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(Children's Sermon Service...Plus)

Good morning, boys and girls. You probably know what this is, don't you? (Hold up the magnet.) It's a magnet. Do any of you know what a magnet does? (Let them answer.) Magnets attract anything that has iron in it. Our Bible story this morning is a bout a person who was like a magnet. This person attracted people just like the magnet attracts iron. Wherever he went people wanted to be with him. They wanted to hear him talk. They wanted to have him heal them. This person must have been a very friendly, wonderful person. Do you know who the person was? (Let them answer.) The person was Jesus. He was like a magnet.

Here's what our story says: Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee. He saw Simon and Andrew fishing. He said to them,

He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. (vv. 13-14)

Good morning, boys and girls. When you buy something at a store and bring it home to put together, what do you do first? (let them answer) That's right, you open the box. Then what do you do? (let them answer) Right again, you take out the parts. After the box is opened and the parts are out on the floor, what do you do? (let them answer) You are probably wrong this time. You do not start putting it together. (show them the manual) What do you do? (let them answer) That's

What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." (v. 12)

Good morning, boys and girls. The other day someone told me that she was a Methodist. I told her that I was a Lutheran. She told me that her sister used to be a Lutheran, but now she was a Baptist. The person who was listening to our conversation said he was a Presbyterian, but after he got married he became a Roman Catholic. Of course, someone wanted to know if I was a Wisconsin Lutheran, a Missouri Synod Lutheran, or if I belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church In America.

How do we figure this out? (hand out the signs to the children) Let's all stand in

SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME

Materials:
Heavy paper (cardstock or poster board)
Markers
Scissors
Quart-sized plastic bags with a place to write the names of the children on them

Directions:

1. Give each of the children a piece of heavy paper.

2. Instruct the children to draw pictures of someone doing something God would want them to do. Some ideas might be sharing, going to church, or helping others.

3. Have the children color their pictures.

4. Help the children cut their pictures into one- to two-inch pieces, shaped like puzzle pieces.

5. Have the children put their pieces into the plastic bags and write their names on them.

I want to tell you a story today about two guys that went hiking.  They were two teenage cousins that had packed all kinds of snacks and food for their adventure.   In fact it had made them get off to a late start because they were buying so much.  It was a great hike but then it started to storm and began to get dark earlier than usual.  They found themselves in the pitch black and not knowing the trail very well ... not a good place to be.  But the one cousin did have a phone which had a flashlight on it! Luckily the phone had enough battery life to light the cousins way home safely. Oh how precious and how needed that phone was. 

As Jesus calls his disciples it seems like he has a criterion for the people with which he wants to surround himself. It may not always be obvious in the Biblical account, but Jesus is careful to choose people who are really committed to his message. With their help, Jesus will be able to do more and spread the word about God farther.

We get the chance to choose who we surround ourselves with, too. Our friends can affect how well we do in school, the choices we make, and the things we avoid. This lesson will help kids start to think about the kinds of people they choose to make their friends.

Object: See the notes.

NOTE: You have options for how you do the activity to let the children look at their fingerprints. You can use whichever approach works best for you. The overall goal is to help the children get a good look at their fingerprints.

1) The first option is the simplest, and cleanest. You give each child a piece of clay or putty and have them press their finger into it to leave an image of their print. However, you may have a problem finding clay or putty that will catch and hold the small details of fingerprints well enough for the children to see clearly. If you do use clay or putty for the activity, all you will need is a small piece of it for each child.

(Hold up the paper) Can anyone tell me what this says? (you may have a child who knows Spanish) I know what it says, because I know a little bit of Spanish. If you know Spanish, this is pretty easy. If you don't know Spanish, this probably looks like a bunch of nonsense. It says, "Jesus loves me." Cristo is "Jesus" -- the word kind of looks like "Christ," doesn't it? Amo is "loves." Me is just what it looks like: "me." It makes sense once you know how to look at it.

Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (v. 20)


Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about fishermen. How many of you have ever been fishing? (allow answers) Fishing can be lots of fun. You get to spend time outside, you get to relax with your friends, and sometimes you even catch a fish!

Teachers or Parents: Teach the children the hymn "I Love To Tell The Story" because it fits so well with today's Gospel text. Being a fisher of people is a way of telling the story "of Jesus and his love." Share different ways children can tell the story to their peers or their siblings and parents. The Jesus story is perfect bait because it is what we all want and need. It's the good news that, once it catches us, sets us free!

*Make invitations each child could take to a friend inviting him or her to come and share the good news of Jesus in Sunday church school or at church. The invitations could be photocopied prior to class and the children could color and individualize each invitation. Make it a challenge. Have the children personally

SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME
AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME


Materials:
Yarn
Magnets
Paper clips
Fish cut from paper
Markers


Directions:
1. On each fish, write a different word from a verse in today's gospel.
2. Create a "fishing pool" -- put paper clips on the paper fish and put them in a circle on the floor.
3. Give each child a piece of yarn with a magnet attached and then have them "go fishing." Have them work as a team to put together the Bible verse from the lesson. Provide either a copy of the gospel or a Bible and the verses of the gospel for them to look at in order to decide which verse they are fishing for.

Good morning, boys and girls. When a teacher asks you a question at school, when does she expect you to answer? (let them answer) Yes, right away. Another way to say right away is "immediately." When the teacher asks you a question she expects you to answer immediately.

When the policeman blows his whistle, when does he expect a person to stop? (let them answer) That's right, he expects a person to stop immediately.

When your mother or father puts the car key into the ignition, when do they expect the car to start? (let them answer) Very good, you're catching on. Your parents expect the car to start immediately.

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like to do puzzles? (let them answer) I think puzzles are fun because you can work on them over and over again.

I've got a puzzle here for us to work on. The picture is complete now, but we're going to take it all apart and build it again. Each of you can take a piece of the puzzle. (hand out the pieces of the puzzle) It's hard to see the picture after we take away the pieces. Just a minute ago it looked like (describe the picture), but now it doesn't look like anything. Before we put it back together, I want to tell you about a letter Saint Paul wrote to the people of Corinth.

Good morning, boys and girls. I brought some things with me this morning that I want to show you. You know what most of this is. (One at a time, hold up the flashlight and battery recharger. Ask the children to identify the items. They may need help with the recharger.) That's right. I have a flashlight. I also have a battery recharger.

I'm going to turn on my flashlight and let's see what happens. (Turn it on. Since it doesn't work, pass it around to see if anyone can get it to work.) It doesn't work. Can any of you get this to work? Maybe my batteries are emptied of their power. I just happen to have some recharged batteries in my battery recharger. Let's see if the recharged batteries work. (As you continue to talk, replace the dead batteries with the new ones,

How many of you like to fish? (Let them answer.) What do you need for fishing? (Let them answer.) Let's see -- I have a pole and a bobber and string and even a hook. Am I missing anything? (Let them answer.) I am missing something very important -- BAIT! I don't have any bait! What is bait? (Let them answer.) It's what attracts the fish, isn't it? Without the bait, why would a fish want to bite a sharp hook? I don't think it would.

The first people Jesus chose to follow him were Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were fishing the day Jesus called them. He told them to follow him and they would no longer catch fish, but would "fish for people."

How do you fish for people? (Let them answer.) I think when

Good morning! How many of you like horses? (Let them answer.) Most of us like horses. Many years ago horses were very important animals because so many people used them to pull their wagons around. Have you ever seen horses pulling wagons? (Let them answer.) People learned that if one horse could pull a heavy wagon, two horses could pull an even heavier wagon. Four horses could really pull a heavy wagon.

