Rotation.org Writing Team

JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

COOKING WORKSHOP

PASSAGE

Bible Story: Luke 2:41-52
Key/Memory Verse: Luke 2:52

PURPOSE

The children will learn about a Passover food that Jesus might have eaten during the Jewish Passover as they make the connection between the food we eat in our worship service and connect it to foods we eat at home. They will make the connection between the sacred and the ordinary and God’s presence with us in it all.

Objectives

After completing this Rotation, participants will be able to:

• Locate the story in the Bible;
  
• Identify the book of Luke as a New Testament Gospel;
  
• Tell the story of Jesus in the temple as a young boy;
  
• Explore the ways this story shows us that Jesus is human as well as divine;
  
• Identify Jesus' priority to learn in the house of God and relate our need to do likewise;
  
• Realize that participation in a community of faith helps us to learn our identity as a child of God;
  
• Compare Mary and Joseph's search for Jesus to our own search for God's presence in our lives.
  

Objectives for Cooking Workshop

• Identify the Book of Luke as New Testament Gospel.
  
• Identify Jesus learning in the house of God and relate how we do that.
  
• Think about the elements of the food we eat in the house of God and the food Jesus may have eaten in the Temple on Passover and realize how participating in community meals helps us to learn our identity as a child of God.
  

Materials

• Bibles
  
• Bread, various types including bread for communion and bread for sandwiches
  
• Children’s books on communion
  
• Forks
  
• Grapes
  
• Ingredients for Haroset:
  

  Almonds, 2/3 c. chopped
  Apples, 6
  Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon
  Grape juice, 4 tablespoons
  Lemon, grated rind of 1
  Sugar, 3 tablespoons or to taste

  
  
• Knife
  
• Measuring cups and spoons
  
• Mixing bowl and spoon
  
• Napkins
  
• Plates
  
• Sink with handwashing supplies such as soap and towels
  

Advance Preparation Requirements

Chop six apples into bite-size pieces.

PROCEDURE

Open -- Introduction

Open by greeting the children and asking them to wash their hands.

Ask the children if they participate in the Lord’s Supper at church. For churches where children do not participate until they are confirmed discuss why this is special and what that says about participating in the community of faith and our identity as a child of God.
For churches where children are welcome at the table ask them if they’ve ever been told they cannot participate. How did that feel?

Offer grapes and bread and invite the children to eat the snack. Ask them how this is different from the food we eat in worship during the Lord’s Supper. If possible, have the pastor come in and explain why the church uses the particular bread or wafers they use. Read the book on communion to the group as they eat.

Dig—Main Content

Distribute Bibles and have the children look up Luke 2:41-52. Take turns reading or have someone prepared to read or tell the story.

Ask the children where Jesus went to look for God? (The temple, which was the house of worship. God’s house).

What do they think Jesus wanted to learn in the temple? (Jesus wanted to know all about God and God’s laws)

What do you want to learn when you come to your own house of worship?

Who did Jesus talk to in order to learn about God? (The priests)

Who is available in your own church to help you learn about God? (Parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, and so forth)

Ask them if they think food was in the temple at the time. (Yes, a Passover food would have been Haroset).

How can food help us seek God? (Can remind us that all things come from God, remind us of the food we eat in worship during the Lord’s Supper; can remind us to pray and thank God for all our food: can remind us of the importance to gather in community at church and to ask questions about God, like Jesus did)

Have the ingredients for Haroset ready and invite the children to help you mix this up and close the time together asking “I wonder” questions about God.

In a large bowl, mix together:

6 peeled apples, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup chopped almonds
3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
½ teaspoon. cinnamon
Grated rind of 1 lemon
4 Tablespoons grape juice.

Once the mixture is made, serve a small portion of it to each child on a paper plate. Provide forks and napkins.

Reflect -- Closure

Close in prayer by asking God to help us follow and look for God as Jesus did; by helping us get and go to church, read our Bibles and ask questions about God so that we can learn as Jesus learned and do as Jesus did.

CONTRIBUTOR: Stacy Tate