FISHERS OF MEN

NEED: Two fishing poles: a regular pole and a simple pole made out of a stick with string attached. At the end of the string, have a magnet with a heart pasted on it. Also have some paper-doll people with paper­clips on them in a container.

TEXT:   Matthew 4:18-22.

POINT: Jesus calls His followers to become fishers of men.

How many of you like to go fishing? Good, then you know what you use to catch fish. You probably use a fishing pole like this one. (Show the real fishing rod.) What is on the end of this fishing rod? It has a hook, doesn't it? You would probably put a worm on this hook, and when the fish ate the worm, he would be caught. Then you would reel him in. Did you know that in the Bible, Jesus talks about fish­ing? Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all fishermen. Those disciples made their living by catching fish. But Jesus told them about a different kind of fishing.

What do you think Jesus meant when He told them, "I will make you fishers of men"? Did He want them to go out and catch people with hooks? No, of course not. Today

I brought with me another fishing pole to show you what Jesus was talking about when He told them to become "fishers of men." This isn't a very fancy fishing pole, is it? What is on the end of this string? (A heart.)

Why would we have a heart on the end of our fishing pole? Can we become fishers of people with love? Yes, we can. God tells us that we should love one another because that's the way we show them what God's love is like. We bring people to God by treating them the way God has treated us. Jesus shows us how much God loves us, and He wants us to show others how much He loves them, too. That's what He means when He tells us to become fishers of men. Let's see how that works.

Can we catch people with this fishing pole? (Reach into the container and pull out the paper-doll people with the magnet.) God's love attracts people just as this magnet at­tracts these people. God's love is like that. When we spread His love around to other people, they can see what His love is like and can become His followers. That's the way Jesus wants us to be fishers of men.

Summary: The next time you go fishing, think of these words of Jesus. He wants us to be fishers of men. He doesn't want us to catch people with hooks as we catch fish, but He wants us to catch people with love. Just as Jesus showed us God's love, we can show God's love to others. Then they will want to follow Him, too.