Lesso 8 87 Disciples Follow Jesus Mark 1:14-20 First- ad secod-graders have t had eough life experiece to kow what it meas to follow Jesus. Oe of the ways childre gai life experiece is through observatio. They re lookig at the sigificat adults i their lives ad observig what it meas to follow Jesus. Be prepared ot oly to teach this truth, but also to live it! Use this lesso to demostrate tagible ways to follow Jesus, ad ecourage the childre to apply them as well. LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 1 Gettig Started 2 Bible Exploratio Follow Me (about 10 mi.) Play a game with a flashlight to lear about followig Jesus. A Fishy Tale (about 25 mi.) Hear what happeed with the disciples by the Sea of Galilee to explore how we follow Jesus. flashlight Teacher Pack: Bible Timelie Bible, My Bible Fu, several pairs of scissors, markers, staplers, small paper plates, slips of paper Teacher Pack: Fishig for Me poster, Disciples Follow Jesus poster (from the Big Bible Poster Pack) Tear out the Lesso 8 pages from each My Bible Fu studet book. Fold the Fishig for Me poster o the dotted lies. Bible Poit Follow Jesus. Key Verse Come, follow me, Jesus said, ad I will make you fishers of me (Mark 1:17). Weavig Faith Ito Life Kids will follow Jesus i their choices ad actios ad tell others about him, too. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Grades 1 & 2 Lesso 8 Witer Quarter
88 LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 3 Weavig Faith Ito Life 4 Lastig Impressios Whom Ca I Tell? (about 25 mi.) Make a fishy craft, ad lear the Key Verse. Daily Challeges (about 5 mi.) Choose a Daily Challege to apply God s Word. Weavig Faith at Home (about 2 mi.) Talk about how to share what they leared with their families. Bibles, cheille wire, oe 16- ich legth of yar per child, card stock, several pairs of scissors, markers, hole puch Teacher Pack: fish stecils My Bible Fu Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Witer Quarter Lesso 8 Grades 1 & 2
89 Disciples Follow Jesus Mark 1:14-20 BIBLe BACKGROUND FOR LEADERS Joh the Baptist Is Imprisoed ad Killed At the begiig of this passage, we read that Joh the Baptist was put i priso. Mark does t tell us why, but we kow from Luke 3:19-20 that Herod put Joh i priso for rebukig the ruler for various reasos. We also kow from Matthew 14:6-11 that Herod evetually likely i the midst of a druke party had Joh the Baptist beheaded. Jesus Begis His Miistry After Joh was imprisoed, Jesus bega his miistry with focus ad itetio. Mark relates Jesus message i a utshell: The kigdom of God is ear. Repet ad believe the good ews. For Jews, this would ideed have bee good ews. What they heard was that David s earthly kigdom would be restored! They d be freed from Roma bodage! Though their iterpretatio was icorrect, Jesus message certaily caught their attetio. Jesus Calls Disciples to Follow Him At this poit, Jesus bega gatherig aroud him the bad of disciples who would be with him throughout his miistry. The first four were Simo, Adrew, James, ad Joh. We ted to thik of these me as simple, ordiary fisherme, ad to some degree that perceptio is correct. They were i a rather lowly occupatio ad likely had o formal educatio. they kew how, so whe Jesus asked them to follow him, they did so without hesitatio. Fisherme Respod to Jesus Call We eed t ecessarily thik that these me abadoed their ets ad boats alog the seashore. James ad Joh left their fishig busiess i the care of their father ad hired hads. Peter ad Adrew s situatio was probably much the same. The decisio to follow Jesus did t mea that these disciples recklessly dropped their resposibilities, but it did mea that they were totally committed to Jesus. They had to make followig Jesus the most importat aspect of their lives. The Jesus Coectio To follow Jesus, we do t just follow his example or his teachigs, though that certaily is importat. Nor do we tag alog behid him uoticed. Whe we follow him, we actually walk alogside him i commuity ad i friedship. Are you aware of Christ s presece i your life? Are you itetioal i followig his guidace? What ca you do to grow closer to Jesus ad stay there? Your first step ca be to ask for Jesus help i that. You ca write your prayer here. However, Joh 1:35-42 idicates that two of the me, at least, had bee disciples of Joh the Baptist ad thus, to some degree, followers of Jesus already. It s possible that Adrew ad James also had bee disciples of Joh the Baptist. All four were spiritual me who were seekig to follow God as closely as Grades 1 & 2 Lesso 8 Witer Quarter
