Jesus Makes Breakfast for His Disciples - Saxe-Gotha Makes Breakfast for His Disciples ... •That...

11
Sept. 16, 2012 ON OUR PLATE TODAY Jesus Makes Breakfast for His Disciples Kids will understand: • The account of Jesus calling His disciples ashore and making them breakfast. • That God knows what we are hungry for spiritually and physically. •That God sets a table for us full of spiritual and physical food. It is our responsibility to get out of the boat and “eat” it. John 21:1-12 ACTIVITY Let’s say you’ve been outside playing all day or maybe working in the yard with some of your family. You walk in the house dragging, hardly able to take off your shoes. When you open the door, you smell your favorite food. It could be hamburgers, pizza, maybe lasagna or spaghetti. Then, you walk in the dining room and see this. Point to the table. What would you think is going to happen really soon? Yeah, someone went to some trouble to prepare a meal for you, didn’t they? Why do you think someone would do something like that? I bet because they love you and they don’t want you to be hungry, right? They know you’re going to be worn out and this would be an awesome surprise for you! That’s exactly what happened in our Bible story today. The person who fixed the meal knew exactly what His friends needed at the time! ACTIVITY - VIDEO Beforehand, download this hilarious YouTube video “People Falling Off Boats”, submitted by stevewoodley64. http://youtu.be/h6D7x_xU3JE Show the video. Note: Begin at 0.06 frame and stop at 1:23. 1 www.kidzmatter.com Copyright 2010 KidzMatter Ministries Inc. All Rights Reserved. table chair place setting: tablecloth, plate, silverware, glass, napkin INGREDIENTS YouTube video INGREDIENTS

Transcript of Jesus Makes Breakfast for His Disciples - Saxe-Gotha Makes Breakfast for His Disciples ... •That...

Sept. 16, 2012

ON OUR PLATE TODAY

Jesus Makes Breakfast for His Disciples

Kids will understand:• The account of Jesus calling His disciples ashore and making

them breakfast.

• That God knows what we are hungry for spiritually and physically.

•That God sets a table for us full of spiritual and physical food. It is our responsibility to get out of the boat and

“eat” it.

John 21:1-12

ACTIVITY

Let’s say you’ve been outside playing all day or maybe working in the yard with some of your family. You walk in the house dragging, hardly able to take off your shoes. When you open the door, you smell your favorite food. It could be hamburgers, pizza, maybe lasagna or spaghetti. Then, you walk in the dining room and see this. Point to the table.

What would you think is going to happen really soon? Yeah, someone went to some trouble to prepare a meal for you, didn’t they? Why do you think someone would do something like that? I bet because they love you and they don’t want you to be hungry, right? They know you’re going to be worn out and this would be an awesome surprise for you!

That’s exactly what happened in our Bible story today. The person who fixed the meal knew exactly what His friends needed at the time!

ACTIVITY - VIDEO

Beforehand, download this hilarious YouTube video “People Falling Off Boats”, submitted by stevewoodley64.

http://youtu.be/h6D7x_xU3JE

Show the video. Note: Begin at 0.06 frame and stop at 1:23. 1 www.kidzmatter.com

Copyright 2010 KidzMatter Ministries Inc.

All Rights Reserved.

— table

— chair

— place setting: tablecloth, plate, silverware, glass, napkin

INGRED IENT S

— YouTube video

INGRED IENT S

2 www.kidzmatter.com

These were some different ways that people got out of the boat, weren’t they? Unfortunately, I don’t think it worked out the way they thought it would. Some weren’t even planning to get out of the boat at all, were they?

How many of you have ever been in a boat? You have to be careful in a smaller boat, because it can rock really easily and you can lose your balance. How many of you have jumped out of a boat on purpose to go swimming? In today’s lesson, a person saw someone on shore who they really missed. They got so excited that they jumped out of a fishing boat to get there as quickly as they could! Let’s see what all the excitement was about!

