June 28, 2015

NT 12 Jesus Turns Water into Wine

Reference: John 2:1-11

Story Summary:
     Jesus and his disciples attended a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. His mother, Mary, was there, as well. But during the celebration, they ran out of wine to drink. Jesus’ mother, Mary, told Jesus that there was no more wine.
     Jesus said, “Why do you bring me into this? My time has not yet come.” He was telling her that it wasn’t the right time for him to show everyone that he was God’s Son.
     Jesus had the party servants fill six jars with water. Then, he had them scoop some out and bring it to the person in charge of the dinner. It had turned into wine! And when the person in charge of the dinner drank it, he said it was the very best wine of all!
     This was Jesus’ very first miracle. And when his disciples saw it, they put their faith in him.

Big Idea and Motions: Jesus’ miracles are signs that show us he’s God.
Jesus’ - form a cross with your forearms
Miracles - hold your hands above your head and wiggle them in celebration
Signs - hold your arm up, palm facing out, pretending it’s a stop sign
Show - pretend to look through binoculars
God - point up

Verse and Motions: John 20:31, ESV - But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God...
Written - pretend to write on one of your palms
You - point to another person
Believe - pretend to grasp a rope with both hands*
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
Son - pretend to cradle a baby
God - point up
*This is the ASL sign for faith/trust. Follow this link to watch a video: http://goo.gl/4cHz3

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Where was Jesus at in today’s story? // A wedding.
Who else was there at the wedding? // Jesus’ disciples, his mother Mary.
What did Mary tell Jesus? // They’ve run out of wine.
What did Jesus have the servants do? // Fill six large stone jars with water.
What happened when the servants scooped the water out of the jars? // It had turned into wine.
What did the person in charge of the dinner say about the wine? // It was the best wine.
Who did the disciples put their faith in after seeing Jesus’ miracle? // Jesus
What do the seven miraculous signs in John show us? // Jesus is God’s Son.

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - https://goo.gl/C9w1vk
Resources - https://goo.gl/ZyLj0v

June 21, 2015

NT 11 The Twelve Disciples

Reference: Luke 6:12-16 , Matthew 9:9, John 1:43-51

Story Summary:
     Jesus had twelve disciples. These were men who followed him around wherever he went and learned from him. The first four of his disciples were fishermen: the brothers Simon and Andrew, and the other brothers, James and John. But Jesus selected eight other men to be his disciples.
     Jesus asked a man named Philip to follow him. When he did, Philip told his friend, Nathanael, they he had found the promised savior from God. But when Nathanael found out Jesus was from Nazareth, he said, "Can anything good come from there?" When Nathanael came to Jesus, Jesus showed Nathanael that he knew who he was, even though he had never seen him before. So Nathanael followed Jesus, too.
     Jesus once saw a man sitting at a tax collector's booth named Levi. Tax collectors were despised back then because they would collect extra money for themselves and become rich. But Jesus asked Levi to follow him and he did.
     In all, Jesus asked twelve different men to be his disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, John,Philip, Nathanael, Matthew, Thomas, Simon, James, Judas, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Big Idea and Motions: A disciple believes the good news and follows Jesus.
Disciple - Hold up the index finger on both hands. Bounce them to the side, as if they’re walking, with one following the other *
Believes - pretend to grab hold of a rope with two hands **
Good news - pretend to read news in something you’re holding and smile
Follows - march in place
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
* This is the ASL Sign for “Disciple.”
** This is the ASL Sign for “Trust”

Verse / Motions: 1 Timothy 1:15, ESV - ...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Christ Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
Came into - gesture with your arm like you’re waving someone over
Save - make the baseball “safe” sign
Sinners - two thumbs down
I am - point to yourself with two thumbs
Foremost - hold up 1 finger (since “foremost” means “number one”)

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
What special word does the Bible use for students who follow and learn from a rabbi? // Disciple.
What job did Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John have? // They were fishermen.
Who went and told Nathanael that he had found Jesus? // Philip.
What did Nathanael/Bartholomew do when he heard about Jesus? // Made fun of him.
What was Matthew/Levi’s job? What did people think of them? // A tax collector, and people despised them.
Who was the disciple who wouldn’t believe Jesus rose from the dead until he saw him? // Thomas.
How was Jesus different than a regular rabbi? // God’s Son, perfect, spoke God’s Word, died and rose to save us
How many disciples did Jesus have? // Twelve.
What disciple is always listed first? Why? // Peter because he was the leader
What disciple is always listed last? Why? // Judas, because he betrayed Jesus

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - https://goo.gl/KSdxwE
Resources - https://goo.gl/hc57hR

