Preschool Teacher Guide Session Title: Jesus Called Disciples Bible Passage: Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9-13; Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-19; Luke 5:27-32; 6:12-16 Big Picture Question: What did Jesus tell His disciples to do? Jesus said, Follow Me. Key Passage: John 1:14 Unit Christ Connection: Old Testament prophecies looked forward to the birth of Christ. Jesus roles as Son of God and Messiah are established. TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Prep Time In the first century, rabbi was a title given to a respected expert in the law of Moses. A rabbi studied the Scriptures and taught through speaking and writing. Jews wanted to honor God in how they lived, and they looked to the rabbis to instruct them in their behavior. The word rabbi translates my master. Jewish students would seek out a rabbi and ask to follow him. A rabbi would choose only a few highly promising students to be his disciples. If a student was not accepted by the rabbi, he likely returned home to learn a trade. Those chosen to be a rabbi s disciples followed him everywhere. They learned from the rabbi how to think and how to act. They trusted the rabbi, and the goal was to become just like him. When Jesus chose His disciples, His strategy was unusual. Rather than waiting for students to come to Him, Jesus sought out His disciples among the people who followed Him. He found them working fishing and repairing nets. Some of Jesus disciples were introduced to Him by their friends. He approached these ordinary men and said, Follow Me. Their response? Immediately they left and followed Him (Matt. 4:20,22). The Twelve Peter; James, son of Zebedee; John; Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon; and Judas spent time with Jesus during His ministry. Jesus taught them how to think and live in light of God s coming kingdom. He commissioned them to teach others about Him. The good news about Jesus is too great to not share with the entire world. The call to follow Jesus is not an easy one. Jesus said, If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me (Matt. 16:24). Jesus calls us to do the same to surrender our lives for His purposes and perhaps even to die. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it (Matt. 16:25). Welcome/Transition Time (15 minutes) Lesson Snack/Video Activities WELCOME/TRANSITION TIME (15 minutes) Greet boys and girls as they arrive. Direct them to work on the color/activity page. After that, they may choose to play with a favorite toy or do another activity that you have provided. 1 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources
Color Page/Activity Sheet: What Is Missing - provided Crayons or colored pencils Color/activity sheet, 1 per child Invite kids to look at the pictures of the twelve disciples. Read the name of each disciple to the kids. Point to the picture of the five disciples on the right. They are each missing something. Help kids determine what is missing! Say Today we are going to learn about Jesus disciples. Jesus told His disciples to follow Him, and He taught them many things. Invite kids to count the disciples with you. Mention that the disciples were ordinary men. They were not kings or leaders or people of power. God uses ordinary people in His plan! Build with 12 Blocks provided Invite kids to work with a partner. Give each pair of kids 12 blocks and encourage them to build something together. As they work, prompt them to count the blocks. Say In our Bible story today we ll see that Jesus had twelve disciples. Let s count to 12 together. [Count with the children several times, starting slowly and increasing in speed.] Jesus disciples followed Jesus wherever He went. They lived with Him and learned from Him. Jesus had a special job for them to do. WORSHIP Classroom DVD contains worship songs for each unit that the children will enjoy learning. Unit 24 DVD Transition to Lesson Use your usual transition cue to signal that it is time for Bible study. Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. LESSON Story Time As children gather for the Bible story, hold up the disciple cards one at a time and read each disciple s name. Then give that card to a kid. Tell the kids with the cards to hold onto them for now. When you read the Bible story, each kid will hold up his disciple when he hears the disciple s name. Kids who do not have disciple cards may practice holding up their fingers and counting to 12 as you call out disciples in the Bible story. Say Today we are learning about Jesus disciples. In Bible times, disciples were people who wanted to learn from and follow a Bible teacher. Usually a student approached a teacher and asked permission to follow him, but Jesus did things backward! Jesus picked ordinary people to follow Him. God doesn t think like we do, and He always knows what is best. John, who wrote our key passage, was one of Jesus disciples. In the Book of John, John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved. The disciples weren t just Jesus helpers, they were His friends. Isn t that neat? 2 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources
