Intermediate Level, Block 10—Spread and Propagation
Week 94
Taking Care of All the Widows
Point to Emphasize: We can learn how to solve a problem so everyone is cared for.
Reference Reading: Acts 6:1-7
Memory Verse: Listen to counsel, and receive instruction, / That you may be wise at the end of your days. (Proverbs 19:20)
Story Sample
At this time in Jerusalem, there were thousands of new believers. Peter and the other apostles were trying to make sure that all the widows among them were given a daily dispensing of food. That was quite a difficult undertaking, because there were a good number of widows among the thousands of new believers. Some of them spoke Greek because they came from Greek regions, and others spoke Hebrew. Due to the two different languages, some widows who spoke Greek were not being cared for. This was a complicated problem that needed to be solved. Let’s look at the facts.
- Over 10,000 new believers.
- Lots of widows who needed to be cared for.
- Twelve apostles desiring to care for them all.
- Two different language groups that can’t understand each other’s language.
It would take us weeks to come up with a solution. And since this is such a complicated problem, the solution we have probably won’t be good enough. Sometimes we don’t even know how to solve little problems. We may have a problem, and instead of going to our mom or dad or teacher to work out the solution, we sometimes try to solve the problem by ourselves. This may end up making a big mess.
I knew a young girl who spilled her vegetable soup all over the floor. To solve her problem, she took her mom’s vacuum and tried to clean up the mess. As she did it, the broth on the floor sprayed all over the place. When her mom got home, she had to clean up the mess her daughter had made. Someone older and wiser would have known never to try that. [Storyteller, insert your own story.]
Now, let’s see what the apostles did to make sure all the widows were cared for. They asked the multitude of believers to look for seven well-attested men among them who could be appointed over this matter. If they were well-attested, they would be able to bear responsibility and be counted on to get the job done. These seven also had to be wise to know how to carry things out. This plan pleased everyone. Very soon they chose seven from among them to take care of the daily dispensing of food to those in need, and of course, this solved the problem. Everyone was pleased with the daily distribution of food being able to meet the needs of the widows who spoke Hebrew, as well as those who spoke Greek.
We too, can learn how to solve a problem so that everyone is taken care of. Let’s see how we might resolve the following situations.
- There are 3 friends but only 2 bikes.
- No one wants to get off the swing and give those who are waiting a turn.
- You are in a store with your mom and see someone putting a small item from the store into their pocket.
- You see a classmate look at your math test on your desk and change their answer.
- There is someone new in class who does not speak much English. Most of the children ignore or even make fun of this new one, and the new person is left alone during lunch and recess.
[Help the children to come up with good solutions as they discuss these five situations. Make sure to encourage the children that they should go to parents and responsible adults to help solve the problems.]