Fish Story Prayers
Children's Activity
Object:
Parents or Teachers: The lesson today was about the prayer of the
bragging Pharisee and the humble Publican. The message used a few of the
famous fish stories of the Bible to illustrate the point to "tell it like it
is" instead of a big "fish story." Talk about the message. You may be able
to think of other Bible stories where people bragged or thought they knew
what they were doing: the Tower of Babel, Samson and David and Goliath.
Talk about some of the rules of fishing. Some of them might be: no noise;
no standing up in the boat; wear a lifejacket; be patient; no bragging about
what you caught. You may want to list these fishing rules on a large sheet
of paper or a chalkboard. Talk about what happens when they don't follow
the fishing rule. Then tell them that God has some rules, too. Tell or read
the story about the two prayers. Talk about the bragging man as someone
who doesn't follow the rules. He's loud, too proud of himself, thinks he's
better than others, tells how terrific he is. The other man is very sorry
for what he does and who he us. He tells God how sorry he is. Talk about
how quietly he does this. He's off by himself. He's not bragging. He doesn't
pray to show off. Discuss why he would feel better after his prayer than
the other man who brags. Have the children think of one-line things to
say in a prayer. Share these together as a group.
