The Last Supper - Sunday October 18, 2020

Sunday October 18, 2020 (Vol 9, Unit 26, Session 3)

Hi-there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith while Children's Church is not meeting. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).  

Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson, "The Last Supper" is found in all four gospel accounts in and is found in Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13.

As the Passover celebration drew near, Jerusalem hummed with excitement. Everyone wondered if Jesus—teacher, miracle-worker, and prophet—would come for Passover. (John 11:56-57) The Passover meal was a permanent statute God intended for every Israelite family to observe each year. (See Ex. 12:1-28; Lev. 23:5-8.) But it was no secret the religious leaders were determined to kill Jesus. Jesus had warned His disciples what would happen this Passover. (Mark 10:33-34; Luke 18:31)

As they ate the Passover meal, Jesus broke bread and gave it to His disciples. He shared the cup with them too, explaining that the bread and cup represented His body and blood. Jesus established a new covenant.

In the Old Testament, God made a covenant, or promise, with His people. He gave them commandments to follow so they could live in right relationship with Him. But God’s people broke the covenant. They didn’t obey God, and they didn’t love Him.

What the sacrifice of the Passover lamb could not do—take away sins once and for all—the perfect Lamb of God was going to do. Jesus, the perfectly sinless Son of God, was going to take the punishment for sin upon Himself. (See Heb. 10:1-10.) As Jesus’ disciples prepared for Passover, Jesus prepared to die. By dying on the cross, Jesus brought forgiveness and made the way for people to know and love God again.

Believers take the Lord’s Supper to remember what Jesus did for us in His death and resurrection. We remember God’s faithfulness, and we look forward to the day that Jesus will return.

Only you, the parent can decide if your children are ready to take the Lord’s Supper at church. Gently explain that the Lord’s Supper, like baptism, is an ordinance of the church and is a celebration for those who have repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus for salvation. But use this as an opportunity to share the gospel with your kids and encourage them to accept Jesus' free gift of salvation.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are to young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!  

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take a few moments to look at and print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) also to review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!  

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

Parents share your blessings and bummer and encourage the kids to do the same. 

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! 

Prompt kids to discuss what foods they would prepare if they were going to have a special meal with all their closest friends. 

Say • We often use special meals to celebrate. Today we will learn about a very special meal Jesus ate with His disciples. They were celebrating Passover together, and Jesus used the meal as a time to teach them many important things He wanted them to remember. What do you think they ate and drank at this special meal?

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below.  

As we learn about the Last Supper, it will be very important to remember our big picture question and answer: What did Jesus do to save us? Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Each part of that answer is extremely important. If any single piece of that puzzle hadn’t happened, there would be no salvation from sin. Jesus’ perfect life meant He could be the perfect sacrifice and take away our sins. His death meant that He did pay the debt we owed. His resurrection means that His sacrifice was enough. We have hope for eternal life. Faith in Jesus makes us new creations who live with God for all time. God gives us Jesus’ righteousness and adopts us as sons and daughters. 

 • As Jesus traveled around Israel teaching and working miracles, many people began to follow Him. People welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King. They believed He would be the conqueror who would free them from Roman authority. But the religious leaders hated Jesus. Despite their best efforts to trick Him, Jesus spoke with wisdom and authority. This made the religious leaders hate Him all the more. They made a plan to kill Jesus, but their plan was all wrapped up in God’s perfect plan. Jesus knew He would soon die. He spent His last night as a free man, eating dinner with and teaching His disciples.

Jesus knew all along that the time was coming for Him to be arrested and put to death. Passover was an incredibly important celebration for God’s people, and Jesus made it even more special and significant. Jesus used the bread and the cup to show a picture of what He was preparing to do for us.

Jesus explained that the bread represented His body. Jesus allowed evil men to arrest Him. He did not fight back when they hurt Him and made fun of Him. He laid down His life willingly. 

The cup represented Jesus’ blood. The wounds Jesus suffered caused Him to bleed. Generations before, the blood of a spotless lamb had been the mark of a house that trusted God and had saved God’s people from death. At the cross, Jesus shed His blood to save people from an even greater death. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Jesus commanded His disciples to remember His sacrifice. We do this in many ways, but one of the most important is by taking the Lord’s Supper, or communion. Different churches practice this in different ways. Some may pass a plate with a lot of small crackers and another with many small cups of grape juice. Others may use larger bits of bread and dip it into the cup. The important thing isn’t how a church takes communion, but that they remember Jesus and honor His sacrifice through obedience. Communion is like baptism in some ways: it is for those who already have faith in Jesus, and it cannot save you. It is a symbol to you and the rest of the world of what Jesus did for you.

Jesus showed His disciples with the bread and the drink that He is the true Passover Lamb. God’s people had broken the old covenant, and God promised to make a new covenant to forgive sins. The new covenant says that everyone who turns away from sin and trusts in Jesus’ death and resurrection will be forgiven of his sins and will have eternal life

 Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find Luke 22. Consider showing the Old Testament Mediterranean Map to point out where Egypt was during the first Passover and the New Testament Israel Map to point out the location of Jerusalem. 

 Ask the following questions. Lead your kids to discuss:

Whom did Jesus send to prepare the Passover? (Peter and John, Luke 22:8)

What two items did Jesus share with His disciples as a way to remember His sacrifice? (the bread and the cup, Luke 22:19-20)

What did Jesus say Peter would do three times before the morning came? (deny that he knew Jesus, Luke 22:34)

Why is the Lord’s Supper so important? Guide kids to think less about the specific foods used and more about the symbolism of the meal. Remind them that Jesus’ sacrifice was a choice. He did not have to allow His enemies to hurt and kill Him. The Lord’s Supper is a meaningful way for us to honor Jesus by obeying Him. The Lord’s Supper is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us in dying on the cross.

Who can participate in taking the Lord’s Supper? Guide kids to think about the importance of the bread and the cup. Remind them that only those who have faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection have salvation from sin. Those who reject Jesus or who have not yet come to faith do not participate in the Lord’s Supper.

What other ways do we remember and celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice for us? Direct kids to think about when most churches gather. Discuss the hymns and songs we sing. Remind the kids that we celebrate Easter in the springtime. Talk about the burial and resurrection symbolism of baptism.

Say • Jesus commanded His disciples to remember His sacrifice. Christians today remember the same way.

 Let's take a look at our memory verse.  

Jesus wanted to glorify God and rescue us. He obeyed God’s plan even though it meant a painful and shameful death on the cross. Jesus never sinned, but He allowed sinful people to put Him to death as if He were a terrible criminal.

Optional Memory Verse Activity:

Inflate a balloon and tie it off. Direct the kids to stand in a circle. Toss the balloon into their midst and challenge them to keep the balloon aloft, bopping it each time they say a word of the key passage. If a kid bops the balloon without saying a word or allows the balloon to hit the ground, restart the game. Play until the kids complete the entire key passage at least once. You may wish to institute a rule that no kid may bop the balloon twice in a row, or that each kid must bop the balloon at least once. 

Say • Jesus specifically chose Paul to preach the gospel. In our key passage, Paul explained the amazing fact that Jesus was perfectly obedient to God—to the point of dying on the cross 

 That's it for this week!

Let's pray:   God, thank You for sending Jesus. Help us remember His sacrifice daily. Thank You for providing a way for believers to celebrate Him through the Lord’s Supper. Amen.

Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

FCBC is grateful to Lifeway Christian Resources for allowing us to publish this blog using their Gospel Project materials.

Additional Activities and Information