Curriculum

What a Catch!

What a Catch! Go to Curriculum multi-week pack

Bible Background

What Kids Will Learn

It might sound odd to fish for people. But Jesus drew a parallel between what local fishermen knew how to do—fish—and what Jesus wanted them to do—draw people toward Him.

Scripture Summary

Within Galilee, the Lake of Gennesaret was also called the Sea of Galilee. Teeming with fish, this land-locked body of water was surrounded by hills. Fishing was one of the main industries of that time, as many men made their livelihood on the waters.

Fishermen used large nets to catch loads of fish. The nets were round and weighted. The fishermen would throw their nets to sink to the bottom of the deep waters. After a time, they’d pull the nets, cinching them closed and capturing the day’s catch of fish.

Jesus interacted with local fishermen—first to borrow a boat, and then to invite them as disciples. Simon Peter knew that Jesus had cast out demons and healed the sick. But this was the first time Jesus connected with Peter personally. He cared about Peter’s responsibilities, and He gave advice to the fishermen.

After a full night of casting and retrieving nets without anything to show for it, the fishermen were exhausted and discouraged. And Jesus asked them to cast one more time. Simon Peter quickly replied, “... because You say so, I will let down the nets.”

The fishermen drew the largest catch of their careers—so big, in fact, that they needed help to pull all the fish in. Taken aback by this miracle, Peter focused on his own inadequacy compared with Jesus. And Jesus responded by calming Peter down and encouraging him to be a fisher of men. Jesus invited Peter, James, and John to join His ministry as disciples and draw others to Jesus.

Why Is This Important

Because of Christ in our lives, people should notice something different about the way we live. Just like His disciples, we can fish for people.

Teacher Devotion

Scripture

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

In Castle Rock, Colorado, a giant star sits on top of a plateau just off Interstate 25. I vividly remember looking for the star as a child each time we passed after visiting family. It symbolized that we were close to home.

This 40-foot star was erected in 1936 after The Great Depression. Times were tough—everywhere—and the town of Castle Rock came together as a community with the idea. The star was intended to attract travelers to the small town of Castle Rock and help increase town revenue. The star shines brightly every day, nearly 90 years later.

I’m challenged by the parallel. I know I’m to let my light shine in front of others. But does my light attract passersby enough to cause them to pause? Is there something different enough about me that people in the grocery store, at work, at the soccer game, and in my neighborhood want to know more?

While illuminating oneself with 100 bright bulbs would certainly get the attention of others, I wonder if there are simple, yet intentional, ways we can let our light shine every day.

  • Calling neighbors by name (even if we need to ask them their names…again)
  • Smiling at strangers
  • Paying for the customer behind us in line at the coffee shop
  • Asking a fellow parent for an update on a recent health procedure
  • Joining community efforts to make a difference locally
  • Sending a handwritten note of thanks to a service provider

Take a moment to ponder how God might want you to shine your light today.

Prayer

Dear God, please help me shine my light for others to see. I want them to see You in me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Get the full Sunday school lesson plan

  • Bible Memory Verse
  • Interactive Bible Experience
  • Animated video with companion questions

Bible Memory Verse

You’ll Need: Bible, 6-foot crepe-paper strips, Pens

“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.” (Luke 5:10-11)

Lead kids in these steps to learn today’s Bible memory verse:

  • Open your Bible to Luke 5:10-11.
  • Read aloud the Bible verse several times, and invite kids to repeat after you.
  • Invite kids to use the crepe-paper strips as pretend fishing lines. Have them write Luke 5:10-11 along the strip.
  • Have kids stand along one side of the room. They’ll roll up their strips, then cast out their “fishing line” by unrolling the strips along the floor. They’ll repeat the verse as they walk to the end of their unrolled fishing line.
  • Have kids repeat this process of rolling up the line, casting it out, and repeating the verse until they’ve made it to the other side of the room.

SAY: Our Bible memory verse is all about following Jesus. You did a great job following the Bible verse to get to the other end of the room. Today we’re going to learn more about how Jesus told His friends to leave everything and follow Him.

Interactive Bible Experience

You’ll Need: “Leave It Behind” handouts, Pens

  • Open your Bible to Luke 5:1-11.
  • Read aloud the passage, and repeat Luke 5:10-11.

