(WT) Peter, do you love me? ~ Mission Workshop

Rotation.org Writing Team

Peter, do you love me?

Mission Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities

After reading the scripture and learning about hunger, students will decorate paper grocery bags for families and members to take home to collect groceries for a local food bank. The bag will reflect the story and include a list of suggested items.

Students will also create take-home labels to wrap several food items in their pantry for their family's use. These labels remind students of food for their souls we need each day.

Scripture for the Lesson

John 21:1-17 (Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep!)
Matthew 25:31-45 ( “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty...")

Lesson Objectives

See the Bible Background at rotation.org for this set's complete list of objectives.

Preparation and Materials

Read the Bible Background and scripture.
Consult with your Mission Team about collecting food for a local food bank.
Check with the local supermarket about a donation of paper bags, and upcoming "BOGO" offers or special coupons they may be able to offer. (Note: if your store no longer offers paper bags/sacks, they can be bought on-line.)
Markers and quick setting "Tacky" glue.
Cotton balls (to make sheep as suggested below).
Sheep cut out (attached).
Construction paper or thin craft foam, scissors, markers or crayons (to construct sheep heads).
Burlap (to make a cross or other decoration of your determination).
Other craft supplies as needed based on how you decide to decorate your bags.
Label paper (to make cut-outs of various food items).
Make a sample bag with the materials you have decided to use.

Real Food for Jesus' Sheep

"Feed my sheep" is more than "just" about food, but because Jesus did not ignore the plight of the poor and hungry, it can also literally mean "food." Food was a frequent part of the life and stories of Jesus. Through it, he demonstrated God's welcome, compassion, and forgiveness. In Jesus' day, as in ours, there were some who thought the poor "deserved" their circumstances, that their poverty and hunger was the result of their own poor choices or lack of faith. Jesus, on the other hand, taught that to reject those in need is to reject God:

Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?” The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.” (Matthew 25:45-46, CEV)

About the Grocery Bag in This Lesson

Hunger requires action and food. Thus, your students will decorate grocery bags that encourages their families and fellow church members to fill them and bring them back to church. Students will add two things to the bag: decoration related to the story, and a printed or handwritten label with a suggested grocery list.

Decorating the Bag:

Decorate the bags in an "assembly line" fashion. Some students make and add the sheep, others make and add cutout designs (cut out of burlap) - for example: a cross. Some are responsible for writing on the bag, adding a scripture quote (unless this is done later, see below), placing the grocery list, etc. Glue things on the bag as soon as you can. Use "tacky" glue that will set fast. It's up to you what to put on the bag. You may also want to put the name of your mission project/food bank on the bag.

Sheep options: For speed, you can glue a cut-out picture of a sheep to the bag next to the labels, and then glue cotton balls to it. Or, you can create a "clothespin sheep reminder" that un-clips from the bag and can be used at home as a reminder. See pictures of sheep crafts at the end of this lesson.

***This is not an art project. The point of the kid's decorating the bags is to help motivate those who will put food in the bags and return them. Decorating the bags is also an opportune time for the teacher to teach about the needs of the poor, why we care, and how we can respond in various situations, especially when we discover a needy classmate. The food items are also an opportunity to discuss the nutritional and practical needs of those in need.

Suggested Food Items for the Grocery Bag, according to "Second Harvest" food bank:

Meals in a can (soup, stew, chili)
Canned tuna or chicken
Peanut butter
Canned foods with pop-top lids
Canned fruit in its own juice or water
Low-sodium canned vegetables
Olive or canola oil
Basic spices
Low-sugar whole grain cereals
Healthy snacks (granola bars, nuts, dried fruit)

*Include a note on the label about items the food bank will not accept.

Put a note on the bag to encourage people to buy new food. If they include items from their own pantry, please follow these rules:

Nothing close to expiration date.
Nothing a family cannot immediately use.
No opened items or items with missing labels.
No perishable/fresh foods.

Check with your local food bank if you can include one toy or entertainment item per bag, such as, a book for children, playing cards, word searches.

Check with your local food bank if they would prefer that you SORT INTO BOXES the foods that come back in the grocery bags. Many will sort items on shelves and this is a great way to be of service to them. Sorting is an activity you can have your kids do later and will be a great reminder of the lesson.

You may also suggest that people send back a CHECK if they cannot fill the bag. Money donated to food banks is used to buy food in bulk at great discounts.

Lesson Plan

Open

1. Welcome your students and ask, "Who's Hungry!" Hand out treats to 80% of your students. Discuss the reaction of the 20% who got little or nothing.

2. Share some hunger facts:

According to the USDA, food "insecurity" means people who lack the money and other resources at times during the year to purchase enough food for their own needs or their family's needs. They may be going hungry or seeking help when their paycheck runs out, or when they are in-between jobs, or have unexpected expenses.
Hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children worldwide each year.
Food "insecurity" according to Feeding America, in 2015:
- 42.2 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 29.1 million adults and 13.1 million children.
- 13 percent of households (15.8 million households) were food insecure.
- 5 percent of households (6.3 million households) experienced very low food security (high food insecurity).
- Households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 17 percent compared to 11 percent.
Note: If you have time and a way to show it, and are working with older students, show the YouTube video clip about hunger found linked at the bottom of this lesson.

