Childrens Sermon Service

Good morning, boys and girls. I brought a penny with me this morning. How many of you have banks at home where you keep your pennies? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you the story about a little girl about your age. The girl lived in a family with an older brother and older sister. The children's mother was about to have a birthday. The three children decided that they wanted to buy their mother something special. The little girl's older brother was in high school. He had a part-time job in a grocery store. Because of this he had much more money than the little girl. The little girl's sister was in junior high. She often was a babysitter for the neighbors. Because of this she had much more money than the little girl. Sometimes the older brother earned $25 a week. Sometimes the older sister earned $10 and often more than that a week. The little girl received only about 50 cents each week in an allowance. The three children went to a store to buy their mother a gift. The brother spent about $15. The older sister spent about $5. The little girl spent all of her allowance -- 50 cents.

This story makes me think of this morning's lesson. The lesson is the story about many people who were placing money in the tabernacle's offering plate. Some of the people were very rich. They put a lot of money in the plate. Then a very old woman came and put only a penny in the plate. Jesus saw the old woman put the money in the plate. He told his disciples that the old woman did something greater than all of the wealthy people. The old woman put in all the money she had. It was like the little girl and the gift to her mother. The older brother and sister had more money to spend. The little girl only gave a few pennies -- all the money she had.

Here's what I want you to remember. Sometimes you may think that your gift to God is small. All gifts to God are important. When you even give all that you have, no matter how small, it is an important gift to God.