BIBLICAL REFERENCE
Matthew 4.18-22
Matthew 4.18-22
PURPOSE OF THE LESSON
Teach children that
we should speak of Jesus to people.
“And he who wins souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11.30)
INTRODUCTION
Educator, take to classroom a picture of a
refrigerator filled with frozen fish (easy to find on the internet). Start the
introduction by asking: Who here has ever seen, in the supermarket
refrigerator, frozen fish like these? (Show the picture). Have you ever thought
how did they go there? (Wait participation). We all know that fish live in the
sea and there is a specific occupation to those who fish the fish. You know how
to call these professionals? (Wait participation) Fishermen! That's it. The
profession of fisherman is very old and important, because there are countries
whose inhabitants mainly eat fish. What would these people do if there were not
fishermen, right? And speaking of fisherman, I will tell you about several
fishermen on today’s story. Do you want to hear? So pay close attention.
LEARNING TO WIN SOULS
ONE
DAY Jesus was passing by the lake of Galilee when he saw
two fishermen. They were brothers, one was called Simon Peter and the other was
called Andrew. They were great businessmen for they had many boats to fish a
lot of fishes. Jesus passed near them and called them by saying: Come with me
and you will be, from today on, fishermen of people; at that same time they
dropped their fishing nets and followed the Lord Jesus.
Do you know what is to be a
fisherman of people? (Wait participation). Fishing people is the same of
evangelizing, wining souls for the kingdom of God. From that day on, Simon Peter
and Andrew were becoming disciples of Jesus.
Later Jesus saw James and John
who were also brothers and fishermen. They were in the boat mending the nets
with their father Zebedee. And as He did with Simon Peter and Andrew, Jesus
also called them, and they left everything behind and went with Jesus.
You know, kids, Jesus was
choosing those men because they would be His disciples, His servants. Class,
what Jesus said to those men, He says it now for all those who give their lives
to Him. Jesus wishes to make us fishermen of people, that is, winners of souls.
Many people suffer in this world,
right? Many children with your age suffer with their destroyed families, and
they do not know Jesus can help them. That is why we should speak of Jesus to
everyone we know, understood?
CONCLUSION
We
should do like Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John: to speak of Jesus to our
friends and bring them to church. Can Jesus count on you? Than say “amen”! That
is right, behaving like this we will be pleasing God.
FUN CHAT
Educator, take to your classroom pictures of
pastors/bishops on the altar (easy to find on Folha Universal, magazines and
UCKG websites) preaching, people evangelizing (educators of
, youngers of YVG and
evangelists), and make a poster with those pictures.
Start
the fun chat by saying the following: Children, we learned from today’s story
that Jesus called Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John to be fishermen of
people. In fact, they were very important fishermen of people, do you know why?
They were very important because they won many souls for the kingdom of God. In
the Bible there are many examples of how those men were used by God.
Now
see these people (slowly show the pictures). They are doing what the disciples
of Jesus did, they are fishing people, evangelizing and preaching the Word of
God. Little friends, Jesus wishes to make each one of us a soul winner. So, we
should make an effort and invite our friends, neighbors and family to come to
the House of God.
Jesus
counts on each one of us, as He counted on with the disciples in the past. If
you want to be a disciple of Jesus, pray for Him asking Him to teach you and
help you to bring many people to church. Amen?
How
about a prayer now? Stand up and place your hand on your heart, I am going to
pray with you. (Educator, make a prayer asking God to make of them His disciples).
After the prayer, ask the kids to sit down and ask the following questions:
1.
Who here has even invited a friend to come to church? Did he/she come? How did
you feel about it?
2.
Who here wish to win many souls to Jesus?
3. Do
you think it is important to speak of Jesus to people?
4. In
your opinion, how does God feel when He sees a servant of Him evangelizing?
Educator,
you let the children express themselves and give opportunity for those who wish
to speak. However, control your time for not delaying other steps of the class.
In the end, using the poster of the week, memorize the verse of the week with
the kids.
Activities
MATERNAL
Painting
Paint
the fishes that Simon Peter and
Andrew
fished before being helper of Jesus.
PRIMARY
Keen eye
Simon Peter and Andrew obeyed and followed the Lord
Jesus.
Paint the picture referring to what happened in the
story.
JUNIORS
Telling the story
Watch the scenes and describe the happenings of this week’s story.