Rotation.org Writing Team

JESUS AND PETER: DO YOU LOVE ME?

ART WORKSHOP

PASSAGE

Bible Story

John 21:1-17

Background Scripture passages for teacher preparation include:

John 13:33, 36-38
John 18:15-18, 25-27

Key/Memory Verse

John 21:15-17

PURPOSE

Explore the pictures this story gives us, for example: fishing boats, fish, and sheep.

Examine the negative and the positive aspects of this story – Peter’s denial and Peter’s statement of faith.

Using the Japanese principal of Notan -- a way of describing dark and light as an element of design, or positive and negative space, -- in an “expand the square” project, create a cut paper collage that displays the story pictures.

Objectives for Rotation

Students will:

Locate the story of Peter’s denial and restoration in the Bible, learning that the story is in the New Testament Gospel of John

Retell the story in their own words.

Contrast Jesus’ love for Peter, even after Peter denied knowing him. Jesus was giving Peter another chance.

Discover that we, too, do wrong things sometimes – but God forgives us and gives us second chances.

Explore Peter’s statement of faith – “Yes, I love you.”

Recognize that Statements of Faith are hollow words without Statements of Action.

Develop their own Statement of Faith and Action, pledging support to Jesus.

Connect Jesus’ breakfast with his disciples, and his questions to Peter with our own “breakfast with Jesus” – communion – and understand that sacrament as a pledge to Jesus that we will minister to others in Christ’s name.

Objectives for the Art Workshop

Discuss the positive and negative actions of Peter in this story.

Use the images created to retell the story in their own words.

PREPARATION

Read the Scripture for this lesson.

Read and reflect on the Bible Background provided for this lesson.

Materials List

• Bibles
  
• Construction paper, black or a dark color cut into 6”x 6” squares – several for each student to allow for mistakes or starting over
  
• Construction paper, white 12 x 18”pieces – one per student
  
• Easel with appropriate marker
  
• Erasers: white plastic/vinyl type - cut them in half and share (NOT the erasers on the end of pencils)
  
• Examples of Notan collages (see resources)
  
• Glue
  
• Hole punch, small
  
• Pencils, soft drawing
  
• Scissors
  
• Styrofoam® meat trays, clean
  
• Tape, a couple of loops
  
• Tweezers (optional)
  

For younger students: simple stencils (see advance preparation)

Advance Preparation Requirements

Practice creating an example of the project to become familiar with the process but don’t show your example to the class.

For younger students: create stencils of objects in the story. Keep them simple and in line with the size of the project. Use a material that will withstand use. Create at least one stencil for each student so that no one has to wait for a stencil. Examples: fishing boats, fish in various shapes and sizes, a sun, sheep, a chalice, the number three, and an X.
On the easel, draw a picture of a large, simple boat. Completely color in this boat. On a separate piece of easel paper, write the key Bible verse. Have the key Bible verse on display.

PRESENTATION

Open - Introduction

Greet your students warmly, introducing yourself and any other adults. Welcome everyone to the Art Workshop.

Say: Let’s begin with prayer.

Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. A suggestion: “Creator God, We are thankful to be here today for another chance to learn about your love for us. Help us to be open to your story from the Bible about Peter. Help us to realize that Peter was being given a second chance. We too are always in need of second chances so we thank you for your offer of forgiveness. Amen”

Ask: What did you have for breakfast this morning? (Accept a few answers.)

Say: Let’s hear our story about a breakfast on a beach that Jesus had with some of his disciples.

Dig - Main Content

Ask: If our story is about Jesus, where would we find our story in the Bible?

Say: We read about Jesus and his disciples in the New Testament.

Ask: What are the first four books of the New Testament? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

What do we call those first four books? (The Gospels)

Say: The word Gospel means “good news.” Stories in the Bible teach us the good news about God’s love for us. Part of that good news is that God wants to have a close relationship with us.

Ask: If you have a close relationship with someone – like a really good friend – has it ever happened that you’ve messed up in some way and needed forgiveness from your friend? (Accept all answers.)

Say: When we read the Gospels we learn about how God offers us second chances. In this story we learn about receiving forgiveness and a second chance when we mess up.

Ask: Who remembers what Peter did – Peter did something to Jesus that would make us think that Jesus should never trust Peter again.

If necessary, tell the students the story about how Peter disowned Jesus. Three times Peter was asked if he was a disciple of Jesus and all three times he said that he wasn’t!

Ask: What did Jesus say would happen if Peter said three times that he did not know Jesus? (A rooster would crow)

Say: Peter was asked three times and each time he said he didn’t know who Jesus was. When Peter heard the rooster crow he realized that he had denied Jesus -- that he had let Jesus down. Peter felt terrible.

Ask: What happened to Jesus? (He was killed on the cross.)

What happened three days later? (Jesus had risen. Jesus was alive.)

Say: The risen Jesus showed himself to his disciples. They were overjoyed to see him alive again. During the 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to his disciples. Let’s read about one of the times.

Distribute Bibles, if needed.

Have them find the story in John, chapter 21, verse 1.

[Make sure everyone remembers the quick way to find the New Testament – dividing the Bible in half gets them near the book of Psalms. Dividing the back half in half again gets them near the Gospels in the New Testament.]

Have students take turns reading verses 1-21.

[Note: After the second week of the Rotation the students will become more familiar with the story. Have them locate the scripture in their Bibles. Then ask them to tell you the story. Fill in any missing details by using their Bibles.]

Ask: How many times did Peter deny knowing Jesus? (3)

How many times did Jesus ask Peter if he loved him? (3)

Do you suppose that denying Jesus three times is why Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him?

