Begin Again

Introduction

Good morning everyone!

My name is Josh, and I am Jaxon and Jude’s Dad! And today, I get to do one of my favorite things, and that is teaching the Bible.

But before I do, I want to ask a question. I can’t call on everyone, but raise your hand if you want to answer the question, and then I will call on 3 people.

Sound good everyone?

What did you do on Easter Sunday?

Ask 3 students to share what they did on Easter Sunday.

Easter

Why do we celebrate Easter?

Jesus rose!

Yes, that’s exactly why we celebrate Easter. It is the day Jesus rose from the tomb that he was placed in.

Now, I want to ask another question, and I’ll only call on the ones who quietly raise their hands if they know the answer.

What happened after Jesus rose from the grave?

Many people think that Jesus rose from the grave, made an appearance one time and left.

But that’s not actually what happened.

Jesus made multiple appearances to his followers.

Does anyone want to guess why you think that’s important?

So that people would believe!

We read in the Bible that Jesus showed himself to over 500 people! That’s a lot right. He made sure that over 500 people saw him.

And, he remained for 40 days here on earth before ascending to heaven.

Jesus at the Sea of Galilee

Today, I want to talk about one of those times.

I want to talk about the time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee.

So here’s what happened…

Jesus’ disciples, who were fisherman, weren’t really sure what they were supposed to be doing…

Have you ever taken one of those really long naps and woke up and you weren’t sure if it was still today, or was it tomorrow?

So you walk around the house for a bit trying to figure that out, and if you should eat dinner or breakfast or ice cream…

Yea, it was kind of like that for the disciples.

So Peter got the bright idea, let’s go fishing!

And off they went…

Do you know what happened?

They caught nothing… they fished all night… and they caught nothing…

You want to know something… that wasn’t the first time that happened either!

One time, before they were Jesus followers, they fished all night and they caught nothing. When they came back to the shore Jesus told them, go back out and let down your net on the right side. When they did that they got A LOT of fish! That’s when Jesus called them to be his disciples.

So, back to this story, as they’re coming back from fishing and catching nothing, a man is on the shore, but they don’t know who he is. He tells them to go back out and let down their nets on the right side, and guess what happened?

They caught a lot of fish!

Right when that happened their eyes were opened up that it was Jesus on the shore!

Want to know what happened next?

Peter jumped off the boat and swam to the shore. Peter was hyped!

Jesus Commissions them Again

So this story is a lot like the first story, isn’t it?

That’s on purpose!

You see, the disciples had some doubt.

Because they didn’t know what to do next, they went back to the thing they knew how to do, and that was fishing.

Have you ever had doubt?

Is God real?

Does God love me?

Am I doing the right thing?

I want to tell you that doubt is OK.

Do you want to know why I believe that?

Because Jesus showed up!

If Jesus was so mad at them for fishing, he would not have come to the sea that day.

Jesus knew they had doubt, and do you know what he did?

Jesus showed up when they were in doubt.

How many of you like having a bonfire?

It’s fun right!

We get to sit around a fire pit and talk…

When Peter finished swimming to Jesus do you want to know what was happening?

Jesus made a bonfire!

That’s cool right?!?!

Jesus wanted to talk to them and understand them and remind them that they were his disciples.

The Call Cancels the Fall

OK, let me end this now, but show you one more thing that happened that is really cool.

Before Jesus is crucified, Peter goes to a bonfire and he was asked 3 times, “Hey aren’t you follower of Jesus?!?” And 3 times Peter said no…

That happened at a bonfire…

Well, back to our story, Jesus has a bonfire and he asks Peter a question 3 times, “Do you love me?”

And three times Peter says yes!

Is that a coincidence?

No, of course not!

The three confessions of Peter’s love for Jesus cancels the three denials of Jesus by Peter.

And Jesus ends it by telling Peter. now go and feed my sheep!

Ending

What started with doubt, ended with Peter being reminded of his calling. And what is Peter’s calling?

Tell others about Jesus! Not to be a fisherman, but to be a fisher of men.

And what’s your calling as followers of Jesus

Tell others about Jesus! You are also to be a fisher of men.

So, I know that Easter has passed, and it’s easy to get back into the routine of school, homework, sports… but the resurrection of Jesus lives on in our life when we tell everybody we know about Jesus!

And, as a reminder that you are a fisher of men, I brought a special small gift for everyone, and that is a pack of goldfish! So we’re giving out goldfish to everyone as you head back to your class.