Fishing Around
Children's sermon
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (vv. 10-11)
Object: A fishing net, or a large piece of netted cloth of some type. For the most fun, cut out small pieces of the netting to give to each child. If you do have a fishing net, practice throwing it and using the rope to close and pull it up so you can show the children how it works. If you just have some other piece of netting, you can still throw it and just explain how it would work. If you aren’t sure how to use a net, take a look at this short video.
Hello, everyone! Are you ready for today’s story? (Let them respond.) This is a good one!
(Show the net.) Can anyone tell me what this is? (Let them respond.) In the town where Jesus lived, this is what people used to go fishing. Have any of you gone fishing with a net? (Let them respond.) We usually use fishing poles, don’t we? (Let them respond.) But some people still fish with nets today too, especially in big lakes or the oceans. It is called a cast net, and it is a special kind of net that has a rope attached to it. (This is where you can show how to use the net.) You hold onto the rope and throw the net into the water, making it spread all out as it goes in the water. When it sinks into the water, you pull on the rope and it makes the net close up, just like a big sack. All of the fish that are inside the net when it closes get caught and you use the rope to pull them up to the boat.
That’s how fishermen in Jesus’ hometown went fishing. They got up early in the morning to row their boats out in the Sea of Galilee and used their nets to catch fish to sell to the people in town. When they were finished fishing, they rowed back to the shore and took the time to clean and repair their nets so they would be ready for the next morning.
Some mornings they caught a lot of fish, and some mornings they didn’t catch any fish at all. Today, the fishermen hadn’t caught any fish at all, so how do you think they were feeling? (Let them respond.) They didn’t have any fish to sell, so they were probably not in a very good mood, huh? They were sitting there cleaning and repairing their nets, and maybe grumbling about the lousy fishing when Jesus walked by and saw them.
There was a big crowd of people following Jesus, and they were wanting him to stop and talk to them about God. But the crowd was so big, there wasn’t any place for Jesus to stand where everyone could see and hear him. That’s when Jesus saw the fishermen sitting in their boats.
Jesus walked over to the fishermen and asked one of them if he would help him. The fisherman’s name was Peter, and he said he would help. So, Jesus got into the boat and Peter rowed it out in the water a bit where everyone could stand on the shore and see Jesus so he was able to talk to them and tell them about God.
When Jesus was finished speaking, he thanked Peter and asked how the fishing went this morning. Peter told him it had been lousy, and they hadn’t caught any fish at all. Jesus saw how bad Peter was feeling, and said, “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you row your boat out there a little bit further into the deep water and try your nets one more time?”
I wonder what Peter was thinking when Jesus told him to do that? (Let them respond.) Peter had been fishing since he was a little boy, and he knew everyone usually caught more fish in the shallow water and almost never caught any in the deep water. If I was Peter, I might have said something like, “Well, thanks, but I think I know more about fishing than you do, so I’ll just take you back to the shore. Besides, if I do what you say, I’ll just have to clean and mend my nets all over again, and I’m too tired to do that. Thanks anyway, Jesus.” Do you think you might have done that too? (Let them respond.)
But Peter didn’t do that. He went ahead and rowed out into the deep water and got his net ready. He held onto the rope, threw the net into the water, and waited while it sank in the deep water. Then Peter stood up and started pulling on the rope. But the rope wouldn’t move. Peter thought it must be stuck on a rock or an old stump under the water. I’ll bet that made him feel even worse, don’t you? (Let them respond.) But he pulled the rope again and it started to move. He kept pulling and then he saw it. When the net got close to the top of the water, Peter saw the net was completely filled with fish! It was so full, Peter couldn’t even pull it into his boat. He called to the other fishermen to get in their boats and come out to help him. They came out, and they worked together to get the net into the boat. It had more fish in it than any of them had ever caught before.
All of the fishermen were amazed, and they realized that Jesus really was someone very special. Jesus looked at them and said, “You think bringing those fish into the boat was exciting? Follow me and I’ll show you how to bring people to God!”
And when they rowed back to the shore, Peter, James, and John left their nets in their boats and went with Jesus to help him do what God had sent him to do. Instead of fishing, they became Jesus’ disciples and spent the rest of their lives traveling around the world trying to do what God wanted them to do to help other people.
I have something for you. This is like a little fishing net for you to keep. Maybe it will help us remember how much God loves you, and how much God wants us to love other people and help them know how much God loves them, too.