BIBLE ACCOUNT

You will need two actors: a fisherman named Orville Dinghy and an interviewer named Will Askew. Hand out skits in advance to the actors to learn and practice.

Setting: Will is standing with the fisherman, Orville Dinghy, asking for his take on what happened with Jesus and the disciples. Will talks into the microphone and puts it in front of Daniel as he talks.

Will: (addressing the kids) Hello, my name is Will Askew and I’m standing here with Orville Dinghy. Interesting name, Orville. Can you tell us about that and what you do for a living?

Orville: Sure, Will. (laughs) That’s funny … I sure will … Will!

Will: (annoyed smile) Uh yes, like I haven’t heard that one before. So Dinghy, your last name can mean a couple of things.

Orville: Yeah, I know … but it means a small boat in my case! I come from a long line of fishermen. My dad, grandpa, great grandpa, great great grandpa, my great great grandpa’s dad and then …

Will: Yes, Orville … I think we get the picture here. And, your first name?

Orville: Yeah, you use an oar to paddle a dinghy, so they named me Orville. Yep, fishin’ is our life! Will: So, Mr. Dinghy, you saw something you’ve never seen before on the Sea of Galilee, correct?

Orville: Never in my lifetime! I’ve been fishing for a long time. I fished with my great grandpa, my grandpa, my …

Will: (interrupts putting hand on Orville’s shoulder) Orville, Orville … yes, you told us! Your family fishes!

Orville: Right, okay … well, Jesus’ disciples were out on the boat fishing all night! I know ‘cause I was too! It was a bad night for fishing. I tried all kinds of bait with nary one single itsy bitsy nibble! I mean those fish must have been on a liquid diet. (laughs, doubles over and strikes his leg laughing) That’s a hoot … liquid diet!

Will: (cracks a slight obligatory smile) You are one funny fisherman, Orville. Anyway … so no one was catching anything, huh?

— 2 actors

— biblical costumes (optional)

— microphone (doesn’t have to work)

INGRED IENT S

3 www.kidzmatter.com

Orville: Nope. Then, this man appears on the shore and yells out to the disciples. The sun was just startin’ to come up, but it was still pretty dark and misty. I couldn’t make out who it was. He asked if they’d caught any fish. The disciples yelled out, no! I mean I think they wanted to holler out, well, DUH, do you see anything in our EMPTY nets? Will: (gets interested) A stranger, huh? What happened then, Dinghy?

Orville: Please, I prefer Orville for obvious reasons. The stranger on the shore yells out again and tells them to throw their net on the right side of the boat this time. I thought the disciples were gonna scream at the guy … I mean, who does he think he is, telling fishermen how to fish?

Will: That doesn’t seem right. I mean, who made him the expert? You guys do this for a living!

Orville: That’s right, my great great grandfather, my grandpa, my father …

Will: Uh, yes, yes, you told us Orville. So, what did the disciples say?

Orville: Nothing, they actually did what he suggested! They threw their net on the other side. I couldn’t believe it! They were tired and hungry, just like me. I wouldn’t have done it. I mean, what’s the use? You’re in the same spot—the fish are under the boat. What makes the difference on the left or right side?

Will: Good point! It was a waste of time, I’m sure!

Orville: That’s what I thought, but guess what? They caught a ton of fish—I mean the nets were full! They tried to pull their nets out and they were too heavy! Right then John, one of the disciples, yells out, “It’s the Lord!” Well, Peter wraps his robe around himself and jumps in the water and starts swimming to shore! I’m like, “Man overboard!” you know ... it was the darndest thing! It all happened so fast!

Will: You’re kidding me! The nets were full and Peter jumped in the water? It was Jesus on shore?

Orville: Yes! I mean no, I’m not kidding! Peter did a cannonball off the boat. The nets were full and it was Jesus on the shore! The disciples came dragging the fish along in the water, too. Peter got to shore and Jesus was standing there with a fire going and breakfast cooking! He had bread and fish. Man, that’s making me hungry! He told them to bring their catch and eat with Him! Peter dragged the net of fish onto the shore. It didn’t even break!

