I love doing chidren's sermons, but it doesn't always work out quite the way I expect. So it went one morning when I spoke to the children about the loaves and fish.
Just to make my point, I began by showing them five rolls and two fish sticks on a plate. I asked them how to share it so that all of them would get a part. Then I pointed to the congregation, and asked how we could ALL share it. They ended up talking about very small pieces.
Then I shared about the miracle of the loaves and fish, emphasizing that Jesus not only had fed the five thousand people, but had ended up with baskets of uneaten food that could be shared. I gently asked, what would you call that.
I immediately received two words. The first was the one I was hoping for. The well behaved tyke who knew the Bible quietly whispered the word I hoped to hear - It was indeed a "miracle." Meanwhile, the rowdy, raucous, child who seldom attended church shouted his answer, "Leftovers."
It took five full minutes before the church settled down, and a bit longer than that for me to continue with the sermon I planned.
Interestingly, it has focused my mind in future sermons on the question - What DID happen to all of the bread and fish?