Treasure Champs. 19: Sacrifice - 'The Poor Widow's Gift'

In short

Themes: Christianity; generosity; sacrifice; money; Jesus’ teaching.

Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on an event from the life of Jesus as told in the gospels. The event has become known as the story of The Poor Widow’s Gift and in this assembly is used to explore the value of sacrifice.

Resources: The framework to download / print (pdf) and an image to display of the word 'Sacrifice'. You will also need a few images or objects that represent wealth or giving - eg you might have a jar of coins or a charity donation pot that you could show.

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The video

This story is an event from the life of Jesus. It is found in two places in the New Testament of the Bible - in the gospels of Mark and Luke. It is written in Mark's gospel that Jesus sat in the temple opposite the place where offerings were given. Jesus calls his disciples over and teaches them that they should not judge as ‘best’ the offerings of those who give a lot. He points out the widow’s offering is only small, but represents far greater sacrifice than the larger offerings of the wealthy.

The story also reminds Christians of a verse in the Old Testament (in 1 Samuel 16:7) that comparison is pointless because, while humans might look at the outward appearance and actions of others, God looks at the heart.

Duration: 3' 34"

Final words: 'See you again soon! Bye! / Bye!'

Video questions

  1. There was a special box at the temple. What was the box for? (For making offerings)
  2. Did the widow have much money? (No - in the bible passage Jesus says that out of her poverty, she gave all that she had)
  3. In the video the rich people spent a lot of time giving their money. Why did they do this? (They were showing off their wealth)
  4. How much did the widow give? (Two copper coins - all that she had)
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Download / print the assembly framework ready for use

Assembly framework (pdf)

Click for the full size image.

Sacrifice
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Suggested framework

1. Entry
Play your chosen music as children enter and display the images and/or objects, as suggested above.

2. Introduction
Show the children the images and objects and ask them to think about what they have in common. Ask the children if they have ever given money to a charity or done something to raise money. What was the charity and why did you want to give the money or raise money?
Explain that in many religions, giving is part of people’s worship of God, and many people with non-religious worldviews value giving and raising money for good causes.
The story today is a story from the Bible, the book that Christians read. It is about a woman that Jesus sees doing something in a temple. Watch carefully to see what she does.

3. The video
The duration is 3' 35'' and the final words are 'See you soon. Bye! / Bye!'

4. After the video - Time to talk
You could begin with the Video questions above to consolidate pupils' recall of the story. Then lead a discussion about 'sacrifice' by asking the following:

  • What does the word 'sacrifice' mean? (Giving something up; giving something to benefit others)
  • Can anyone think of times they have made a sacrifice…or have seen someone else making a sacrifice? (It's common for people to sacrifice time for a charitable activity - eg training for a marathon run).
  • Who in the story makes a sacrifice? (In the story the widow gives up money as a gift to God and to benefit the temple - really it was too much money for her to give).
  • Who in the story didn't make a sacrifice? (The rich people giving money merely to show off their wealth - their donations were insignificant by comparison to the poor widow's.)
  • Why is making a sacrifice a good thing to do?

5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.

6. Opportunity for reflection
Let's take a moment to think about giving gifts and giving to charity…
In today's story we heard about a poor widow who made a sacrifice by giving some money to the temple…
Many people choose to make a sacrifice of their time or money to benefit a charity, because they want to be generous to others…
When have you seen generosity recently…?
Think about a charity that you would like to give to, by sacrificing your time to help…
Making a gift of our time shows kindness…whether to friends, to family, or others…
(Let's think about someone who shows us a lot of kindness…)

7. Opportunity for a short prayer
Begin with your usual form of address (‘Dear God’, 'Dear Lord', ‘Let us pray’, etc) and:
Thank you for the generosity of others and the sacrifices they make.
Help us not to compare ourselves with others…
But when we feel in our hearts that we want to give, help us to make sacrifices ourselves and be as generous as we can be.
Amen.

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Suggested songs

Song: 'Chain of love' (All about our school, no 14. Vocal version)

Song: 'Give me oil in my lamp' (Come and Praise, no 43. Vocal version)

Song: 'Praise Him' (Come and Praise, no 40. Vocal version)

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