Jesus’ Followers
This year we are using Echo as our storytelling to help us relate to God’s story to discover meaning and develop fresh insights. It is our prayer that you can engage with your family using creative writing, drawing, and conversation.
Each student will need a journal to complete the weekly activities. If you need one at home, please contact Heather.
Invocation
Find a Candle that you can light, and keep it with your Club 56 gear 🙂
Invocation: the act of inviting or welcoming or acknowledging that God is present in our space.
As you light your candle, say this invocation out loud: “I light this candle in the name of God, our Creator; Jesus, our Savior; and the Holy Spirit, our Inspirer. The three in one!”
Opening Question
If you have ANYONE over for dinner, who would it be? What question(s) would you want to ask them?
Review
The material we are using is called Echo, so let us echo the last section 🙂 Review the previous section with your student. The full story, Jesus’ followers, is found here. Ask them to tell you about what they sketched, the questions they had, and their reflections.
Remix
Now that you have heard the story twice (once last week, and again today), spend 10 thinking through the different dinners that Jesus attended. Use the drawing activity on pages 48-49 and the writing activity on pages 50-51 to consider different thoughts. You can pick one, either drawing or writing or do both!
Connect
Spend some time sharing thoughts on what you drew or wrote and why. Turn your journal to page 52 – Take a moment to close your eyes, imagine that you have a camera and are at one of these dinner parties. Take a picture of the action, what is your picture of? Share that picture in your head with each other. Use the space on page 52 to make notes of what each other has said.
How did the people respond to Jesus in this story? The fishermen? The man with leprosy? The woman who wept at his feet?
Why do you think that Jesus called common the fishermen and had dinner with corrupt tax collectors instead of the religious leaders?
How would you describe Jesus in this story? Why do you think the first Christians thought this was important to write down?
Using the space on page 53, write down what you think this says about US? …. about YOU?
Parent tip: Encourage using “I” and “me” statements rather than “you” and “we”, this will help the conversation from being overly general or preachy.
When you pray…
Maybe you’re inspired to write or speak your own, if so, please do so! If you’d rather, you can just read together with the following:
Creator God, thank you for these stories that shows us how Jesus lived. Help us to reach out to others, inviting everyone to our table. We are also asking that you be with people that are on the margins and inspire us to care for everyone. AMEN
Thank you for joining us today! If you have a student in Grade 5 or 6, sign them up for Club 56 today! If you have questions about this resource or would like additional information, please contact Heather or Pastor Ben.