Object Lesson

(Hold up the fishing gear)

Have you ever been fishing before?  Did you catch anything? (Let the kids answer).

Long ago Jesus was walking along a beach and saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing.  Jesus looked at them at told them to come and follow him and He would make them fishers of men.

That must have sounded so strange to them! How would you fish for men? Would you put a worm on a hook and dangle it in front of them and hope they bite it? Maybe people wouldn’t like worms, so maybe you should use a pizza instead??

I don’t think Jesus was talking about catching them with a hook or net though.  What Jesus was saying is that we should be looking to share our faith with others and introduce them to Christ.  How do we do that though?

It is a lot like fishing.  When you fish you need some kind of bait (hold up a lure or bait) and it takes a lot of wisdom.  Proverbs 11:30 says that the person that wins souls is wise.

Jesus would heal people and feed them and that was kind of like the bait that would bring them to hear what he had to say to them.  Ultimately His goal was not to just heal their body but to make them right with God, and Jesus wants us to go and do the same.