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Jonah 3.1-5,10; Psalm 62.5-12; 1 Corinthians 7.29-31; Mark 1.14-20

Very young children's session

As Jesus begins his ministry, he asks four fishermen to come with him and immediately they say yes. For them to respond without hesitation requires a lot of courage; it is life-changing. They are prepared to leave what they know behind and learn to ‘fish for people’ with Jesus. 

This week we explore responding without hesitation to Jesus.

Gather
Very young childrens Session

 Gathering song

Sing to the tune: Hickory, dickory, dock

We have a friend we can trust,
who shows us that faith is a must.
When things get tough, and life feels rough,
walk even closer to God. 

Share the Word
Very young childrens Session

Invite the children to use glove, finger or wooden spoon puppets to represent Jesus and the fishermen, to help you tell the story.

Jesus was ready to begin his work.
‘God’s kingdom is here! Come and join God’s special plan,’ he called.

When Jesus was walking down by the lake, he saw some fishermen.

First, he called to two brothers, Simon and Andrew:
‘Come, follow me! I will send you out to fish for people!’
Simon and Andrew left their fishing nets and followed Jesus.

Then he called to James and John:
‘Come, follow me! I will send you out to fish for people!’
James and John left their fishing nets too and followed Jesus.  

Explore and respond
Very young childrens Session

Follow the leader

Play and explore watching and following

Play ‘Simon says’ where the children have to follow the leader. Lead some actions relating to the story, e.g. fishing.

 

Fish and people

Create a display of what Jesus asks us to fish for

Provide card fish and people shapes for each child to decorate with collage materials. Use these to create a display, in a large net.

 

Very young children's Session
Children's Session

Quick response game    E

See how quickly we respond to a signal

You will need: a large cushion, a bell or alarm.

  • Place a large cushion in the middle of the room and play the bell/alarm to the group.
  • Encourage the children to move around the room in different ways, e.g. walk, run, hop. But also ask them to listen for the bell/alarm. When they hear it, the first child to touch the cushion is the winner.
  • Repeat the game to see how quickly the children respond. Revisit the passage; point out that the fishermen responded immediately.

Very young childrens Session
Very young childrens Session

Here I come to worship you (new words to: Old Macdonald had a farm)

Here I come to worship you, here I, here I come,
and when I come you welcome me, here I, here I come.
‘Cos you loved me then, and you love me now,
love me then, love me now, every day you love me now.
Here I come to worship you, here I, here I come.

Here I come to know you more, here I, here I come.
There’s so much more to learn of you, here I, here I come.
‘Cos you knew me then, and you know me now,
knew me then, know me now, every day you know me now.
Here I come to know you more, here I, here I come.

Pray with a fishing game

Set up a magnetic fishing game and then replace the fish with small paper people, with paper clips attached, for the children to ‘catch’.

Go with God
Very young childrens Session

Sing

To the tune: This old man

As we go, we must show
all the ways God helps us grow.
We’ve a toolkit, stop and think, what would Jesus do?
He’ll always be guiding you!

Spiritual styles abbreviations
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Read our Spiritual Styles articles
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