w/c 23rd January

Our reading this week is Matthew 4: 12 – 23 

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee

¹² Jesus heard that John was put in prison, so he went back to Galilee. ¹³ But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ He did this to give full meaning to what the prophet Isaiah said:

¹⁵ “Listen, land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    lands by the road that goes to the sea, the area past the Jordan River—
    Galilee, where those from other nations live.
¹⁶ The people who live in spiritual darkness
    have seen a great light.
The light has shined for those
    who live in the land that is as dark as a grave.”

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to tell people his message: “Change your hearts and lives, because God’s kingdom is now very near.”

Jesus Chooses Some Followers

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew. These brothers were fishermen, and they were fishing in the lake with a net. ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will bring in people, not fish.” ²⁰ Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹ Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. They were preparing their nets to catch fish. Jesus told the brothers to come with him. ²² So they immediately left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

Jesus Teaches and Heals the People

²³ Jesus went everywhere in the country of Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and told the Good News about God’s kingdom. And he healed all the people’s diseases and sicknesses.

Prayer for the week:

Dear God,

Help us to be the best that we can be,

To be wise in the worst of times,

To endure through the struggle.

Amen

In school:

We thought about the fact the first of Jesus' followers were fishermen and how they wanted to share the good news with everyone. 

We made prayer fish in school which we could use to name anyone we thought would benefit from being prayed for. 

Questions to think about at home:

Have you ever fallen out with someone? How did you feel?

What do you need to do when you fall out with someone if you want to repair the relationship?

What do you think Jesus meant when he said to the first disciples, “I will send you out to fish for people?”