Jesus Feeds 5,000. Lesson At-A-Glance. Gather (10 minutes) Open the Bible (20 minutes) Arrival Activity Kids imagine a memorable meal.

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1 Jesus Feeds 5,000 Lesson At-A-Glance Scripture Reference John 6:1-14 Lesson Focus Jesus feeds us and fills our every need. Life Question Where have you seen God s abundance at work? Bible Memory Verse Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. John 6:11 Gather (10 minutes) Arrival Activity Kids imagine a memorable meal. Activity Pages Paper, markers, pencils, other art supplies Opening Conversation Kids consider meals they ve shared with a large number of people. Opening Prayer Kids share bread and fish after the prayer. Basket, pita bread, Swedish Fish candy Open the Bible (20 minutes) Jesus Feeds 5,000 Story Kids dig into the Bible story and some snacks. Why Not Hash Browns and Hamburgers? Kids look at the diet of the people in Jesus time. The 5,000 Scramble Kids unscramble key words from the story. Remember It Kids memorize the Bible Memory Verse. Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers, Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers, Large basket, cover, crackers or bite-size snacks Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. Jesus Feeds 5,000 13

2 Activate Faith (10 minutes) Lesson At-A-Glance Do the Masses Math Kids figure out the size of supper Jesus provided. Feed the World Kids learn about organizations that feed the hungry. Bread-and-Fish Basket Toss Kids toss bread and fish into a basket., calculators (optional) Two baskets, beanbags in two colors Send (5 minutes) Closing Conversation Kids share how Jesus fills their needs, and the importance of the kid who comes forward with the basket of food. Closing Prayer Kids pray for God to use them and their gifts and talents. Family Pages Visit for more Spark content! Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find four downloadable resources for this lesson: an Activity Page, a Family Page, and two additional in-class activities. 14 Jesus Feeds 5,000 Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.

3 Gather (10 minutes) Arrival Activity If some kids arrive earlier than others and you need a lesson-based activity, make copies of the downloadable Activity Page and set them out for kids to try. As kids arrive, direct their attention to a table with paper, pencils, markers, and other art supplies. Today we re going to talk about feeding a whole bunch of people. To start things off, I ll have you create a drawing and brief description that corresponds to what you d consider the meal of a lifetime. Use your imaginations. At this meal, you can serve anything, have anything, and there ll always be more than enough. Let your imaginations and your appetites run wild! Opening Conversation Who was able to try a Faith on the Go! activity this past week? Tell us what you did. Allow some time for sharing. Who can tell me the Bible Memory Verse (BMV) from last week? If kids remember the BMV, invite them to recite it for the group. Guide the kids to help them remember parts they don t. Activity Pages Paper Markers Other art supplies Distribute leaflets and pencils. Look together at the pictures on the front page and then read the Life Question and Lesson Focus. We ll be talking about John s account of Jesus feeding 5,000 people. In this New Testament story, Jesus turns a few loaves and fishes into enough food to feed a multitude and a nice pile of leftovers, too. Let s see a four-star chef do that! Ask kids to consider the images on the first page of the leaflet and Did You Know? on the second page. Invite kids to complete If Not 5,000, How Many? on the second page of the leaflet. When kids have finished the activity, invite them to share their answers, and encourage discussion. Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. Jesus Feeds 5,000 15

4 Opening Prayer Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids with food allergies. Provide an alternative, if necessary. Invite kids to stand in a circle. Have a basket of pita bread and Swedish Fish candy on hand. Pass this basket around the circle as I pray. Afterwards, we ll share our own loaves and fishes. Dear God, Thank you for seeing our needs And filling our stomachs, Filling our hearts, Filling our souls. We hunger and thirst for you, And we turn to you For sustenance and survival. Thank you for multiplying The love in our hearts By 5,000 times, and more. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Basket Pita bread Swedish Fish candy Open the Bible (20 minutes) Jesus Feeds 5,000 Story Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids with food allergies. Provide an alternative, if necessary. Prior to the Bible reading, prepare a large basket with more than enough snacks for the class, so that there are leftovers, and cover the snacks. Pick one kid to hold the covered basket. Pass out Spark Bibles. Ask the kids if they know where the book of John is. Then invite them to turn to John 6:1-14 on page 1178, where Jesus multiplies a few loaves of bread and fish into enough food to feed 5,000 people. Have kids take turns reading verses aloud. When the reading reaches verse 9, the kid holding the basket should uncover it and begin distributing snacks to the other kids. Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Large basket Cover (for basket) Crackers or bite-size snacks Invite kids to enjoy the snack and to place I Read It stickers in their Bibles. Who is it who provides the bread and fish that Jesus will bless? (a boy) What does Jesus do before he multiplies the food? (blesses it) Why do you think Jesus chose to perform a miracle involving so much food? What do you think is the significance of the meal producing 12 baskets of leftovers? 16 Jesus Feeds 5,000 Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.

