Friday, March 27, 2015

Jesus calls 4 Fishermen to be His friends

by Kimber Bailey Scott
Matthew 4:18-22

SING:
Have them stand and sing these words to the tune of Fishers of Men. Listen to the tune here:
Add actions if you wish.
I will make you fishers of men,
Fishers of men, fishers of men,
I will make you fishers of men,
If you follow Me.
If you follow Me, if you follow Me,
I will make you fishers of men,
If you follow Me.

MEMORY VERSE:
Hold up your Bible. What is this? Yes, this is the Bible. Inside, there are new memory verses for us to learn. Open your Bible to John 15:14. The Bible says, “You are my friends.” Can you say those words with me? Say them softer. Say them louder. Give each on a Bible (or share) and ask each to say, “You are my friends.”

SING:
You are My Friends (tune: row row row your boat) – inserting each child’s name.

___________ is Jesus’s friend; ___________ is Jesus’s friend.
The Bible tells us Jesus said, “You are all my friends.

LESSON:
Hold up a fishing pole. Do you think I’m going fishing? Well, I heard Jesus had some friends who were fishermen. Do you think they used fishing poles like this? They might have but not in the Bible story I’m going to tell you. Lay the fishing pole aside. Pick up your Bible and open it to where you have placed your paper dolls.

Hold up the paper dolls, folded so that only Jesus is showing. One day Jesus went for a walk by the Sea of Galilee. Pretend to make Jesus walk. He saw two brothers fishing with a big net. Open the dolls to show two more men. Their names were Peter point and Andrew point. “Come follow me, Peter.” Jesus said. “Come follow me, Andrew.” Peter and Andrew put down their fishing net and followed Jesus.

In a little while Jesus saw two more brothers. Open dolls to show two more men. Their names were James and John. Point to them. They were helping their father get their nets ready to fish. Jesus said, “Come follow me, James. Come follow me, John.” James and John put down their nets, said goodbye to their father, and went with Jesus.

APPLY:
Close the paper dolls so that only Jesus is showing. Jesus wanted to be friends with Peter and Andrew. Show Peter and Andrew. Jesus wanted them to be with Him. Jesus wanted to be friends with James and John. Show James and John. Jesus wanted them to be with Him. Act surprised. Look, I have one more person here! Open to the last doll. That person is YOU! The Bible tells us that Jesus wants to be your special friend. He will always be with you.

Hold up the paper dolls. The Bible tells us these men were Jesus’ friends. Can you tell me their names? Good! Peter and Andrew were brothers and James and John were brothers. Jesus has many friends right here in this room.

Pull out a mirror. Hold it up to a child, one at a time. Ask one of these questions to each:
  1. Which special friend of Jesus do you see? Yes, you are a special friend to Jesus!
  2. How do you feel about being Jesus’ friend? Smile. Yes, we feel happy that Jesus is our friend!
  3. Can you name a place your friend Jesus will go with you? You may need to help with this one. Will Jesus go with us to the park, etc.? Yes, He is with us wherever we go.

ART/CRAFT:
Prepare the area and have your Bible open. Show the children the memory verse. Here is the memory verse. Jesus said, “You are my friends.” Let’s say them together.

In our story Jesus met some fishermen friends. They used nets when they finished. Show a hair net or a produce bag. Here is a picture of a fish for you to color.

Print the child’s name: ____________ is a friend of Jesus.
Tape the hair net over the fish when the child has finished coloring.

DRESS UP:
Secure the full length mirror against a wall so that it is safe. Let children dress up and pretend they are going somewhere with their friends (church, park, store, etc.) If dolls are available, children may want to take their “babies” with them. Encourage the children to look at themselves in the mirrors. _______, I see a friend of Jesus in the mirror. Who is that? Yes, ____ is a special friend of Jesus. You are all dressed up. Where are you going? Who is going with you? What are the names of your friends? What do you like to do with your friends? Jesus is a special friend who is always with us. Thank You, God for our special friend, Jesus.

NEED:
Bible
Fishing pole or small stick with string or yarn attached to the end
Make paper dolls taping the hands together, place them in your Bible before class (6)
Mirror
Hair nets or a produce “net” bags for each child
Copies of fish
Pen or marker
Crayons
Dress up items and clothes

Full length mirror

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