Scripture: Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-14
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God cares about our needs.
- Students will learn nothing is impossible for God if it is in His will.
- Students will learn God can take what we give Him and do amazing things with it.
- Students will learn how to preserve various foods.
Guiding Question: How does meat stay preserved?
Materials: Cut of meat, salt
Procedure: Review the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 from the scriptures above. Explain how difficult it can be to feed a lot of people when budgets are tight. Discuss that even when things are difficult or money seems tight to get food, nothing is impossible for God and He will always provide. God can help us when life is difficult whether that is at home, in school, at work, or anywhere and any problem! We just need to turn to Him for help and be serious about wanting His guidance and love.
Introduce the activity. Have the students share about how we keep food from going bad today. Explain that the resources we have to keep food edible now was not always available. People from long ago had to find other ways to keep food fresh. Ask students how they think they would preserve meat without refrigeration. After they share, explain how salt was used to keep meat preserved. Have the students test how to preserve meat with salt: https://momprepares.com/preserving-meat-with-salt/
Additional Questions: How can various food be kept fresh?
Supplemental Activity: Have students research various ways to preserve foods and create a list of ways to preserve food, The following week, bring in some of the items the students researched and have the students practice keeping the food preserved. Explain how those techniques work to keep food fresh.