5 Ask a volunteer to read Look It Up! on the third page of the leaflet. Give kids a chance to discover that, in this miracle, Jesus turned water into wine. Why Not Hash Browns and Hamburgers? Ask kids to read Why Not Hash Browns and Hamburgers? on the second page of the leaflet. What big differences do you notice between how people ate in Jesus time and today? If you had to eat a diet like the disciples did, how do you think you d handle it? How do you think people felt about the food choices they had then? The 5,000 Scramble Ask kids to read and complete The 5,000 Scramble on the third page of the leaflet. Answer Key BSTEIRIA TIBERIAS REMFSGTNA FRAGMENTS HOPTERP PROPHET LEEWTV TWELVE TODSNHAU THOUSAND Mystery Answer: LOAVES OF BREAD How did you do on the puzzle? Who figured out the mystery answer? Pick a volunteer to share the answer. It s amazing to think that Jesus and the disciples fed so many people. How do you think they handled it and kept the crowd calm? Remember It Ask kids to look up John 6:11 on page They can also look at the back of their leaflets. Verse 11 in John 6 is today s BMV. Teach these gestures to help the kids learn the BMV. Remind kids that Jesus is performing this miracle with little fanfare or flash, but instead, with simple words of thanks. Then Jesus took the loaves, (Break imaginary bread.) and when he had given thanks, (Fold hands in prayer.) he distributed them to those who were seated; (Pass out the bread.) so also the fish, (Pass out faster.) as much as they wanted. (Hold belly and groan as if stuffed.) Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Once kids have memorized the verse, encourage them to put I Memorized It stickers in their Bibles. They can also sketch bread and fish in the margin. Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. Jesus Feeds 5,000 17

6 Activate Faith (10 minutes) Do the Masses Math Ask kids to read and complete Do the Masses Math on the third page of the leaflet. Encourage the kids to work in small groups and be prepared to help with the math (or find a kid who can help with the math). Answer Key The average serving of bread is two small, round loaves. 7 out of 10 people had the average serving x.7 x 2 = 7,000 2 out of 10 people had 1 loaf x.2 x 1 = 1,000 1 out of 10 people had 3 loaves x.1 x 3 = 1,500 How many bread loaves were served? 7, , ,500 = 9,500 Calculators (optional) The average serving of fish is three fishes. 12 out of 20 people had 3 fish x.6 x 3 = 9,000 4 out of 20 had 2 fish x.2 x 2 = 2,000 2 out of 20 had 4 fish x.1 x 4 = 2,000 1 out of 20 didn t like fish. ZERO 1 out of 20 ate 3½ fish x.05 x 3.5 = 875 How many fish were served? = 13,875 How much do you think a meal like the one Jesus cooked up would cost? The answer in is the reading. (six months wages) What if you were there? What combination of food would you have eaten and why? Do you think you d go hungry? Or be stuffed? Feed the World Ask volunteers to read Feed the World on the fourth page of the leaflet. Give kids a chance to share what they know about world hunger and these organizations. Encourage discussion. How do you think hungry people respond when we fill their bodily and spiritual needs? Where do you see hunger most prominently, and what do you think we can do to help? 18 Jesus Feeds 5,000 Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.

7 Bread-and-Fish Basket Toss Set up two baskets at one end of class next to each other. About 10 feet back or so, use a strip of tape to indicate a toss line. You ve heard about the fish. You ve eaten bread from a basket. But do you have the supernatural talent it takes to win the bread-and-fish basket toss? Play according to these rules. 1. Divide kids into two teams. Each basket corresponds to a team. The object is to toss beanbags into the basket, or hit the basket. 2. Teams each form a line, side by side. 3. First player up tosses the bread beanbags; opposing team player tosses the fish beanbags. 4. Next turn, teams switch beanbags. 5. Score as follows: Bread in your basket: 500 points, fish in your basket: 800 points. Hit your basket with bread: 50 points, hit your basket with fish: 100 points. 6. Toss or hit your bread or fish in other team s basket, and they win the points. 7. First team to 5,000 points wins. 8. For a twist, you can randomly blindfold a player for double points. Two baskets Six beanbags in two colors (three of each color) Send (5 minutes) Closing Conversation Gather kids in a seated circle. How does Jesus fill your needs? We see how a kid steps forward in faith during the Jesus Feeds 5,000 story with a little bit of food. How does his action challenge you or inspire you to fill the needs of others? Ask for a volunteer to read Faith on the Go! on the last page of the leaflet. Have kids discuss times they have helped others, either individually or through a group volunteer activity. Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress. Jesus Feeds 5,000 19

8 Closing Prayer Ask kids to stand and remain in a circle. I hope you feel full and happy. We certainly had some good snacking today. Now, let s pray together for God to take our fullness to a new level. Dear God, You have given us more than we need With plenty left over. You have filled us with food, Filled us with love, Filled us with hope, Filled us with caring friends. As we have been filled, Help us to fill others, To use our talents, And use our gifts To feed a world That hungers for you. Thanks be to God! Amen. Family Pages Be sure to send a leaflet and a Family Page home with each kid. 20 Jesus Feeds 5,000 Grades 5-6 Classroom Leader Guide. Spark Sunday School 2011 Augsburg Fortress.