One More Time
Children's sermon
Object: This message is a role play about Jesus and the fishermen. Use a fishing casting net if you can find one, but you can just use an old sheet if you can’t find an actual net.
Note: You can have some fun with this role play. Just follow the activities and expand on them as much as you choose. When the characters speak, you can either do it yourself or have the children repeat what the characters say after you.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Excellent! This is a story about something that happened early one morning when Jesus met some fishermen by the Sea of Galilee. But instead of me just telling you the story, why don’t we have some fun with it and see what it might have looked like, okay? (Let them respond.) Great!
First, we need a couple of people to pretend to be Jesus and his friends. (Select a child to be Jesus and one or two to be his friends, and have them stand together on one side of the space.) And the rest of us will be the fishermen in the story. We are all going to start out just sitting around on the ground, okay? (You and the fishermen all sit on the floor.) The fishermen were just sitting around because they were really tired after working all night trying to catch some fish. And it was hard work, too. Let’s see what it was like.
I need two fishermen to help me. (Select two fishermen and have them stand with you.) The fishermen didn’t use poles to catch fish like we do sometimes. Instead, they used a really big net. (Show your net.) Their nets were really big and made out of heavy string and rope, so they were really heavy, too. They took their net and threw it out on top of the water. (Show the children how to toss your net so it lies flat on the floor.) Then, when the net sank into the water, it would fall on top of the fish that were under it. And then the fishermen would pull the net back up, and when they pulled it into the boat, it would be full of fish. (Show the children how to pull your net back up like it is rather heavy.) The fishermen had been doing that over and over all night, and now they were just tired and wanted to rest.
They were tired, but they had a big problem, too. They had been fishing with their nets all night, and do you know how many fish they had caught? (Let them respond.) None. Nope, they had not even caught one little fish. How do you think they were feeling? (Let them respond.) They were probably pretty disappointed, weren’t they? (Let them respond.) But they were pretty worried, too. Since they hadn’t caught any fish, they didn’t have any fish to sell to the people wanting to buy them. That meant they wouldn’t make any money today, and that was a big problem. Every morning when the fishermen finished fishing, the tax collector would come to meet them and take some of their money to pay their daily fishing tax. If they didn’t make any money today, it would be hard to pay the tax collector, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) And since they didn’t make any money this morning, they wouldn’t be able to stop at the store to buy food for their families today, would they? (Let them respond.) So, the fishermen sat by their empty boats and wondered what they were going to do. They had tried everything, but they had failed. How do you think they looked as they sat there? (Let them respond and have them try to sit and look really worried.) I’ll bet they felt pretty sad and worried, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
Then, Jesus came walking along the lake with his friends and saw the fishermen sitting there, looking so tired and worried. (Have Jesus and his friends walk over to the fishermen.) Jesus stopped and talked to them, and does anyone know what he said to them? (Let them respond.) He said, “Hey, you fishermen. What are you doing just sitting there? You are supposed to be fishing, so why aren’t you doing it? Get to work, and don’t expect anybody else to do it for you!” Is that what Jesus said to them? (Let them respond.) No, that wasn’t what he said, was it? (Let them respond.)
Did he say, “You didn’t catch anything at all? What kind of fishermen are you, anyway? You must really be lousy fishermen if you fish all night and can’t catch anything. Shame on you! You ought to be fired so they can find some good fishermen who will work harder and do a better job.” Is that what Jesus said to the fishermen? (Let them respond.) No, that isn’t what he said either, was it? (Let them respond.)
Jesus looked at the fishermen and said, “It looks like you had a rough night.” The fishermen said, “Yes, it was rough. We went to all of our favorite spots and didn’t catch a single fish, so we finally just gave up.”
Jesus smiled and said, “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you take your boat out there by that big rock and try throwing your nets into the water one more time?” They looked at him and said, “Well, thanks, but we already went there and didn’t catch anything at all.” Jesus said, “Aw, come on. Why not try just one more time?” The men looked at Jesus, and then at each other. They finally said, “Oh, all right. But it’s a waste of time.”
