Jesus Teaches About Serving Others-Feeding the 5000

11/3/2023

Feeding 5000 by Jennifer Tolbert

Jesus came to teach us how we should live on Earth to please God, who is in heaven. One of the ways he taught was through stories called parables. Other times, he preached like on the Sermon on the Mount. Sometimes, he would teach through his miracles. In this story, we learned that Jesus can and will provide for us. If we are willing to trust Jesus with our small offering, Jesus can do big things with it!
Key Themes:
1. God can and will provide for your needs. It's a promise!
2. Jesus can do a lot with just a little.
3. Jesus cared about others problems and helped those in need.

Memory Verse

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. -Mark 10:45

Songs

Books of the New Testament
Cast Your Burdens
Five Little Loaves and Two Little Fishies
It Isn't Any Trouble
Lord, My Desire
Love is Something if You Give It Away
Make Me A Servant

Story

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time

Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Picnic
Spread a blanket on the classroom floor and set up a simple picnic. You could even serve goldfish crackers and small rolls to represent the fish and the loaves. SAY: Today we are going to learn about a time that a young boy shared his lunch and Jesus was able to have a picnic with all of his friends and followers.

2. Math Warm Up
Calculate how much it would cost to feed 5000 men (guess how many women and children). Maybe you could plan on each person eating a hamburger, fries and drink. How many groups of 50 would that have been? (from MissionBibleClass.org)

3. Sharing Time
Describe a time when someone shared with you. How did it make you feel? How do you think it made that person feel to share? SAY: Today, we are going to talk about a young boy who was willing to share his lunch with Jesus.

Story: Jesus came to Earth to show us how to live in a way that pleased God. Some people did not like what he said. Others didn't quite understand it. The way God wants us to live is completely upside down and backwards to the way this world is!

During Jesus's time, food was very important. They couldn't just run to the grocery store when the needed something to eat. They didn't have microwaves either! If they needed food, they had to go the fields or the orchards and harvest it. To make bread, they had to mix the dough, knead it, let it rise and then bake it. It might take all day!

Sometimes, they could go to the market to buy what the needed, but that took money-something many of the poor in Jerusalem did not have much of. So, you can see the problem Jesus's disciples faced.

READ the story of The Boys Shares His Lunch OR read John 6:1-13.

EMPHASIZE that: