CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL ASSEMBLIES OF GOD 29TH JANUARY 2023

SUNDAY, 29TH JANUARY, 2023.

BIBLE TEXT: John 1:35-42; Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 3:13-19a

“Follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish people.” Matthew 4:19 (NIV).

TARGET:

To help the child understand that Jesus still needs, and still chooses people (disciples) today.

OBJECTIVES:

During and after the lesson, each child will show that he or she understands the lesson by:

1. Naming the twelve disciples of Jesus.

2 Discussing how he or she can be a fisher of men within the week.

1. Andrew and John Meet Jesus – John 1:35-42

2. Jesus Calls Andrew and Peter – Matthew 4:18-20

3. Jesus Calls James and John – Matthew 4:21-22

4. The Twelve Apostles Are Chosen – Mark 3:13-19a

How would you feel if the governor of your state called you today and gave you an important assignment to do? You will feel honoured, won’t you? Yes everyone loves to be chosen for a practical or important task. Take, for instance, being a class monitor or a prefect. It is a position of honour, which everybody wants to have.

Everybody needs helpers, parents, teachers, pastors. Even Jesus, Himself, needed helpers when He was on earth. Today, He still needs helpers. The reason He came to the world was to turn sinners away from their sins and bring them to God. And to do this, He needed some people to help Him tell more about God. So He chose some disciples – helpers. Today, we shall learn about the first group of disciples Jesus chose and see how Jesus chose them.

1. ANDREW AND JOHN MEET JESUS – John 1:35-42

From their home in Capernaum, Andrew and John went down south to where John the Baptist was. They went to hear John the Baptist preaching. They later became His disciples. One day, they saw John point to someone and said that He was the Lamb of God. And it was Jesus. When the two young men saw Jesus, they followed Him. Jesus turned and saw them following Him. He asked them what they wanted. When they said they wanted to know where He was staying, He told them to come and see. They followed Him into a house where He was staying and learned a lot from Him that day.

Andrew then went off to tell his brother, Peter that the Messiah had come and that they had seen Him. Andrew took Peter to meet Jesus and when He saw Peter, He changed his name, there and then, from Peter to Cephas.

The young men later went home and continued with their work of catching fish on the Sea of Galilee because they were fishermen.

Now, Jesus had been baptised and had overcome the temptations the devil brought to Him. And He was ready to begin the special work God had for Him. He went to His hometown of Nazareth. Then He walked over to the town of Capernaum on the shore of a lake. As He walked along the shore, He saw two brothers Peter and Andrew whom He had met before. They were fishermen and had gone back to their work. They had a fishing boat and used big heavy fishing nets to catch fish in the lake.

This particular day, they were casting their net into the lake when Jesus came around and called on them to follow Him. He told them that He would make them fishers of men. This means that He would make them leaders who would draw other people to God. As soon as they hear this, they left everything and went with Him.

3. JESUS CALLS JAMES AND JOHN – Matthew 4:21-22

Jesus continued His walk along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, now with Peter and Andrew. They came to where another two brothers, James and John, and their father, Zebedee, were in a boat mending their nets. They were also fishermen. Jesus called them. They too, Immediately left their boats, left their father, and followed Jesus.

4. THE TWELVE APOSTLES ARE CHOSEN – Mark 3:13-19a

Most of the people Jesus chose were fishermen-people who catch fishes. They came from different backgrounds and were willing to leave everything and follow Him because they loved His teachings. They were not perfect but because they wanted to have the knowledge of God through Jesus, He gave them power to heal sicknesses, to cast out evil spirits, and to be fishers of men. So, they started to catch men instead of fishes.

Jesus now had four followers or disciples. But He still needs more. One day, He went up a mountain to pray. After that, He called together some people and from them chose those He wanted to be with. He chose twelve of them and they were to be His closest helpers. They were to be with Him all the time. And He was to send them out to preach the good news of the kingdom. They were to have power to heal the sick and to cast out demons.

The twelve men Jesus chose were Simon Peter, James and his brother, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot.

Jesus still needs people to help Him today. Jesus is looking for workers. He wants us all to be His followers. If we have asked Jesus to be our Saviour, then we can be His followers. Let us all try to be good workers for Him.

God wants us to become fishers of men. We can begin to do this by sharing the good news with our friends and relatives, by inviting them to church, praying for them, sharing with them what we learned in the Sunday school, and by being a good example at home, at school, and at church. So, in addition to our parents, teachers, church, etc. Jesus wants, and needs our help. Let us do all we can to help in spreading the gospel.

We should never forget that God may decide to call us to leave our careers and jobs to go into the ministry and that He can call us even as children to preach His Word.

QUESTIONS:

1. Who did John’s disciples see him point to and said that He was the Lamb of God?

(A) Joshua

(B) Elijah

(C) Moses

(D) Jesus.

2. On which sea did Andrew and Peter go back to catch fishes after they met Jesus?

(A) On the Sea of Galilee

(B) On the Sea of Jordan

(C) On the Sea of Samaria

(D) On the Dead Sea.

3 Who were Jesus’ helpers called?

(A) Angels

(B) Demons

(C) Children

(D) Disciples.

4. Who is a ‘fisher of men’?

(A) One who tells others about Jesus

(B) One who gossips in the class

(C) One who fights everybody in the class

(D) One who refuses to tell others about Jesus.

Monday: Jesus Chooses His First Disciples – Matt 4:18-20

Tuesday: Jesus Sends out the Twelve – Matt 10;1-4

Wednesday: Jesus Instructs the Twelve – Matt 10:5-20

Thursday: A Disciple ls Not above His Master – Matt 10:24, 25

Friday: Crowds Follow Jesus – Mark 3:7-12

Saturday: Jesus Appoints the Twelve – Mark 3:13-15