Dear Parents,

Thanks for joining us again as we do Children’s Worship from home!  

Note: Please let us know about how your family is enjoying Children’s Worship! Take some pictures of your family participating in Children’s Worship or share a story. You can post to the Gold Avenue Church Facebook page or send by email at goldavechurch@gmail.com

Lunch for Everyone

Based on: Mark 6:30-44

EQUIP:  

(It’s not an activity, but just a little background on the story for you, the parent, to read.) 

 

I don’t know about you, but when I find myself in difficult circumstances, I often become pretty absorbed with finding solutions to my problems. When life gets uncomfortable for us, thinking about other people’s needs doesn’t come very naturally!

 

But Jesus wants us to give our problems to Him—and then get busy serving others. How do we do that when we’re worried, anxious or frustrated? I’ve found that one very simple way is to pray for people. Prayer helps me forget about myself for a while and think about others—and about God. The amazing thing is that when I do this, I end up feeling so much better myself—and I often end up with some surprising blessings!

 

In the story about Jesus feeding the 5,000, we see that Jesus not only cared for the physical hunger of the people, but He also cared for their hungry souls. Mark tells us in his Gospel that Jesus had compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus’ compassion led Him to teach the good news about God, despite His own need for rest. Jesus showed us then and He shows us now that He is the true Shepherd sent by God. Jesus gladly provides for all our needs.

 

Activity One:  Read the intro. Watch the video of the story.

Activity Two: Discuss the story using provided questions as prompts. Prayer.

Worship: Singing 

Activity Three:  Respond to the story by doing the activity. 

Activity Four:  Bless your children 

 

Activity 1:  STORY

 

Introduction to read the children:

Jesus’ friends had traveled to many villages to tell everyone about God’s kingdom—and now they had returned home, tired and hungry but triumphant! They probably couldn’t wait to sit down and eat with Jesus and tell Him all that had happened! But as usual, they weren’t alone. In fact, so many people were coming and going that they didn’t even have time to eat! So Jesus said, “Come with Me. We’ll go to a quiet place and get some rest.” So Jesus and His disciples got in a boat.

 

But the people who had seen them leave began to run along the shore, keeping an eye  on the boat on the water! And as they ran, more and MORE people joined them! By the time Jesus and His friends got to the “quiet place,” it held an even BIGGER crowd than the crowd they had left behind! They weren’t going to get dinner or rest anytime soon! What do you think the tired disciples thought when they saw the crowd?

 

Watch video:

 

Conclusion to read to the children:

Everyone in this Bible story needed something! Jesus and the disciples needed to rest. The crowd of people needed to know about God, and they needed food! Despite His own needs, Jesus wasn’t mean or unselfish or uncaring. He always put others’ needs ahead of His own.

 

We may think that before we help someone else, we need to meet our own needs first. But that’s not what Jesus did, and that’s not what Jesus tells us to do. We need to look at things differently. When we follow Jesus, we have different attitudes and actions. 

 

Romans 12:10 tells us what our attitude should be like. (Read aloud Romans 12:10). “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

 

We can have an attitude just like Jesus’, and we can show love by helping others in need.

 

Activity 2:  DISCUSSION

• Why were people in Bible times so anxious to see Jesus and hear Him teach?

• When Jesus saw the big crowd, what did He do to help them? (Taught them about God. Fed them.)

• How did the disciples meet others’ needs, even when they were hungry, too? (Gave out food. Obeyed Jesus.)

• Let children tell briefly of a time when they helped someone, even when it wasn’t convenient. (Take out the trash,  help pick up someone else’s mess,  play with a younger brother or sister when you want to be alone.)

 

• Let’s pray now and talk to God and ask Him to show us how to help others and then be willing to do it.

Encourage children to pray for God to help them with something they need this week in their own words. Then, transition into a time of prayer for personal requests.

 

Worship Songs:

 

Activity #2  Print and color

 

 

 

Activity 4: CLOSING BLESSING

 

This week remember that God will use you to help others.

 

(______________), may you look for ways that God can use you to help someone else in need.