First, We Look Back
This one is easy. We tend to do this quite a bit during the Lord’s Supper, and we should. Although, perhaps we don’t look back far enough.
When Jesus celebrated the first Lord’s Supper with His disciples, they were actually celebrating the Passover meal, which He gave new meaning as the Lord’s Supper. The Passover was when Israel looked back to how God delivered them from Egypt by the blood of a lamb. Our session content this week really does a good job of making this connection for us. The Passover not only rescued Israel from Egypt, it was a type—a picture—of God’s greater act of deliverance as He rescued people from sin through Jesus, the greater sacrificial lamb.
Today, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we need to look back and back more at both of these events.
Second, We Look Now
The reason we look back is so that we can look at today. The more we understand and appreciate what God has done through the Passover and first Lord’s Supper, the better able we will be to appreciate the salvation that God has given to us in Christ. Again, this is step is usually pretty easy for us—this is where we tend to worship as we reflect on our salvation. And this, of course, is right and fitting. We cannot not do this. Nor should we even want to or try. Our affections for who God is and what He has done should move us to worship every single time, even if your tradition celebrates the Lord’s Supper each week.
Third, We Look Ahead
Now this is the view that I think we tend to forget—we are to look ahead too. Notice how Jesus ended this time with the disciples:
“But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29 CSB)
We anticipate another Lord’s Supper one day, one in which Jesus, in the flesh, will celebrate with us! As we participate in the Lord’s Supper then, we should do so with a sense of hope, expectancy, and longing. The greatest Lord’s Supper ever still awaits. For that meal will be one where all of God’s people will sit with Him as His children and be joined by Christ Jesus, the One who made it possible.
#JesusJams for today!
CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY SUMMARY
Christ Connection: 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.
If you have a bible at your house, open to Luke 22 and have a parent read it out loud to you! If you don't have one, that's okay! CLICK HERE.
OPTION 1: Make grape juice Guide each child to put a handful of grapes in a ziplock bag. Seal each child’s bag and reinforce the seal with duct tape. Direct children to squeeze the grapes and watch the juice come out. When finished squeezing, cut off the corner of a child’s bag and allow the juice to run into a cup. Allow children to drink their juice. SAY • Jesus said that the cup was like His blood that made the new covenant. Jesus came to save people from sin and make a new better covenant between God and His people. Jesus told His disciples to remember Him each time they drank the cup.
OPTION 2: Setting up a Passover meal Direct the kids to sit in a circle. Think of a theme such as fruits, vegetables, or foods that start with the same first letter as the speaker’s name. Start the game by saying “I’m setting up a Passover; I plan to bring _____” filling in the blank with a food that fits the theme. Allow each kid to add a dish to the meal. For an added challenge, you can keep the theme secret, and see if kids can figure it out using trial and error. SAY • If we were really planning a Passover meal, we wouldn’t get to choose what foods to make. God gave His people very specific instructions about what to eat at Passover. In our story today, we will learn about very specific instructions Jesus gave to His disciples. Jesus’ instructions gave the meal a whole new level of meaning and importance.
OPTION 3: Pass the plate Instruct the kids to stand in a circle. Give one kid a paper plate, and place 5–10 table tennis balls on the plate. Challenge the group to pass the plate around the circle without spilling any of the table tennis balls. For an added challenge, consider using a stopwatch to see how quickly the kids can pass the plate around the whole circle without spilling any of the table tennis balls. SAY • It was tricky to pass that plate without spilling. Today we will learn about a time Jesus passed bread and drink around to all His disciples. Do you know what Jesus said those foods represented? We’ll soon learn!
UNIT QUESTION:
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