June 14, 2015

NT 10 Jesus Calls the First Disciples

Reference: Luke 5:1-11

Story Summary:
     One day, Jesus was teaching by the Sea of Galilee. The crowd was so great that Jesus asked two fishermen if he could stand on their out in the water and teach the crowd. The boat belonged to the brothers, Simon and Andrew. They also worked with two men who were also brothers, James and John.
     When he finished speaking, Jesus asked the men to cast their nets into the water to catch some fish. "Master," the fishermen said, "we've fished all night and caught nothing! But because you say so, we'll let down the nets." When they did, they caught so many fish, their boats began to sink. They needed their partners to come with another boat to hold all the fish.
     When Simon saw this miraculous catch of fish, he said, "Go away from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man!" Simon knew that Jesus couldn't have done such a thing if he was just an ordinary person. Jesus told him to not be afraid. "From now on," Jesus said, "you will catch people." Right then, the four fisher men left their nets and followed Jesus. They became his very first disciples.

Big Idea and Motions: A disciple believes the good news and follows Jesus.
Disciple - Hold up the index finger on both hands. Bounce them to the side, as if they’re walking, with one following the other *
Believes - pretend to grab hold of a rope with two hands**
Good news - pretend to read news in something you’re holding and smile
Follows - march in place
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
* This is the ASL Sign for “Disciple.”
** This is the ASL Sign for “Trust”

Verse / Motions: Mark 1:17, ESV - And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
Said - make your hand talk like a puppet
Follow me - march in place and swing your arms
I - point to yourself with two thumbs
Fishers - pretend to cast a fishing rod
Men - flex your muscles

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Who came to see Jesus? // A crowd of people
What did Jesus do with the crowd of people? // Taught them God’s Word.
What were the names of the fishermen in today’s story? // Simon, Andrew, James, and John.
How many fish did Simon and the others catch the night before? // None.
What did Jesus tell Simon to do with his nets? // Throw them over the side of the boat to catch fish.
What happened when they threw their nets over? // They caught tons of fish.
Why did Simon say to Jesus, “I’m sinful! Go away from me!”? // He saw his power, knew he didn’t deserve to be around him.
What did Jesus mean when he said they would be “fishers of men”? // His disciples would go make new disciples.
Who left everything and followed Jesus in today’s story? // Simon, Andrew, James, and John
Can a tax collector or bully become Jesus’ disciple? How do you know? // Yes, because Matthew and Saul did

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - https://goo.gl/87MRxI
Resources - https://goo.gl/5kkAt7

June 7, 2015

NT 09 Jesus is Tempted

Reference: Luke 4:1-13

Story Summary:
     After Jesus was baptized, God's Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After Jesus fasted for 40 days, the devil arrived to tempt him.
     The devil told Jesus to take some stones and turn them into bread to eat. But Jesus didn't give in. He said, "God's Word tells us that people don't live on bread alone, but on God's Word."
     The devil then showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. He told Jesus he'd place him in charge of all of them, as long as Jesus would bow down and worship him. But Jesus said, "God's Word tells us to only worship the Lord God." Jesus didn't give into the devil's temptation.
     Then the devil took Jesus to the top of the temple. He told Jesus to jump off of it. The devil even twisted a Bible verse to make it sound like God wanted Jesus to jump off of buildings so angels could catch him. But Jesus ddin't give in. He said, "God's Word tells us to not put God to test."
     After tempting Jesus the devil left him. God then sent angels to take care of Jesus.

Big Idea and Motions: Jesus was tempted, but he never sinned!
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
Tempted - put a sneaky look on your face and make a “Hey, come over here” gesture with your hands
Never - wag your finger “no”
Sinned - two thumbs down

Verse / Motions: Hebrew 2:18, ESV - For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
He - form a cross with your forearms (because “he” is Jesus)
Suffered - wring your hands and look like you’re in agony
Tempted - put a sneaky look on your face and make a “come here” gesture with your hands
Help - reach down and pretend to pull someone up from the ground.
Being tempted - same as above

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Where was Jesus in today’s story? // The desert/wilderness.
What did Jesus not do for 40 days? // Eat.
Who came to tempt Jesus? // The devil.
How many times did the devil tempt Jesus? // Three
What did the devil tell Jesus to do to the stones? // Turn them to bread.
The devil said he’d make Jesus king of the world, if he would...? // Bow down and worship the devil
What did the devil tell Jesus to do at the temple? // Jump off the top, see if God would send angels to catch
When Jesus said, “It is written...”, what did that mean? // He was saying something from the Bible.
Did Jesus ever give into any temptation? // No
What are the things we should remember when we’re tempted? // Jesus will help us, God gives a way out, The Devil will run away if we stand up to him, Jesus died to pay for our sins

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - https://goo.gl/2WhupS
Resources - https://goo.gl/C4OatP