Monday's material looks at the call of the fishermen
THEME
We begin by thinking about how Jesus chose his friends and why they went with him. Jesus would need his friends with him as he faced the difficulties of what was coming.
GATHER
Have a game or activity ready so that children have something to do as soon as they have arrived and registered. Put out pictures of famous people and give each child writing materials for writing down their names, or have pictures of everyday objects from unusual angles for them to guess.
For younger children have jigsaw puzzles on tables for them to work on together. Remind them we need to look at the whole picture to see what is happening, not just rely on a little bit.
STORY
Luke 5.1-11
Jesus meets some fishermen and surprises them by helping them catch a huge net full of fish. Use The Lion Storyteller Bible or The Miracle Maker video, or any simple retelling of the story.
TALK ABOUT
Some of the most important people in our lives are our friends. We like to play with them and spend time with them. If we have a party we want them to be there, and if we are sad or unhappy they can help us feel better. Jesus had a group of special friends, called disciples, who travelled around with him, helped him and learned from him. There are lots of stories about them in the Bible.
He wants us to be his friends too.
CRAFTY MAKES
Give each child a cut-out fish shape and provide lots of foil, tissue paper and glitter to decorate them. Put them all on display together in a frieze and add pieces of net over the top.
Children can decorate several little cut-out fish and put them in a little net used for washing-machine tablets.
Use the same template so that each child can make a magnetic fish game. Put a paper clip on the ‘nose’ of each fish and put a small self-adhesive magnet on a piece of string. You could put one word of the message, ‘I am a friend of Jesus’ on each fish. Can the children catch the fishes in the right order to make the message?
Make a chain of friends joined together. Fold strips of paper like a fan and draw a figure on the top layer that goes to each edge. Cut through all the layers and open out to see all the friends joined together. Colour them and make a display.
Make a collage of a large fish, using discarded CDs as overlapping shiny scales.
In small groups each child draws another child from the same group. Put the pictures on the wall for everyone to guess who is who.
FUN AND GAMES
Play follow-my-leader with lots of different actions and things to do. Or add music and make it into a conga.
For younger children, play choosing games such as, ‘The farmer wants a wife’. Change the words to: ‘Jesus wants a friend’ until about six children are in the middle of the circle. Finish by singing: ‘The friends catch a fish’ and everyone in the middle must catch as many of the children from the circle as they can.
Play games involving a child being blindfolded and having to find their way around the room guided by one other person either holding them or telling them the way. Don't pressurise any child into being blindfolded – some really don't like it.
WORSHIP
Sometimes it is hard to expect children to settle quietly into worship if you have been playing noisy games or been busy with crafts.
As they sit down, play some music and if the children sing, have two or three songs that get progressively quieter. Make or display something for the children to look at as well, to focus their attention (a candle, a picture of the story from a children's Bible, or one of the things made by the children).
PRAYERS
Ask the children to sit still and quiet and listen to the words. If they think what you say is a situation that reminds them of sad situations they don't like seeing, they should cover their eyes. If it is something that makes people's lives better or brighter, they should open their eyes.
Then pray for a variety of things that affect your community, the world, or your children's lives. Use short sentences such as:
Jesus,
we pray for people who don't know about you,
for people who have no friends or family,
for people who have no homes or work,
for people who have no food.
We pray for hope when people are sad,
for friendship when people are lonely,
and for your love for us all.
Amen.
TAKEAWAY
Copy these questions and give them to each child:
- Are you a good friend?
- Why do you think your friends like you?
- Do you help them and do you like doing things together?
- Can you think of something extra you could do for your friend?