Will: Jesus knew exactly what they needed. The disciples were hungry from fishing all night!

Orville: You got that right! But I was thinking … Jesus did more than feed their bodies. He fed their spirits, too! Peter had turned his back on Jesus and so did the other disciples right before Jesus was crucified. They ran when Jesus needed them most! But Jesus came back to find them! He showed them that even though they let Him down, He still loved them and wanted to fellowship with them! He knew they had a big hole in their hearts from all that had happened.

Will: Wow, Orville, that’s deep! Deeper than the Sea of Galilee! Jesus DID feed them two ways— physically and spiritually! (turns to audience) Well, there you have it! Jesus knows exactly what we need! He set the table for the disciples. All they had to do was get out of that boat and come ashore!

Orville: Hey Will, did you pack a lunch? I’m so hungry and no one asked me to come ashore for breakfast! My great grandpa used to pack a lunch, so did my grandpa and my dad … (puts arm around Will as they walk out)

4 www.kidzmatter.com

GAME

Divide the kids into groups. Each group will need a small container (like a margarine cup), an aquarium net, 20 marbles, and a large container of water (like the biggest mixing bowl, or larger). Place 20 marbles in each container of water. Set the containers of water on the floor across the room with the net beside each one. You may also want to have some towels handy, because there will be some water mess. The small container will be at the start line where the group is located.

When the leader shouts, “Drop your nets!” the first person from each team will run to their container of water. Each kid will grab their net and try to scoop up ONE marble … only ONE marble. When they have one marble in the net, they take the marble out and run it back to their team where they will deposit it in the small container. The first kid to accomplish this gets to answer a question about the story (below). If they have difficulty answering, empower them by letting them choose someone on their team to rescue them before they drown! The next player on each team does the same thing and so on, until all the questions have been answered.

The disciples lowered their nets to catch fish and had no success—not even catching one. At least you caught one marble! Then, Jesus told them to try it a different way and it worked! What would you think about that?

Questions and Answers•Who was fishing on the Sea of Galilee? (the disciples)•How long did they fish? (all night)•Were they having success fishing? (no, they hadn’t caught any fish all night)•What did the man on the shore ask the disciples? (if they had caught any fish)•True or False. The disciples knew it was Jesus on the shore the entire time. (False, they had no idea who

it was.)•What did the man on the shore tell the disciples to do? (throw the net on the right side of the boat)•What happened when the disciples did what the man told them to do? (They caught so many fish that

they couldn’t lift the net into the boat.)•Why had the disciples gone back to fishing anyway? (Jesus had died. They had let Jesus down. They

were sad and they didn’t know what else to do.)•Who recognized that it was Jesus on shore? (John)•Who jumped into the water and swam to shore when they realized it was Jesus? (Peter)•What did Jesus have waiting for them on shore? (breakfast—fish and bread on the fire)•What did Jesus tell them to do with the fish they caught? (bring the net ashore)

MESSAGE

Beforehand, make a copy of the “Foods” page at the back of the lesson. Cut the cards apart and place them in a bag/lunchbox.

How many of you have ever been hungry? Most of the time when you’re hungry you know what sounds good, right? Let’s take a minute to see what some of your favorite meals are! Ask the kids to share what their favorite meals are. Select as many as time permits and write down the foods on the board. This is a very tasty list! Some of these sound good right now!

The interesting thing about food is that what SOUNDS good and what IS good for you might be different, right?

— aquarium nets

— small containers

— water

— bowl

— marbles

— large containers

— towels

INGRED IENT S

— PowerPoint slides

— Bibles

— paper bag or lunchbox

— copy of “Foods” (from end of lesson)

INGRED IENT S

5 www.kidzmatter.com

(show slide #1) We need physical food for our bodies.

Jesus came to find the disciples. He stood on the shore and gave them instructions so they could find some fish—lots of them! Jesus knows that our bodies need food to be healthy and function properly. He also made a fire and cooked them breakfast, didn’t He?

