Leader BIBLE STUDY Use Week of: After Jesus resurrection and His appearance to the disciples, seven of the disciples returned to Galilee, near the Sea of Galilee where Jesus had called four of His disciples to be fishers of men. (See Luke 5:1-11.) Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples went fishing. Perhaps they felt it prudent to return to the fishing business since their stint as disciples was apparently over or so they thought! 3 In Bible times, nighttime was the preferred time for fishing. Fish caught at night could be sold fresh in the morning at market. But at daybreak, the disciples had caught nothing. Jesus stood at the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Him. He called to them, Men, you don t have any fish, do you? (John 21:5). Then He urged them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They obeyed, and they were unable to haul in the catch! John, the disciple Jesus loved, knew right away who He was. It is the Lord! John exclaimed. Immediately, Peter tied his outer garment around him and jumped into the sea, swimming 300 feet to shore. When the other six disciples arrived in the boat, they found Jesus sitting beside a charcoal fire with fish and bread. Come and have breakfast, Jesus said. Jesus ate with His disciples, then turned to Peter. John 21:15-19 describes Peter s restoration. The disciple who had told Jesus that he would die for Him (Luke 22:31-34) had denied Jesus three times. (Luke 22:54-62) Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Jesus, and each time Peter responded yes, Jesus told Peter to feed His lambs. Jesus restored Peter to ministry. Emphasize to the kids you teach that Jesus plan for the disciples did not end with His death and resurrection. When Jesus first called the disciples to follow Him, Jesus had promised to make them fishers of men. Instead of catching fish, they would tell people about Jesus. (Luke 5:1-11) The disciples had left Jesus when He was arrested, but Jesus still wanted to use them in God s plan to rescue people from their sin. Jesus is a Lord who forgives us and makes things right again. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 33 Session 3 1
Preschool BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea Bible Passage: John 21:1-19 Big Picture Question: Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Key Passage: Matthew 28:19-20 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus prepared His disciples for a life of ministry. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until He returns. Small Group Opening (15 20 minutes) U N I T 33 3 Large Group Bible Study (10 15 minutes) Small Group Activities (20 25 minutes) Snack and Transition (20 minutes) Additional suggestions for specific groups are available at gospelproject.com/kids/additional-resources. For free online training on how to lead a group, visit ministrygrid.com/web/thegospelproject. 2
The BIBLE STORY Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea John 21:1-19 Amazing things happened while Jesus and His friends were in Jerusalem celebrating Passover. Jesus died and after three days, He came back to life just like He said He would do. Jesus friends knew He was alive because they had seen Jesus twice with their own eyes. Now that the Passover was over, it was time to leave Jerusalem and go back to Galilee. Back in Galilee, seven of Jesus friends were together at the sea. Peter said, I m going fishing. The other friends decided to go with him. Several of the friends were fishermen before they left everything to follow Jesus. They knew a lot about fishing, and they knew the best time to fish was at night. Jesus friends got in the boat and fished all night, but they did not catch any fish. Not even one! The next morning the sun was rising, and the friends could see a man on the seashore. The man called out to them, You don t have any fish, do you? No, they answered. Put your fishing net into the water on the right side of the boat instead. You will catch some then, the man said. Would moving the net to the other side really make a difference? The fishermen friends may have thought this was a strange suggestion, but they did what the man said. An amazing thing happened! They did catch fish! They did not just catch a few fish. They caught a lot of fish, so many that they could not even get the net back in the boat because it was too heavy. It is the Lord! John shouted to Peter. It was Jesus! Peter could not wait to see Jesus. Splash! He jumped into the sea and swam to shore. They were not far from the shore, so the other friends came along in the boat behind him, dragging the net full of fish. When they arrived they saw there was fish cooking on a fire and bread to eat. Jesus said, Bring some of the fish you caught. Peter pulled the heavy net up to the shore. The net was full of large fish 153 large fish to be exact. Even with that many fish, the net did not Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 33 Session 3 3
