(adapted from “The Lord’s Prayer: An Illustrated Curriculum” from Illustrated Children’s Ministry, 2019. Used with permission.)
Think and Learn
This is the fourth session in our lesson on the Lord’s Prayer. Just like the opening of the Lord’s Prayer emphasised Our Loving God, this part of the prayer also connects us with each other. As we pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are asking that everyone receive daily bread.
In Jesus’ day, Jews believed there would be a huge banquet in the world to come where all people would be invited to feast with God. Praying for daily bread is praying for God’s kin-dom to come now. Bringing ‘daily bread’ requires active participation from us. While the earth makes the grain, people turn the grain to bread. God wants to partner with us in bringing God’s kin-dom, and by praying for daily bread, we are saying “yes” to being partners with God.
Bread appears often throughout the Bible. In many of the stories involving bread, Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks to God as a form of blessing, breaks the bread, then gives it to the people. Examples of such stories include the feeding of the large crowd, and the Last Supper.
Later in the Gospel of John, Jesus calls himself “the Bread of Life”. With this name for Jesus, we are reminded that Jesus feeds our hearts with the encouragement we need to keep hoping and serving as we work for God’s dream of a better world.
Wonder
Have you seen people take food, give thanks to God for the food, and share it with others?
Have you thought about how your food grows or gets made and comes to your table?
When have you used something God gave you to help somebody else?
Do
This week’s colouring page shows a crowd of people around Jesus as he takes, blesses, breaks, and gives bread to them. Draw yourself in one of the faces. Then, fill in the other faces with people you know.
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