The Bread of Life
Children's Activity
Object:
Teachers or Parents: Children especially comprehend the
world in which they live by their senses. If possible, fill the
Sunday school room with smells by having a freshly baked loaf of
bread cooling as the children arrive for Sunday school. A bread
machine might be handy here.
* Take pieces of the bread and divide them among the children. Ask them if they can remember what the Gospel story was about today.
* Relate the Gospel to the story of the children in the wilderness (Exodus 16:1-36; Numbers 11:4-9). Use a children's Bible or paraphrase to retell the story from Exodus. The lesson here is that God is faithful -- on a daily basis ("give us today our daily bread") as well as eternally ("I am the bread of life").
* Explain the importance of bread in biblical times. It was considered the essential substance. Even today bread is an essential element of our diet. The food pyramid suggests that products like bread should be the basic and largest portions of our diets. We still sometimes refer to the person who earns money for the family as "the breadwinner." Jesus knew the importance of eating earthly foods like bread, but he was even more aware of our need to indulge in heavenly foods such as faith.
* Very young children like to play with bread. Let them. Ask them to make a church building out of the slices of bread.
* Relating the text to life: God sustains us daily -- moment to moment as well as eternally. Our God is already with us yet we have not yet arrived.
Sunday school assembly opening:
* Go through the communion section of your hymnal and you will find many hymns referring to Jesus as the "Bread of Life." Any would be appropriate for the opening.
* Take up a special collection for those who have little or no bread to eat. Use half the collection for mission work in your church for those who need the "Bread of Life" -- Jesus.
* Take pieces of the bread and divide them among the children. Ask them if they can remember what the Gospel story was about today.
* Relate the Gospel to the story of the children in the wilderness (Exodus 16:1-36; Numbers 11:4-9). Use a children's Bible or paraphrase to retell the story from Exodus. The lesson here is that God is faithful -- on a daily basis ("give us today our daily bread") as well as eternally ("I am the bread of life").
* Explain the importance of bread in biblical times. It was considered the essential substance. Even today bread is an essential element of our diet. The food pyramid suggests that products like bread should be the basic and largest portions of our diets. We still sometimes refer to the person who earns money for the family as "the breadwinner." Jesus knew the importance of eating earthly foods like bread, but he was even more aware of our need to indulge in heavenly foods such as faith.
* Very young children like to play with bread. Let them. Ask them to make a church building out of the slices of bread.
* Relating the text to life: God sustains us daily -- moment to moment as well as eternally. Our God is already with us yet we have not yet arrived.
Sunday school assembly opening:
* Go through the communion section of your hymnal and you will find many hymns referring to Jesus as the "Bread of Life." Any would be appropriate for the opening.
* Take up a special collection for those who have little or no bread to eat. Use half the collection for mission work in your church for those who need the "Bread of Life" -- Jesus.