break. Come and have breakfast, Jesus said. Jesus took the bread and gave it to them, and then gave them the fish. No one asked Jesus who He was because they all knew it was their friend Jesus, risen from the dead! After they had eaten, Jesus asked Peter, Do you love Me? Yes, Lord. You know that I love You, Peter said. Feed My lambs, Jesus told him. Jesus asked Peter again, Do you love Me? Yes, Lord. You know that I love You, Peter answered. Watch over My sheep, Jesus told him. Jesus asked Peter one more time, Do you love Me? Peter was very sad that Jesus had asked him again. He said, Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You. Feed My sheep, Jesus said. When Jesus was arrested, all of Jesus friends ran away. Peter pretended that he did not even know who Jesus was three times. Now, Peter had told Jesus that he loved Him three times. Jesus forgave Peter and said, Follow Me! Christ Connection: When Jesus was arrested, His friends ran away. Jesus did what He came to earth to do rescue people from sin. Jesus showed His friends that He still loved them and wanted them to follow Him. Sometimes we make mistakes as we follow Jesus too. Jesus rescued us from sin. We know He forgives us and wants us to continue following Him. Want to dig a little deeper? Get More! Invite kids to check out today s devotional to discover more about Jesus calling of Peter and Andrew, James and John. While the fishermen disciples were mending their nets, Jesus called them to be fishers of men. Order in bulk, subscribe quarterly, or purchase individually. For more information, check out www.lifeway.com/devotionals. 4
Small Group OPENING Session Title: Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea Bible Passage: John 21:1-19 Big Picture Question: Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Key Passage: Matthew 28:19-20 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus prepared His disciples for a life of ministry. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until He returns. One Truth One Life song offering basket Allergy Alert favorite toys LOW PREP Match the Fish activity page, 1 per kid pencils or crayons rhythm instruments Welcome and Session Starter (15 20 minutes) Play the unit theme song in the background as you greet preschoolers and follow your church s security procedures. Set an offering basket near the door to collect at an appropriate time. Post an allergy alert, if necessary. Set out a few favorite toys, such as puzzles and blocks. Activity Page: Match the Fish Give each preschooler an activity sheet. Help preschoolers draw a line connecting the two matching fish. Younger preschoolers can simply point to the matching fish. Say Today we are going to learn about a time when Jesus friends went fishing. They couldn t catch any fish until a man told them where to throw their nets. When they caught so much fish that they could not pull in their nets, they knew the man was Jesus! Sing Jesus Loves Me Provide instruments for the children and invite them to play along as you sing together Jesus Loves Me. Repeat until the kids can sing most of the words on their own, especially the chorus. For kids who may not want to play an instrument, teach them simple hand motions for the song. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 33 Session 3 5
Say Great job singing with your beautiful voices! Jesus loves us, and we know that is true because the Bible tells us about Jesus love. Let s hear a story from the Bible about how Jesus showed His friends that He loved them, even after His friends made a wrong choice. construction paper markers various heartshaped stickers Jesus will never stop loving us Before the session begins, write Jesus will never stop loving us on a piece of paper so that the words take up the entire page. Make enough for each child to have one. Provide heart-shaped stickers of different sizes and colors, and invite the preschoolers to decorate their paper with hearts. Say Jesus came to the earth to love and take care of people. He died on the cross and came back to life again so we can be forgiven of our sins. Remember that sin is when we do not obey God. God is holy and good. Whatever He tells us to do is always the right thing to do! Today we are going to learn how Jesus forgave His friends even after they made a very wrong choice. Jesus is a Lord who wants to forgive us and make things right again. Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Transition cue: Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. Transition to Bible study Invite kids to line up to move to the Bible study area. Instead of leading kids to the Bible study area, though, start out going the wrong way, toward a closet or the window. The preschoolers will more than likely tell you that you are going the wrong way! Say Oh, goodness! I was going the wrong way to get to our Bible study area! I made a silly mistake, but I didn t sin. A sin is when we choose to disobey God. Some of Jesus friends made a wrong choice. We ll see what happened to them in our Bible story. 6
Large Group BIBLE STUDY Session Title: Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea Bible Passage: John 21:1-19 Big Picture Question: Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Key Passage: Matthew 28:19-20 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus prepared His disciples for a life of ministry. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until He returns. Large Group Bible Study (10 15 minutes) Bible Timeline Map Key Passage Poster Go, Go, Go song Introduce the Bible Story Briefly review previous Bible stories by pointing to the timeline map. Remind kids that these stories happened after Jesus died on the cross and became alive again. Read the key passage from the poster, and then sing the key passage song together. Say Our key passage is a special job that Jesus gave His friends and all people who love and trust in Him. Before Jesus gave His friends this special job to do, He had to show them that He had forgiven them for running away when He was arrested. His friends were scared, and they made a mistake. Invite the kids to remember a time when they made a wrong choice. Did they get in trouble? Did they say they were sorry for their wrong choice? Say You can never do anything that would make Jesus stop loving you. No matter what you do, Jesus still loves you, and when you tell Him you are sorry for your sins and ask for forgiveness, He is happy to forgive you. Let s hear about Jesus forgiving His friends after they made a big mistake. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 33 Session 3 7
Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea video Bible Story Picture Poster Big Picture Question Poster Tip: Do activities one of these ways: as a group, all at the same time in small groups that rotate through each activity set up as centers, allowing preschoolers to browse and choose Watch or tell the Bible story Say Today s Bible story is found in the Book of John. [Point to the book in your Bible.] In the story, Jesus went to see seven of His good friends, who had run away when Jesus was arrested. Jesus found His friends while they were fishing. Let s see what happened to Jesus friends. Open your Bible to John 21. Tell the Bible story in your own words using the script provided, or show the Bible story video Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea. Talk about the Bible story Invite kids to answer the following questions: 1. What were Jesus friends doing? (fishing in a boat) 2. Who was the man on shore who called out to them? (Jesus) 3. What did Peter do when he realized Jesus was the man on the shore? (Peter jumped in the water and swam to Jesus!) 4. Did Jesus forgive Peter for saying that he didn t know Jesus three times? (Yes, Jesus forgave Peter.) 5. Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Say When Jesus was arrested, His friends ran away. Jesus did what He came to earth to do rescue people from sin. Jesus showed His friends that He still loved them and wanted them to follow Him. Sometimes we make mistakes as we follow Jesus too. Jesus rescued us from sin. We know He forgives us and wants us to continue following Him. Transition to small groups 8
Small Group Activities Session Title: Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea Bible Passage: John 21:1-19 Big Picture Question: Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Key Passage: Matthew 28:19-20 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus prepared His disciples for a life of ministry. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until He returns. Tip: Set up activities that work well for your kids and your budget. LOW PREP Small Group Activities (20 25 minutes) Talk about the big picture question and answer, Christ connection, or details from the Bible story in each activity to reinforce God s big story. Going on a fishing trip Sing this song to the tune of Going on a Bear Hunt. Just like Going on a Bear Hunt, ask the children to act out each part of the song with you. Repeat the song as time allows so preschoolers can perform the hand motions. We re going on a fishing trip. [Wave goodbye.] Getting in the boat. [Pretend to step into a boat.] Paddling out to sea. [Paddle with your arms.] Putting the net in the water. [Pretend to throw a net.] Wh ere are all the fish? [Cover eyes with flattened palm and look left and right.] A man is on the shore! [Point in front of you.] He says toss the net on the other side. [Throw a net.] The net is now too heavy! [Pretend to pull in the net.] Jump ing into the water. [Pretend to dive.] Eating breakfast with Jesus. [Pretend to eat.] Say All of Jesus friends ran away when Jesus was about to die. Jesus friend, Peter was so scared he pretended not Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 33 Session 3 9
to know Jesus. He lied about being Jesus friend. Now Jesus was alive, and He forgave Peter for lying and His other friends for running away. Jesus loved Peter and His friends even after they made mistakes. Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Follow directions Invite the children to play Simon Says following all the normal rules. Kids must obey a direction if you say Simon says, but they must not obey a direction if you do not say Simon says. For younger preschoolers, allow them to keep playing even if they get confused and mess up. Say Great job following directions! Do you remember what Jesus told His friends to do after they fished all night and didn t catch one single fish? He told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat! Jesus friends obeyed Jesus directions and caught a bunch of fish. It is important to obey Jesus. Jesus is God s Son, and He asks us to do what is right. But if we make a mistake and, we can tell Him we are sorry for our wrong choice, and guess what? He will forgive us! Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. play dishes play food Bible times dress-up clothes (optional) Eat breakfast with Jesus Provide play dishes and food for the preschoolers. Invite the children to join you in pretending to eat breakfast on the beach. Ask the children what they ate for breakfast that day. Consider inviting children to dress up in Bible times playclothes to play out the Bible story. Say Jesus friends fished all night without catching anything. Jesus knew that His friends were tired and hungry. He invited them to eat breakfast. Jesus wanted His friends to know He loved them. Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. 10
