5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

9 February 2025

Bible readings for today

Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13)
Psalms 138: 1-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11

Liturgical colour: GREEN

Collects

E te Atua Kaha rawa mutunga kore,
nāu te hiahia ki te hari mai i tāu i hangā
kia kotahi i roto i a te Karaiti;
tukua kia kauwhau ponotia e tāu Hāhi
te Rongopai Tapu
kia ora katoa rā anō ngā tāngata
kia kī hoki tōu ao i tōu korōria;
Ko Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki.
Āmine.

Almighty and eternal God,
it is your will to bring the whole creation into unity in Christ;
grant that your Church may faithfully proclaim the Good News
until all people are saved and the earth is full of your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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.
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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.

Intergenerational Worship

A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Melissa Neumann for Intergen Australia. Bible references: Isaiah, Luke, Psalm

Telling the Story

Tell the story with some simple props
What you need:

A large blue sheet
Fish cut out of cardboard or cardstock to put in your 'lake'
A piece of netting or material to be a net

What you do:

Put the blue sheet down and scatter your cut out fish on it.
Invite the children to come and sit around the 'lake' if possible.
Re tell the story in your own words, in the Bible's words or use the story below:

Simon, James and John were fishermen. Some of you might be fishermen, too. Maybe you like to go out fishing-- maybe you've even caught some yummy fish!

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 Talks

Out 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...

I wonder why Peter left his nets and boat.
I wonder what the people on shore thought when they saw all the fish that Peter and his friends caught.
I wonder what you would have done if you had been Peter.

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 Activity

Ask 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:

Fish shapes [Click here for PDF]
pens / stickers / yarn / fabric glue for decorating

Either:

straws (if you are racing on a table) or
paper plates for ‘wafters’ (if you are racing on the floor)

The ‘wafters’ can be anything big enough to waft your fish: A4 card, magazines or small trays also work fine.

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:

enough fish cut-outs for each word of your memory verse. If not using with a verse - aim for enough for each team member to have 2 turms.
a paper clip for each fish
1 fishing pole per team with a magnet on the end of the string. These can be made using a stick, string and magnet.
chocolate fish— 1 per player (plus a few extras)

What you do:

Write one word of the memory verse on each of the fish. Be sure to include the reference on one fish.
Photocopy one set of fish per team.
Cut the fish out (rough cut works just fine if you're short of time).
Attach a paper clip to the 'nose' of each fish.
Divide the players into teams.
Place the team's fish in a bucket, on the floor at one end of the room.
Have the players sit in a line at the other end of the room. When you say 'GO', one player takes the fishing pole, runs to the other end of the room, fishes up a fish (the paper clips will stick to the magnet) and runs back to his or her team. Create a collection point for the fish. Then the next player goes.
Each player should sit at the end of the line when they return.
When all the fish have been collected, have the players work together to put the memory verse in order. Help out if needed.
Give out chocolate fish as prizes as they put the memory verse together.

Paper Fish Activity

Preschoolers

Here are some ways you can invite your preschoolers to play their way into the bible story and spending time with God.

Follow the leader - play some music and invite the kids to follow you around. Do some fun actions and invite them to copy you - try jumping, hopping, twirling etc. (Things to chat about - following the leader, just like the disciples followed Jesus)

Story props - e.g. lay out a big blue piece of fabric, something to act as a boat (could be as big as a blow up boat or something much simpler like some cushions or a rug), plastic or soft toy fish, a selection of soft toy disciples in the boat. (Things to chat about - the story and what happened).

Water Play - a tarp and an under-the-bed plastic storage box make a great water play space. You could put in plastic boats and disciples, or fish and things to scoop them out. Bring towels! (Things to chat about - the disciples job fishing and their new job following Jesus and telling people how much God loves them).

Media

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Talks

Activities

Jesus, the most important thing (Ministry to Children)
What does it mean to believe in Jesus? How do we know the truth of what He says and who He is? We teach children many stories from the Bible, but it is important for us to emphasize that the Bible is the true word of God, and every story in it actually happened. This message contrasts popular legends and fairy tale stories with the life of Jesus, to explain that Jesus truly did live on Earth. The message also reminds kids that although we don’t see Him, He is still alive and with us today!

Playdough Mat

(Flame Creative)

The most important thing collage (Ministry to Children)
You will need:

Markers and crayons
Construction paper or cardstock
Stickers and decorations (optional)
Scissors, glue or tape
Magazines or catalogs
Cross (or popsicle sticks to make one)

Cut out several pictures from magazines, representing things that might be wants or needs (toys, food, clothing, etc.) Place columns for categories on paper, distinguishing between wants and needs. Glue or tape cut pictures in designated categories. Add verses, captions, and extra decoration as desired. Place a hanger (string, pipe cleaner, magnet) if you wish to hang the collage in a prominent place.

Butterfly crafts
Butterflies can be a beautiful symbol of resurrection and transformation with kids. This time of year if you have a swan plant in your garden - it will no doubt be full of caterpillars and chrysalis. Try these two crafts for butterfly beauty and a chance to chat about Jesus as you create.

New Life Butterflies (Flame Creative)

Symmetrical Butterfly Painting (Happy Hooligans)

A New Start Prayer Activity (Flame Creative)

Media

Overview of Corinthians (Bible Project)

Overview of Corinthians (Crossroads Kids Club)