Let’s have our prayer and ask God to help us remember to do the things God wants us to do to take care of each other.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
Object: A fishing net, or a large piece of netted cloth of some type. For the most fun, cut out small pieces of the netting to give to each child. If you do have a fishing net, practice throwing it and using the rope to close and pull it up so you can show the children how it works. If you just have some other piece of netting, you can still throw it and just explain how it would work. If you aren’t sure how to use a net, take a look at this short video.
Hello, everyone! Are you ready for today’s story? (Let them respond.) This is a good one!
(Show the net.) Can anyone tell me what this is? (Let them respond.) In the town where Jesus lived, this is what people used to go fishing. Have any of you gone fishing with a net? (Let them respond.) We usually use fishing poles, don’t we? (Let them respond.) But some people still fish with nets today too, especially in big lakes or the oceans. It is called a cast net, and it is a special kind of net that has a rope attached to it. (This is where you can show how to use the net.) You hold onto the rope and throw the net into the water, making it spread all out as it goes in the water. When it sinks into the water, you pull on the rope and it makes the net close up, just like a big sack. All of the fish that are inside the net when it closes get caught and you use the rope to pull them up to the boat.
That’s how fishermen in Jesus’ hometown went fishing. They got up early in the morning to row their boats out in the Sea of Galilee and used their nets to catch fish to sell to the people in town. When they were finished fishing, they rowed back to the shore and took the time to clean and repair their nets so they would be ready for the next morning.
Some mornings they caught a lot of fish, and some mornings they didn’t catch any fish at all. Today, the fishermen hadn’t caught any fish at all, so how do you think they were feeling? (Let them respond.) They didn’t have any fish to sell, so they were probably not in a very good mood, huh? They were sitting there cleaning and repairing their nets, and maybe grumbling about the lousy fishing when Jesus walked by and saw them.
There was a big crowd of people following Jesus, and they were wanting him to stop and talk to them about God. But the crowd was so big, there wasn’t any place for Jesus to stand where everyone could see and hear him. That’s when Jesus saw the fishermen sitting in their boats.
Jesus walked over to the fishermen and asked one of them if he would help him. The fisherman’s name was Peter, and he said he would help. So, Jesus got into the boat and Peter rowed it out in the water a bit where everyone could stand on the shore and see Jesus so he was able to talk to them and tell them about God.
When Jesus was finished speaking, he thanked Peter and asked how the fishing went this morning. Peter told him it had been lousy, and they hadn’t caught any fish at all. Jesus saw how bad Peter was feeling, and said, “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you row your boat out there a little bit further into the deep water and try your nets one more time?”
I wonder what Peter was thinking when Jesus told him to do that? (Let them respond.) Peter had been fishing since he was a little boy, and he knew everyone usually caught more fish in the shallow water and almost never caught any in the deep water. If I was Peter, I might have said something like, “Well, thanks, but I think I know more about fishing than you do, so I’ll just take you back to the shore. Besides, if I do what you say, I’ll just have to clean and mend my nets all over again, and I’m too tired to do that. Thanks anyway, Jesus.” Do you think you might have done that too? (Let them respond.)
But Peter didn’t do that. He went ahead and rowed out into the deep water and got his net ready. He held onto the rope, threw the net into the water, and waited while it sank in the deep water. Then Peter stood up and started pulling on the rope. But the rope wouldn’t move. Peter thought it must be stuck on a rock or an old stump under the water. I’ll bet that made him feel even worse, don’t you? (Let them respond.) But he pulled the rope again and it started to move. He kept pulling and then he saw it. When the net got close to the top of the water, Peter saw the net was completely filled with fish! It was so full, Peter couldn’t even pull it into his boat. He called to the other fishermen to get in their boats and come out to help him. They came out, and they worked together to get the net into the boat. It had more fish in it than any of them had ever caught before.
All of the fishermen were amazed, and they realized that Jesus really was someone very special. Jesus looked at them and said, “You think bringing those fish into the boat was exciting? Follow me and I’ll show you how to bring people to God!”
And when they rowed back to the shore, Peter, James, and John left their nets in their boats and went with Jesus to help him do what God had sent him to do. Instead of fishing, they became Jesus’ disciples and spent the rest of their lives traveling around the world trying to do what God wanted them to do to help other people.
I have something for you. This is like a little fishing net for you to keep. Maybe it will help us remember how much God loves you, and how much God wants us to love other people and help them know how much God loves them, too.
Let’s have our prayer and ask God to help us remember to do the things God wants us to do to take care of each other.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
