| LESSON OBJECTIVE |
| This lesson will help the children understand
that Jesus can provide whatever we need to satisfy our hunger, because
he himself is the bread of life.
|
| AS KIDS ARRIVE ( 10 minutes
) |
| Bring a large blanket or bed sheet to class. Before
the class begins, lay it out on the floor to act as a picnic blanket.
As the kids arrive, have them sit in a large circle on the blanket.
Tell them the class is going to go on a make believe picnic, and they
can have all the food they want. Have each child take turns naming
a picnic food or beverage, such as potato chips, hotdogs, cookies,
soda pop, etc. One rule is an item can not be repeated. Let the children
continue to take turns and name items until they can no longer think
of anything that has not already been said. Then congratulate them
on how well they did.
If we brought everything we named to a picnic, would it be enough
to feed us all? (Yes of course)
Later today, we will learn about a time when Jesus held a real big
picnic.
|
| WORSHIP TIME (
5 minutes ) Further info? Click
Here |
| |
| BIBLE VERSE ( 7 minutes
) |
"I am the bread of
life" John 6: 48
|
| BIBLE STORY ( 15
minutes ) |
|
Introduction:
Every time Jesus healed someone who was sick, the people were amazed.
They wanted to see more miracles, so they would follow Jesus wherever
He would go. Sometimes, Jesus would look behind him and would see
hundreds, even thousands of people following right behind. If you
were alive during this time, you may have been one of the small
children following Jesus. After trying to keep us with the rest
of the followers for a few hours, you would probably get pretty
hungry. But it would be impossible to get a quick hamburger and
an order of fries. There were no fast food restaurants back then.
Our story today is about a time when very many people, who had
been following Jesus all day, became very very hungry. But no one
had enough food to feed them all. And even if they could find a
place to buy food, it would cost more money than anyone had to spend.
Let's find out what Jesus did.
Read John 6: 5.13 (repeated
below)
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he
said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people
to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had
in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Eight
months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a
bite!" Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother,
spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and
two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus
said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of
grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of
them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to
those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with
the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples,
"Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."
So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces
of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
Discussion Questions:
1. Who did Andrew find with a basket of food? (a young boy)
2. What size were the five loaves and two fish? (small)
3. How many people were there with Jesus? (about 5000)
4. Jesus had all the people sit down on the grass, was it sort
of like a picnic?
5. Was Jesus able to feed everyone with only two small fish and
five loaves of bread? (yes)
6. How much food was left over after everyone ate? (12 basketfuls)
7. If you were that small boy, what would you tell your mother
or father when you got home?
|
| FUN TIME (10 minutes) |
Got Fish? (Activity)
Click Here
|
| ALTERNATE FUN TIME ( 10 minutes) |
How Jesus Fed Five Thousand
(Activity) Click
Here
|
| PRAYER/SNACK ( 10 minutes) Further
info? Click
here |
For today's snack, bring fish crackers or snack crackers
with canned cheese spread. Start by praying to God and thanking Jesus
for always making sure we have delicious things to eat. As the children
eat their snacks, explain that we eat bread, fish, hotdogs and other
good things, but as it says in our bible verse, Jesus is the bread
of life. This means that when we allow Jesus to be the Lord of our
life, we are filled with His love, and it will never ever go away.
|
| CLOSING ACTIVITY |
Following Jesus (Activity)
Select one child to be Jesus, and have the rest of the class line
up behind. Tell Jesus to start by saying to the class, "Follow
me, I am the bread of life." Then let everyone follow Jesus going
where ever Jesus goes (as in follow the leader); around chairs, under
tables, along the wall, etc. After a minute or so, choose another
child to be Jesus for a while.
|
| NEXT WEEK |
Come back next week to learn more the many miracles
of Jesus.
|
