Ecclesiastes
Cooking
Summary of Lesson Activities:
Making Vanity Cakes.
Scripture Reference:
Ecclesiastes 6: 7-9 and 12: 13-14
Leader Preparation:
- Read Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 and 12:13-14.
- Gather the ingredients and supplies for the vanity cakes and make a test batch.
Presentation
Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Greet the children and introduce yourself.
Open with a prayer.
Dig- Main Content and Reflection:
Lesson:
The writer of Ecclesiastes tried many things to make himself happy, but none of them worked. One of the things he tried was food. In the end he concluded that food is meaningless because after we eat we will just get hungry again. Today we are going to make Vanity Cakes to illustrate what he meant.
Recipe for Vanity Cakes (Cream Puffs without filling)
I used a modified recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Puffs/Detail.aspx
Our vanity cakes were simply cream puffs without the filling.
Help the kids make the cakes. While they are baking, discuss Ecclesiastes.
Questions for discussion:
- Does food make us happy? (only for a little while)
- What other things to people try to use to make themselves happy? (toys, money, jobs, houses, etc)
- Read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. What does this Scripture tell us is the solution to the problem of happiness?
- The writer of Ecclesiastes tried everything to make himself happy, but in the end, only serving God could give him joy. How does serving God give us joy?
Once the treats are baked, let everyone have one to snack on. Discuss how the vanity cakes are light and airy - they look filling from the outside, but they really aren't. They are like people who try to fill themselves up with stuff. It looks good, but it does not give them joy.
Closing:
End with a prayer.
A lesson set written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI
Copyright 2009 Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene, Waterford, MI
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.
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