Conversation Starters: Our Provider
Posted by Karah
CONNECTION POINT: We can trust Jesus to meet the needs of people.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Our tendency is to live by what we can see. We believe what we can touch. We’re confident when what we need is right in front us. But life does not always hand us easy answers and solutions. A life in Christ is a life of trust—trusting Him to provide what we need, even when we don’t readily see the answer. Abraham showed us that God truly is our Provider.
Concept: Our Provider
Preschool
John 6:1-13
LIFE POINT: Jesus was on a mountainside. He looked at the large crowd of people following Him. Jesus asked His disciple Philip, “Where can we buy bread for all these people?” Philip answered, “It would take lots of money to buy so much bread.” But Andrew brought a boy with a small lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” The people sat in the grass. Jesus broke apart the bread and thanked God for the food. He gave bread and fish to the people. Each person ate all he wanted. There were 5000 men plus women and children in the crowd. Jesus told His disciples to gather the leftovers so the food would not be wasted. They gathered twelve baskets of leftover bread.
LIVE IT OUT: Review the Bible story with your child and tell her that God helps people have food. Provide a pan of water and a few sturdy vegetables for your child to wash. Say the Bible Verse: “Jesus gave food to people.”
Kids
John 6:1-13
LIFE POINT: A large crowd followed Jesus. So Jesus went up on the mountain. He sat down to teach the people. Jesus spoke to Philip. “Where can we buy bread so the people can eat?” Philip said, “Two hundred coins would not be enough money to buy just a tiny bit of food for each person!” Andrew, another disciple, brought a little boy to Jesus. “This boy has five loaves of bread. He has two fish. But how could that feed so many people?” The people sat down on the grass. There were 5,000 men! Jesus took the bread. He gave thanks to God for it. Then Jesus started giving food to the crowd. Everyone had as much to eat as he wanted! The disciples filled 12 baskets with left-over bread!
LIVE IT OUT: Talk with your child about the ways that Jesus helps meet the needs of your family. Include spiritual needs as well as physical needs. Make a list together. Pray together thanking God and Jesus for meeting the needs of your family.
Students
Genesis 22:1-14
THE POINT: We can trust God to meet our needs.
• What’s one of the toughest things you’ve been asked to do?
• What are the purposes of tests in our lives?
• When have you been tested to trust God when His provision wasn’t apparent?
• How can our actions and attitudes show others that we serve the God who provides? Discuss the following quote:
“It is not hard to obey when we love the one whom we obey.”(1)—Saint Ignatius
LIVE IT OUT: Encourage your student to take practical steps to take his or her faith and Live It Out. Here are some ways you can encourage your students to live out their faith with Christ personally, in community, and in their culture:
• CHRIST: Pray with your student this week for the desire and strength to live with a dependence on God to provide for his or her needs.
• COMMUNITY: Sometimes we all need to depend on fellow believers for help. Be sure your student knows specific people he or she can reach out to for help.
• CULTURE: Tell your student ways in which you have seen and trusted God during big leaps of faith. Encourage him or her to be ready to jump in faith and obedience to God when the opportunity comes.
(1)“Saint Ignatius Quote,” Brainy Quote [online], [accessed 27 August 2017]. Available from the Internet: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/saintignat204692.html.
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