Week 36 · about 45 minutes
Five Loaves and Two Fish
John 6 · Memory verse John 6:35
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Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (Five Loaves and Two Fish), the related word search and answer key (Miracles of Jesus), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: five crackers and two paper fish
Hold up five crackers and two paper fish. In about five minutes, tell the class this: A child’s lunch becomes a feast when Jesus gives thanks and breaks the bread. Show the prop and ask, “What does this have to do with Five Loaves and Two Fish?” Let two children answer. Then read John 6:35 together: “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” Close by asking one child to say the lesson back in their own words, using the prop.
Story script
A huge crowd followed Jesus because they had seen him heal the sick. He went up a mountainside and sat with his disciples. He already knew what he was going to do. He asked Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people?” Philip said even months of wages would not buy enough for each person to have a bite.
Andrew found a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. “But how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said to have the people sit down. There was plenty of grass. He took the boy’s lunch, gave thanks, and passed it out. Everyone ate until they were full. The leftovers filled twelve baskets.
The boy did not have a warehouse. He had a lunch, and he let Jesus hold it. Jesus is the bread of life. Food fills a stomach for an afternoon. Jesus fills a heart forever.
What is in your hands that feels too small — a kind note, a few coins, a prayer, a song? Put it in Jesus’ hands. He knows how to give thanks and make it enough.
Group game
A child shares the small lunch. The class breaks crackers into enough pieces for everyone and talks about leftover baskets.
Craft
Draw five loaves, two fish, and twelve baskets. Write Jesus gives enough.
Memory verse
John 6:35
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Take-home prayer
Jesus, you are the bread of life. Thank you for taking small gifts and feeding people. I give you what I have. Amen.