Session 2:
Become A Follower
Your Best Self | Message Series
“They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!”
Luke 9:17
Introduction
Becoming a leader seems to be one of the highest values in our contemporary culture – our kids are encouraged to become leaders in almost every class, team, or activity they’re a part of. And while growing leadership skills can be wonderful, we often overlook the surprising benefits of being an amazing follower. Great following involves growing the skills of humility, support, and encouragement. Every one of us would benefit from developing those character traits!
But even more than just learning good life skills, becoming a dedicated follower of Jesus is the most important decision we can make in our entire lives. Learning to be obedient to God, though sometimes difficult, can lead to experiencing him in dramatic ways. God wants us to obey his calling in our lives, so we can become the people he created us to be!
Share Your Story
Start the conversation by using these suggested questions:
1. Think back to group projects you we part of in school. Were you more likely to take the leader or follower roles in those groups?
2. Who is one of the greatest leaders you’ve met in your life? On the flip side, can you think of someone who was great at following or obeying a leader well? How did they show that ability?
3. How could being a healthy follower differ from being mindlessly devoted to someone?
Watch the Video
Filming…Video Coming Soon…
Hear God’s Story
In Luke chapter 9, Jesus is in the full swing of his ministry. He and the disciples are traveling, healing, and telling people about the Good News – and they’ve attracted a crowd of interested listeners. Jesus uses the opportunity to teach his disciples a lesson while helping the crowd.
Read Luke 9:12-17.
- Though the disciples are probably concerned about making sure the crowd is fed at the beginning of the story, they are probably equally as interested in sending them away so that they can be free of them. When Jesus tells the disciples, instead, that they should feed them, how do you think they would have felt?
- In addition to continuing to have to oversee the crowd, what else was did the disciples think was at stake, according to verse 13? Why do you think Jesus put them in a situation in which they thought that both their time and money was at stake?
- Jesus tells the disciples to organize the crowd in to groups of 50 and have them sit down. Have you ever organized a big event where people had to be grouped or seated? Was this a small or a large task?
- As Jesus is first handing out the bread and fish to his disciples, what do you think they imagined the plan to be? What stages of understanding might they have gone through during the process and after it was finished?
Create a New Story
In this section, let’s talk about how we’ll apply what we’ve learned from God through the Bible passage. We’ll decide on a few practical steps we can take this week to live out God’s truth.
- The disciples were given several directions by Jesus that they probably didn’t understand – but that they were capable to obeying, even without understanding. Has God ever called you to do something simple that you did not understand?
- By obeying Jesus, the disciples got to see a miracle first hand – and experience its growing power with every new person they handed bread and fish to. Have you ever obeyed Jesus and seen him work in a powerful way?
- What do you think the message was that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples? How would our lives change if we applied that message to the way we take care of the people around us?
- Sometimes, in our experiences with God, we come away full of blessings and joy (like the disciples did with the extra baskets of leftovers), but we may forget to share them. What’s one way you can share the joy you’ve received from following God with someone else in your life?
- What stands in your way of following Jesus as openly and trustingly as the disciples did that day?
Make sure to close your meeting in prayer, thanking God for how incredible his plans are, and asking him to inspire us to follow him more eagerly.
— For Parents —
It’s easy to compartmentalize our own faith from that of our children. Oftentimes the only crossover is when we ask, “What did you learn today?” when picking them up from Journey Kids environments.
Instead of keeping your faith separate from your children, one of the best opportunities you have to model faith is to intentionally share about what God is teaching you. In this section, you will find a simple activity to create space to talk about the Sunday messages with your children. Your kids can understand more about what a relationship with God looks like and more about who God is to you.