The fishermen got into their boats and rowed out to the big rock like Jesus told them to. (Have the children sit in their boats and row out.) Then they picked up their nets and threw them into the water. (Have the children throw the net into the water.) They waited for a minute for the net to sink and then started to pull the rope to pull the net back in the boat just like they had done all night. But when they pulled the rope, it wouldn’t move. (Have the children pretend the rope from the net is stuck.) One of the fishermen said, “Oh, great. Now our net is stuck on something and will probably get all torn up. I told you we shouldn’t have come back out here.” Jesus said, “Just pull a little harder.” So, they all grabbed hold of their net and tried to pull it loose. Slowly, the net started to move. And, when the net got close to the boat, the fishermen were surprised when the water started splashing all over them from all of the fish that were caught in their nets. (Have the children pull their nets up and look surprised.) They were excited because they had never seen so many fish in their nets before. They pulled all of the fish into their boat and went back to shore where Jesus was waiting for them. How do you think the fishermen felt now? (Let them respond.) I’ll bet they felt a lot better, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
Sometimes people try very hard to do something, but it just doesn’t work, don’t they? (Let them respond.) They try very hard, but no matter what they do, they just can’t do it by themselves, just like the fishermen. When we see someone like that, what do you think we should do? Should we tell them how lazy they are and say it’s their own fault they have a problem? (Let them respond.) No, that’s not what Jesus said, is it? (Let them respond.)
Or should we tell them they just need to stop sitting there worrying and figure out how to take care of themselves because no one else is going to do it for them? Is that what Jesus told the fishermen? (Let them respond.) No, that’s not what Jesus did, is it? (Let them respond.)
What did Jesus do when he saw the fishermen having a hard time? (Let them respond.) He helped them, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) He didn’t blame them or pick on them, but he helped them find some fish. When Jesus saw the men tired and worried, he helped them. And when he helped them, they were so happy and excited that they decided to go with Jesus to help him help other people, too.
I hope our little story will help us remember what to do the next time we see someone who is having a hard time and might be really tired and worried. I hope we will remember to do something to show them that we care about them, just like Jesus cared about the fishermen.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
Note: You can have some fun with this role play. Just follow the activities and expand on them as much as you choose. When the characters speak, you can either do it yourself or have the children repeat what the characters say after you.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Excellent! This is a story about something that happened early one morning when Jesus met some fishermen by the Sea of Galilee. But instead of me just telling you the story, why don’t we have some fun with it and see what it might have looked like, okay? (Let them respond.) Great!
First, we need a couple of people to pretend to be Jesus and his friends. (Select a child to be Jesus and one or two to be his friends, and have them stand together on one side of the space.) And the rest of us will be the fishermen in the story. We are all going to start out just sitting around on the ground, okay? (You and the fishermen all sit on the floor.) The fishermen were just sitting around because they were really tired after working all night trying to catch some fish. And it was hard work, too. Let’s see what it was like.
I need two fishermen to help me. (Select two fishermen and have them stand with you.) The fishermen didn’t use poles to catch fish like we do sometimes. Instead, they used a really big net. (Show your net.) Their nets were really big and made out of heavy string and rope, so they were really heavy, too. They took their net and threw it out on top of the water. (Show the children how to toss your net so it lies flat on the floor.) Then, when the net sank into the water, it would fall on top of the fish that were under it. And then the fishermen would pull the net back up, and when they pulled it into the boat, it would be full of fish. (Show the children how to pull your net back up like it is rather heavy.) The fishermen had been doing that over and over all night, and now they were just tired and wanted to rest.
