Preparation: offering plate
Faith+Open: Gather children to you. Hold up the offering plate. Do you know what this is used for?
Yes for offering. What goes in offering? Yep mostly money, although you know sometimes a picture or note comes in the offering and that is wonderful too!
Faith+Share: Why do you suppose we collect an offering during worship? Take some answers and see what they have to say. You can also ask if they put anything in the offering plate.
We do take offering as a part of worship because it is a way for us to be in ministry together, to put our money together and use it to help others, to teach people, to have a building to gather in, to have a place for people to pray, and sing, and worship, and get help, and talk to God, and all of the things that we do here together. Our gospel story today is Jesus telling the leaders of the synagogue and the people listening to him that we ‘give to God what is God’s’. What do you think is God’s? Take some answers. Is money God’s? Are we God’s?
Yes, really it’s an interesting answer because everything is God’s. So when we give to God what is God’s we are saying that we offer what we have in money, time, in our prayers, in who we are. And we are all children of God. We can offer what we have and ourselves to God everyday, not just in worship but in worship we do come all together to share and to give and to praise God for everything.
Faith+Prayer: God, thank you for all that you have given us (list some things the kids brought up). Help us to know how to offer what we have to you and how to share what we have with others. Amen
Faith+Blessing: Remember that you are God’s child all the time and everywhere.
Extended Idea:
1. Talk about saying ‘It’s Mine” and then say how God says YOU ARE MINE all the time!
2. Offering is a time that kids can participate in worship, even without money. They can add drawings or notes or coins that they have. Consider having a basket up front (on a stand or held by an acolyte) where kids can come during the offering time of worship and bring their own offering. This has been a delightful experience for many churches and they do it every week!
3. If you have a children’s church time, kids could draw pictures of their offering–something they are good at or draw/write a prayer, etc. and when they come back to worship they could be welcomed to put it in the offering basket.