Opposite Day - Week 1
Up is Down. Right is Left. Cold is Hot. That’s right, we’re celebrating opposite day this whole month (or should we say, not celebrating? This could get confusing!) This series will give our families a chance to talk about the counter-culture things Jesus said. It sounds impossible to believe that struggles bring us closer to Jesus or that our enemies can teach us about love. However, these beautiful opposites remind us that a God we can’t see is always with us and that it’s better to follow Jesus than our own instincts. Happy Opposite Day!
Click HERE to watch this month’s memory verse video!
Following Jesus is the opposite of following ourselves
Preschool/Elementary MV: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." II Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)
TODDLER MV- "God's power makes me strong"- II Corinthians 12:9
READ: Jesus Calls the Disciples; Luke 5:1-11
WATCH:
Preschool- teaching video
Elementary- teaching video
SONG: I Have Decided
ACTIVITY:
Read Luke 5:1-11.
Think about how Simon must have felt when he wasn’t catching any fish even though he tried all day. But when Jesus showed up, he told Simon to “go fish” again. Jesus wanted Simon to trust him when he said that this time would be different. Let’s try our own game of “Go Fish!”
INSTRUCTIONS: Play a game of Go Fish with “life-size” cards. Using construction paper, draw numbers one through nine on eighteen pieces of paper shaped like fish. Give each kid one card depending on how many kids are playing the game. Make sure there are a few cards left over for the “deck” in the middle of the room.
Everyone, hold up your Go Fish card so that your number is showing. When I tell you to go, everyone hurry and find your match. If you can’t find your match, you must “go fish” and look in the deck in the middle of the room to see if one of those cards is your match.
COLORING: Jesus Calls His Disciples
DISCIPLE:
INSTRUCTIONS: Prepare a glass of water that’s filled halfway. Give each family member a paper cup and a permanent marker. You can also have them draw a cup on a piece of paper and have them write on a flat surface.
Ask: How would you describe this glass of water? Is it half-full or half-empty?
This example is often used to tell the difference between people who are optimists (people who think positively) and those who are pessimists (people who think negatively). That doesn’t mean that an optimist’s life is happier than a pessimist’s. It just means that an optimist has learned to look on the bright side of things even when things aren’t great.
Because this glass is both half-full and half-empty – they’re both true. But we can choose to focus on the more positive, hopeful things.
When we follow Jesus, we can do a similar practice. There are times when we are going to do things our way and there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes our ways can be selfish and unkind. Whenever we want to react that way, we need to pause and override what we would normally do and choose what Jesus would want us to do!
Draw a line all the way around the middle of your cup.
On the top part, write or draw something that worries you or brings you down.
On the bottom part, write or draw a way that you can see your situation differently because you have Jesus in your life.
Instead of dealing with things on our own, we can take them to God and ask for help because following Jesus is following the opposite of ourselves.
Pray: Dear God, thank you for always knowing what’s best for us. Help us to follow your ways because your ways are better than anything we can do on our own. Amen.
DISCUSSION:
Did the fishermen on the boat catch a lot of fish at the beginning of the story?
What happened when they let down their nets into the water?
What did Jesus tell the fishermen they would be catching instead of fish?
Read Isaiah 55:8-9. Is it a good thing that God’s thoughts are not like our own? Why?
What is an example of following yourself instead of Jesus?
How can you follow Jesus today?
Who is a person you can “fish for” by telling them about Jesus?