IN PRAISE OF A WIDOW

Scripture lesson: Mark 12: 38-44
Object: An offering plate.

Boys and Girls; If we were to list the most important parts of our worship service, we might begin with the sermon, the singing of hymns, the reading of the Scripture, or the time we spend in prayer. Probably we would not list the offering.

There are lots of jokes told about taking up the offering in church. A lot of people look at the offering as a necessary evil. We need money to run our church, so we take up an offering. Have you ever thought, though, that the offering may be the most important time in the worship service?

The hymns allow us to sing our praise to God, that's true, but they also speak to us about God's love
and allow us to feel close to one another. The reading of the Scripture, of course, is God's offering to us, as is the sermon. We receive guidance and encouragement from the. The prayers are our requests of God, whether for forgiveness or to ask for help in time of need--though a prayer can be an act of thanksgiving and praise, too. But the offering is our gift to God. It's a time for us to show how much we love Him. The money we put in the plate is just a symbol of our devotion.

Some people aren't devoted very much to God and that shows. Others are very devoted. There's a story about a little girl, who when the offering plate was passed, put the offering plate down in the aisle and stood in it to symbolize that she was giving herself completely to God. The lady in the story from our Bible lesson today had only two tiny pennies that she could put in the offering. That's all she had and Jesus praised her for giving what she had. The amount we give is not important. The love behind it is what counts. So, let's remember how important the offering is in our worship service is. It's not simply an interruption in the service to pay the bills.

When we pass these offering plates, and when we put something in them, we're saying to God,
"You are my God, and I love you, and I give you this token of my appreciation and my praise."