8 August 2021

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Bible readings for today

Collect

• 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
• Psalms 130:1-8
• Ephesians 4:25-32, 5:1-2
• John 6:35, 41-51

Eternal God,
you promise eternal life to all those who believe,
grant us grace in believing
when questions and doubts assail us.
Nourish us with your living bread of love,
that we might share that with the lost,
and be raised with you.
Keep us faithful to your Gospel.
For you are alive and reign with the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen

John 6:35, 41-51

More Bread of Life!

The purpose of today's story is to understand that Jesus is the bread of life (you'll notice that it was a similar theme last week!)

Children's Talk

In today's story, Jesus was talking about being the Bread of Life. Does that mean that he wants us to eat him? No! So what does he mean? (Pause for answers) Well, I think that what Jesus really means is to feed on what he teaches about faith and God and being the person that God wants you to be. Why do you go to school? (Pause) For me, the thing about school that I went for was to learn and to feed my mind. Well, I think Jesus wants to feed our souls and minds. Cool aye?!?!

So, what are some ways that you can think of that would be feeding our minds and souls for God? (Pause, maybe come up with a list)
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Well today, we are going to make our own special bread to help us to remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Perhaps we can make enough that you could share it with other people as well!

Bread of Life Badges

Download the file: Bread of Life.pdf
What you need: safety pins, tape, cardboard, template for badges, scissors, glue and felt etc to decorate 
Preparation: To save time, you could glue the templates to the cardboard. 
​What to do: Glue badge templates to the cardboard. Cut out badges. Decorate. Tape a safety pin to the back of the badge.

Plate of Surprises

Preparation: you will need a plate with 3-5 different foods on it, and a blindfold. 
What to do: Ask for a volunteer, an older child is probably best! 
Blindfold them and then tell them that in front of them is a plate with lots of different types of food. Explain that you will feed them a mouthful of each thing, and they have to guess what it is. 
It is probably a good idea, to leave the nicest taste until last! 
Note: You will need to check as to whether any of the children have food allergies. If you are not sure, don't use anything with peanuts just in case.

Quick Questions

• What is your favourite food to eat? What do you like about it?
• Why do you think Jesus called himself 'The Bread of Life?'
• What are some ways that you can think of that would be feeding our minds and souls for God?

Bread of Life Game

Notice that there are three weeks of bread in the lectionary?

So did Flame Creative, who have put together this bread game with printable sheets! 
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Thanks Flame Creative! 

Rainbow Bread

Here is a fun bread activity from Kid Craft Room. Perhaps you could write "bread of life" on the slice...

Gospel Conversations

From the Diocese of Dunedin: This week we have the second of three weeks in which the gospels look at Jesus as the Bread of Life. David, Trish and Steve challenge us to balance a "spiritual" understanding of the passage with the very real and practical implications of Jesus satisfying physical hunger in a world of inequalities.

Ephesians 4:25-32, 5:1-2

'No put downs'

The Salvation Army have a great set of children's ministry ideas that tie this Ephesians passage with the teaching in the book of James, about how we use our words to build others up, and not 'put others down'. It can be easy to fall into the trap of using this bible passage to teach a lesson on behaviour modification, but perhaps there is more in the passage than a list of behavioural changes. 

Ephesians 5:1-2 has a beautiful summary of these words: "Live a life filled with love". Think about how your words can build up someone as you live a life filled with love, and how this can be an overflow of a heart for Jesus. Check out the link above for great ideas of how to do this. 

Love looks like this

"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God" Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

​After a long list of instructions, Paul sums up this passage by reminding us what love looks like. Love looks like Jesus, offering his life for us. Love looks like sacrifice, acceptance, grace, humility and faithfulness. 

Psalm 130

An amazing free resource from Illustrated Ministries for this psalm can be downloaded here

Psalm 130: I will wait for you, sung by Shane & Shane

Psalm 130: I will wait for you - Keith & Kristyn Getty