for a new adventure!
Dolly: You know what is interesting? This lady that we belong to now, she does not have any other coins, only us.
Mony: That is true; it is just the two of us in here.
Dolly: We are only two simple copper coins. She cannot buy much with only us. Do you think we are all she has?
Mony: I do not believe it! Everyone in the world has more money than two simple copper coins, but what can someone buy with only two copper coins?
Dolly: Well, look at her clothes, they are ripped and torn.
Mony: And you know what, we are moving a lot, this lady is going really fast! I wonder where we are going!
The coins sit still for a while.
Ask the children:
“What do you think is directing the woman? What do you think she is going to do with the money?”
Tell the following story of the widow who gave everything.
It was late in the afternoon when the lady rushed through the marketplace. She paused every once in a while to look at the food. She wanted so much to stop and enjoy a grape for dessert or one of the fresh cheeses for a snack. All of this reminded her she had not eaten all week, just a small piece of bread! It was all she had in her house.
She opened her hands to look at the only coins she had, they were only copper. She put them back inside her pocket of her tattered clothes so she would not lose them. Her thoughts were concentrated on her small coins. “I wish I had more to bring to God, but this is all I have.” She was thankful to the Lord that she even had these two small coins to offer.
When she arrived at the temple, she quickly went up the stairs. She went to a patio where the women went to deposit their offerings. There were lots of people in the temple that day. While she deposited her copper coins, she saw that in the offering box there were lots of gold and silver coins. Her coins looked so small and insignificant in comparison to the others. Her eyes filled with tears and her heart was content to have brought everything she had to God. After having given her offering, she left the temple. But, while she was the temple, someone watched everything she did. It was Jesus and he called his disciples and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”
The small coins return to the front.
Mony: Did you see where we are at?
Dolly: Yes! We are in the temple offering! It is the first time I have ever been here.
Mony: Me too! I thought we would end up in the marketplace.
Dolly: That lady was really hungry; I imagined we would stay there too.
Mony: Then, why did she bring us here??
Dolly: (softly) Do not tell anyone but I think we are an offering to God. We were all the money that lady had and she gave us to God. Do not you feel important, Mony?
Mony: Obviously! But I feel uncomfortable being surrounded by all of these silver and gold coins.
Dolly: But, you know what, Mony? There are things that are more important than silver or gold!
Mony: I think you are right!
To finish off this part of the lesson have a child read Mark 12:41-44. When they are done reading, ask them, “Why do you think the widow gave her only two coins to God? Why did Jesus say that these two copper coins were worth more than silver or gold?”
connect the lesson
Review
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #313-A, #313-B and #313-C and use them to review the lesson.
We accept deposits
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #313-D. Invite the group to fill out a check to “Heaven’s Bank”. Once they are finished, they can deposit them into the box that you prepared beforehand. When everyone has made a deposit, pray with them that they too can bring their lives to God, everything they are and have.
practice the memory verse
To make memorizing more enjoyable for the children, you can try out the following: Write the verse on the board and have the children read it aloud. Then in the middle of the verse, they can lower their voice so that no one can hear them.
wrap-up
Pray
Finish the session with a moment of prayer. Each child can give thanks to God for giving his Son Jesus to save us, and that he has revealed this truth to us in the Bible.
Encourage
Thank the group for their attendance and encourage them not to forget what they learned.
Invite
Announce something about the next session to increase the children’s interest. Remind them that this is a good time to invite new members to the group.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™