Say: Notice that Jesus does not scold Peter for his denials, but instead provides him an equal number of chances to say that he loves Jesus. Each time Jesus instructs him to feed and take care of his flock. This is assurance for Peter that in spite of messing up, God has work for him to do (refer to the easel) to take care of the people of the church – the flock of sheep. Jesus told Peter, “If you love me, then feed my sheep.”

Introduce the Art Project

Ask: What are some images, or pictures, that you “see” in your mind when we read this story?

Write down their answers on the easel. Examples: a rooster, a fishing boat, water, fish, early morning, breakfast, a fire, bread, a chalice (because this breakfast can be tied to the Sacrament of Communion), sheep, the number three.

Flip the easel back to your boat drawing.

Say: I want to ask you an art question.

Ask: Can anyone identify the positive and the negative spaces in this picture? (The boat is the positive space; the surroundings are the negative space.)

Say: Negative and positive space is an important part of an artist composition. Negative and positive… there are negative and positive parts of our story!

Ask: What would be a negative part of our story? (Peter’s denial of Jesus)

What would be a positive aspect of our story? (Jesus forgiving Peter, giving Peter a second chance)

Say: We are going to do an art project that combines positive and negative – in terms of positive and negative space – and some of the images you listed. (Flip back to the created list of images.)

Show the students the Notan images.

Say: These collages make use of what is called “Notan.” Notan is a Japanese word meaning “dark-light.” In art the principle of Notan is the interaction between a positive and a negative space. (Bothwell)

Point out how the Notan images show both positive and negative space.

Pick up a square and demonstrate lightly tracing an image with pencil, and cutting it out from the edge of the square. Use the loops of tape to tape the square up on the easel and to tape the cut out image next to the square from which it came.

Say: I will give you each a square. Cut into it the images that make up this story. Then when all of the images are cut out, you can arrange your pieces on a larger piece of white paper.

Distribute paper squares and scissors. Hand out Styrofoam® trays to use to save cut pieces – no pieces should be glued until everything is cut and arranged.

Hints for the project:

Use light pencil sketching.

Erase all extra lines, taking care not to rip the paper.

Encourage students to use as much of the square as possible.

Offer a hole-punch to cut out an eye if someone draws a sheep. Remember to save the resulting “hole” to glue it into the picture. All of the pieces must be used in a creation.

Distribute white paper and glue when the students are ready.

Reflect -- Closure

While students work, discuss these topics … (allowing all responses)

Ask: Feed my sheep. What was Jesus asking Peter to do?

Who are the sheep?

Does feed my sheep mean that Peter was suppose to feed people casseroles?

Say: Jesus was talking in word pictures. Jesus meant that Peter was to take care of people. It meant more than just feeding them food; it meant caring for their every need. [For younger students use the example of how their parents/guardians care for their every need.]

Ask: Do you suppose that Peter understood what Jesus was asking him to do?

What do we know about Peter … did he fulfill what Jesus asked him to do - did Peter feed the sheep?

Say: Sometimes when we hear something we don’t always understand what it means right away. Sometimes it takes time. It took some time in Peter’s case but Peter becomes an important spokesperson for Jesus. Peter was a leader in the early church.

Ask: When Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, how did Peter react?
If necessary, read John 21:17b.

Ask: Why do you suppose Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Jesus?
Say: Its sort of like Jesus wants to be sure that Peter got the point. Jesus was offering Peter forgiveness. He was offering Peter a second chance.

Ask: Caring for the sheep – caring for the people’s every need…what are ways that the church helps people? (For your older students be sure to bring up caring for people’s need to learn about God and for their spiritual needs.)

Give students a five-minute warning as to when time is up. Have them start gluing if they haven’t already done so.

Say: Jesus wanted to be sure that Peter understood that he was being given a second chance. “Do you love me?” Jesus asked. “Then feed my sheep.”

Have the students repeat the key Bible verse.

Say: Jesus was speaking these words to all of us. Jesus loves all of you. He offers each one of you a second chance.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

Adaptations - Younger Children

Read the story out of a children’s Bible.

Rather than ask young children to do any cutting, ask them instead to collect stencils that have been cut out ahead of time. Have these students arrange these stencils in a way that retells the story. Have them use art tools (markers, crayons, colored pencils) to color a background for these stencils.

SOURCES

Bothwell, Dorr and Marlys Mayfield. Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1991. ISBN-13: 978-0486268569

Petricone, Lotte. “Notan Collages - Expanding the Square.” http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/Lotte-Notan.htm#Lin

Examples of Notan to show your students:

http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=127534
http://www.artsonia.com/museum/art.asp?id=1077415&exhibit=49932&gallery=y

If you’d like to go further: show the students a short feature on positive and negative space…
http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/watch_space_positive.cfm

CONTRIBUTOR: Carol Hulbert

We just completed this rotation. Here's how we modified for the younger children. We created stencils (we cut them from stencil plastic -- mylar -- available in craft stores) of symbols from the story: sheep, cross, campfire, fish, boat and sea, number 3 (for Peter's denial and restoration), heart. We actually kept the negative and postive stencil parts -- The children chose one or more of the stencils and traced them onto a sheet of white paper. Then they colored in the stencil image. We used the stencils as ideas for the older children, too as they drew their images onto the black paper. YOu can see a picture of a completed Notan at this site: (will be available for about a month before the picture changes)...
http://www.state-street.org/ed...adventure/index.html

Jaymie Derden

Here is another photo that Jaymie had sent me:



(click on the photo to enlarge it)

--Carol