(10 minutes)
Students will study Matthew 4:18-22 and examine the response of the first disciples to Jesus’ call.
(10 minutes)
Provide a dry erase board and markers.
Ask: As simply as you can put it, what does Jesus want us to do with our lives? Record responses on the board. Read Matthew 4:18–22. Ask students to identify what Jesus was calling Simon, Andrew, James and John to do (Come and follow me.). Clarify that this continues to be what Jesus calls each of us to do today.
Erase the previous responses and write the phrase “Follow Me” on the board. Ask: According to anything you already know of Scripture, what does following Jesus include? Write students’ responses around the phrase. Emphasize to students that we have a greater understanding of what it means to follow Christ from our understanding of God’s Word, but these initial disciples had little idea of where exactly Jesus would lead them. Yet they dropped everything about their lives and followed Jesus. Explain how their exposure to Jesus had convinced them that Jesus was worth abandoning everything for, which would ultimately mean, literally, giving up their lives.
Ask: How would you respond if Jesus physically walked up and invited you to follow Him? Was He worth following 2000 years ago? Clarify that Church tradition says that every one of those first disciples gave up their lives believing Jesus was worth it. Is He worth it to you today?