“Jesus chose friends to follow Him. Jesus wants us to be His friends too.”

“Jesus chose friends to follow Him. Jesus wants us to be His friends too.”

Matthew 4:18–22

Children repeat after you:

“Dear God,
Thank You for loving us.
Thank You for Jesus.
Thank You for the Bible,
Your special book.
Help us listen and obey.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Song 1 – Jesus Loves Me

• Motions: point to self, hug self, hands like a book on “Bible tells me so.”

Song 2 – B-I-B-L-E

• Bible hands, hug the “book,” step on “I stand alone.”
  

Song 3 – “Follow, Follow Jesus”
(Tune: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”)
“Follow, follow Jesus,
Every single day.
He will show the way to go,
I will trust and obey.”

Motions: walk in place on “follow,” point up on “Jesus,” tap ear on “show the way.”

Sit kids in a circle. Use: Jesus figure, several “friends” figures, toy boat and fish.

a) Fishermen at work
Place fishermen in a boat with fish nearby.

• “The Bible tells us that some men were working by the sea. They were fishermen. Their names were Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They worked hard catching fish in their nets.”

Move the boat and pretend to pull nets.

b) Jesus calls them to follow
Bring Jesus figure near the water.

• “One day, Jesus walked by and saw them. Jesus said, ‘Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.’ That means instead of just catching fish, they would help bring people to God.”

Move fishermen out of the boat to Jesus.

• “Right away, they left their nets and followed Jesus. They wanted to be with Him, learn from Him, and help Him. Jesus chose them to be His special helpers, called disciples.”

Add a few more “friends” to Jesus to show a group.

d) Key phrase with motions
Teach and repeat:

• “Jesus chose friends. Jesus wants me as His friend.”

Motions:
Point up (Jesus) and then around the circle on “chose friends.”
Point up (Jesus) then to self on “wants me as His friend,” and hug self.

Say it several times: loud, whisper, standing and sitting.

d) Jesus connection (we can follow too)
Hold Jesus and the group of friends.

“Jesus chose friends to be with Him. They walked with Him, listened to His teaching, and saw His miracles. Jesus is still calling people today to follow Him. We can’t walk beside Him like they did, but we can be His friends now—talk to Him, learn from the Bible, and do what He says.”
“You are never too little for Jesus to love. He wants you to be His friend and follower.”

Goal: Picture of Jesus with several friends, with a line inviting the child into that circle.

Steps

• Give each child a paper with Jesus in the middle (or draw/write “Jesus” there).
• Help them glue or draw several people around Jesus to be His disciples/friends.
• Invite them to add themselves as one of the friends (a person with their hair/colour etc.).
• Add the phrase at the bottom:
  • “Jesus chose friends. Jesus wants me as His friend.”
• They can add hearts between Jesus and the friends.

Craft talk (short paragraph as they work)

• “Your picture shows Jesus in the middle and His friends all around Him. Jesus chose disciples to follow Him and help Him. Jesus wants you to be His friend too. When you see this picture, remember: ‘Jesus chose friends. Jesus wants me as His friend.’”

When finished, have children hold up their pictures and say:

• “Jesus chose friends. Jesus wants me as His friend.”