Main Idea: JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE
Suggested Schedule: (90 mins)
- Welcome (5 mins)
- Sandwich Maker Game (5mins)
- Review Big Verse (5 mins)
- Set the Scene: Bible story/skit and review questions (10-15 mins)
- Object Lesson 1 talk (5mins)
- Bread Relay Game (5 mins)
- Object Lesson 2 talk (5 mins)
- Picnic Panic Game (5 mins)
- Object Lesson 3 game and talk (10 mins)
- Sticky Scripture Game (5 mins)
- Sense How You Feel activity (10 – 25 mins)
- Seek God Prayer (5 mins)
Supplies:
- Bread, blunt knife, jam, blindfolds.
- Two loaves of sliced bread
- Different unhealthy food items that such as chocolate, crisps, sweets etc
- Strong Flour, salt, yeast and warm water, Plastic bag and bowl to make your own bread.
- 36 bread sticks, sharpie, 2 cups
- Bread, food colouring, brushes
- Water, Flour, Yeast, and a bowl
SONG and BIBLE STORY VIDEO IDEAS available via our dedicated Pinterest Board.
GAME IDEAS:
SANDWICH MAKER – 5 MINS
Description: Upfront Game
Supplies: Bread, blunt knife, jam, blindfolds.
Details: (regular) Have bread and jam on a table, with children working in pairs to a make sandwich. One stands at the table, hands in pockets, the other stands behind (wearing the blindfold) and puts arms through first child’s arms. First child describes where items are, and second child moves hands to make the sandwich, following instructions. The best sandwich wins.
BREAD RELAY – 10 MINS
Description: Team Game
Supplies: Two loaves of sliced bread
Details: (regular) Two teams, each with a loaf of bread. Take a slice from the loaf and run to table at end of room and place it down. When back, next person goes and places the slice of bread on top. The race finishes when the loaf of bread is complete on the far table. You can extend the game by having the loaf re-built (one slice at a time) back at the start.
PICNIC PANIC– 5 MINS
Description: Power Point Game.
Supplies: PowerPoint game and a way to show it. Slide of 12-20 picnic items on a tray
Details: (Keynote/PowerPoint) Children need to remember as many of the picnic items on a tray as they can. The slide is shown for 1 minute, then taken off screen. Children can write or shout out the items that they remember. If not all the items recalled, the slide can be shown again to identify the last items.
BIG VERSE: Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
(regular/widescreen/social media image) Download the Bible cards here.
SET THE SCENE: 10-15 MINS
Description: Set the scene by telling the story of the 5000 to the children and asking them a few of the review questions.
Supplies: Bible, Bible passage and monologue.
Details: Read or act out John 6: 1-14 Then ask a few of the review questions below:
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. Why was a crowd following Jesus? (v2)
2. What festival was happening soon? (v4)
3. Who came with 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish? (v9)
4. Roughly how many people were there? (v10)
5. How much food was left after everyone had eaten? (v13)
6. What did the people say? (v14)
SPOT THE SIMPLE MEANING:
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JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SATISFY US – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 1
Supplies: Different unhealthy food items that such as chocolate, crisps, sweets etc
Details: Place all the unhealthy food items on a table in front of you.
Say: What food do you REALLY enjoy? If that was the only food you could eat do you think that would fill you up for the rest of your life?
Here is my favorite food…. CHOCOLATE!!. I love any kind of chocolate – milk, plain, white…. [start to eat your favorite food] and even though I could eat chocolate everyday, if that was the only thing that I ate would that be enough? NO!! I’d end up feeling really sick wouldn’t I?
In the bible, Jesus say’s something interesting about food. In John 6 v35 Jesus says, “I am the bread that gives life! No one who has faith in me will ever be hungry”. Do you think Jesus is saying that he is bread? NO! What he is saying is that sometimes we think that other things will satisfy us and make us happy… the latest game for our computer maybe? What other things might we fill our lives with? But just like my chocolate earlier, these things might satisfy us for a short time but eventually they stop.
What Jesus is saying is that if we put our trust in Him then He will ALWAYS be enough for us.
2) JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SUSTAIN US – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 2
Supplies: Different types of bread – baguettes, naan, rolls (as many as you can find)
Details: Place all the different types of bread on a table in front of you.
Say: Who likes bread? I love the smell of baking bread! What is your favourite? Did you know that there are hundreds of different types of bread. The bread I’ve got here is just a small selection! Bread is also one of the oldest prepared foods and is mentioned 500 times in the bible!
