Following
WELCOME TO WEEK 1
This month we will see the early part of Jesus ministry. We will see how Jesus sometimes people thought Jesus’ teachings were backwards or the opposite from how they thought. Jesus was showing them a new way to love, to live and to serve God!
BIBLE STORY
Have you ever had an opposite day? Wether your opposite day was on purpose or by accident, it can be tricky to do or have the opposite thing happen to you all day! Maybe you had a plan but nothing seemed to go the way you planned that day, its an opposite day! Maybe you and your friend planned to dress in opposite clothing, its an opposite day! Let’s pretend we are doing an opposite or backwards day! See if you can demonstrate how to do these activities in a backwards order, like in rewind! (Students can mime the activity instead of actually doing it)
Putting on your socks
Walking through the door
Brushing your teeth (including putting on toothpaste)
Walking up the stairs
Giving a secret handshake (come up with a secret handshake first if necessary)
Getting into a car
Peeling a banana
Putting on your coat
Doing hopscotch
Was that easy or hard to do those activities in backwards, or reverse, order? It can be tricky to do things backwards. Jesus called his disciples and they thought he was asking them to do something that seemed to be backwards. They had already fished all night and caught nothing, and yet Jesus was asking them to throw their nets back into the water after their night of fishing was over. They obeyed Jesus and witnessed a miracle they knew came from Jesus. What Jesus did may have seemed backwards, but they realized that following Jesus was better than following their own way. We can trust that God’s way is better than our own. It may be difficult, it may make us stand out, and it might seem strange to others, but God’s way will turn out right in the end. Let’s read our story in the Bible to see how the disciples were called by Jesus.
Read or listen to the Bible verse for this week: Luke 5:1-11
What was Jesus doing when he standing by the Lake of Gennesaret? (Preaching the word of God to those standing by
What were the fishermen doing while their boats were at the shore? Washing out their nets)
What did he ask Simon to do after he got into his boat? (To push it further out from shore)
Why did Jesus want the boat pushed further out? (So the crowd gathered could hear his teaching)
When he was finished teaching, what did he ask Simon to do? (Put his nets back out on the other side)
Did Simon want to put his nets back out or believe anything would happen? (Not really. He said “Master, we have worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything, but because you say so, I will let down the nets”)
What happened after they let their nets down? (They caught such a large amount of fish their nets began to break and they asked another boat to come help)
How did Simon respond once he witnessed all of the fish? (He asked Jesus to go from him because he was a sinful man)
What did Jesus tell Simon? (Do not be afraid, from now on you will fish for people)
When did the fishermen decide to follow Jesus? ( they pulled their boats to shore, left everything and followed him)
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY
Activity
It would be crazy to live in an opposite world! What if we liked the things we usually don't like and disliked the things we usually love! Let’s play a game. I’m going to say a statement, and I want you to say a statement you think is an opposite of what I just said. For example, if I said “I love broccoli, you could say I dislike ice cream. Ready? (Answers may vary, there are no wrong answers!)
I dislike swimming… (cleaning the pool)
I like cleaning the toilet…(watching a movie)
I dislike downhill skiing…(cross-country skiing)
I dislike playing video games…(reading a textbook)
I like cleaning out the garage…(sitting by the pool)
I like studying for a big test…(getting good grades)
I dislike eating cookies…(eating Brussel sprouts)
I dislike birthday parties… (taking down the decorations)
Materials:
Alternate
Riddles can sometimes be backwards or seem as though they are backwards because they are hard to figure out. Listen to some of these riddles and see if you can figure out some of the answers.
What has to be broken before you can use it? (An egg)
I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am I? (A candle)
What month of the year has 28 days? (All of them)
What question can you never answer yes to? (Are you asleep yet?)
What can you keep after giving it to someone? (Your word)
You walk into a room that contains a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle and a fireplace. What would you light first? (The match)
What can’t talk but will reply when spoken to? (An echo)
I follow you all the time and copy your every move, but you can’t touch me or catch me. What am I? (Your shadow)
What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?(a piano)
I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I? (Your breath)
Was it easy or hard to answer these riddles? Some of them seemed confusing or it was unclear what the answer could be. Jesus spoke in a way that was unlike anything the people had heard before, but many understood him clearly. They may not have understood everything he was saying, but they understood He loved them and wanted to save them from their sins. God’s word is clear to us today and His message is the same; He loves us and wants to save us from our sins or what we think is right.
Materials:
Independent activity:
Create your own maze for your family to follow. Decide if you want to make one on paper, make a treasure hunt maze with clues for them to figure out, or create a life size maze using pool noodle, string, or other household items. To make the life size maze more challenging, have your family complete the maze while going backwards.
Materials: various objects around the house such as pool noodles and other objects to create paths
ARTS & CAFTS
CRAFT 1
Halves boat Shapes:
Materials:printed coloring sheet, crayons or other coloring utensils
Craft 2
Coloring page
Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons
FOLLOW-UP
Read or listen to Isaiah 55:8-9
Can you read my thoughts? What am I thinking about right now? When we read this scripture in Isaiah, do you think that is all that was meant when it said, My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways? Of course we can not guess what God is “thinking” about, but even more than that, we can not think on the same level as God. Our thoughts are human and therefore they are sometimes selfish, evil and corrupt. But even though we are not perfect, we can compare our thoughts how the Bible says we should think. Before we make decisions or speak to others, we can stop and question if our thoughts are the way God would have them be. We can choose to see the truth about how we should think in the Bible and then act on those thoughts and not our own. We’ve learned this week that we trust God’s plan is better than ours even though it may be the opposite of what we think.
Have you ever said something to someone you later regretted saying because it wasn’t kind?
How do you know your thoughts are not as high as God’s thoughts?
Should we strive to have our thoughts as high as God’s?
How can we trust our thoughts are following what God wants?
What lies would Satan want us to believe about our thoughts?
When you are faced with a decision, how can you check your thoughts according to what God wants our thoughts to be?
How do our actions reflect our thoughts?
How do our thoughts relate to the things we see or hear?
Practical Application at Home
We want our thoughts to follow after how God would want us think and therefore act. There are times when it is easy to see we do not have the answers and we need help from God. Then there are every day situations where we think we already have all the answers and we don’t need any help from God. God wants us to seek Him in all things, even when we think we know what is best. We have all made mistakes in how we treated someone, responded in disobedience when we knew we should obey and didn’t step up to do what was right because we were afraid of standing out. God sees it all and forgives our mistakes, and then He calls us to follow His ways instead of ours.
Listen to these situations and tell the selfish way we may want to respond, and then tell the way you think God would want us to respond.
-Susan is being teased by several kids at school every day
-Johnny comes to school with not enough food to eat at lunch
-Kim is not the best player on the team and the other teammates are starting to get upset
-Mom asked you to help her with chores while your siblings didn’t have to help at all
-Dad expects you to help mow the lawn all summer which cuts into your play time
-a kid at school is mean to you every day for seemingly no reason
-Your neighbor always leaves their trash cans in the street days after trash day.
It’s easy to sometimes see these situations from our human point of view and handle them selfishly, only in how it affects us. God wants us to live our lives according to what He knows is best. We can show the same love God has given us, to others. Try to see situations this week as opportunities to invite God to show you the way He wants you to deal with them.
Additional Resources
Outings to Reinforce Lesson
Enjoy the cool weather and take a nature walk. Observe the things God created and how they work together in His plan. What part do each of us play in God’s plan for us?