Fishers Of Men
Children's sermon
From a Mustard Seed
Children's Sermons
Object:
A stick with a string and fishing hook attached and a regular fishing pole and tackle box filled with supplies.
Message: Do any of you want to go fishing? When I was growing up my dad would take me fishing in two different places. The first was a lake where my uncle had a cabin. We would fish on Saturday mornings and catch little sunfish and other kinds of fish, all very small. But in the summers we would go deep sea fishing in the ocean and then we would catch the bigger fish - haddock and cod and sometimes even sharks!
One of the things you learn very quickly when you go fishing is that you have to use different kinds of equipment, depending on the type of fish you want to catch. If I wanted to go fishing today and all I had was this stick with a string and hook on the end, do you think I would be very successful? I might do okay in a small pond trying to catch those sunfish, but that is about the best I could do. So if I wanted to go after the big ones, what would I have to do? Right! I would need a better fishing pole, and the right kind of lures to attract the fish. With all the right equipment I would have a much better chance!
One day when Jesus was walking along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers who were fishermen, Peter and Andrew. He said to them, "I will make you fishers of men!" Jesus meant he would teach them to tell people about how great God is and how His love can change their lives! They followed Jesus for three years to learn how to do that.
The Bible also says that you and I are called to be fishers of people. That means we also need to learn how to tell others about God. In order to do that we need to be growing in our faith. If the most we can say about God is that He exists, we will not catch many fish. However, if we spend time learning about God, and growing in our faith so that people see Jesus in our lives, then we are like this kind of fisherman who is ready for whatever might come along. We will be prepared to answer people's questions about God and to reach them where they are, so they can come to know Christ. God wants to make us into that kind of fishers of men!
One of the things you learn very quickly when you go fishing is that you have to use different kinds of equipment, depending on the type of fish you want to catch. If I wanted to go fishing today and all I had was this stick with a string and hook on the end, do you think I would be very successful? I might do okay in a small pond trying to catch those sunfish, but that is about the best I could do. So if I wanted to go after the big ones, what would I have to do? Right! I would need a better fishing pole, and the right kind of lures to attract the fish. With all the right equipment I would have a much better chance!
One day when Jesus was walking along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers who were fishermen, Peter and Andrew. He said to them, "I will make you fishers of men!" Jesus meant he would teach them to tell people about how great God is and how His love can change their lives! They followed Jesus for three years to learn how to do that.
The Bible also says that you and I are called to be fishers of people. That means we also need to learn how to tell others about God. In order to do that we need to be growing in our faith. If the most we can say about God is that He exists, we will not catch many fish. However, if we spend time learning about God, and growing in our faith so that people see Jesus in our lives, then we are like this kind of fisherman who is ready for whatever might come along. We will be prepared to answer people's questions about God and to reach them where they are, so they can come to know Christ. God wants to make us into that kind of fishers of men!