They were tired, but they had a big problem, too. They had been fishing with their nets all night, and do you know how many fish they had caught? (Let them respond.) None. Nope, they had not even caught one little fish. How do you think they were feeling? (Let them respond.) They were probably pretty disappointed, weren’t they? (Let them respond.) But they were pretty worried, too. Since they hadn’t caught any fish, they didn’t have any fish to sell to the people wanting to buy them. That meant they wouldn’t make any money today, and that was a big problem. Every morning when the fishermen finished fishing, the tax collector would come to meet them and take some of their money to pay their daily fishing tax. If they didn’t make any money today, it would be hard to pay the tax collector, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) And since they didn’t make any money this morning, they wouldn’t be able to stop at the store to buy food for their families today, would they? (Let them respond.) So, the fishermen sat by their empty boats and wondered what they were going to do. They had tried everything, but they had failed. How do you think they looked as they sat there? (Let them respond and have them try to sit and look really worried.) I’ll bet they felt pretty sad and worried, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
Then, Jesus came walking along the lake with his friends and saw the fishermen sitting there, looking so tired and worried. (Have Jesus and his friends walk over to the fishermen.) Jesus stopped and talked to them, and does anyone know what he said to them? (Let them respond.) He said, “Hey, you fishermen. What are you doing just sitting there? You are supposed to be fishing, so why aren’t you doing it? Get to work, and don’t expect anybody else to do it for you!” Is that what Jesus said to them? (Let them respond.) No, that wasn’t what he said, was it? (Let them respond.)
Did he say, “You didn’t catch anything at all? What kind of fishermen are you, anyway? You must really be lousy fishermen if you fish all night and can’t catch anything. Shame on you! You ought to be fired so they can find some good fishermen who will work harder and do a better job.” Is that what Jesus said to the fishermen? (Let them respond.) No, that isn’t what he said either, was it? (Let them respond.)
Jesus looked at the fishermen and said, “It looks like you had a rough night.” The fishermen said, “Yes, it was rough. We went to all of our favorite spots and didn’t catch a single fish, so we finally just gave up.”
Jesus smiled and said, “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you take your boat out there by that big rock and try throwing your nets into the water one more time?” They looked at him and said, “Well, thanks, but we already went there and didn’t catch anything at all.” Jesus said, “Aw, come on. Why not try just one more time?” The men looked at Jesus, and then at each other. They finally said, “Oh, all right. But it’s a waste of time.”
The fishermen got into their boats and rowed out to the big rock like Jesus told them to. (Have the children sit in their boats and row out.) Then they picked up their nets and threw them into the water. (Have the children throw the net into the water.) They waited for a minute for the net to sink and then started to pull the rope to pull the net back in the boat just like they had done all night. But when they pulled the rope, it wouldn’t move. (Have the children pretend the rope from the net is stuck.) One of the fishermen said, “Oh, great. Now our net is stuck on something and will probably get all torn up. I told you we shouldn’t have come back out here.” Jesus said, “Just pull a little harder.” So, they all grabbed hold of their net and tried to pull it loose. Slowly, the net started to move. And, when the net got close to the boat, the fishermen were surprised when the water started splashing all over them from all of the fish that were caught in their nets. (Have the children pull their nets up and look surprised.) They were excited because they had never seen so many fish in their nets before. They pulled all of the fish into their boat and went back to shore where Jesus was waiting for them. How do you think the fishermen felt now? (Let them respond.) I’ll bet they felt a lot better, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
Sometimes people try very hard to do something, but it just doesn’t work, don’t they? (Let them respond.) They try very hard, but no matter what they do, they just can’t do it by themselves, just like the fishermen. When we see someone like that, what do you think we should do? Should we tell them how lazy they are and say it’s their own fault they have a problem? (Let them respond.) No, that’s not what Jesus said, is it? (Let them respond.)
Or should we tell them they just need to stop sitting there worrying and figure out how to take care of themselves because no one else is going to do it for them? Is that what Jesus told the fishermen? (Let them respond.) No, that’s not what Jesus did, is it? (Let them respond.)
What did Jesus do when he saw the fishermen having a hard time? (Let them respond.) He helped them, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) He didn’t blame them or pick on them, but he helped them find some fish. When Jesus saw the men tired and worried, he helped them. And when he helped them, they were so happy and excited that they decided to go with Jesus to help him help other people, too.
I hope our little story will help us remember what to do the next time we see someone who is having a hard time and might be really tired and worried. I hope we will remember to do something to show them that we care about them, just like Jesus cared about the fishermen.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