90 GETTING STARTED Follow Me Supplies flashlight Teacher Pack Bible Timelie Follow Me What You ll Do Welcome kids warmly as they arrive, ad ask them how their week wet. Gather everyoe together. Show the Bible Timelie. Say: Today we ll lear what it meas to FOLLOW JESUS. Say: Let s start today by playig a fu game. I ll tur out the lights ad tur o this flashlight. As I move the flashlight aroud o the walls, ceilig, ad floor, follow the spotlight with your eyes. Demostrate by showig the childre how to watch the spotlight where it hits each surface, rather tha the actual flashlight. Say: The object of the game is to keep your eyes o the spotlight. Ready? Tur out the lights ad tur o the flashlight. Start the game by movig the spotlight alog the walls, ceilig, ad floor slowly. Icrease your speed as time goes by. Cotiue for about a miute. Say: Thaks for followig the spotlight! I m goig to make this game a little more difficult. Put the childre i pairs, ad have them sit, facig each other. Have oe face your directio ad the other face away from you. The say: If you re facig me, you ll still follow the spotlight with your eyes. If you re facig away from me, you ll try to get your parter to look away from the spotlight. You may ot move your hads, arms, legs, or body i ay way. You must oly use your head to do this. You ca make silly faces or move your head aroud i silly ways. You ca also make oises or talk. Check for uderstadig. Have kids play for about a miute; the let kids switch roles ad play agai for the same amout of time. Talk With Kids Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: What was it like to follow the light the first time we tried it? What was it like to follow the light whe your parter was tryig to distract you? What helped you to follow really well? What do you thik it meas to follow Jesus? Say: You had to cocetrate ad pay careful attetio to the light to play this game well. Today we ll lear that whe we FOLLOW JESUS, we wat to pay careful attetio to him, too. Let s lear what that meas. Witer Quarter Lesso 8 Grades 1 & 2
91 2 BIBLE EXPLORATION A Fishy Tale What You ll Do Ope your Bible to Mark 1:14-20, ad show kids the passage. Show the Disciples Follow Jesus poster. Read the title, ad the say: A disciple is someoe who follows. Jesus was ready to tell everyoe the good ews about God s love, ad he told some frieds to follow him ad help him spread the good ews. Here s what the Bible says. Read aloud Mark 1:14-15. Say: Jesus did t just wat the disciples to follow him, he wated everyoe to follow him. Tell about a time you thought Jesus was askig you to follow him. Let a few kids share. If kids are hesitat to share, tell about a time you sesed God tellig you to follow him i geeral or i a certai area of your life. Say: We might ot always kow how, but we do kow that Jesus wats us to follow him. Today, let s look at what that meas. Give each child a My Bible Fu page. Put kids i pairs, ad give each pair a paper plate. Say: Jesus was good at fishig. I fact, he was a fisher of fish, ad he was a fisher of me. Thik about how a fishig et gathers fish. Have the pairs cut the plates i half, leavig half a plate for each child. Poit out that the half plates look kid of like fishig ets. The have kids staple the plates ext to Jesus o the My Bible Fu pages. Say: Let s catch some ideas i our ets as we lear some thigs about what it meas to follow Jesus, we ll put those ideas i our fishig ets. As I read the Bible to you, if you hear a idea you ca catch to help us kow how to follow Jesus, make this motio: Demostrate a gatherig motio with your arms, as if your arms are a big et brigig i lots of fish. A Fishy Tale Supplies Bible My Bible Fu scissors markers staplers small paper plates slips of paper Teacher Pack Fishig for Me poster Disciples Follow Jesus poster (from the Big Bible Poster Pack) A Fishy Tale Easy Prep Tear out the Lesso 8 pages from each My Bible Fu studet book. Fold the Fishig for Me poster o the dotted lies. Say: Actually, I thik we ve already caught a couple of thigs. Liste. Read Mark 1:15 agai, ad lead kids to motio whe you say: Repet ad believe the good ews! Say: Repet meas we say sorry for wrog thigs we do. I thik that s a first step i followig Jesus. Ecourage kids to draw a basic fish o a slip of paper ad the write or draw the first idea iside that fish. They might write repet or pray for forgiveess, or they might draw prayig hads or a perso o his or her kees. Have each child staple the drawig to his or her fishig et. Say: Jesus also said to believe the good ews. Lead kids i a gatherig motio to show that you re catchig aother idea. Aother way to follow Jesus is to believe that he s good ews! Ecourage kids to write or draw believe iside aother fish o a slip of paper. They might draw a heart or a brai, or both ecourage them to write or draw believe usig their ow thoughts ad creativity. Have kids staple the fish to the ets. Grades 1 & 2 Lesso 8 Witer Quarter
92 Show the left third of the Fishig for Me poster. Say: Let s keep readig. If you hear a idea you ca catch that shows us how to follow Jesus, remember to make the motio. Read aloud Mark 1:16-17. Ecourage kids to make a gatherig motio whe they hear, Come, follow me. Check that kids uderstad that come is aother catch. Say: Jesus told Simo ad Adrew to go with him. We do t see Jesus as a ma o earth these days, but we ca move toward Jesus by goig places we ca lear about him, by readig about him, ad by doig thigs we kow he wats us to do. That s a way to follow him. Ecourage kids to write a word or draw a picture that symbolizes come to them iside a fish o a slip of paper. They might draw a picture of a Bible, church, or a perso walkig. Have them staple the fish to the ets. Ufold the middle sectio of the poster, ad show it to the childre. Say: Let s see what Simo ad Adrew did whe Jesus told them, Come, follow me. Read Mark 1:18. Ecourage kids to make a gatherig motio. Check that kids uderstad that Simo ad Adrew stopped what they were doig ad immediately