Our memory verse that goes along with it is John 15:16:
"Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you and hath ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit."
Our verse was when Jesus was speaking to his disciples but we also talked about how he speaks to us too. Once we have Jesus in our hearts we become one of Jesus' special friends (disciples) and so we are also 'ordained to bring forth fruit'. What does it mean to be ordain? Well, we talked about how it means that god has a special plan for us. He has made or appointed us for a specific purpose.
And what should we do now that we know God has given us a special purpose? We should GO! We should go and do what he has called us to do. We shouldn't sit around expecting other people to do things or think that other people are more equipped than us. No! We are called to 'go'!
And what happens when we go and do what God has called us to do? We will bring forth fruit! Does that mean we are going to be growing strawberries on our arm? Or watermelons on our back? No! It means that if we do what God has ordained (or called us and made special for his purposes) us to do, then we will "make our lives count for God".
So here's another way we could say this verse: 'Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you and appointed you that you should go and make your life count for God."
Along with our memory verse work we did our flannel board lesson which goes through the story of how Jesus finds and calls his disciples. Our story touched on how some men were John the Baptists disciples and we're learning from him until Jesus walked by and John said he was the Messiah, so these men started following him. Later we saw how he found four men who were fishermen and how he asked them to follow him. (This was the main focus of our story and we elaborated how they chose to leave all they had and now fish for men).Then we see him asking a couple other men to follow him like Matthew and Philip. We also saw how Jesus wanted 12 men and he had chosen some but didn't know who else to choose so he went to a mountain and prayed and seeked his father god for guidance on the matter. And after that he chose the other disciples until he had: twelve.
Some key points we focused on:
-none of the disciples were alike. Some could do one thing. Some another. Some examples:
-Andrew and his brother and friends could manage boat
-Matthew was good with math and keeping records
-judas took care of the money
- Thaddeus meant praise, so maybe he was happy.
-Thomas was a sad and more thoughtful person.
-Each would help Jesus in different ways but there was something that each of them could do.
-What things can you do to serve God? Are you a good writer? Public speaker? Teacher? Are you good at singing? Are you good at witnessing and telling others about Jesus? Or are you really kind and just help to make people feel welcome? EVERYONE has a gift they can use toward God. And none are greater than others.
-No one can do everything well but every person can do something well.
-He chooses for us to work for Him in the way that He made us!
After our lesson we did sing "I will make you fishers of men". And we started listening to "The Twelve Disciples" by Bryan Sirchio, which helps to teach the names of the twelve disciples in a fun way. We have plans to listen to it all week until we get them all! Which Kara's amazing memory has already got half of them this morning. I found a coloring sheet of all twelve disciples for her to color too, while we listened to the so g over and over.
Hope you have a fun time learning about how Jesus chose his disciples (and us) for a purpose. And we have to 'go!' to be able to bring the fruit to our lives.
I would love to hear of any other ideas you have for teaching on the twelve disciples. We are always looking for fresh ideas to add to our Bible time.
Until next time, Happy Bible Teaching! And God Bless!
Heather Joy
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