Questions to Ask:

Ask: How do we feed hungry people? (Answer: By sharing when they are in need. Yes, better job and education helps, but as Jesus himself notes, the poor will always be with us. It is up to us to share what we have.)

Teacher: Now share extra food with those you previously did not give any to. If someone has already shared their snack, highlight it. Add that "sometimes the answer to temporary hunger is simple: share.

Ask: Have any of you ever have faced "food insecurity" (hunger) before, or know someone who has? Ask if they know someone at school who takes part in a school lunch program or breakfast program. How are those children treated by others? [Note: Be sensitive in case one of your students is in this situation.]

Ask: What can you do to identify and help a friend who may be having issues with getting enough food?

Bible study

Read and Discuss John 21:1-17 (Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep!)

Questions to Ask:

Why do you think Jesus repeated his question three times to Peter?
Why is feeding Jesus' sheep a sign of our love for HIM and not just our love for the sheep?
What food do our bodies need to be healthy and grow?
What happens when our bodies do not get enough food or the right kind of food?
What foods do our spirits need to be healthy and grow? (worship, prayer, study, service)
What happens when our spirits don't get enough spiritual food, or the right kind of spiritual food? (we may feel empty, not feel God's presence, become self-centered)

Things to point out:
Feeding sheep is not optional. Jesus said do it. And he said it three times.
Feeding sheep isn't just a "nice thing to do." Jesus said that feeding his sheep was the same as loving him. This is VERY similar to what Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, "as you did it to one of the least of my family (brothers), you did it to me."

Do: At the end of your study, have the kids decide on a suitable "memory verse" or quote from the passage that they can write on each bag. Ideally, "Do you love me? Then feed my sheep." John 21:17 Write it for them, if they cannot write, and have them decorate some of the letters in the verse (tracing or adding a flourish) to help them remember it.

Decorate the Bags

Show students an example bag that you have made ahead of time. Create an assembly line. Make as many bags as you can.

If time, have students draw a picture of the John 21 scene of Jesus' breakfast on the beach. They can add sheep. See the sheep craft options at the end of this lesson.

If you are a Rotation Sunday School, keep in mind that each class will be generating decorated bags, so that this project will go on for several weeks. Because the younger students will be lucky to make one bag, perhaps they can make them to just go to their own home.

"Soul Food" Reflection Labels (to help the lesson "stick")

The grocery bag activity focused on the literal meaning of "feed my sheep." This reflection activity focuses on the other side of "feed" as in, soul food for sheep. Students create a series of "Devotional Stickers" they can stick to food they have at home. The idea being: each time a family member uses that item, it will cause them to think about being fed by Jesus.

Each student is given a label sheet that has 6 to 8 labels on it. Do some brainstorming on the board to come up with a list of suggested label "slogans" your students can copy onto their label sheet. These labels go home to reinforce the lesson.

Soul Food Sticker Examples

Bread Bag Label: "Jesus, Bread for the Soul."
Chips: "You are the salt of the earth, be God's flavoring."
Hot Sauce Label: "God makes life spicy."
Ketchup Label: "God goes with everything."
Beans: "Life isn't worth beans without Jesus."
Candy: "Show you're caring by sharing this right now."
Jam: "Spread happiness."
Breakfast Cereal: "Add milk and God to start the day off right."
Lunch Bag/box message: "Who needs me?"

Note: You may write "Soul Food" as a title on each label.

Adaptations

Younger students will create fewer bags. You may wish to create some of the decorations ahead of time - such as cut-out sheep's heads.

Older students will be able to create bags to share with the congregation. If needed, print up extra labels to put on additional bags, or invite the youth group to help generate enough bags to spread among the congregation.

If short on time, pre-label the bags and cancel the Reflection activity.

Hunger Resources

USA Today article. 1 in 7 Americans rely on food banks. 25% of Military families.

ABC News video clip on Hunger in America. Excellent report, graphics, kids. Very suitable for use in class.

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBQSCQcfY18

Sheep Craft Bag Options

You can quickly and permanently glue a sheep to the grocery bag, or you can make a quick detachable sheep that the person you give the bag to can keep instead of returning with the bag. In this one seen to the left, cotton balls are glued to a piece of paper that's cut in the shape of a sheep. Two clothespins are clipped to the sheep and have the memory verse written on them. (Use the clothes pins to pin this sheep to the bag for the keep-the-sheep option.)

There are lots of sheep craft options online. (Remember to keep it quick.) Keep in mind that our design above put a message and method of attaching the sheep to the bag. It's little-but-important things like that help strengthen the connection to the lesson. Here are a couple of possibilities: