The Lord's Prayer

Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

children will learn the four parts of prayers during the creation of making prayer pretzels in the shape of the letters ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication).

Unit Key Points:

• To learn that Jesus modeled how we should pray.
• To learn that prayer is essential in one’s spiritual journey.
• To learn that there are different kinds of prayer, and that all kinds are important.
• To learn that we communicate to God through prayer, believing that he hears our prayers and answers them in His time.

Lesson Objectives

• Children will learn about different kinds of prayers.
• Children will make prayer pretzels in the shape of ACTS letters.
• Children will learn that prayer nourishes our soul, just as food nourishes our body.

Memory Verse:
Matthew 6:9-13—“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”

Topic:
How should we pray?

Bible Point:
There is more than one way to pray.

Materials:

• Cookie sheets,
• wax paper,
• pastry brushes,
• packages of refrigerated bread sticks,
• egg whites,
• 4 Flavors: Cheese, Cinnamon & Sugar, Salt, Coconut

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture ahead of time.
• Gather the materials.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Direct kids to wash their hands and to find a spot at one of the tables.

Say: “Today we are going to make four different flavors of pretzels because there are four different kinds of prayer.”

Say: “Just as food nourishes our body, prayers nourish our soul, so it’s important to know what we should pray for.”

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Adoration:

Say: “The first kind of prayer is Adoration.”

Ask: “What is adoration? What does it mean to adore someone?”

• You respect them, they have a special place in your heart.

Ask: “Who are some people in your life that you adore?”

• Parents, family members, teachers, friends, celebrities, etc…

Say: “When we pray prayers of adoration, we praise God for who He is.”
Ask: “What things can we praise God for?”

• For being good, for always loving us, etc…

Psalm 139:14—“I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Instruct kids to take one pretzel and to shape it into the letter “A.”

Then they will brush egg over their pretzel and add the topping of their choice.

Confession:

Say: “The second kind of prayer is Confession.”
Ask: “What things should we confess to God?”

• Our sins, the things we do wrong, the people we have hurt, etc…

Say: “We must confess to God how we have sinned in order to be forgiven.”
1 John 1:9—“If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

Instruct kids to take one pretzel and to shape it into the letter “C.”
Then they will brush egg over their pretzel and add the topping of their choice.

Thanksgiving:

Say: “The third kind of prayer is Thanksgiving. We have many things to be thankful for, so we need to let God know how thankful we are.”
Ask: “What should we thank God for?”

• Our family, food, shelter, friends, etc.

Psalm 100: 4-5—“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; enter his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

Instruct kids to take one pretzel and to shape it into the letter “T.”
Then they will brush egg over their pretzel and add the topping of their choice.

Supplication:

Say: “The fourth kind of prayer is Supplication. That means that when we pray, we ask God to provide for our needs, not our wants.”
Ask: “What things can God provide for us that we need?”

• God doesn’t want us to pray with a wish list.

Philippians 4:19—“My God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Instruct kids to take one pretzel and to shape it into the letter “S.”
Then they will brush egg over their pretzel and add the topping of their choice.

Clean-Up:

On the wax paper, label which pretzels belong to which kid.

Bake pretzels in the convection over for 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Instruct kids to clean-up their area and transition to the Temple Courtyard.

Reflection:

• Say: “The Bible Point for today is: There is more than one way to pray.”
• Ask: “What are the four kinds of prayer?
• Toss the green Life-Application Ball around for a few seconds. Whoever catches the ball will need to choose one of the prompts underneath their thumbs. The whole class will then discuss how the Bible Point can be applied in their lives.
• Bible Point: There is more than one way to pray.

Closing:

End the workshop by practicing the different kinds of prayers. Depending on kids’ comfort levels, they can pray these prayers silently or out loud.

A lesson created by Ashley Balzer, Director of Children’s Ministry, Zoar Mennonite Brethren Church,

Lesson adapted from Carol Hulbert, FUMC’s “The Lord’s Prayer: Cooking Lesson,” Ann Arbor, MI. (Carol's lesson is the next post in this forum.)

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.