THE BIBLE STORY Preschool Teacher Guide Jesus Called Disciples Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9-13; Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-19; Luke 5:27-32; 6:12-16 Jesus ministry had begun. Jesus walked around the village, telling people about God. He told them to stop disobeying God. People started talking about Jesus and the things He was saying. They wanted to know more, so big crowds of people followed Jesus around to hear Him teach. One day, Jesus was walking along the sea. He saw two brothers: Simon who was called Peter and Andrew. Peter and Andrew were fishermen. They were throwing nets into the sea to catch fish. Jesus said to them, Follow Me, and I will teach you to fish for people! Peter and Andrew dropped their nets right away. They followed Jesus. Jesus kept walking. He saw two more brothers James and John. James and John were in a boat with their father. The men were fixing their fishing nets. Jesus talked to them, too, and they got up. James and John left their father and their boat, and they followed Jesus. Jesus traveled further, and He saw a man named Matthew. (Matthew was also called Levi.) He was sitting at an office where people collected taxes. Matthew was a tax collector. Some people didn t like tax collectors because they were unfair. Jesus said to Matthew, Follow Me! So Matthew got up. He left everything behind, and he followed Jesus. Matthew had a big party at his house for Jesus and His friends. A lot of people came to eat with them. Tax collectors and sinners came. The religious leaders saw the party at Matthew s house. They did not think Jesus should be friends with people who did wrong things. The leaders asked Jesus friends, Why does Jesus eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus heard the leaders asking questions, so He went to talk to them. Jesus said, People who are healthy do not need a doctor, but sick people do. They need help. Then Jesus said, I did not come to help good people; I came to help sinners turn back to God. Some time later, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. He stayed on the mountain all night. The next morning, Jesus called to His friends. He chose 12 of them to be His apostles. That meant Jesus was going to give them a special job to do. They would work with Jesus and tell others about Him. These are the men Jesus chose: Simon (who was called Peter); Simon s brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus (al FEE uhs); Thaddaeus (THAD ih uhs); Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot (iss KAR ih aht). Christ Connection: Jesus told His friends to tell people about Him. Jesus came to save people from their sin. This is very good news! Everyone in the world needs to hear about Jesus. * Use only the words in bold to review the Bible story or tell it to younger preschoolers. 3 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources
Review/Key Passage Key Passage Poster Point to the timeline map to review the last few Bible stories. Mention that some of Jesus disciples followed Him after He was baptized by John. Ask the following questions: What were Peter and Andrew doing when Jesus called them? (They were fishing.) What was Matthew s job before Jesus called him? (He was a tax collector.) What did the religious people think about Jesus eating with sinners? (They did not think Jesus should be friends with people who do bad things.) How many disciples did Jesus call? (12) What did Jesus tell His disciples to do? Jesus said, Follow Me. Say Jesus called the disciples His friends. Jesus told His friends to tell people about Him. Jesus came to save people from their sin. This is very good news! Everyone in the world needs to hear about Jesus. SNACK/VIDEO Snack Signal for cleanup time using the countdown video or whatever method you prefer. Take a bathroom break and wash hands before the snack. Ask for volunteers to help set up and serve the snack. Remind kids to wait until everyone has been served before eating. Thank God for your snack. Watch Video Show the video Jesus Called Disciples (from Classroom DVD) ACTIVITIES Play Follow Me - provided Line up the kids along the wall. Look at a child and say [Name a child], follow me. That child must follow you to another point in the room, mimicking your movements along the way. Do this for all the children, increasing the number of children who are following and mimicking you. If you desire, let one of the children be leader and repeat the game. Say Jesus called 12 men to be His disciples. What did Jesus tell His disciples to do? Jesus said, Follow Me. Following Jesus doesn t mean just to walk behind Him. Following Jesus means you no longer do whatever you want, you do whatever Jesus wants. It means you trust Jesus and obey His words. It means you love Him, obey Him, and learn from Him. 4 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources
Pick up Preschool children need to be picked up by a parent/grandparent and the adult must show the parent receipt with matching I.D. number. If the tag is missing, the adult can go to the Welcome Center and have a receipt reprinted. Welcome the second session teachers and tell them what they need to know about the children who are present. 5 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources