CrossKids Devo | Growing Up In Jesus
Activity – Tell Me Thumbthing
Say: When people like a movie, they sometimes give it a thumbs-up. Demonstrate. Really like the movie? Two thumbs-up. If they dislike or really dislike the movie, they give it one or two thumbs-down. Demonstrate.
Please rate how this past week has gone for you. Was it a one or two thumbs-up week? A one or two thumbs-down week? Or maybe you'd give it one thumbs-up and one thumbs-down--it was a good and bad week.
Rate your week now.
After kids rate their weeks, give kids 30 seconds each to explain why they rated their weeks as they did. You'll go first, sharing a story that models the sort of brief, personal stories you hope kids will share too.
Children will express themselves more over time, and hearing their stories will help you adapt this session to make it even more relevant to your kids' lives. Bible Time – Growing Up In Jesus – John 21:5, John 21:1-14 Verse Of The Day: John 21:5
Read: John 21:1-14
Story: In our reading today we see that Jesus asks His disciples a question. He asks, “Children have you any food?” We see here that Jesus is concerned about every area of His disciple’s lives. He also cares about every area of our lives. After Jesus died the disciples had decided to go back to fishing. They followed Jesus for three years and now it seemed like the ministry was done, so they went back to what they knew. But Jesus wasn’t done with them. He had wonderful plans for their lives and Jesus was going to show them how He planned to take care of them as they followed Him.
Jesus’ death on the cross would change the lives of His disciples forever, one way or the other. For one disciple, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, the cross meant his own judgment for what he had done. For another disciple, Peter, the death of Jesus brought him face-to-face with his own pride and sin. For another disciple, John, Jesus’ death meant the added responsibility of taking care of Mary, Jesus’ mother. All of their lives would change forever.
In our Bible verses today, Jesus calls His disciples “children.” In a few short weeks, these men, hand chosen by Jesus would begin to turn the world upside for Jesus. They would perform miracles in His name and thousands of people would be saved. Jesus was going to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples still had much to learn about the power of the true and living God and they were not going to do that by catching fish alone. Jesus was about to make them fishers of men in such a way that they couldn’t even imagine. Jesus calls them children because He knew they would soon grow up spiritually and be the very first to go and tell the world about Jesus. Jesus also wants us to turn the world upside down for Him. The disciples may not have understood everything that God would do in their lives, but God did some great and amazing things. Truly we can do great things through Jesus in our lives today!
Why did the disciples go back to fishing?
Do you think the disciples knew that Jesus was going to meet them on the shore with breakfast?
Kid's Bible Dictionary
Children: People who have not yet matured fully.
Pray