Mark 1:16-20, NIRV

Jesus Chooses His First Disciples

¹⁶One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake. They were fishermen. ¹⁷“Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” ¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹Then Jesus walked a little farther. As he did, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat preparing their nets. ²⁰Right away he called out to them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men. Then they followed Jesus.

Message:

Has anyone ever asked you what you want to “be” when you grow up? I would like to ask you now, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (Allow children to offer answers.) Those are some excellent jobs. I look forward to seeing you do those jobs.

In today’s passage from scripture, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John all had the same job. Does anyone know what job they all had? (Allow children to answer.) They were all fishermen. But when they met Jesus, he gave them all new jobs. They would be followers of Jesus, called “disciples.”

Imagine what it must have been like for James and his brother John. (Read the story of James from the Zondervan the Superheroes Bible, page 1139).

James and John sat in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They pulled on their nets, arranging them in the boat before going out to fish. Many days of working in the warm sun had tanned them a dark bronze. Small waves slapped the sides of the boat and made it rock and roll in the water. When a large wave splashed up and drenched them both, they laughed together.

A bit later James and John looked up to see Simon and Andrew with another man, the man named Jesus. They had heard about this Jesus, who was traveling around the countryside teaching.

Jesus stood on the shore near their boat and watched the brothers. His eyes held theirs, as if he looked not just at them, but into them. Then Jesus spoke, “COME AND FOLLOW ME!”

Without a second of hesitation, James and John stepped out of their boat and splashed to shore. From that day on they followed Jesus.

BE A JAMES

Don’t wait another day to decide that you want to be a Jesus follower. Be like James! Believe in Jesus and obey him. James never regretted his decision. Neither will you.

JAMES FOLLOWED JESUS AS SOON AS JESUS CALLED HIM.

James and the others would now “fish for people.” Jesus didn’t mean that they would catch people in their fishing nets. He meant was, that as his disciples, they would tell people about God and how God loves us. They shared the good news, and this would help bring more people to follow Jesus.

Let’s add to our poem. Listen to what we have so far.

In the beginning, there was no shape for the earth’s covering.
But God’s Spirit was hovering.
It was dark. And God named the darkness “night.”
God wanted more, so God separated the darkness from the light.
The light was named “day,” as God thought it should.
When God saw this, God said, “This is good!”
Samuel heard a voice. Was it a dream? Who could it be?
When it woke him, he said, “Here I am; you called out to me.”
I wonder how you know when God might be calling out?
Be still, listen, and don’t shout.
Listen to God for what you need to do.
God spoke to Samuel, but what is God saying to you?

Listen to what has been added today.

On the shores of Galilee.
Jesus said, “Follow me.”
I will follow him here and there.
I will follow him everywhere.
Leading others to Jesus, like the brothers,
Shows the love of God, as we “fish” for others.
For I do love him,
The Great I Am.

Following Jesus is a job you can do right now. You don’t have to wait to be grown like James, who already had a job. Jesus wants children to follow him, too! Jesus wants children to “fish for people” by showing and telling others about God’s love. Following Jesus is the best job of all. It’s a job that you can keep your entire life!

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus, for offering me the job of being a disciple, just like James and the others. Help me to be more like James, by following you all my life. Show me ways to tell others about how much God loves us. Amen.