John 6.1-14

When a large crowd was gathered around Jesus in a remote place, a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish, made them available to Jesus. In Jesus’ hands this offering was multiplied to miraculously feed 5000! We might not always feel like we have much to offer God, but as we give ourselves to Jesus he can do much with our little.

Key Verse

“I am the bread of life.“
– John 6.48a (NIV)

Lesson

Supplies: Popcorn maker, Popcorn seeds, A basket

Object Lesson (Popcorn)

Show the kids 1/4 cup of popcorn and ask if they think this is enough to feed the whole class.  Most the kids will know that it will pop and make almost enough. As the corn pops say I trust you so let’s see if it will make enough! After it is done say “Wow!  it did make enough!” *

Bible story

Tell the story from John 6.1-14, stopping to ask why the disciples didn’t think the fish and loaves were enough for the whole crowd. Emphasize the willingness of the boy to share the little he had. Say the disciples were worried because they had forgotten one very important thing: their power source. Finish the story of Jesus blessing the food and having it multiply to feed everyone with 12 baskets of leftovers!

Application

Ask, “Could we have eaten our corn without putting it in the popper? Could the disciples have fed the crowd without Jesus? Say: Just as we need a power source to pop our popcorn, the disciples needed a power source to turn the boys food into enough for everyone. Jesus can do the same for the things we offer to share. Jesus is way more powerful than a popcorn maker! We don’t just give Jesus our stuff, we give him our lives! As we give ourselves to Jesus he can do much with our little.

Prayer: Thank Jesus that we can trust him and put our faith in him. Pray that the children would learn to honor Jesus with everything they have and that they would put themselves in Jesus’ hands.

* After the lesson, eat the popcorn for snack and make more if necessary.

Review Questions:

  • Where was Jesus teaching in this story?
  • How many people were in the crowd?
  • Where did the food come from that Jesus had available to feed all those people?
  • How do you think the boy felt when they asked him for his food?
  • How did that little amount of food feed so many people?
  • What is a lesson that we can learn from this story?

Craft

Fish and loaves necklace

Supplies: Fish and loaf beads and twine

What to do: Give each of the children 2 fish beads and five loaf beads. Have them thread their beads onto the twine to take home with them as a necklace or a bracelet.

Image Credit: The Feeding of the Five Thousand by Hendrick de Clerck (1590)

Comments are closed.