Following Jesus Gathers Disciples and Selects Apostles Luke 5:1-11; 6:12-16; Mark 9:33-35; John 20:21-23; Matthew 28:19-20

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1 Page1 Learning Objectives Following Jesus Gathers Disciples and Selects Apostles Luke 5:1-11; 6:12-16; Mark 9:33-35; John 20:21-23; Matthew 28: The children will review the events surrounding when Jesus gathered His disciples, as well as the commission that He gave them before He left the earth. 2. The children will recognize that the Lord Jesus expects us to willingly follow Him and live a life that actively demonstrates our relationship with Him. Memory Verse: Then they left everything and followed him. --Luke 5:11 (NIRV) Getting Started Name the Twelve Give each child a piece of paper and a pen or pencil and ask them to list the 12 disciples as best they can from memory. After a few minutes, create a list on the easel or white board, based on their responses. Allow the children to check their answers in the following verses: Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-18, Luke 6:14, or Acts 1:13. After you have completed the list, have the children guess the following, and mark the correct answers accordingly on the easel or white board to help them understand better who these men were. Then continue with the lesson. 1. Which of the 12 were fisherman? (Peter, Andrew, James and John) 2. Which one was from a fishing town? (Philip) 3. Which one was a tax collector? (Matthew) 4. Which one had different ideas about Jesus? (Judas he later betrayed Jesus). Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Message: Live your life for Him. Luke 5 ~ Jesus Chooses the First Disciples One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him and listened to the word of God. Jesus saw two boats at the edge of the water. They had been left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into the boat that belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to go out a little way from shore. Then He sat down in the boat and taught the people. When He finished speaking, He turned to Simon. He said, "Go out into deep water. Let the nets down so you can catch some fish." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught a large number of fish. There were so many that their nets began to break. So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees. "Go away from me, Lord!" he said. "I am a sinful man!"

2 Page2 Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Continued He and everyone with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught. So were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who worked with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will catch people." So they pulled their boats up on shore. Then they left everything and followed Him. Luke 6 ~ Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles On one of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray. He spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He called for His disciples to come to Him. He chose 12 of them and made them apostles. Simon was one of them. Jesus gave him the name Peter. There were also Simon's brother Andrew, James, John, Philip and Bartholomew. And there were Matthew, Thomas, and James, son of Alphaeus. There were also Simon who was called the Zealot and Judas, son of James. Judas Iscariot was one of them too. He was the one who would later hand Jesus over to his enemies. John 20 Again Jesus said, "May peace be with you! The Father has sent Me. So now I am sending you." He then breathed on them. He said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Excerpt from God s Ways ~ Volume 1 - Jesus sent out seventy disciples. - Jesus disciples were to go in twos into the places where He himself planned to teach and preach to the Jews about the kingdom of God which was at hand. - They were to be prepared for animosity, since He sent them as lambs among wolves - Jesus gave the disciples the power and commission to heal the sick in His name. Jesus disciples, who were simple people, manifested such a strong faith in the Lord that they went to fulfill their Lord s commission without raising any objections. They preached about the Lord and worked miracles by healing the sick. In this way they made the Jews aware of the Lord Jesus. Jesus not only wanted to teach His doctrine, but also wanted to ensure that His work of salvation would continue in His mind and spirit after His ascension. For this He needed special men. They had to be convinced about the Son of God and His doctrine. The Lord Jesus also placed great worth on them having the right heart s attitude. Mark 9 ~ Who Is the Most Important Person? Jesus and His disciples came to a house in Capernaum. There He asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet. On the way, they had argued about which one of them was the most important person. Jesus sat down and called for the Twelve to come to Him. Then He said, "If you want to be first, you must be the very last. You must be the servant of everyone."

3 Page3 Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Continued With these words the Lord Jesus indicated the important virtue He expected of his disciples humility. - Before selecting His Apostles, the Lord Jesus fervently prayed to His Father in heaven. - The importance he placed on this selection is shown by the fact that he prayed all night. - The term Apostle means ambassador. Later, before His arrest, the Lord celebrated Passover with His Apostles, at which time He instituted Holy Communion. After His resurrection, the Lord came into the circle of the Apostles several times. He spoke with them about important matters. He also gave them certain power and authority, and commissions before ascending into heaven. Matthew 28 So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end." The Lord Jesus gave his Apostles the commission: - To go to all peoples, not only to the Jews - To teach them what He had taught - To encourage them to act according to His teaching He also gave them both the commission and the authority to baptize. Our present-day Apostles are also fulfilling Christ s commission as they go into the world and teach the people. In this they exercise their power and authority to forgive sins, and to baptize with water and the Holy Spirit. Discussion Questions: 1. How would you react if someone told you to heal the sick? (Discuss.) 2. What did Jesus do to find the men who later would continue his work? (Luke 6:12-13) 3. What important quality did the Lord Jesus want the disciples to have? (Humility See Mark 9:33-35) 4. What do the Apostles do today? (Discuss make a list on your easel.) Additional Teacher Notes: The gift of leadership is the divine enablement to clearly cast a vision, direct, and motivate people to work together toward a common goal. When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He displayed the gift of leadership. Jesus was the perfect leader! He called His disciples, spent years mentoring and teaching them, continuously focusing them on what He wanted them to accomplish, and encouraged them along the way. He brought together people from different backgrounds to work together to continue His work and establish His church on earth. You can find many books in stores that use Jesus example to teach leadership to other people.

