Home Sunday, September 8th
Matthew 4: 18-22// Go Make Disciples
Intro to the Scripture passage for kids:
Have you ever been to the ocean or to a really big lake where people are working? I don’t mean to a beach – I mean to a place where people are fishing or loading and unloading boats. (If yes) What was it like? (If no) Can you imagine what it might be like? *Help kiddos get an idea of the business and physically difficult work at hand.
Jesus lived in a place where boats and fishing were important. The Bible tells us lots of stories about Jesus being around water, boats, and fishers. It can be easier to picture what those stories are describing if we’ve seen similar kinds of places but, even if we have never been to or seen any lakes or oceans, we can still use our imaginations. Our story today takes place near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and is set on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a very big lake!
Additional questions for comprehension & imagination amongst kids:
What did Jesus invite these men to do?
What did He mean by “fisher of men”?
What would look like for you to follow Jesus like these men did?
What would it look like for you to be a “fisher of men”?
Activities to do with kids:
Create three stations on what it means to “Follow Jesus”. Following Jesus means we worship Him with our lives. It means we...
- Give Him our Attention
- Give Him Praise
- Rely on Him (or trust Him)
You can put these things on 3 poster boards or pieces of paper around the space with post-it notes that the kids can write on. Split the kids into 3 groups and have them rotate to each station, writing on the post-its ways they can or are giving their attention to Jesus, giving Him praise, or relying on/trusting in Him.
Fisher of Men:
- Print off several copies of the coloring sheet below with fish outlines on it.
- Cut out the fish and give each kiddo 3-4 each.
- Have them/ help them write down the names of friends or people in their lives that they care about. They can also color the fish.
- Have them set the fish down in front of them, face down so they can’t see the names, and mix them up.
- Have everyone pick up one fish and share the name of the person with the group. Then have them think of and share with the group one way they can share Jesus’ love and good news with this person!
Coloring Page (download this link)