How do we follow Jesus? We look for the signs! God has given us several tools so that we can hear His voice and have a personal relationship with Him. Unfortunately, there are lots of things that can distract us. Our job is to discern what is distracting us and focus on the voice of God.
Scripture Focus: Begin your lesson by reading this verse straight from the Bible. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 ESV
* If you are doing this lesson with older students, you may want to discuss this verse in depth. Today’s society thinks there are lots of ways to get connected to God. You could make a list of them and discuss why they are actually not the true way to connect to God. This may take a bit of research and knowledge of world religions. If you choose to use this lesson at the beginning of a unit on following Jesus, this will give you more time to research.
Materials:
- Things that represent drawing closer to Jesus {bibles, memory verse cards, church bulletins, hymnals, Bible journals, pictures from Bible stories, etc.}
- Things that might represent drawing away from Jesus. {These things don’t have to be inherently evil, just things that might draw our attention away from God if we let them—pretend money, technology items, different kinds of music, popular magazines, candy, clothing, or anything else that could distract a child.}
- A Jesus Sign–This can be “Jesus” written on a piece of paper or even a picture.
Background: Unfortunately, there are lots of things that can draw our attention away from Jesus. Though we may think that we live in the craziest, hardest time to follow Jesus, the world has always tried to pull people away from the truth. Even in Biblical times, Jesus strived to teach the people that He was THE Way, THE Truth, and The Life. There are no substitutions.
Object Lesson for Follow Jesus:
{Lay out a path with the items that represent Jesus, going from one side of the room to the other, like a trail. Scatter the items that might distract people from following Jesus around them so that the pathway is not clear. When you are finished, there should be items all over the floor of the room}
Ask a student if they can find the items that might lead them closer to God. Challenge them to follow the trail, walking over only items that lead them closer to Jesus, until they can get across the room to the Jesus sign.
Discuss:
Discuss what kinds of things they walked across and how those things (or what they represent) might bring them closer to Jesus.
- Out of those items, which might be the most important? Why? (The Bible gives us specific directions and helps us know if we are on the right path. Prayer is our personal connection with God. While going to church and other things might be beneficial, we need to have a personal relationship with Him!)
- What kinds of items were distractions?
- Are they distractions in their own personal lives?
- Are there times they may be acceptable and not distract?
Life Application for Follow Jesus:
Have each student decide on one way they will focus more on Jesus this week.
Tara is a homeschool mom who lives in Nashville, TN with her family of 5. Visit her at MinivanMinistries.com, where she blogs about making Jesus the driving force in your family. Her goal is to help you help your kids fall in love with Jesus. You can also hang out with her on FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and follow MinivanMin on Periscope. Thanks for reading!
