Friday, June 17, 2011

Following Jesus Series: Christ Our Leader Part 1

WELCOME TO FOLLOWING JESUS SERIES.

This series called 'Following Jesus' is primarily written with young children in mind.   However, a parent, grandparent or interested adult will be most helpful in accompanying them. God calls us His children and He wants us to become once again like little children- not childish but childlike.  So with this in mind, whether we are a young child or an adult, this series may assist you in some way to follow Jesus.

How we follow Jesus our leader?

Scripture: Firstly let us see how Jesus called his 12 disciples. We find this out by reading the Scripture. 
Our first task therefore is to turn to the New Testament section of the bible and open up at Matthew chapter 4:vs 18:22.

Meditate: After you have read this scripture, you may wish to stay quiet for a little while (meditate) to see what this passage means to you.  Most importantly, share with Jesus your thoughts and feelings about this story. You may wish to share your thoughts with mum/dad/ grandma/grandpa or your special friend.

Discussion: We may wish to think about the qualities of a great leader. For example: a great leader is brave, kind, strong and intelligent.
However, Jesus Christ our leader is all-wise, almighty, all-merciful and eternal. Jesus is all of these qualities because He is God- the Son of God the Father.

Learning the Scripture:
We can know that Jesus is our  leader by reading the Scripture and seeing what is written about Him.

Two important passages from scripture that we can learn and memorize are:
..." I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" ( Jn 14:6)

..." I am the light of the world. He who follow me does not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life'  (Jn 812)

Action:
Knowing about Jesus is important but we need to put our desire to follow Him into action.

To follow Jesus, we must believe in Him and follow His example of loving obedience to God the Father.
We may put this into action by:
  • Praying that we may follow Him always in our lives.We can make this part of our night prayer each night before we go to bed.
  • Listening with attention to those who teach you about God.
  • Being attentive when we go to Mass each Sunday.
  • Being obedient in class and at home especially for love of Jesus 
My decision: 
Every body's life is different and has different circumstances.  However, why not have a think about how you will follow Jesus during this coming week.  Remember to be specific and keep it simple.
For example: I will be kind.  This is too general and therefore I may not carry out what I want to do.

However, if I am specific about my decision, then I am more likely to carry it out.
For example:  I will kind by allowing my sister/brother watch her favourite programme/video game  on Tuesday night.

Now think about how you will follow Jesus and how you will put this decision into action in your life.

It is important to remember that we are not just putting into action our decision to feel good about ourselves. No, we are wanting to follow  Jesus and we want to do what Jesus Himself would do out of love for Jesus.

Next week, we will explore why Jesus is our leader.


 








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