LESSON OVERVIEW Session Title Bible Passage Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4 Big Picture Question Why did the widow give all she had? The widow loved God more than money. Key Passage Luke 18:31 Unit Christ Connection Jesus life and teachings are examples for His followers of true holy living. TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Prep Time While Jesus was in Jerusalem in the days leading up to the Passover, He often taught in the temple complex. The scribes and Pharisees questioned Jesus in hopes of tricking Him into saying something that would provoke the Romans against Him (Luke 20:20) or would make Him seem like a blasphemer. But all their questions simply proved that Jesus, the Son of God, had a wisdom and authority that could only come from God. (Matt. 22:46; Mark 12:34) After warning the people against the scribes, Jesus sat down where He could watch people give their offerings. The treasury of the temple was located in the women s court. Thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles were set up to receive donations, purification offerings, and the half-shekel tax. Jesus watched as the wealthy put large sums of money in the offering boxes. Then a poor widow put in two small copper coins. Jesus summoned His disciples and remarked, I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury (Mark 12:43). Undoubtedly the disciples were astonished. The widow had given the smallest amount of currency in Jesus time. Hadn t Jesus noticed all the others giving more? The widow was desperately poor. Jesus mentioned that she had given everything she had to live on. The woman, who should have been a recipient of charity, instead gave to God, trusting Him to take care of her needs. The wealthy people, however, had given out of their surplus. They gave a lot of money, but it did not really cost them much. Emphasize to the kids you teach that Jesus gave up everything He had in heaven to come to earth and save us from our sins. Jesus even gave up His own life, dying on the cross in our place. When Christians know and love Jesus, we can serve Him as the Lord of our lives. Out of love for Jesus, we offer everything we have. God takes care of His children and rewards those who seek Him. (Matt. 6:31-33; Mark 10:29-31; Heb. 11:6) Note to Teachers: Any materials highlighted in red are provided in the classroom 2 & 3 Year Old Classroom Teachers: Classroom structure varies due to scheduled playground time Schedule is posted in each classroom

TRANSITION Time 15 minutes WELCOME 1{T I M E WELCOME/TRANSITION TIME (15 minutes) Greet boys and girls as they arrive. Direct them to work on the color/activity page. After that, they may choose to play with a favorite toy or do another activity that you have provided. 2{ 3{ COLOR PAGE ACTIVITY SHEET ACTIVITY 4{ WORSHIP Count Coins - Provided Crayons or colored pencils Color/activity sheet, 1 per child Help preschoolers complete the activity page by counting the coins and tracing the number near each pile. Once kids have counted the coins, help them circle the picture of two coins. Say How many coins did you count in each pile? (8, 9, 10, 6, 5, 2) Our Bible story today is about a woman who had only two small coins to give as her offering to God. That s not very many coins, but Jesus was pleased with this woman because she gave all she had. For younger preschoolers who may still be learning to count, invite them to trace their fingers around the numbers as you point to each coin and count it aloud. Invite them to practice counting the two coins. More Than Provided Play a game that teaches kids about the word more. Say: I love oranges more than apples. Kids will raise their hands if they can think of something they love more than apples. Call on a kid to say what she loves more than apples. Give a few examples so the preschoolers understand you want them to think of things in the same category. For example, the children should share a food they love more than apples. Sample sentences: I love tuna fish more than peanut butter and jelly. I love going to the playground more than going to the grocery store. I love watching a movie more than playing outside. I love playing with dolls more than playing with trucks. Say You certainly know what things you love more than others. Why did the widow give all she had? The widow loved God more than money. Classroom DVD contains worship songs for each unit that the children will enjoy learning. Unit 31 DVD 5{ TRANSITION TO LESSON Use your usual transition cue to signal that it is time for Bible study. Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention.