Hold up the bag/lunchbox with the food items in it. Pull the items out and talk about whether the kids think that food nourishes the body well or that it just tastes good with little to no nutritional value.

God wants us to feed our bodies properly. He provided what we need on this earth. It’s up to us to make good choices. God wants us to come to Him for all of our physical needs!

(show slide #2) We need food to grow spiritually, too!

Did you know that there is another kind of food that we need? It’s called spiritual food. You see, we have a physical body and we also have a spirit. Our spirit needs nourishment, too.

Jesus not only prepared breakfast for the disciples, but He also did a very important thing. He came to them, encouraged them and spent time with them. He fed their spirits! He knew they were down and hurting. He knew that spiritually they were weak and they needed strengthened.

Look up and read together John 1:1-2, 14. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

Go slowly through this, because this scripture is sometimes difficult to follow, even for adults. These verses are talking about a person. Does anyone have an idea who is being described here? The writer, John, was talking about Jesus! Jesus was with God from the beginning. Jesus was in spirit form with God in heaven. When Jesus came to earth, He took the form of a man. In other words, He became flesh and lived (or dwelt) on the earth. That’s what John is speaking about.

That’s a difficult thing to grasp for the first time, isn’t it? The point here is that Jesus contained all of God’s Word. He actually WAS the Word! That Word then came to earth so when Jesus walked, talked, fellowshipped and taught His disciples, He was feeding them spiritually. By Jesus coming to the disciples on the shore, He was actually bringing the Word of God to them to feed them spiritually!

The physical food (hold up the food bag/lunchbox) is necessary to nourish our bodies, but it doesn’t do anything for our spirits! Well then … how do you think we feed our spirits?

(show slide #3)The Bible is God’s Word. Jesus was the walking, talking, living Word the disciples needed to have to grow. The Bible contains what we need to grow spiritually. When we read it, we actually get fed! When we read, we feed! Say, that with me! Hold up the Bible.

Kids repeat: When we read, we feed! Say this several times, and if the kids have their Bibles, they can hold them in the air as they say this.

(show slide #4) The second way we can feed ourselves spiritually is by praising and worshiping God. When we sing praises of thanksgiving for what God has done and just for who He is, we fill up on the goodness and joy of God. When we stand in awe and reverence as He speaks to us, we are fed spiritually.

6 www.kidzmatter.com

(show slide #5)The last thing we will talk about today is prayer. Prayer is not just telling God what we need or want. Prayer is sitting in God’s presence, thanking Him and allowing Him to speak to us, too. We don’t do all the talking! When we pray, we are fed spiritually. God wants us to come to Him for what we need and want, but prayer is so much more than that! Jesus, over and over again, got alone with God to fill back up and nourish Himself spiritually after teaching and ministering. We need to follow His example!

(show slide #6) Jesus knows what we are hungry for! Jesus had exactly what the disciples needed physically and spiritually. But they had to get out of the boat and come to shore to receive all He had for them. We’ve talked about lots of good food for us physically and good for us spiritually. But, Jesus won’t force-feed us. We have to take what He has provided to nourish our bodies and spirits! We need to get up and go to His table to eat.

ACTIVITY - VIDEO

Download the YouTube video called “Baby Refuses to Eat”, submitted by bienkashawn. After viewing this video, you may want to re-enact this with an adult character dressed as a baby, instead of using the video.

http://youtu.be/Z6_gDCBvZa0

Watch the video and use these questions for discussion. If you have a large group, break them into smaller groups so more of them have a chance to share.

•What was the parent trying to do for their child?•Why was the parent unsuccessful? •Does it do any good for your body if you sit down to a nourishing meal but never actually put the food in

your mouth? •How does this compare with having a Bible in your room but never taking it off the shelf to read it? •What is our responsibility to eating both physically and spiritually? •Do you think God ever feels like the parents in this video?

