Bible Study – If You Want To Become My Followers
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
During this “Ordinary Time” a time after Pentecost, we are nourished by the scriptures appointed for the season and empowered by our baptisms, we are invited to be on the lookout for all the blessings found in the ordinary – to see God at work here and now. And we are need to share our blessings with others.
The Pharisee in each of us wants to "get it right." In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is concerned that we "get it." So Jesus takes the ordinary things of life, from washing hands to attending to a child, and meets us where we are and helps us to "get it," finding blessings in the ordinary.
"Who do people say that I am?" Jesus asks his disciples. And they offer the various responses they have heard. "But who do YOU say that I am?" asks Jesus. Ah, the central question. Central for the relationship between Jesus and his disciples. Central for us. Who do WE say that Jesus is?
Find 2 Kings 2:1-13. Which section of the Bible holds that book (Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament). Read the passage. Elijah was a prophet, a man who told it like it is. It was time for Elijah to be taken up to heaven and his apprentice, Elisha, would now do the work Elijah had been doing. Elisha had been a good apprentice and wanted to do a good job. He knew that the key to doing a good job was having the spirit that had been helping Elijah. He asks for the same spirit to fall on him. Elijah tells him to watch very carefully as he is taken up to heaven, not take his eyes off of him, and he will get what he needs. As Elijah is being taken up, Elisha keeps his eyes peeled on Elijah, and when Elijah is gone, his coat is at the feet of Elisha, who picks it up and goes on to do the work he has been given to do. To this day, many Hebrew people still expect Elijah to come back, and at the feast of Passover they set a place for him in case he shows up.
Opening Prayer: Thank you for the Prophet Elijah and for those who still wait for his return. Thank you for sending Jesus who will come again. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Mark 8:27-38 and read or read the scriptures below.
Mark 8:27-38
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
The Way of the Cross
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Reflection Questions: (See answers at the bottom of the pages)
- Who is John the Baptist?
- Who is Elijah?
- What did the disciples mean by saying that Jesus is the Messiah?
- Why didn't Jesus want the disciples to tell other people what they were noticing?
- What does Jesus say is going to happen to him?
- What is going on between Peter and Jesus in verses 32b and 33?
Click here for the young learner’s lesson.
Videos (Click on url)
September 15, 2024. Mark 8:27-38 – We must carry our cross: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqVgrNQ4GuM
Mark 8:27-38 Peter’s Confession of Faith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp-QP7pcm8o
Gospel of Mark Summary: A complete Animated Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGHqu9-DtXk
Song: I Have Decided To Follow Jesus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRvrypg4780 or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_fZfiuONi0
Activities:
Taking Up Your Cross: What does it mean “taking up your cross and following Jesus”? You will be developing your own “cross.” The knights of old went out to do battle carrying a shield with their family crest and motto. We probably won't need suits of armor, but our own crosses help us notice who we are.
You will be working on this for the next several weeks, so you can be thinking about things you want on your cross as well as a motto that describes them. You can incorporate your family name if they want, or just use your first name. You can be thinking of symbols to describe things you have a talent for doing, such as a musical note, a sports ball, a paint brush, etc. Perhaps one of your talents is entertaining a much younger sibling or young friend in the neighborhood. Maybe you spend time with an elderly grandparent. Perhaps you serve as acolytes in your church. Think of ways you can include them on your cross.
Use some paper and pencil and to start thinking about what you may want to include.
To be a Christian: think about what it means for you to be a Christian. What are the hard parts? What are the comforting parts?
Here are some additional questions: Can you think of times when following Jesus will:
- Make you seem odd to friends at school?
- Cause you to have to make difficult choices?
- Invite you to be who you really are, using your gifts and talents?
- Help you discover what is really true, valuable, and beautiful?
- Will maybe even change your priorities?
Cross Wall Hanging: Use poster board, craft sticks, glue and markers, etc to decorate a large wall hanging with the words “Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus”
Take Up Your Cross - Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/take-up-your-cross-6
Take Up Your Cross - Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/take-up-your-cross-11
Take Up Your Cross – Decoder: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/take-up-your-cross-7
Take Up Your Cross – Fill in the Blanks: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/take-up-your-cross-8
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for showing us the ways to follow you. Thank you for loving us as we learn how to do what you call us to do. Amen.
Answers to the Reflection Questions:
- Who is John the Baptist? (It was John the Baptist who baptized Jesus and was later killed by King Herod. He was Jesus cousin.)
- Who is Elijah? (He was a prophet that the Hebrew people expect to return again.)
- What did the disciples mean by saying that Jesus is the Messiah? (The Hebrew people believed that the Messiah – a descendant of King David – would come and be a glorious King.)
- Why didn't Jesus want the disciples to tell other people what they were noticing? (Jesus knew that he was not going to be the kind of king they expected.)
- What does Jesus say is going to happen to him? (He predicts rejection, death and resurrection.)
- What is going on between Peter and Jesus in verses 32b and 33? (Peter wants to protect Jesus from the future that Jesus predicts, and Jesus tells Peter he is getting in the way.)
