Use this children’s sermon to teach about the Jesus feeding the 5000 in Matthew 14:13-21. Download the teaching notes below and watch our object lesson demonstration as you prepare to teach.
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“God Can Use Anything” Object Lesson
Children’s Sermon on Jesus Feeding the 5000
Main Objective: The miracle of the multitude fed is a great story to share with children, as it is a remarkable event that truly can only be explained by God’s power. Ultimately, of course, anything that we do only happens through God’s grace and work. The important message to communicate to children, and to everyone, is not just that Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes. We also want to emphasize the excitement of God using us, His people. Jesus took what little the disciples found, and did something amazing. He can do the same with our lives, when we are willing to bring Him whatever we have.
Law/Gospel Theme: God provides what we need. Sometimes life seems challenging, painful, even impossible. But because of Christ’s work, we know that we are already promised grace, life, and Heaven. We pray for “daily bread” with the understanding that God has granted all we need for life. We bring what we have to God, and He works miracles!
Optional Materials: Some kind of small food item: crackers, rolls, Goldfish, etc; paper bags or lunch box.
Bible Passage: Matthew 14:13-21
Message Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students.
More Teaching Ideas on Jesus Feeding the Multitude
- See all the MTC resources about Jesus Feeding the 5000
- Watch this children’s sermon on our YouTube Playlist
- Compare the children’s sermon, Sunday School lesson, preschool lesson and kids church lessons on this same Bible story for kids
- Don’t miss our Craft ideas and Jesus Feeding the 5000 coloring page
Children’s Sermon (Matthew 14:13-21) Jesus Feeds the 5000
Greet children, carrying a lunch bag of box:
Hello, children of God! Do you ever get hungry? I sure do, especially if it happens to be time for breakfast…or lunch, or dinner…come to think of it, I think anytime is great for a snack, too! Well, I have a little something in this bag, and maybe I can share it with all of you. Let’s see. (Count heads, if multiple children are present) I’m not sure if this will go all the way around our group. I have (pull out a very small snack)…uh-oh, I just have a few crackers here. I would have to split these into pretty tiny pieces to give you all just a bite. But if I had more, maybe we could enjoy a little snack…
You know, food is actually a remarkable thing, when you think about it. When we eat food, our body breaks down what we put into it, and turns those little munched bits into things that can be used for strength and energy. We don’t really have to think about it. We just eat something (hopefully something healthy), and our body does the rest of the work. In some ways, our relationship with God is similar. We give to Him whatever we might have, and He can put it to work to do amazing things!
That’s what happened in the Gospel story today, and it had to do with food. Jesus was teaching, and there was a big group of people that had come to listen to what He had to say. Well, it happened to be dinnertime, and the disciples brought it to attention that the crowds might be getting hungry. Jesus told the disciples to find something for the people to eat! That seemed a bit astonishing. There were more than 5,000 people present, and to give everyone even a tiny bite of food would cost more than any of them had.
All the disciples could find was one boy who happened to have a lunch with him, and that only consisted of five loaves of bread and two fish. But the disciples brought this kid to Jesus, and he handed over his lunch. Jesus prayed over it, and had people start passing the food around. Somehow, that one little lunch didn’t run out. In fact, it fed everyone in the crowd, with food left over!
How did Jesus do such a spectacular miracle? Well, we know that Jesus could have done anything, so for us it shouldn’t be too surprising. But He didn’t have to use that little lunch. He was God. He could have produced food out of a couple of rocks. Yet He took what someone had, and out of compassion for the people, He used it to feed the multitude. All the boy had to do was be willing to be used. And we can allow God to use our lives, too. We trust Him to provide for us, and we trust Him to use whatever we give Him.
We might not think that we have a lot of talent or ability or potential. But God sure does. He will take care of our needs, and He will use us in ways we can’t even imagine. We bring ourselves, and He makes a new and wonderful creation out of our sinful lives. What a miracle!
Shall we say a prayer of thanks to God, and ask Him to use us?
Children’s Prayer Moment
Prayer:
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for using whatever we have for your will
Please help us to trust in You
And let our lives be used for your glory
We know you will always provide
And make great things out of small things
Thank you for miracles
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Matthew 14:13-21 NIV
Jesus Feeds the Multitude
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. –Matthew 14:13-21
Thank you so much for this , your children’s sermons have been such a blessing to us especially during the pandemic.