There's a catch, though. Do you know what I mean? What I mean is this: the horses have to be going in the same direction. If the horses want to go in different directions, then the wagon goes nowhere. The horses must be together. When the horses are together, they can pull very heavy loads.

Good morning! How many of you have ever ridden on a big
plane like this? (Show the picture.) Even if you have ridden on
one, you probably don't see all that goes on when the plane lands
and is looking for the right place to park and unload the
passengers. If the pilot is not familiar with that particular
airport, they may send a little jeep out to meet the plane and on
the back of the jeep will be a big sign that says, "FOLLOW ME."
Then, all the pilot has to do is follow that little jeep to the
place where he is supposed to park and unload the passengers.
Now, what do you suppose would happen if the pilot didn't follow
the jeep and just decided to park in whatever spot looked good?

Good morning! I have a job for us to do this morning. I want
us to put this puzzle together. (Show the puzzle.) I will give
out the pieces to the puzzle (pass them out), and then I want you
to put it together by each person adding your piece where it
belongs. Let's get started. (Let them put the puzzle together.)

That went well, didn't it? Everyone cooperated and the
pieces all fit in nicely. Can you imagine how hard it would be to
put the puzzle together if nobody wanted to cooperate? How could
we have gotten the puzzle together if some of you had refused to
add your piece when it was needed? Would we have been able to put
the puzzle together? (Let them answer.)

Today I am going fishing. Our lesson today is about fishing, so I'm going to do it. (hold up the pole and hook) Normally when people fish they use stuff like this, right? Well, I'm not fishing for fish today. I'm going to fish for people. That's right: I'm going fishing for people. I wonder how many I can catch. I won't need my pole and hook for the kind of fishing I'm going to do. Besides, it would hurt you if I got this hook in your mouth! To fish for people I need to use different equipment.

Materials:
Store-bought placemat (one per child)
Sandpaper
Chalkboard paint (or use recipe below)*
Stickers
White acrylic paint

Directions:

(If the placemats are shiny, lightly sand them to allow the paint to stick better.)

Let each child paint his/her placemat with the chalkboard paint. This may take several coats. If a second coat is required, lightly sand the placemats between applying the coats of paint.

When the placemats have dried, let the children paint "I will be ready when Jesus calls" or something similar across the top and decorate around the border with stickers.

Each placemat will be a fully usable chalkboard when the paint has completely dried.

Teachers: Today's story tells how Jesus began his ministry. First, he began to seek out disciples. Then he began to preach from town to town.

Talk with your students about Jesus going out and picking disciples, and then going to visit many towns. Suggest to your students that Jesus might visit their own home. To prepare for the visit have your students design and create welcome mats for Jesus. Talk to your students about Jesus' travels with his disciples. Have the students think about how they would treat Jesus if he were a guest at their house. You might create a list on the chalk board. Ask the following questions: What food would they offer Jesus? What games would they play with Jesus? What sites of your town would they show Jesus? If you would give Jesus

Teachers and Parents: No parent or teacher will minimize the
importance of children following directions. We need to be sure
that they understand the importance of following the directions
of God in Holy Scripture. When Jesus called his disciples, they
left their nets and followed him. We need to follow him also.

* Play a game of "Simon Says," but use "Jesus Says" instead
of Simon. You can arrange a prize for the one who wins if it
seems appropriate. After the game is over, discuss the importance
of following the directions God gives us in the Bible.

* Prepare some specific passages of Scripture that give
positive directions, such as the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on

Today's gospel lesson is a fun one to share with children. It's brilliant the way Jesus speaks to Andrew and Peter. He takes a paradigm that is very familiar to the fishermen, turns it around and applies it to people. They're intrigued. Fishing for people? How does that work? What does it even mean? Like Peter and Andrew, children also find this concept interesting. Fishing for people isn't as abstract as some of the other lessons in the Bible. Children understand fishing. They know how and why people fish. It isn't all that hard for them to see how the same ideas could be applied to our relationships with others.