Today, I’m continuing the Grow Series with a lesson on The Lord’s Supper. These lessons can be used in a series or they can stand-alone (all you need to take out is the recap section). As a word of warning, this lesson is written specifically for my church community. We are non-denominational, so make sure to read over any areas that might need to be edited to fit your church’s faith practices. The Sunday this lesson was taught, our “big church”, was participating in the Lord’s Supper, so our third and fourth graders were able to observe this ordinance in action! These lessons have really been impactful to our kids. I hope they are for your KidMin kiddos as well.

Welcome Question

“What is the Lord’s Supper?”

Recap From Last Week

Last week, we started a new series called Grow! What is this series about? It’s all about growing as a follower of Christ. We’re covering lots of different practices and ordinances of our faith. Last week we talked all about Worship! What is worship? It’s honoring God through loving him and obeying him. We focused on singing songs to God in worship to Him as well.

Large Group Lesson

This week we’re talking about the Lord’s Supper and why we practice this. That’s our welcome question this week as well, “What is the Lord’s Supper?” Go over the written answers.

What is the Lord’s Supper?

The Lord’s Supper is an act we participate in during church that symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on the cross for us and our sins. It’s not a real supper or even a sit down dinner. As a church, we drink grape juice and eat pieces of bread. And through that act we’re reminded as a church the importance of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Sometimes you might hear it called Communion.

Why do we do the Lord’s Supper?

We participate in the Lord’s Supper because Jesus established it before He died on the cross. He had all of His friends, the disciples, around Him at the Passover Meal (or as we call it, the Last Supper). Let’s see what that Supper might have looked like in this video.

Video: Right Now Media’s The Holy Moly Easter Collection: The Last Supper  (watch until 2:49)

If you do not have access to this video through Right Now Media, then you can find a similar video HERE on YouTube. 

Now that we’ve seen what that supper might have looked like, let’s read from Luke 22 what happened. Luke 22:14-20: And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Jesus told His disciples to do this act of drinking juice and eating the bread, in remembrance of Him. He wanted them to stop, take a moment, and reflect on what He did on the cross for us. Jesus was telling them He was about to do all of this on the cross for them and for everyone. The guy that runs off at the end of the video is Judas. Jesus tell his disciples that one of them will betray him. Judas must have felt the awkward tension so he bolts.

We practice the Lord’s Supper so we can do what Jesus commanded: to remember Him. That’s why we stop and remember how Jesus died for us. We don’t do it every week, we do it periodically throughout the year because we want it to be a special time of focusing on Him.

Who can do the Lord’s Supper?

At our church, we participate in closed communion. This means that only people who have made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and made Him their Savior, can take the bread and juice. It’s not open to just anyone who wants to do it. We do this all together, so we can all be unified as a church body, remembering Jesus’ terrible death on the Cross.

This is also a very serious time. You need to be respectful, quiet, and take time to pray and confess any sins you have in your life. You can also take time to thank God for the sacrifice of sending His only Son to rescue you.

What about the bread and juice? (provide bread and juice like you use in your service)

We don’t have the exact same bread and drink as Jesus did in the Bible, so we use pieces of bread and we use grape juice. If we didn’t have access to those things, we could use Coke and crackers. They are just symbols to help us remember that Last Supper and Jesus’ death on the cross.

Today, I have the bread and juice just like we are using in big church for you to see. We won’t do the Lord’s Supper in our class today, but if you’ve asked Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, then next time we do it in big church, make sure to tell your parents to come get you so you can participate with them.

Closing

The Lord’s Supper is a special time we have as a church and as individuals. We should always take time, even when not doing the Lord’s Supper, to remember Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross for us so that we could be with Him forever.

Small Group Questions

Discussion: Introduce yourself and learn the kids names. Then use the following questions to lead a discussion.

• What is the Lord’s Supper? An act that symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on the cross for us and our sins
• Why did Jesus want His disciples to break bread and drink with him? To remember Him and His death on the cross
• What happened after the Last Supper? Jesus is betrayed by Judas and then is crucified
• Does it matter what type of bread or drink we have for it? No, they are just symbols
• Who can take the Lord’s Supper? Anyone who is a follower of Jesus
• What should we think about as we take the Lord’s Supper? Thank Jesus for His sacrifice on the cross, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.
• Has anyone ever taken the Lord’s Supper? What was it like?
• Why do you think it’s important that we do the Lord’s Supper?

Bible Challenge:

This week’s Memory Verse: “Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show others about the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26

Last Week’s Verse:  “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” Psalm 105:1

2-4th Grade: Frame It!  Ahead of time, write or type the Bible verse onto a sheet of paper. Put a frame around the verse. Cut individual words or phrases out of the frame. Spread the words around a room, taping them to a wall or hiding them. At “go”, one child at a time must find all of the words and as a group they must assemble them in the correct order back into the frame.

Kinder & First Grade: Verse Puzzler Ahead of time, write or type the Bible verse onto a sheet of paper. Cut the paper into odd shapes to make a puzzle. Have your children work together to assemble the puzzle.

These ideas were adapted from Path Through the Narrow Gate’s Blog. 

Prayer:

Ask children if they have any prayer needs and then close in prayer.

Dismissal & Verse Cards

Pass out Memory Verse Cards as children are released.

Printable Resources

Lord’s Supper Printable Lesson

1 Corinthians 11:26 Verse Cards

Thanks for letting me share,