In the Old Testament bread was really important as it was part of a basic diet that included vegetables, fruit, olives and cheese. They hardly ever ate meat or fish!
When the Israelites were in the desert they were miraculously fed with “bread from heaven” or Manna as they wandered for forty years, before entering the Promised Land. Can you believe that?! God gave them bread EVERYDAY to show them that He was with them and could provide for all their needs and SUSTAIN them!
Jesus did the same thing with the loaves and fishes. He was able to take 5 loaves and multiply them so that EVERYONE was provided for. No one went hungry because Jesus sustained them.
3) JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN STRENGTHEN US – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 3
Supplies: Strong Flour, salt, yeast and warm water, Plastic bag and bowl to make your own bread. If you don’t have time or the facilities then buy a farmhouse loaf, but you will also need some yeast. Make some dough 1 or 2 hours before the lesson.
Details: At the start of the talk you will make some bread.
Say: Right, so all this talk of bread is making me hungry! So I thought I could make some bread. Making bread is REALLY EASY – you only need flour (put flour in a bowl) and a bit of salt (pour salt) and water (show the water but don’t add the water yet!). I think that’s all I need… Oh hang on. I think I’ve forgotten the most important ingredient. Ask the kids if they know. It’s this. YEAST! If I didn’t put yeast in then the bread wouldn’t rise (open packet and pour yeast into palm of hand). WOW! It’s teeny, tiny grains.
Now yeast is really special. Did you know that it is actually ALIVE! Yes that’s right. And when it mixes with flour and water it gets really strong and starts to grow.
Let’s see (add the yeast and water and mix the dough). Then cover with a bag and leave for 2 hours. Now we don’t have time to wait 2 hours but here’s one I did earlier. LOOK at the difference in size!
WOW yeast is a special ingredient isn’t it. Without it the bread wouldn’t rise – it needs the yeast. Just like yeast makes bread strong, Jesus does the same in our lives. He can make us strong – all we need to do is ask him into our lives.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES:
STICKY SCRIPTURE – 10 MINS
Description: Team Game
Supplies: 36 bread sticks, sharpie, 2 cups
Details: (regular)
Using the scripture, “I am the bread that gives life! No one who has faith in me will ever be hungry” Therefore each cup will contain 18 bread sticks – write each individual word on a bread stick. Put the bread sticks into a cup. This needs to be done twice (or more depending on how many teams you want to have).
Put the cups at one end of the room and children at the other in a relay. The child runs to the cup and pulls out a breadstick and then runs back. When all the breadsticks have been collected the winning team is the one who has correctly laid out the breadsticks in order to form the bible passage. The team could be putting it together while they are collecting the breadsticks.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Why do we look towards other things instead of God to help us?
- Why does Jesus say that he is like bread?
- I wonder what it would have been like to be in the crowd when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.
- What would you have said to Jesus if you were there?
SENSE HOW YOU FEEL – 10 MINS EACH OR IN TANDEM/ROTATION
Encourage the children to think about the questions above as they do one of the activities:
Description: Craft.
Supplies: Bread, food colouring, brushes
Details: Decorate a piece of bread using food colouring to look like a fish.
Description: Moulding activity.
Supplies: Playdough or clay.
Details: Mould 5 loaves and 2 fishes.
Description: Building activity.
Supplies: Lego or construction toys.
Details: Build the hillside scene with Jesus, the crowd, the disciples and the boy with his loaves and fishes.
Description: Sensory activity.
Supplies: Water, Flour, Yeast, and a bowl
Details: Make your own bread dough. If there isn’t time to bake in the lesson the children could take their dough home.
Description: Activity Booklets.
Supplies: 5-7s and 8-11s booklets (included in download), markers.
Details: Fill in or color the 5-7s (PDF) and 8-11s (PDF) booklets.
SEEK GOD: 5 MINS
Description: Prayer activity
Supplies: Paper & Pens, Cross , sign “I am the Bread of Life”
Details: Spend some time thinking of ways that you need to trust God this week. Write it down a piece of paper.
As the children are doing this add the words “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE” sign somewhere on the cross or at the front of the teaching area.
Then prayerfully take your paper and place it by the cross as a way of saying to Jesus that you are going to trust that God can do a miracle. Finish by praying:
Thank you God that you sustain us, give us strength and satisfy us. Help me this week to fully trust in you. Amen.
Click here for the ‘Bread of Life’ widescreen image
ZOOM FRIENDLY LESSON:
THIS OR THAT GAME (Keynote/PowerPoint)
ZOOMED IN GAME (Keynote/PowerPoint)
