The Lord’s Supper Helps Us Remember: A Children's Message

This post is part of the Welcoming Children to the Lord's Supper Toolkit - a collection of resources for equipping ministry leaders, parents, and caregivers to nurture the faith of children and engage the sacrament together.

Supplies:

1. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, a picture book by Mem Fox

Message:

Hi! Today I’d like to tell you the story of a boy named Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and how he helped his dear friend remember.

Read the story. Then, depending on the attention span and interest of your kids, you may choose to ask all or some of the following questions. Resist the urge to repeat their answers for the benefit of the nonchildren seated in the sanctuary—this conversation is a special time between you and the kids, and you want to encourage and show respect for their answers.

• When Miss Nancy held the warm egg, what did she remember?
• What did she remember when she put a shell to her ear?
• Why did she talk sadly when she touched the medal?
• Why did she smile at the puppet on strings?
• What did she remember when she bounced the football to Wilfrid Gordon?

What a wonderful friend Wilfrid Gordon was to give Miss Nancy things to help her remember.

A long, long time ago, when Jesus was having dinner with his friends, the disciples, he gave them two special things—bread and wine—to help them remember him after he died. The bread would remind them of Jesus’ body, and the wine would remind them of Jesus’ blood. Together, these things would remind Jesus’ friends how much Jesus loved them. When we gather around the table and celebrate the Lord’s Supper, the bread and the juice help us remember too.

• We remember Jesus’ body and blood when he died on the cross to pay for our sins.
• We remember that on the third day Jesus came back to life.
• We remember that Jesus went to live with God in heaven and that one day we’ll live with them forever.

What a wonderful friend Jesus is to give us special things to help us remember. What a loving and faithful Savior Jesus is to die on a cross for us!

Close using the following echo prayer, inviting the congregation to join the children in echoing each phrase if you wish.

Loving God,

Thank you for bread and juice

to help us remember.

Most of all,

thank you for Jesus.

Amen.

Find additional resources in the Welcoming Children to the Lord's Supper Toolkit.