GAME

Each group will need 2 medium-size boxes with the lids removed (or you could use 5-gallon paint buckets). On the outside of each bucket, draw a large face, which should be mostly a big open mouth. Under the mouth on one box write “spiritual food” and on the other box write “physical food.” Place each set of boxes on the floor about 10 feet from their team. Make a masking tape line on the floor as a stand-behind line.

Each group will need 12 beanbags—6 of one color (let’s say red) and 6 of another color (let’s say blue). Determine which color will represent spiritual food (red) and which color will represent physical food (blue). Each kid will get 2 tosses with each color to try to get them into the matching box (trying to get a blue beanbag in the physical food box and/or a red beanbag in the spiritual food box). When a beanbag goes in its matching box, the tosser must tell one example of that kind of food. (If it goes in the physical food box, then he might say broccoli. If it goes in the spiritual food box, then he might say worshipping with others.) The player cannot duplicate answers that have already been given by their group on previous tosses. The group that gets 5 beanbags in each of their boxes is the winner.

Continue for each player on each team. The two teams play at the same time. Play until each player has taken at least one turn or time is up. You can designate 2 players to pick up beanbags that have missed and return them to their team during play. (They must stay out of the field of play!)

— YouTube video

INGRED IENT S

— medium boxes

— masking tape

— 2 colors of beanbags

INGRED IENT S

We have to take what He has provided to nourish our bodies and spirits! We need to get up and go to His table to eat.

Activity - Video Supplies:YouTube video

Download the YouTube video called “Baby Refuses to Eat”, submitted by bienkashawn. After viewing this video, you may want to re-enact this with an adult character dressed as a baby, instead of using the video.

http://youtu.be/Z6_gDCBvZa0

Watch the video and use these questions for discussion. If you have a large group, break them into smaller groups so more of them have a chance to share.

•What was the parent trying to do for their child?•Why was the parent unsuccessful? •Does it do any good for your body if you sit down to a nourishing meal but never actually put the food in your mouth? •How does this compare with having a Bible in your room but never taking it off the shelf to read it? •What is our responsibility to eating both physically and spiritually? •Do you think God ever feels like the parents in this video?

Game Supplies:medium boxes masking tape2 colors of beanbags

Each group will need 2 medium-size boxes with the lids removed (or you could use 5-gallon paint buckets). On the outside of each bucket, draw a large face, which should be mostly a big open mouth. Under the mouth on one box write “spiritual food” and on the other box write “physical food.” Place each set of boxes on the floor about 10 feet from their team. Make a masking tape line on the floor as a stand-behind line.

Each group will need 12 beanbags—6 of one color (let’s say red) and 6 of another color (let’s say blue). Determine which color will represent spiritual food (red) and which color will represent physical food (blue). Each kid will get 2 tosses with each color to try to get them into the matching box (trying to get a blue beanbag in the physical food box and/or a red beanbag in the spiritual food box). When a beanbag goes in its matching box, the tosser must tell one example of that kind of food. (If it goes in the physical food box, then he might say broccoli. If it goes in the spiritual food box, then he might say worshipping with others.) The player cannot duplicate answers that have already been given by their group on previous tosses. The group that gets 5 beanbags in each of their boxes is the winner.

Continue for each player on each team. The two teams play at the same time. Play until each player has taken at least one turn or time is up. You can designate 2 players to pick up beanbags that have missed and return them to their team during play (they must stay out of the field of play!).

We just fed our mouths, didn’t we? Why do you think each team had to feed both mouths? We need both kinds of food—spiritual and physical, don’t we? It doesn’t do us any good to be strong physically and a weakling spiritually, does it? It also is not healthy to just read our Bibles all day and not eat nutritious physical food! Jesus provides both kinds of food. Our responsibility is to get out of the boat and eat!

7 www.kidzmatter.com

We just fed our mouths, didn’t we? Why do you think each team had to feed both mouths? We need both kinds of food—spiritual and physical, don’t we? It doesn’t do us any good to be strong physically and a weakling spiritually, does it? It also is not healthy to just read our Bibles all day and not eat nutritious physical food! Jesus provides both kinds of food. Our responsibility is to get out of the boat and eat!

