So many fish (Luke 5:1-11)
When Jesus was teaching by the Lake of Gennesaret, he encouraged a tired fisherman, Peter, to put down his nets. Simon Peter was confused - they hadn't caught anything all night. The miracle to follow would become the starting point of Simon Peter's journey as a disciple of Jesus.
Leaders Input"Put out into deep water!" (Gary Neal Hansen)
The story is pretty simple, and probably pretty familiar: On the seashore with a large crowd waiting to hear him teach, Jesus steps into Simon Peter’s boat. When class is over, Jesus tells Simon where to cast his nets, and he pulls in a big catch, which James and John help bring to shore. Simon is so blown away that he bows down before Jesus, confessing his sinfulness. Jesus turns the tables on him, proclaiming that Peter will stop fishing for fish and start catching people. The interest, I find, is in the little details. Some clarify points of fact and others take us to meanings worth weighing heavily. After a half-jillion readings of this passage, today I finally noticed a crucial detail here. Continue reading... |
Visio Lectio:
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission. Download Terms of Use Gospel Conversations: What was it like for these fishermen to be witness to God Incarnate, filling their empty nets with fish, and then calling them to leave everything and follow? What would it be like for us to do the same? Lisa Emerson, Alec Clark and Mannie Marara join Michael to talk through some possibilities.
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Intergenerational WorshipA collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Melissa Neumann for Intergen Australia. Bible references: Isaiah, Luke, Psalm
Telling the StoryTell the story with some simple props
What you need:
Simon, James and John were fishermen, not just because they liked fishing, but because that's how they made money. Fishing was their job so it was really important that they caught fish everyday! They had a fishing boat and nets. Everyday they would row out on the lake and they'd throw their nets in the water to catch fish. Mime rowing out into the middle of the lake and throw out your net. One day they rowed out on the lake, put their nets in the water and waited. They knew they had to be very patient, so they waited and waited and waited. Soon it was night time and still they waited. They knew there were fish in the lake, but not one fish swam in to their net. They waited as long as they could and then, feeling pretty discouraged and sad, they rowed back to shore with their empty nets. Mime rowing back to shore, pick the net up easily to show it's empty, look a bit sad. There wouldn't be any fish to sell that day. They wouldn't have any money. That morning, Jesus was standing by the lake preaching to a crowd of people. He saw two boats on the sea shore and one of them was Simon's boat! He got into the Simon's boat,and taught the crowd of people from the sea shore. When Jesus was done teaching he told Simon to put his nets into the water to try to catch some fish. Simon told Jesus that he'd been out all night and hadn't caught any fish at all, but that he would listen to Jesus anyway and put the net into the water. When Simon did this the net became so full of fish that it began to break. Mime putting the net in the water and trying to haul it back up. Invite one of the children to help you. He had to call a friend to help bring in the nets and the fish. Simon was amazed by all the fish they had caught and was embarrassed because he knew that he was a man who made mistakes and did bad things. He didn't think he deserved to have such a wonderful thing happen to him-- he didn't deserve all the fish they'd caught. But Jesus told Simon and the other men that they would become fishers of men, that from now on, they would spend their time telling other people about Jesus and how much Jesus loves them. When Simon and the other men heard this they parked their boats and left everything they had and followed Jesus. Kids TalksOut into the deep (Gary Neal Hansen)
Jesus the Gift Giver (RFour) Jesus calls Peter, James, and John (RFour) - for intermediate+ Questions to think about?I wonder...
What makes people really good leaders? Do they work hard, speak well, do they have good ideas? What kind of people did Jesus choose to be his leaders? What was Jesus looking for in a leader? (Kids Church Ideas) Can you think of a time God called you to do something? What did it feel like? What did God ask you to do? (Kids Church Ideas) Prayer ActivityAsk each of the kids to think of a friend for whom they would like to pray, tell them about Jesus and invite them to church. Let them make little cut outs of all their friend, and they can colour them in and put a magnet on them. Lay all the friends down in the room, and give the kids fishing rods with magnets on the end. Ask the kids to pray for their friends as they are fishing for them. (Kids Church Ideas)
OR Gather the kids in a circle and spread a net on the floor in the middle. Give each kid a paper fish cut out. Say, "We’re going to go around the circle and take turns dropping our fish into the net. As you drop your fish, say one thing you’d like to thank Jesus for". Drop your fish into the net on the floor, and say something you’re thankful for. If some children can’t think of anything, encourage them to place their fish in the net and simply say, “Thank you, Jesus.” (adapted from childrensministry.com) |
Games
Fishy Wishy in the Deep Blue Sea (Kids Church Ideas)
Line all the kids up on one side of the room and choose one person to be “it” and let them stand in the middle of the room. The kids who are lined up need need to run to the other side of the room without getting caught by the person who is it. If someone is caught they become seaweed. Their legs need to stand still but they can move their arms around and try to catch other people. Follow the leader (Kids Church Ideas) Have a crown that says Jesus on it. Let the kids take turns putting on the crown and pretending to be Jesus. The kids wearing the crown is the leader. Then say “follow me” and then lead through an obstacle course. Then switch up and let another kid be the leader. Kipper Flipper (The Reflectionary) You will need:
Decorate your own funny fish, perhaps make it look like you with curly hair, or glasses, or clothes to match your own. Put all the fish along a starting line, either at one end of a table or along a line on the floor and have a race – the Kipper Flipper! You can blow your fish through a straw, or flap it with a piece of card, and see whose kipper is the first to reach the end. Fishing Relay Race - can be used with a memory verse What you need:
Paper Fish Activity
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