a kid s guide to A RESOURCE FOR PARENTS TO READ WITH THEIR KIDS COMMUNION and Family Ministries of the Covenant Church
Parents Hey parents! Communion is a great way to include kids in worship. You can use this short book to help them understand what it means and what to do. Some people think the meaning of Communion is too complicated for kids to get and that they should wait till they re older. But, actually, Communion can be a super meaningful experience for kids. We just have to explain it to them. This short book will help you do that. Just follow these steps. 1. Get your Bible and read this short book first on your own, looking up the Bible passages as you go. Decide in advance which verses you d like to read with your child. 2. When you re ready, have your child get his/her Bible so you can read the passages together as you go through this short book. 3. Take turns reading and talking about it. This is a great opportunity to talk with your child about putting their faith in Jesus. After you read this book, you can read and talk about this passage. God s grace has saved you because of your faith in Jesus. Your salvation doesn t come from anything you do. It is God s gift. It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. - Ephesians 2:8-9 Tell your child about your trust in Jesus, then ask him/her if they would like to trust Jesus, too.
Kids Hi Kids! Are you wondering what Communion is? Well, it all starts with Jesus. The night before he died on the cross, Jesus had a very special Last Supper with his disciples. While they were eating Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to his disciples and said, Take this and eat it. This is my body. Then he took a cup. He gave thanks and handed it to them. He said, All of you drink from it. This is my blood of the covenant. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many people. - Matthew 26:26-28 (NIrV) You can read the whole story yourself if you go to Matthew 26:17-30 or Luke 22:7-20. Ever since then, for almost 2,000 years now, Christians have remembered the Last Supper and what Jesus did for us on the cross. We call it Communion and this little book will help you understand 1. Why that supper was so special 2. What the bread means 3. What the cup means and 4. Give you a few helpful tips for what to do Before we do, though, make sure you have your Bible. You ll be looking up Exodus 12, Matthew 26, Luke 22, John 6, and Hebrews 9.
The Last Supper I love supper time with my family! We laugh. We talk. And, the food is so good!... But Jesus last supper was a very special meal not just because it was his last one. It was a holiday supper kind of like when we have Thanksgiving. But this holiday was called Passover. That s when they celebrated the day that God worked with Moses to convince the Egyptian king (called Pharaoh) to let all the Hebrew slaves go free. You can read more about that story in Exodus 12:1-14. Every year after that they celebrated this holiday by eating together. During the meal they ate bread, drank some wine, and remembered how God saved them. God planned it just right so that Jesus and his disciples would eat the Passover meal together on the night just before Jesus died on the cross.
The Bread Bread is so good! In Bible times, and for many people around the world even today, bread is the main part of their daily meal. Bread gave people the strength they needed to keep going during the day. It nourished their bodies. One day, when Jesus was teaching his disciples, he said I am the Bread of Life (John 6:28-35), meaning I m the one who gives you strength and nourishes your life. Then, during his Last Supper with his disciples at Passover, Jesus took some bread, broke it, and gave it to them and said This is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it, do this in memory of me. (Luke 22:20, NIrV) Today, breaking bread at Communion reminds us that his body was broken or sacrificed for us on the cross. And, by dying for us, he helps us live. So, when we eat this bread, we remember what Jesus did for us and that he gives us strength and nourishes our lives.
The Cup I love grape juice! In Bible times, people drank wine with their dinner all the time. During Communion, we drink grape juice. We do this because, after Jesus and his disciples ate their supper during the Passover meal, Jesus picked up his cup and said, This is my blood of the new covenant. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many people. (Matthew 26:28, NIrV) Today we drink the cup at Communion to remember that Jesus gave his blood for us. Jesus blood is pure and clean and washes sins away. A sin is anything we do, say, or think, that is opposite of what God wants. The Bible says God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. (1 John 1:9, NIrV) But, even when we admit our sins to God, and tell him we re sorry, we can still feel guilty about them. The Bible says His blood washes from our minds our feelings of guilt for committing sin! (Hebrews 9:11-15) So, when you drink the juice at Communion, think to yourself, Jesus washes my sins away from the inside out. That will help you feel forgiven.
Communion Communion is really important for my personal relationship with God. It s not because my parents do it, or because I m thirsty. It helps me feel God s love and forgiveness in my life. And, it s a way for me to show God that I love him, too. We use the word Communion because we eat the bread and drink the cup together in community. Sometimes we pass the Communion plates around to people in their seats. Other times we all go forward to take Communion in the front. While we wait 1. Ask God to help you remember your sins. 2. Tell him you re sorry and ask him for forgiveness. 3. Thank him for sending Jesus to forgive your sins. When you pick up the bread, you can eat it right away and think to yourself, Jesus gives me strength and life. When you pick up the little cup of juice, don t pinch it. That might make it hard to pull out. While you re drinking it, think to yourself, God forgives me and Jesus blood washes me clean! Then, when you re done, think to God, Thank you God, for loving me so much! And that s it! That s Communion! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask your parents or your pastor! See you at church!
Written by Jim Murphy Provided by The Covenant Church, Bemidji, MN www.bemidjicovenant.com 2016 The Covenant Church Permission granted to republish for no profit