LESSON Time 20 minutes 1 {TIME TELL THE BIBLE 2 { Say In our Bible story last week, Jesus went to the temple and cleared out the people who were buying and selling things. In this week s Bible story, Jesus returned to the temple and watched as people gave their offerings to God. What is an offering? An offering is a gift that someone gives to God. God gives us everything we need. We show God that we love Him and trust Him to take care of us when we give back to Him a little bit of what He has given to us. A woman in today s Bible story only had two small coins to give to God, but Jesus said something surprising about her offering. THE BIBLE Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4 Jesus and His friends were in the city of Jerusalem for a special celebration called Passover. At Passover, the Jewish people remembered how God had rescued His people from the Egyptians many years ago. It was called Passover because God passed over the homes that had the lamb s blood around the doors. He kept the Israelites safe until the Egyptians let them go. God was getting ready to rescue His people once again this time from sin. God had sent Jesus to take care of sin once and for all. Many people were in Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus and His friends were at the temple. From where they were sitting, they could see the offering box. People would put money in the offering box to take care of the people who served in the temple and to help people in need. Jesus and His friends watched as people came by and dropped their offerings in the box. Clink, clink, clink. Some people put a little money in the offering box, but some people would put in a lot. Clank, clank, clank. As they were sitting there, Jesus and His friends saw a poor woman whose husband had died come up to the offering box. She quietly dropped two small copper coins into the box. The coins barely made a sound. Those two little coins were not worth very much at all. All of a sudden, Jesus said something that His friends could hardly believe. He said to them, I promise you: This poor widow has given more than all those giving to the temple treasury. What was Jesus talking about? Did He not see the two tiny coins the widow dropped in the box? Did He miss the rich people with their many large coins? Jesus continued, For they all gave out of their extra money, but she is poor. She gave all the money she had. Jesus knew that what the wealthy people had given was only a little of all the money they had. They still had plenty of money for things they wanted. The widow had very little money, barely enough to buy the things she needed just to live, but she gave everything she had because she loved God. Christ Connection: Jesus said that the widow had made a big sacrifice to help those in need. Jesus would soon make a big sacrifice Himself, but He was going give something much more important than money. He was going to give His own life to help those in need all of us who need a Savior. * Use only the words in RED to review the Bible story or tell it to younger preschoolers.

REVIEW/ SNACK AND VIDEO - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 { BIBLE REVIEW Review/Key Passage Key Passage Poster Big Picture Question Poster 1. Where did people put the offerings they were giving to God? (in the offering boxes) 2. How was the money in the offering box used? (to take care of the people who served in the temple, to help people in need) 3. Who gave only two small copper coins? (a poor woman whose husband had died) 4. What did Jesus say about her offering? (She gave more than all those giving to the temple treasury.) 5. Why did the widow give all she had? The widow loved God more than money. Say Jesus said that the widow had made a big sacrifice to help those in need. Jesus would soon make a big sacrifice Himself, but He was going to give something much more important than money. He was going to give His own life to help those in need all of us who need a Savior. 2 { SNACK Snack Signal for cleanup time using the countdown video or whatever method you prefer. Take a bathroom break and wash hands before the snack. Ask for volunteers to help set up and serve the snack. Remind kids to wait until everyone has been served before eating. Thank God for your snack. 3 { VIDEO Watch Video Show the video (from Classroom DVD)

ACTIVITY/ PICK UP 1 { ACTIVITY Pass the Penny - Provided Gather the children in a circle and pass out the two laminated pennies. Start the music. The children should pass their pennies to the right while the music is playing. When the music stops, anyone holding a penny will say the big picture answer together. You may need to prompt them with the big picture question. Say How many small copper coins did the poor woman give? Two. Jesus said she gave more than anyone else giving to the temple treasury. He said this because she gave all she had. Why did the widow give all she had? The widow loved God more than money. 2 { PICK UP Preschool children need to be picked up by a parent/grandparent and the adult must show the parent receipt with matching I.D. number. If the tag is missing, the adult can go to the Welcome Center and have a receipt reprinted. Welcome the nect session teachers and tell them what they need to know about the children who are present.