Teaching Time

Place two pennies near one end of the table.

Place the container of silver coins near the other end of the table.

In the Bible story, the rich people brought large amounts of money into the Temple.

Place the container of silver coins on the table.

The poor widow brought her tiny offering to the Temple too. She only had two small coins, worth less than one penny. Move the two pennies toward the center of the table.

Jesus sat near the collection boxes and saw the large offerings the rich people gave.

He also watched as the poor widow gave her tiny offering.

Then Jesus gathered His disciples around Him and talked to them about what He saw. Jesus told His disciples how pleased He was with the large offering the rich people brought, right? Children respond. No!

What did Jesus say about their offerings? They gave only a small part of what they had.

Take 10-15 silver coins next from the container and stack them. Let’s say that this stack of coins is the offering the rich people gave.

Stack the two pennies next to the stack of silver coins.

Which stack is higher? Children respond.

Yes, the rich people gave many more coins than the widow.

But even though they gave more coins, Jesus said the widow gave more. How could her offering be more? She gave everything she had.

Yes! Pour out the container of coins in a pile next to the stack of silver coins.

The rich people gave only a small part of their money. Look at all the extra coins left over!

Point to the widow’s coin stack. I don’t see any extra coins next to the widow’s offering, do you?

Children respond.

The widow gave everything she had.

So, why do you think she could give everything she had? Because she loved and trusted God.

The Bible tells us, “Everything we have has come from You, and we give You only what You first gave us!” 1 Chronicles 29:14b (NLT)

The poor widow knew she could not give unless God gave to her first. She gave everything she had and trusted God to give her all she needed.