Fish, 1 per kid heavyweight paper watercolor paint paintbrushes painting smocks googly eyes (optional) glue (optional) whiteboard and dry erase markers chart paper and markers (optional) Paint fish Print the fish pages onto heavyweight paper, one page per kid. Assist the children in painting their fish with watercolor paint. You may need to provide painting smocks for the kids. For older preschoolers, offer googly eyes to glue onto their fish. Say Some of Jesus friends were fishermen before they followed Jesus. When Jesus died, they went back to fishing again. Do you remember how Jesus friends felt when they saw Jesus? That s right! They were happy and excited! Jesus came to show them that His plan for them was to tell other people about the gospel, not to go back to fishing. Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Always or never Direct the children to sit in a big circle with everyone facing you. Ask them to think of things that always happen. (The sun always comes up in the morning. The seasons always change.) As the children share their answers, draw simple illustrations to represent their answers (on a whiteboard or large chart paper.) Once the children have given several examples, ask them to think about things that never happen. (I never get to stay up all night. I never get to eat a whole gallon of ice cream by myself.) Again, draw the preschoolers answers. Say Jesus will always love you. Nothing you do can make His love go away. Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 33 Session 3 11
countdown video (optional) Allergy Alert snack food paper cups and napkins Journal Page Bible Story Coloring Page books and puzzles crayons Snack and Transition (20 minutes) Play the countdown video while kids help straighten the room. Take a restroom break and invite kids to wash their hands. Serve the snack. Remind the preschoolers to wait to eat so that you can pray together. Remind the kids to say please and thank you. Thank God for the snack. Consider serving fish-shaped crackers or fish-shaped gummies for snack today. As you scoop the fish-shaped snacks onto kids napkins, invite them to count their fish. Remind the preschoolers that Jesus helped His friends catch 153 large fish! Transition When a child finishes her snack and throws away any trash, she may select a book or puzzle to examine, play quietly with play dough or a favorite toy, or color the Bible story coloring page. Offer the journal page and invite kids to draw a picture of Jesus and His friends eating breakfast. Kids may also draw Peter jumping into the water. Remind the kids that Jesus forgave Peter for pretending not to know Jesus. Jesus is always willing to forgive us when we ask Him to. Pray over the kids. Say Dear Jesus, thank You so much for showing Your friends once again that You are alive! Thank You for forgiving Peter and Your friends. Thank You for letting them know that You still had a job for them to do and that You still loved them. Thank You for still loving us, even when we make mistakes. We love You, Jesus! Amen. If parents are picking up their children at this time, tell them something that their child enjoyed doing or did well during the session. If new leaders are arriving, quietly share useful information about kids who are present. 12
Journal Page Key Passage: Matthew 28:19-20 Session 1: The Emmaus Disciples Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-35 Session 2: Jesus Appeared to the Disciples Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-29; Acts 1:3 Session 3: Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea John 21:1-19 Session 4: Jesus Gave the Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:3 Session 5: Jesus Ascended to Heaven Acts 1:3-11 Session 6: The Holy Spirit Came Acts 2:1-42 OK TO PRINT
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, and lo, I am with you always. Matthew 28:19-20 Unit 33 Key Passage Poster (NKJV) OK TO PRINT
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, And surely I am with you always. Matthew 28:19-20 Unit 33 Key Passage Poster (NIV) OK TO PRINT
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, and, lo, I am with you always. Matthew 28:19-20 Unit 33 Key Passage Poster (KJV) OK TO PRINT
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, And remember, I am with you always. Matthew 28:19-20 Unit 33 Key Passage Poster (HCSB) OK TO PRINT
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, And behold, I am with you always. Matthew 28:19-20 Unit 33 Key Passage Poster (ESV) OK TO PRINT
Unit 33 Key Passage Poster OK TO PRINT
Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Unit 33 Session 3 Big Picture Question OK TO PRINT
Will Jesus ever stop loving us? Jesus will never stop loving us. Unit 33 Session 3 Big Picture Question OK TO PRINT
Unit 33 Big Picture Question OK TO PRINT
Unit 33 Session 3 Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea OK TO PRINT
Match the Fish Instructions: Draw a line to connect each fish on the top row with its match on the bottom row. Unit 33 Session 3 Preschool Activity Pages
Jesus Served Breakfast by the Sea John 21:1-19
Today we will be tasting/ touching/sniffing: Please notify the leader if your child should not participate. Instructions: Print this poster. You may laminate it and reuse it throughout the quarter. Use a dry erase marker to fill in the necessary information. Display the poster where parents and kids can see it before class. Unit 33 Allergy Alert OK TO PRINT
Fish Instructions: Print and use as directed in the leader guide. UNIT 33 Session 3 Preschool Bible Study OK TO PRINT
Fish Instructions: Print and use as directed in the worship guide. UNIT 33 Session 3 Preschool Worship OK TO PRINT