OBJECT LESSON

Display the food pyramid slide. How many of you have seen this? It’s a guide for eating healthy. It shows the amounts of each food group that’s recommended to eat each day. Go through what the different areas of the food pyramid represent. The kids have probably seen this at school and should be able to comment on it.

Now, display the spiritual pyramid. Have you ever seen this? I doubt it, because we just made it up! This is a pyramid we made up to show how to “eat” healthy spiritually!

Point out the three sides. To be fed spiritually each day we need: •Prayer. And not just a prayer for your “I wants.” Prayer is talking, thanking and also listening to what

God wants to say to you. •Praise and worship. Singing songs to God. Praising Him for His awesome holiness. Telling Him you love

Him. Thanking Him for His blessings! Thanking Him for sending His Son to die for you! •God’s Word. Reading the Bible each day. Memorizing verses and hiding them in your heart. Reading

God’s promises to encourage you and so you can stand on them! We need the right physical foods and we also need the right spiritual foods. Jesus has provided all we need. We just need to eat!

PRAYER

Look up and read Matthew 6:7-8 together, “7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Ask and discuss: •What do you think Jesus is talking about here? •Have you just said the same words over and over when you pray day after day without thinking of what

you’re saying? •Do you think a 10-minute prayer is more effective than a 3-minute prayer? Does length or the number of

words matter? What do you think really matters to God? •In verse 8, if God knows already, why do you think He wants us to come to Him and ask? •How is verse 7 connected to our lesson today? •Jesus knew what the disciples needed both spiritually and physically. Isn’t it cool to know He knows what

you need, too?

The kids will sit on the floor with enough space between them to be comfortable. What does a refrigerator contain? It contains food and drinks for our bodies to nourish us. Close your eyes and picture a refrigerator in your mind. The door is open and you see all the food inside. There’s the juice, the lunchmeat and cheese, the jug of milk, a drawer full of carrots and other vegetables. The refrigerator you pictured in your mind represents all of our physical needs.

The kids will bow their heads and close their eyes. Thank God that He knows what we need before we even ask. Ask the kids then to take a couple minutes to thank God personally for all that He has provided to them. Follow this with asking God for specific needs for their physical bodies like a healing or possibly their family is in need of food or other necessities.

— Bibles

INGRED IENT S

— PowerPoint slides

INGRED IENT S

8 www.kidzmatter.com

Hold up a Bible. Now, God doesn’t just stop with knowing what our physical needs are … nope. He doesn’t hand us off to another specialist! Jesus not only fed the disciples with physical food, He fed them spiritually, too. He knew they were hurting and felt like failures. He knew they were lost and had gone back to their old work which was fishing. They needed direction and comfort. They needed to know Jesus still had a plan for them. They were empty and hungry spiritually! So, Jesus fed them! Sometimes we’re hurting, sad, or feeling empty. Sometimes we’re just hungry for more of God, right? Jesus knows what we need, too! We just have to get out of the boat and come to the table! We need to open our Bibles and read God’s Word. We need to pray and worship. When we do those things, God will fill us up spiritually, too!

The kids will bow their heads and close their eyes again. Thank God that He knows how to feed our spirits, too, before we even ask. Take a couple of minutes to thank God personally for His Word and for hearing our prayers. Follow this with the kids asking God to feed them with more of His presence and knowledge of who He is!

ACTIVITY

Give each child a piece of lined paper and a sharp pencil. Yes, make sure it’s nice and sharp. A child will write more if they have a sharp pencil. Think about it … don’t you always like your pencil to be sharp? Lined school paper will work, but if you have something a little more special, this will also encourage the kids to write more.

The children are going to write a journal entry as if they were Peter or John. It’s the end of the day. They had been sad because Jesus was gone and discouraged because they couldn’t catch any fish. But, then they had breakfast with Jesus! Encourage the children to write what they think one of these disciples might have written in their diary after such an eventful day.

