What Does It Mean to Follow JESUS?

What does it mean to follow JESUS?

Question to ask your kids: What are the four Gospels? Answer: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Question to ask your kids: How many times do you think Jesus said, “Follow Me,” in the four Gospels? Answer: 13

Tell your kids: Jesus used the words, “Follow Me,” to call His disciples.

Question to ask your kids: How many disciples did Jesus have? Answer: 12

Bible Study on Jesus calling the 12 disciples to follow Him from the four gospels (you could have your kids act this out)

Simon Peter (Fisherman) and Andrew (Fisherman) (Matthew 4:18-20)
18 Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

James (Fisherman) and John (Fisherman) (Matthew 4:21-22)
21 Jesus saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them,
22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Philip and Nathanael/Bartholomew (John 1:43-51)
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Matthew/Levi (Tax Collector) (Matthew 9:9)
9 Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. He said to him, “Follow Me.” So, he arose and followed Him.

The Twelve Chosen (Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:12-19)
13 Jesus went up on the mountain and prayed and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.
14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
16 Simon and Andrew,
17 James and John, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;
18 Philip, Nathanael/Bartholomew, Matthew/Levi, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus/Jude, Simon the Canaanite/Zealot;
19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Question to ask your kids: What does it mean to follow Jesus? Answers: May vary, but some answers may be to love like Jesus loved, to walk like Jesus walked, to talk like Jesus talked, to live like Jesus lived, to obey like Jesus obeyed (discuss what they share)

Game to play with your kids: Follow the leader https://www.considerable.com/entertainment/games/follow-the-leader/

Song to sing with your kids: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8jvfdDtoqY

Prayer to pray with your kids: Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending Your son, Jesus, to not only die on the cross for our sins, but to show us how to love, walk, talk, live, and obey. Please help us to follow Jesus and share Him with others. Amen.

Immanuel, God With Us

We are living in some different times than we are used to. 
For most people, these times are hard and confusing and maybe even scary. 
You might be doing school in a way that you have never done before. 

You might not be able to participate in activities you have previously enjoyed.
It’s okay to admit that it’s not the best of times.

But something that gives me great comfort, especially in difficult times,
is remembering that God is with us.

Matthew 1:23 – “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, 
                           and they shall call His name "Immanuel,"
                           which is translated, "God with us."

Jesus had a lot of names.
The cool thing about His names is that they described His character and His actions.
In this verse we see that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

John 1:14 – And the Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us,
                   and we beheld His glory,
                   the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
                   full of grace and truth.

Okay, this verse always gives me “glory bumps” as a dear friend of mine calls them.
God became a human and dwelt (a fancy word for lived) among people
and they got to see God’s glory and grace and truth through Him. WOW!
I always think it would have been cool to have lived when Jesus walked the earth.

The awesome thing is that when you become a believer in Jesus,
He dwells (lives) with you 24/7. How cool is that?
When you wake up, He is with you.
When you are reading your Bible and praying, He is with you.
When you are doing math, He is with you.
When you are playing with your brother or sister, He is with you.
When you are doing your chores, He is with you.
When you are sleeping, He is with you.
He is always with you!!!

I challenge and encourage you to take time this week to remember that
God is always with you.

Lord,
You are Immanuel, God with me.
Thank You that You are always with me.
Please help me to remember that as I go through my week.
I love You!
Amen.