Читать книгу Nourishing Seeds of Faith - Virginia H. Loewen - Страница 7

Theme: Jesus satisfies our deepest longings.

Scripture: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” —John 6:35a

Preparation: Bring a gingerbread house or photos of a variety of houses, which can be found online by searching gingerbread houses photos.

Are you getting ready to celebrate Christmas? Are you putting up decorations? Maybe you will have a Christmas tree. I’ve noticed that some folks make gingerbread houses at this time of year. Have any of you helped to make a gingerbread house?

I brought some pictures of gingerbread houses to show you. There are small ones, big ones and very large, fancy houses in these photographs.

Have you ever wondered why gingerbread houses are made especially at Christmastime? What does gingerbread have to do with Christmas? Was Jesus born in a gingerbread house?

What kind of place was Jesus born in? Jesus was born in a place where animals were kept. It may have been a cave. It certainly was not a gingerbread house.

I learned that gingerbread was first made more than 1,000 years ago in Europe—in Germany, France and England. Ginger cakes were baked for celebrations and holidays. Sweet, baked treats were made with ginger because the spice helped them stay fresh and last longer. At that time plastic wrap and plastic bags had not been invented.

Then about 200 years ago, the Grimm Brothers wrote a story about Hansel and Gretel. Do you know that fairy tale? Hansel and Gretel were lost in the woods when they came upon a house made of bread with a roof of cake. After that story was written, German bakeries made decorated gingerbread houses with icing for snow on the roofs.

When people moved to America, they brought the idea of gingerbread houses with them. Making gingerbread houses is now part of the Christmas season celebration for many families.

So, do you think there is any connection between gingerbread houses and Jesus? I think we can make a connection. What is the name of the town where Jesus was born? Do you know that the name Bethlehem means “house of bread”?

Is there bread in any of the stories you know about Jesus? Jesus fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and had twelve basketfuls left over (John 6:1–13). Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). At the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples, he called the bread “my body” (I Corinthians 11:24). And Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

Does this mean that if we believe in Jesus, we will never have to eat or drink again? No. We need to eat and drink to keep our bodies alive. There’s another kind of food that we need. We are hungry for spiritual food. Jesus satisfies our hunger for love and for hope. He tells us that we can be forgiven when we have done something wrong. If we believe in him, we can live with him in his house in heaven forever. In this way Jesus is the bread of life.

Stretching Further:

With adult volunteers, have the children make gingerbread houses to display in their classrooms or in an area where adults can also enjoy them. You may want to serve gingersnaps for a snack.

Let’s pray.

Our Father, we thank you that we can celebrate Christmas and build gingerbread houses. Thank you for the food we eat. And thank you for Jesus, the bread of life. We invite him into our hearts. Help us to love you and to love one another. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

ӷ