followed Jesus. Say: Wheever Jesus or God asks us to do somethig, we ca always stop what we re doig ad obey. Ecourage kids to write or draw pictures to symbolize obeyig iside fish shapes ad staple them to the ets. Here s a idea: Draw a perso droppig somethig ad turig away from it. Ufold the fial third of the Fishig for Me poster, ad show the etire poster to the childre. Say: Let s cotiue readig. Read Mark 1:19-20. Say: James ad Joh also dropped what they were doig ad followed Jesus right away. They were workig for their father, but they kew followig Jesus was eve more importat. Ecourage kids to make the gatherig motio. Say: They kew that to follow Jesus, they had to make him most importat. Ecourage kids to write or draw pictures to symbolize makig Jesus the most importat thig i their lives. Agai, they ll draw the idea iside a fish ad staple it to the ets. They might write a umber 1 or draw a arrow poitig up. Talk With Kids Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: Explai which way to follow Jesus stads out most to you. What do you wat to do this week to FOLLOW JESUS? Say: We caught all kids of thigs to help us kow how to FOLLOW JESUS. We leared to repet, believe, take actio, obey, ad make Jesus the most importat. Like the disciples, we ca be very excited that Jesus wats us to follow him. Let s work o followig him this week! Witer Quarter Lesso 8 Grades 1 & 2
93 3 WEAVING FAITH INTO LIFE Whom Ca I Tell? Tip You ca play various sogs o the CD as kids work. What You ll Do Say: We leared today that Jesus was a fisher of fish, ad he s a fisher of me. Let s make some fish ow. Tell childre to trace the fish stecils o the card stock. Have each child color ad the cut out at least four fish. As kids work, use the hole puch to make a eye o each of their fish. Say: We have a lot of fish ow! Whe people go fishig ad catch lots of fish, they put the fish o what s called a striger. A striger holds their fish for them, ad that way they ca keep track of how may fish they ve caught. Whom Ca I Tell? Supplies Bibles cheille wire oe 16-ich legth of yar per child card stock several pairs of scissors markers hole puch Teacher Pack fish stecils Give each child oe 16-ich legth of yar. Show kids how to make a kot through the eye of the fish to hold it o the yar. Have them put all their fish o the yar i that way. The help childre form a loop with the cheille wire ad attach the top of the lie to the loop, as show here. Say: Now that we have our fish i place, let s look back at what Jesus said about beig a fisher of me. Help kids fid Mark 1:17 i their Bibles. Say: Our Key Verse says that if we follow Jesus, we ca become fishers of me. Have childre repeat the Key Verse with you: Come, follow me, Jesus said, ad I will make you fishers of me (Mark 1:17). Say: Beig a fisher of me meas we ca tell others about Jesus, ad we ca show them how we FOLLOW JESUS. Ecourage kids to put people s ames o the fish ad to tell those people about Jesus. Grades 1 & 2 Lesso 8 Witer Quarter
94 Talk With Kids Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: Tell about some people you wrote o your fish. Why do you wat them to kow about Jesus? What ca you do to be a fisher of me this week? Say: Jesus is so awesome, we wat others to kow about him we wat to be fishers of me like the disciples. We ca help others kow that followig Jesus is the most importat thig we ca do. As we FOLLOW JESUS, we ca do what our Key Verse says ad become fishers of me, too. 4 LASTING IMPRESSIONS Daily Challeges Supplies My Bible Fu Daily Challeges What You ll Do Say: Let s thik about how to FOLLOW JESUS. Have kids fid this week s Daily Challeges o their My Bible Fu pages ad choose oe to do this week. They ca choose oe or more of these three optios: O the back of at least oe of your fish, write a way you pla to tell a perso about Jesus ad be sure to follow through! Ask a family member to follow you. Lead him or her aroud the house, edig at a Bible. The tell what you leared about followig Jesus. Each morig, pray ad tell Jesus that you re goig to follow him that day. Make sure you choose a Daily Challege as well, ad tell kids what you chose. Kids will be more iclied to follow through o their commitmets whe they see you doig the same. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. Ask: What s a practical way you re goig to do your Daily Challege? Iclude a time, a place, ad other ideas. Say: Jesus asked the disciples to follow him. Ad we leared ways that we ca FOLLOW JESUS i our lives. This week, let s FOLLOW JESUS through our Daily Challeges. Witer Quarter Lesso 8 Grades 1 & 2
95 Weavig Faith at Home Ecourage kids to talk with their parets about the Daily Challeges they chose ad what they leared about followig Jesus. Kids ca also do the activities i the HomeCoect sectio of their My Bible Fu pages with their families. Talk to your Director about emailig the FREE FamilyCoect to all your church s families. Available at group.com/digital. Take a couple of miutes to pray with your kids, thakig Jesus for beig someoe we ca follow ad askig him to help your kids follow him. The ivite the childre to pray siletly or aloud for the people they wrote o their fish. If the childre choose to pray aloud, have them take turs. The close the prayer. Grades 1 & 2 Lesso 8 Witer Quarter