On Sunday, February 22, the Primary and Junior Sunday School Departments combined for children’s church. The activities began with a game based on the theme “Heroes of the Bible,” led by three high school girls. All of the students lined up in a large circle, each standing on a numbered paper. As music played, the students walked around the circle until the music stopped, and then a number was called and the student standing on it was asked a question about a Bible hero. One question was, “What did Gideon lay out to ask God for a sign?” Answer: a fleece! Another question: “What happened to the widow’s oil when Elijah prayed?” Answer: it multiplied. The student answering could ask for help if the question was tricky—as several were. At the end, the students were asked, “What is the purpose of learning about Bible heroes?” The astute answer from a second grader was, “Because we can see how they trusted in God.”

After a time of singing, led by Deborah Brenner, Greg Lesher gave a short message. He opened by telling the students that God created Adam and Eve to have a relationship with Him, but they chose to disobey God's law and that broke the relationship between God and people. Brother Greg said, “When something is broken, we can either fix it or throw it away.” As John 3:16 teaches, God decided to fix the problem Adam and Eve had created by their disobedience. He sent His Son, Jesus, to save the world.

To help illustrate that point, Brother Greg told about the time when Jesus multiplied bread to feed a crowd of over 5,000. Multiplying the food fixed the problem of what they would eat for dinner, but it did not fix the problem forever because they were hungry again the next day. That is why Jesus told them to seek food for their souls—the Bread of Life—which satisfies the heart forever. Brother Greg explained that the Bread of Life is Jesus. He is the One who can fix a broken relationship with God, and people receive the Bread of Life by receiving Jesus in their hearts. Brother Greg reminded the students that they can come to Sunday school and learn about Jesus, but they need to take the step of asking Him into their hearts.

As a final object lesson, Brother Greg had a piece of homemade pita bread with butter and jam for each student. Though it would not satisfy them forever, it was a great snack! And it was a good reminder of how much better it is to have the Bread of Life.