Scripture verse:
All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
Matthew 14:20 (NIrV)
Scripture reading:
John 6:1-13
Wherever Jesus went, large crowds followed. He had to climb a hill to get away from the crowds, but even then they followed him. Would Jesus turn them away? No, He taught them and healed the sick among them and spent the rest of the day with them.
When it began to get late, the disciples were worried about food. There were no grocery stores, restaurants or cafes nearby. What could so many people eat? Jesus asked what they had. One very small boy, with only five pieces of bread and two small fish, was willing to give his lunch to Jesus. What a caring child he was. He gave his whole lunch away. He did this without expecting anything in return. But when we give to Jesus, we get blessings multiplied to us.
Jesus asked all the people to sit in the grass. The disciples counted 5,000 men besides all the women and children. I'm sure they wondered how this small lunch could feed all these people. Jesus took the bread, said the blessing, and began to break it up and pass it to the disciples, who then passed it to the people sitting in the grass. Then Jesus did the same thing with the fish. When everyone had eaten their fill, Jesus instructed that nothing should be wasted. He asked the disciples to gather up the scraps of food. They collected twelve baskets full of leftovers.
What a picnic this must have been. No one went away hungry. Everyone was well fed—even the little boy who had given his lunch away. There was plenty of food left over to feed a few more thousand people. When Jesus blesses anything, it multiplies. Can you imagine how wonderful that food must have tasted. Can you imagine the wonder in the eyes of the little boy as his lunch was broken and multiplied. What a miracle.
Jesus loves to bless his people. We can never out give him. The more we give away, the more he multiplies the blessings to us. When we give to those in need, all of our needs are supplied with some left over. What a wonderful provider he is.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, your miracles are special even today. We are blessed by just reading what you did for others. You are a miracle-working God, but even more than this, you care for the little ones, too. Thank you for using kids in your ministry. Thank you for caring about the feelings of little ones. Thank you for caring for us today. We want to give to others….not to see what we will get in return, but because we love you and love doing for others.
ACTIVITY
Ask mom to help you bake cookies shaped like fish and loaves of bread. Fill baskets with your goodies and you can pretend Jesus gave you all the leftovers of that great day.
SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups plain flour
2 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together and chill the dough overnight. Roll out the dough and cut it into cookie shapes as illustrated below. The fish are circles and triangles put together with a raisin or mini M & M eye. Make an indentation for the mouth. The bread is simply rectangles. After the rectangles are cut, round the corners to form bread. These will then be baked at 350 degrees until very lightly browned.
All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
Matthew 14:20 (NIrV)
Scripture reading:
John 6:1-13
Wherever Jesus went, large crowds followed. He had to climb a hill to get away from the crowds, but even then they followed him. Would Jesus turn them away? No, He taught them and healed the sick among them and spent the rest of the day with them.
When it began to get late, the disciples were worried about food. There were no grocery stores, restaurants or cafes nearby. What could so many people eat? Jesus asked what they had. One very small boy, with only five pieces of bread and two small fish, was willing to give his lunch to Jesus. What a caring child he was. He gave his whole lunch away. He did this without expecting anything in return. But when we give to Jesus, we get blessings multiplied to us.
Jesus asked all the people to sit in the grass. The disciples counted 5,000 men besides all the women and children. I'm sure they wondered how this small lunch could feed all these people. Jesus took the bread, said the blessing, and began to break it up and pass it to the disciples, who then passed it to the people sitting in the grass. Then Jesus did the same thing with the fish. When everyone had eaten their fill, Jesus instructed that nothing should be wasted. He asked the disciples to gather up the scraps of food. They collected twelve baskets full of leftovers.
What a picnic this must have been. No one went away hungry. Everyone was well fed—even the little boy who had given his lunch away. There was plenty of food left over to feed a few more thousand people. When Jesus blesses anything, it multiplies. Can you imagine how wonderful that food must have tasted. Can you imagine the wonder in the eyes of the little boy as his lunch was broken and multiplied. What a miracle.
Jesus loves to bless his people. We can never out give him. The more we give away, the more he multiplies the blessings to us. When we give to those in need, all of our needs are supplied with some left over. What a wonderful provider he is.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, your miracles are special even today. We are blessed by just reading what you did for others. You are a miracle-working God, but even more than this, you care for the little ones, too. Thank you for using kids in your ministry. Thank you for caring about the feelings of little ones. Thank you for caring for us today. We want to give to others….not to see what we will get in return, but because we love you and love doing for others.
ACTIVITY
Ask mom to help you bake cookies shaped like fish and loaves of bread. Fill baskets with your goodies and you can pretend Jesus gave you all the leftovers of that great day.
SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups plain flour
2 eggs
4 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together and chill the dough overnight. Roll out the dough and cut it into cookie shapes as illustrated below. The fish are circles and triangles put together with a raisin or mini M & M eye. Make an indentation for the mouth. The bread is simply rectangles. After the rectangles are cut, round the corners to form bread. These will then be baked at 350 degrees until very lightly browned.
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