Resources: Video about “the Lord’s Supper”
Materials: bread, grape juice,12 cups, small toy prizes, shaving cream, candy, ping pong ball (Put a toy prize or a piece of candy into each cup. Include some cups with shaving cream in them. Have paper towels handy.)
Scripture Verse: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 6:51
Target audience: ages 5-9
Object Lesson:
1. Welcome the children. Tell them that today we will be talking about the Lord’s Supper. First, ask children if they know what the Lord’s Supper is. Allow children to respond, giving praise for answers.
2. Show the God’s Story video. It is a great introduction to the topic of the Lord’s Supper. After the video, allow two or three children to summarize what they got out of the lesson.
3. Ask the children: Who was Jesus with during his last supper? He was with his disciples. Explain that Jewish people had Passover with their families every year to celebrate God protecting them in Egypt.
4. Invite children up to read the verses. Jesus commanded us to remember this Supper. What do we eat and drink when we remember Jesus and his Supper? When children call out the grape juice and the bread, pull it out. Allow children to taste the bread (or maybe even matzah). As you hold the cup, ask the children what the grape juice/ wine represents. Tell them all about how Jesus poured out his blood on the cross for us. When we see this juice, we remember that Jesus sacrificed his life so that we could live. Hold the bread and say that Jesus broke his body on the cross for us, so that we could live also.
5. Even though we remember Jesus’ death with the Lord’s Supper, it is also about him living inside of us. But, the disciples who were with Jesus wouldn’t have known that he was using the juice and bread to represent himself. Ask the children if they know the names of the disciples who were with Jesus. When each name is said, put a new cup on the ground.
a. Peter
b. James son of Zebedee
c. John
d. Andrew
e. Philip
f. Bartholomew
g. Thomas
h. Matthew
i. James the son of Alphaeus
j. Thaddaeus
k. Simon the Zealot
l. Judas Iscariot
6. Jesus was going to die for our sins that next morning, but his disciples had no clue! Do you think that they were surprised when they found out the next morning? Why do you think that we should remember what Jesus did for us?
7. When we partake in the Lord’s supper, we are remembering together how Jesus died so that we could have eternal life with God forever.
Lesson Review:
Be sure that each cup has something different in it. Whether it is toys, candy, or shaving cream. When a child answers a question, let them throw a ping pong ball into a cup (they cannot see inside the cups). They have to put their hand in the cup to see what their good (or icky) prize is!
Questions:
a. What is the Lord’s Supper?
b. What do we eat and drink during the Lord’s Supper?
c. Who was one of Jesus’ disciples that was with him for the Last Supper? {Continue with this question until all the cups are empty.}
Brianna Knutson is the Children’s Ministry Assistant at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace. She loves using her teaching degree to teach children all about Jesus and His mighty love for them. Brianna and her husband Matthew live in Tampa, Florida.