4 Page4 Application to Real Life What will your legacy be? Each of the 12 disciples left behind him a legacy. Some left a legacy of quiet obedience to the Lord. Some left a legacy of notable leadership as they led the people to know the Lord. One left a legacy of a betrayal of trust as he betrayed the Lord Jesus. Each one is remembered for the legacy they left. Each day, you are laying the legacy you will be remembered by with your classmates, your families, your youth group, your teachers, etc. What you do and how you act will be remembered for years to come. Someday, people will recall events from the history of your life and talk about how you responded. The real question is: what will your legacy be? Will you be remembered as an individual who had such a relationship with the Lord that you could not help but live your life that way each day, sharing Him with others through your words or actions? (Refer to message statement.) Memory Work Suggestions 5 minutes 1. Recite the memory verse. 2. Practice finding the memory verse and/or Bible text in their Bible! 3. Play a game to review an article of faith (toss the bean bag/stuffed animal, the person who catches it says the next word try to go faster and faster). 4. Allow a volunteer (child) to lead the class in an opening/closing prayer. 5. What ministry is being discussed in today s lesson? What is so special about it? Activity Ideas Choose One Activity One Way Maze See: Games One Way Maze The students will individually attempt to complete two mazes. The first one has many solutions and should take only a few minutes at best. The second maze is very similar, however only has one possible solution, and will take a considerably longer amount of time to finish. You will need to print the mazes (a set per student) before class. Please refer to the above website for detailed instructions. After Maze A is completed, discuss the questions listed in the activity. After Maze B is completed, discuss the following questions together as a class and conclude with what is written below. 1. How did you do that time? 2. What made it so hard? (The first maze had many solutions, the second maze only one.) 3. How do these two puzzles relate to our faith? (Discuss together.) Many people today believe that there are many ways to God because the one true way doesn't fit their lifestyle; it is too hard, or too narrow-minded. It is much easier, much more attainable if there are many ways, just like our first maze with many solutions. Look up and read together in the Bible John 14:6. Remind the children that we must continue to develop our relationship with the Lord Jesus, just as the disciples did, just as our Apostles do, to find our way to His Father. Make a list together on the easel of How do we develop a relationship with the Lord Jesus? Be as specific and tangible as possible with your answers.

5 Page5 Activity Ideas - Continued Choose One Activity Mirror Me Activity See: Activities Mirror Me In this activity, one student will imitate the actions of his or her partner as if he or she were looking into a mirror. You will need an even number of students. Please see the above website for detailed instructions. Then conclude with the following discussion questions: 1. What was the most important thing you had to do while attempting to imitate your partner? 2. Would it have helped if you knew what actions your partner would have taken ahead of time? 3. Do you attempt to imitate others in real life? If so, what characteristics do they have that make them worthy of imitation? 4. (Look up together in the Bible) Ephesians 5:1-2 instructs us to be imitators of God. How can we do this as the first Apostles did when they followed the Lord Jesus and our Apostles today continue to do so? Who is He to You? Activity See: Lessons New Testament The Ministry of Jesus According to Mark Who is He to You? You will need to print off some pictures of famous people. Some can be famous. Others can be marginally famous local politicians, athletes from a previous era, etc. The children will try to guess who they are. Please see the above website for detailed instructions. You will also need paper and pens or pencils for the students to write down why they have chosen to follow Christ. Allow the children time to share their responses with the class. Then ask the following questions: 1. Do the answers we heard have anything in common? 2. What do you think motivated the disciples to follow Jesus? Journal Choose One What do you think your legacy would be if you were to die today? What would people say about you? Were you committed to Christ? Were you a cheater? Did you lie? Did you openly talk about Christ or what He has done for your life? Did you live a Christian life? What do you want your legacy to be? Be specific. If you want people to know you as a dedicated Christian, write specific ways you want to be remembered (i.e. always went to church, had a daily quiet time, used your free time to serve others, etc.). Homework Ideas - Read at home with a grownup the lesson titled: The Judges and Israel s First King (1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22; 10:20-24; 15:13-36). - Learn the memory verse: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust in Me also. --John 14:1 (NIRV) - Work on memorizing Article of Faith #. - What do you fear? What things are you afraid of in your life? Make a list and bring it to class for the discussion.

6 Other Resources New Testament Curriculum Lesson 219 Page6

7 Page7 Take Home Page: Following Jesus Gathers Disciples and Selects Apostles Today I learned Today your child was reminded that we want to live our lives for Jesus. The children reviewed the events surrounding when Jesus gathered His disciples, as well as the commission that He gave them before He left the earth. They also talked about how Jesus expects us to willingly follow Him and live a life that actively demonstrates our relationship with Him. Help me learn my memory verse Then they left everything and followed him. --Luke 5:11 (NIRV) Ask me 1. How did Jesus go about gathering His disciples? 2. What qualities do you think the disciples needed to have? 3. If Jesus called you to be one of His disciples, would you follow Him? Why or why not? Live Your Faith Who do people tend to follow today, besides Jesus? Talk about this together. Do you think following those people is a good thing or not? Why? Following someone like Jesus and His teachings is what God wants us to do. It helps us grow into the person that God would want us to become. Think about the people you know. Is there one person who you would say is absolutely a follower of Jesus, and lives their life each day for Him? What do you notice and/or admire about them? What can you do this week to become a better follower of Jesus? Discuss some specific things thing you can do and encourage each other this week to do them.