Widow's Offering Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free widow's offering Sunday school lesson teaches kids that Jesus sees what we give and loves it when we give God our all. Jesus watched people give at the treasury. Many rich people cast in much, but a poor widow "threw in two mites, which make a farthing" (Mark 12:42). Jesus said she "hath cast more in, than all they," because she gave "all that she had, even all her living" (12:43–44). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a Two Coins Hunt game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("this poor widow hath cast more in") with motions, and two coins to draw and color.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: a Who Gave More? game with buttons, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Two Mites Pass memory verse game, and All My Heart.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a How Much Is Left? game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the treasury, two mites and a farthing, abundance and want, Luke's "penury"), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Mark 12:28–44 and Luke 21:1–4 out loud themselves, then discuss loving God with all, the leaders who "devour widows' houses," what made her gift more, and giving God our best instead of our leftovers. Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Mark 12:43 and Mark 12:44).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Mark 12:41–44
• Main point: Jesus sees what we give, and He loves it when we give God our all.
• Memory verse: Mark 12:43 (KJV), with Mark 12:44 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about who gave more, or what a gift really cost.
2. Bible story: Jesus sits over against the treasury and watches the people give (Mark 12:41), a poor widow throws in two mites (12:42), Jesus calls His disciples and says she cast in more than all (12:43), because she gave all her living (12:44). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Mark 12:43.
5. What this means for us: give God your best, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the widow's offering craft, All My Heart, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the widow's offering

• Show it with real things: a big jar of buttons and a cup with two. Kids see right away who had something left.
• Explain the old words: a mite is a tiny coin, two mites make a farthing (Mark 12:42), and abundance means more than enough.
• The Bible doesn't say why the rich gave as they did, so the lesson doesn't guess. Jesus only compares what each one had left (12:44).
• Keep the focus on the heart, not on money. Each level has a short note if a child asks whether they have to give money.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.