SAY: Jesus’ friends were fishermen. Their jobs mattered a lot because without catching fish, they wouldn’t eat or make any money, and other people would go hungry, too. They fished for hours and hours to catch enough fish, and still sometimes, they caught nothing. It was hard work. When Jesus was teaching the crowd, He told His friends to leave their nets behind and follow Him. They were giving up their work and livelihood to follow Jesus. But there was something very special about Jesus. Remember: In the Bible passage, they had been fishing all night with no luck, and then Jesus told them to lower their nets and they came up overflowing with fish!

Lead kids in these steps.

  • Form a circle on the floor. (If your group is larger than 10 kids, form two circles.)
  • Distribute a handout and pen to each child.
  • Have kids draw in the bottom-right quadrant with the star a favorite toy or possession that would be very hard to give up. Then have them draw other favorite things in the other quadrants. Encourage kids to tell others in the circle about their favorite things.

ASK:

  • Describe the one thing that would be very hard to give up. Why would it be hard to give up?
  • Imagine if Jesus told you to leave everything behind to follow Him, including your favorite thing. Explain whether you think leaving behind your favorite things would be a good trade-off for following Jesus.

SAY: Jesus’ friends had probably always been fishermen, and it was their livelihood. Yet Jesus told them to leave it all to follow Him. He had a message for the world, and their new jobs would be so much more important in spreading that message. They saw how amazing Jesus was and dropped everything to follow Him.

Snack

Fish Food

You’ll Need: Bowls, Serving spoons, Napkins, Raisins, M&M’s candies, Mini marshmallows, Pretzels, Chocolate chips, Resealable sandwich baggies

Get Ready: Pour each ingredient into a bowl and set out the serving spoons. Have kids clean their hands.

Follow these steps for the “Fish Food” snacks:

  • Give each child a baggie and a napkin.
  • Remind kids of what God says in Luke 5:10-11 about being fishers of people.
  • Invite kids to add a spoonful of each ingredient to their bag as they think about how they can become fishers of people like Simon and the other disciples.
  • Enjoy.

ASK:

  • Simon and the other disciples left everything to follow Jesus. How can you leave something behind and follow Jesus this week?

Game

Catch-and-Release Tag

You’ll Need: 6-foot-long crepe-paper strips

To play the “Catch-and-Release” Tag game, have kids follow these steps:

  • Have kids spread out around the room.
  • Explain that you’re going to play a game of Tag. Choose two to four kids to be the Fishers, and one or two kids to be the Releasers. On “Go!” the fishers try to catch kids with their crepe-paper fishing line. Fishers can work together or independently. Any child who’s tagged must sit.
  • A releaser can tap a sitting child on the head, who then returns to play. Once a child has been tagged twice, though, he or she must sit out for the rest of the game.
  • Play several rounds as time allows, switching roles.

ASK:

  • What was hardest about this game?
  • How do you think being a fisher of people might be hard?

SAY: Great job catching and releasing each other. Just like in this game, Jesus wants us to do our best to fish for people so they can get to know Him, too.

Craft

A Fish Tale

You’ll Need: “Fish Tale” handouts, Markers, Glue, Scissors, Assorted decorating items such as sequins, pom-poms, glitter, and ribbon, Praise or worship music, Something to play the music

Have kids follow these steps to make the “Fish Tale” craft:

  • Give each child a handout and encourage kids to think of ways they could follow the disciples’ example and follow Jesus this week.
  • Remind them that Simon and the others left everything behind—even their nets and boats and all the fish—to follow Jesus.
  • Invite kids to carefully cut along the dotted lines on the fish scales. Then they can decorate the scales. As they work, ask them to think prayerfully about people they could tell about Jesus. Play music in the background.
  • After the glue is dry, have kids bend the scales outward to create a 3D effect. Ask them to share about the people they thought of.

SAY: Jesus told His friends to leave everything behind and they did. They knew how amazing Jesus was and that He was God’s Son. They did just what Jesus told them to so that people like us today could hear about Jesus. We can follow their example.

Prayer

People Prayer

Follow these steps to lead kids in the prayer.

  • Have kids form a line from one end of your room to the other, reaching out so their hands just touch.
  • Remind kids that Jesus’ friends dropped everything to follow Him so that people would always be able to learn about Jesus, even today. When we learn about Jesus in church today, it’s because Jesus’ disciples were faithful to teach others about Him.
  • Have kids go from just touching hands to holding hands with one another.
  • Close in prayer.

PRAY: Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to be with us. Thank you for His disciples, who obeyed Jesus and dropped everything to follow Him. Please help us follow Jesus and tell others about Him. In Jesus’ name, amen