Lesson 1: The last supper.
Passage: Matthew 26:17-28 - Jesus and his disciples came together to celebrate a meal during the Passover Festival. During this meal, Jesus announced at the table that one of them was going to betray him. The group of disciples were very sad and one at a time said to Jesus, “Surely you don’t mean me?” When it came to Judas, Jesus replied, “You have said so.” Then Jesus took break, broke it, and gave it to his disciples to eat, saying that it is his body. He did the same with a cup of wine, which he said is his blood, poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
Big Idea: Jesus gives his life for us.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: Easter Love Letters from God (pages 8-15)
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Does anyone know how many weeks until Easter? Are you excited? What does your family do to celebrate Easter?
For the next 4 weeks we will be talking about the Easter story from the Bible, and about some of the things that happened during the last week of Jesus’ life
For today’s lesson we’ll be learning about something called The Last Supper… that was the last time that Jesus had a big meal with his friends and some interesting things happened.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, we learned that Jesus had his last big meal with his friends during something called the Passover Festival. Jewish people celebrate this festival to remember the time when God rescued the them from a very bad situation in Egypt long long ago.
Can anyone remember from the video, what was the name of Jesus’ friend that Jesus said was going to turn his back on him?
How was Judas going to turn his back on Jesus?
Then, after Jesus talked about that, he did something else called Communion, have you ever heard of that?
Do you know what the bread and wine are supposed to mean? (bread stands for Jesus’ body, and wine stands for his blood or his life, which Jesus was going to give up for all people)
So that’s what Easter is really all about - how Jesus was willing to give up his own life for us and for everyone, to show us how much God loves us. But don’t worry, because we know that on Easter, Jesus came back to life again!
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about Jesus’ Last Supper with his friends, and how he told them everything that was about to happen, how someone was going to turn their back on him, and then he was going to give up his life for them and for us. Thank you for the great love that Jesus showed up by going to the cross and giving his life for us. Thank you for your power to bring him back to life again. In Jesus’ name, Amen."
Activity: Last Supper Cut Outs — Activity Leader
Kids will draw and colour pictures either of the disciples or the food that they may have eaten at the Last Supper. They will cut them out and leave their cutouts on the table after class, so we can add them to a wall mural.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class. Introduce yourselves .
Warm Up Activity: Human Alphabet — Activity Leader
Call out letters one at a time. The kids will work together to use their bodies to make that letter on the floor. If you want to make it more tricky, you could get the kids to split up in groups and have each group spell out a short word, like “DOG” or “CAT” (you may need to spell it out for them)
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are starting a brand new series for Easter.
Does anyone know how many weeks until Easter? Are you excited? How does your family normally celebrate Easter?
So for the next 4 weeks we will be learning about the story of the last week of Jesus’ life, leading up to him going to the cross and, of course, coming back to life again!
The first part of the story that we’ll be talking about is something called The Last Supper. It was the last time Jesus and his friends shared a big meal before Jesus went to the cross
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Can anyone remember the name of the Festival that was happening when Jesus and his friends had this Last Supper? (Passover Festival - which celebrated God rescuing the Hebrew people from Egypt in the Old Testament)
What was the name of Jesus’ disciples who Jesus said would betray him? How was Judas going to betray Jesus?
After Jesus mentioned this betrayal, he did something that we call Communion. Does anyone know what that is?
What do the bread and wine represent? (Jesus’ body and blood that he willingly gives up for us when he goes to the cross)
So that’s really what this story is about — how Jesus was letting his friends and disciples know what was going to happen, that he was going to go to the cross, and that even though he was going to be betrayed, the truth is, he was willing to do this and give up his life for all of us, because of his love for us… and that’s why we celebrate Easter.
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about Jesus’ Last Supper with his friends, and how he wanted them to know and be prepared for what was about to happen… that he was going to go to the cross and give up his life, willingly, for their sake and ours. Thank you for that great love that you showed us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Last Supper Cut Outs — Activity Leader
Kids will draw and colour pictures either of the disciples or the food that they may have eaten at the Last Supper. They will cut them out and leave their cutouts on the table after class, so we can add them to a wall mural.
They’ll also make a heart this way, and glue one of the printed verses onto it.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, introduce yourselves.
Activity: Dice Roll Game — Activity Leader
Instructions will be printed on a sheet and left in the classroom.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Does anyone know how many weeks until Easter? Are you getting excited? How do you and your family usually celebrate Easter?
So for the next four weeks we’ll be doing a brand new series leading up to Easter, which will be all about the last week of Jesus’ life before he went to the cross and came back to life again 3 days later.
The first part that we’ll be learning about today is called The Last Supper. It was the last time Jesus and his friends had a big meal together.
There were some interesting things that happened at that meal, so let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Can anyone remember the name of the Festival that was happening when Jesus and his friends had this Last Supper?
Do you know what the Passover Festival is all about? (it celebrates God rescuing the Hebrew people from Egypt in the Old Testament)
What was the name of Jesus’ disciples who Jesus said would betray him? How was he going to betray Jesus?
After Jesus mentioned this betrayal, he did something that we call Communion. Does anyone know what that is?
What do the bread and wine represent?
So that’s really what this story is about — how Jesus was letting his friends and disciples know what was going to happen, that he was going to go to the cross, and that even though he was going to be betrayed, the truth is, he was willing to do this and give up his life for all of us, because of his love for us… and that’s why we celebrate Easter.
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about Jesus’ Last Supper with his friends, and how he wanted them to know and be prepared for what was about to happen… that he was going to go to the cross and give up his life, willingly, for their sake and ours. Thank you for that great love that you showed us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Backdrop Designs — Activity Leader
Kids will be making abstract backdrop designs for our mural, using oil pastels and watercolour paint.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
How do you think the disciples were all feeling during their last meal with Jesus? Do you think they knew it was going to be the last one?
What did Jesus say was going to happen to him soon? Who was the disciple that was going to turn his back on Jesus and have him arrested?
When Jesus gave his disciples the bread and the cup, what did he say this was supposed to mean? (Jesus’ body and life being give up for them)
Why do you think Jesus was willing to give up his life for his disciples and us?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
What was the special festival that was happening during Jesus’ last meal with his disciples? What’s that festival celebrating? (Passover; it celebrates God rescuing the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt)
What did Jesus say was going to happen to him soon? Who was the disciple that was going to turn his back on Jesus and have him arrested?
What were the bread and the wine supposed to represent?
Why do you think Jesus was willing to give up his life for his disciples and us?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
What do you think is the significance of Jesus having his last supper and later his crucifixion, during the time of the Passover? (hint: what does the Passover celebrate, what does Easter celebrate, and how are they linked?)
What did Jesus say was going to happen to him soon? Who was the disciple that he said was going to betray him?
Why do you think he was telling his disciples all this before it happened?
What were the bread and the wine supposed to represent? What do you think is the significance of this ritual of Communion for the disciples and us?
