Proof

OBJECTS: Two packages of dry yeast. Use one package to show the children what yeast looks like in a dry form. Add the other package of yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar to ¼ cup of warm water (about the temperature of a baby’s bottle). Let the mixture set for at least five minutes (can be longer.) If the mixture bubbles and smells like bread the yeast is alive and active.

Here is a lesson about how bread is made. Only a few ingredients are needed: flour, water, salt, yeast and sugar. For bread to be light the most important ingredient is yeast.

Bakers yeast is actually a very small plant that grows, branches, and forms buds. Bakers do a little test to make sure the yeast will work before they put all the ingredients together. They place yeast in a cup with a small amount of warm water and a pinch of sugar. The warm water and sugar make the yeast bubble. This way bakers know the yeast is alive, will grow, and make the bread rise. It will do the work it is suppose to do in the bread dough. This is called proofing the yeast.

In the Bible Jesus tells us, “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven” (6:51).

We can think of what he said in this way: Jesus is the real deal. He came to live on this earth as a real man. His life and the miracles he performed while on earth are like letting us see that his love is alive and growing. His love does what’s it is suppose to do – make our lives bubble with love. We could say Jesus is our proof.

SERMON CONTINUES

SOURCE: Sermon Writer

The Living Bread

Here’s a funny question: Why do we eat? You might not have thought about it before. (Solicit children’s answers.)

That’s right. We eat when we’re hungry – but our need for food goes way beyond a growling stomach. The food we eat gives our bodies the energy they need to keep working. If you didn’t feed your body it would stop working. Eventually your body could become very sick – or even die – without food to feed it. That’s why you sometimes hear food described as “life giving.”

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve heard Jesus describe himself several times as “bread.” Have you noticed?

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus calls himself “the bread of life” and tells the people that whoever eats his bread will live forever. Isn’t that interesting? As he often does, Jesus is using language to help make his point. He doesn’t mean that he’s really a loaf of bread, does he? But he’s making a comparison. Just like bread is something that helps our bodies to live and grow, Jesus is reminding us that the way to keep our spirits strong and alive (both now and forever – with God in heaven) is to follow his example. Jesus is food for our souls in the same way that real bread is food for our bodies.

SERMON CONTINUES

SOURCE: Sermon Writer