𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• If you could spend the day with a famous person or someone you look up to. Who would it be and why?

• What is one thing that you think would make your life complete if you had it?

• Think of something that someone influenced you into buying or doing. What is it and why did you believe the person?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

. . . 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥; 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟱:𝟭𝟬-𝟭𝟭

Being a Christian is hard with all of life’s tough battles ahead of us and the many things we have to do for our families and our work or school. That’s why it’s sometimes tempting to just go to church yet not be involved in ministry and other church activities. But what does being a disciple of Christ truly mean? How does it affect our lives and our relationships? Let’s look at the lives of the disciples on how their relationship with Jesus grew as He set them apart and called them to follow Him. What does it mean to follow Jesus and walk with Him?

𝟭. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.

. . . 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥; 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯.” 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟱:𝟭𝟬

Simon, a.k.a. Peter, and the other disciples had probably heard about Jesus and the miracles He had done. They believed that He was the promised Messiah, the Holy One of God. What a unique privilege it was to be approached by Jesus as He was going about His ministry. After getting into their boats and helping them miraculously catch a 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩, Jesus invited them to follow Him and take part in His ministry. This was their chance to get to know Jesus, who He is, and what He could do, and to see how the promise of God could be fulfilled in Jesus. They were personally invited to follow Jesus closely, and some of them were even hand-picked to be His apostles (Luke 6:13–16). In the same way, our call to be Jesus’ disciples is a call for us to be in a relationship with Jesus. Recall the time Jesus called you to Himself. What made you decide to follow Him?

𝟮. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟱:𝟭𝟭

The disciples responded to Jesus’ invitation without hesitation. Other Gospels even highlight that they immediately left their boats to follow Him (Matthew 4:20). This seems illogical. Fishing was mostly what the disciples knew. Without it, they wouldn’t have a stable livelihood for their families. But at Jesus’ word, they left everything else. They saw and focused not on what they could lose, but on who they would gain. Everything else in light of Jesus—our desires, our needs—pales in comparison. Following Jesus isn’t easy, but He is worth it. What does Jesus say in Luke 18:28–30? What does this verse say about valuing Jesus and His kingdom more than anything or anyone in this life?

𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟱:𝟭𝟭

While the invitation Jesus gave to the first disciples was personal, it was also clearly communal. Throughout Jesus’ ministry with the disciples, they were following Him together and doing things together. Their journey with Jesus was lived out in community. They saw how Jesus interacted with each one of them and how they each responded to Jesus. Even the lessons Jesus taught them was a shared experience. Following Jesus is a shared journey with others. How has this been true in your life? What have you learned by sharing life with other believers closely?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Why is it important to have a personal relationship with Jesus? What steps can you take to grow and be more intentional in your relationship with Him?

• What are some things that you have given up in order to follow Christ? Are there still things that you need to set aside in order to value Christ above all? How will today’s lesson help you do this?

• Who are you following Jesus with? With whom can you extend Jesus’ invitation to follow Him? In what ways can you help this person start their discipleship journey?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for His personal invitation to know Him and journey with Him through Christ. Pray for sensitivity to His Spirit as you intentionally pursue Him and grow in your relationship with Him.

• Ask God to open your eyes to things you may have given more value over Christ. Pray for the grace to revere Christ above all in your thoughts, words, and actions.

• Thank God for the people He has placed in your life. Pray that you would be able to help each other follow Jesus and fish for men together.