BLESSING

May you always be ready to receive what Jesus has for you!

KNOW YOUR BIBLE

Here are two interesting facts about today’s story. (1) Many scholars believe that the miraculous catch of fish was around 150, specifically 153. (2) Some Bible versions and commentators say the distance that Peter swam to shore to see Jesus was about 100 yards or the distance of a football field.

E X T R A AC T I V I T I E S

— lined paper

— pencils

INGRED IENT S

9 www.kidzmatter.com

SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION

Psalm 34:8-9 (NLT), “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.”

The disciples were exhausted! They were worn out physically from fishing all night—rowing and throwing nets into the water and pulling them back out as they balanced themselves in the boat. They had little protection from the winds and the waves that rocked them. They sat on hard, wet seats. They were also exhausted mentally, still reeling and hurting from what had happened prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. They had failed Jesus. They had nowhere to go where they could find rest!

Then, Jesus appeared on the shore. Suddenly, they found refuge in Him! He still loved them and came to find them! He also prepared a meal for them on the shore. Can you imagine how their emptiness was suddenly flooded with joy just as their empty nets were filled with fish! The disciples in an instant tasted once again that the Lord was good! They found refuge in Jesus who came to comfort and feed them!

Place an inflated raft on the floor. Use a measuring tape to find a 6’ distance all the way around the raft and mark it with masking tape. Choose two kids to put on goggles and stand on the inflated raft together. Pick 4 kids to stand behind the masking tape line and throw the beach balls. Each kid on the raft will try to balance himself (stay in the boat) as they recite the memory verse out loud, all while being pelted with beach balls from the throwers.

The throwers can never step inside the masking tape box. Kids can jump off the raft when they successfully complete the verse. If they step off at any point before completing the verse they must start over again. Rotate kids on the raft and the throwers. If you have a large group, set up several of these.

This was crazy, wasn’t it? It wasn’t easy being a fisherman in Bible times and it isn’t easy today either. Fishermen must battle the wind, waves and maybe rain while they drop and lift their nets. They have to keep their balance in the boat too or they’ll fall into the water. Peter didn’t care how far he was away from shore. He couldn’t wait to be with Jesus! Jesus knew exactly what he needed, both spiritually and physically.

SNACK

Using masking tape make a small boat shape on the floor. Place the blanket about 12’ away from the “boat”. Arrange the sticks and stones next to the blanket to resemble a campfire. Place the snack supplies around the outside of the fire in skillets.

Kids line up behind the boat. One kid gets into the boat at a time. That kid jumps from the edge of the boat as far out as possible. Measure the distance jumped for each kid (the furthest point where their two feet land). After each one jumps, they will come ashore and sit around the fire on the blankets waiting for the others to come ashore. See who jumps the farthest from the boat into the water!

Serve some fish sticks and bagel chips. Use these questions as discussion starters.

— PowerPoint slide of verse

— 4 beach balls

— small inflatable pool raft

— masking tape

— 2 pairs of swimming googles

— measuring tape

INGRED IENT S

— bagel chips

— fish sticks

— water

— napkins

— paper plates

— paper cups

— masking tape

— blankets or sheets

— measuring tape

— skillets

— sticks

— stones

INGRED IENT S

10 www.kidzmatter.com

•What do you think was going through Peter’s mind?•What would have happened if the disciples had not obeyed Jesus? What if they didn’t come ashore

when Jesus had breakfast made? •What do you think your reaction would have been to seeing Jesus after letting Him down? •How does Jesus feed us today? •How does Jesus have spiritual food waiting for us? •Have you ever felt like you let Jesus down and were afraid He would give up on you?

MUSIC

You are provided with some great Yancy songs for this quarter: “All I Need is You” and “Every Good and Perfect Thing.” For more information about Yancy, go to her website at yancynotnancy.com.

— DVD music downloads

INGRED IENT S