Month 1
We See how His Teaching Changes Us
and Mark It Leaves on Us.
“If you Hold to my Teaching,
you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free.“
John 8:31-32
Where is the only place you can find what Jesus said?
In the Bible
TRUTH
Seeing things the way Jesus does.
Welcome
“Welcome to First Priority. What do we do at First Priority? We focus the entire year on one thing and one thing only. We talk about what Jesus said.”
“What’s the only thing we talk about?”
“That is simple enough. We care about what Jesus said. We take what Jesus said and…
“Where is the only place you can find what Jesus Said?”
“This week is OBEY IT WEEK. This week we are going to go deep into what Jesus said and what He meant by it. We read that Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching.’ Well here it is. Are you ready to listen to what Jesus said and really dig deep to understand what He was really saying? This is what the followers of Jesus do. Many people have heard what Jesus said, but disciples respond in understanding and obedience.”
“This week is Obey It Week”
HAVE A STUDENT PRAY THE PRAYER OF PREPARING
“But before we really get started, will someone please pray for us. Please start by asking the Lord to prepare our hearts and minds for this time together?”
REVIEW JOHN 8:31-32
“If you hold to my teaching,
you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free.”
– John 8:31-32
REVIEW VERSE MOTIONS
Try having students come up and teach them to the group.
Teach Obey It Object Lesson
OBJECT LESSON SETUP
You will need a cell phone and then several hard to hold items, like an empty cardboard box, a large ball, a blanket, and more to overload the kids hands.
“I need someone to come help me.”
Get a volunteer from the room.
“I need you to hold some things for me.”
First, hand the kid your cell phone where they hold it in their hand. Then hand the largest item that they can only hold in their arms. Then comically overload their arms with all the item where only the phone in their hand.
“LOOK AT WHAT THEY ARE HOLDING IN THEIR ARMS”
“This is an example of your life. Your life is full of stuff. Somethings are big. Some are small. Some are heavy and some are light. Light things could parts of your life that you enjoy like sports or playing games. Heavy things could responsibilities you have like school or work you have to do for your family. Most adult feel like our friend here right now. They feel like their lives are heavy and hard. They have too much to carry. And just when they feel like they can’t hold it any more…”
Rake the arms of the kid until they drop everything but their phone. The kid and room will be surprised and laugh.
“Wow you dropped all the stuff in your arms, but you still have something in your hand. Why did you drop the phone?”
The kid will usually say because it was the most expensive or valuable.
“WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HOLD TO JESUS TEACHING?”
“Holding to Jesus teaching means it the most valuable thing in your life! When everything else drops or falls away, the thing you remember to trust and continue to do what Jesus said.”
“WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?”
“Who can tell me what a disciple is? A disciple is someone wants to become like someone else. The word comes from a long time ago before there were schools. When someone wanted to become a carpenter or baker, they would go live with and work for a carpenter or baker. They would spend all their time working and learning from their teacher. They wanted to become like their teacher.
“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO BECOME A DISCIPLE OF JESUS?”
“To become like Jesus you have to know what Jesus was like. You have to know what He did and you have to know what He said. Right? How can you become like someone if you don’t know what they are like?”
“JESUS TOLD US TO WHO HIS DISCIPLE REALLY WERE.”
“They aren’t just people who like Him or people that follow him around. Jesus said they are the ones who HOLD to his teaching. I’ve got a very simple way to understand what a disciple is.”
“WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?”
“A DISCIPLE IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS AND DOES WHAT JESUS SAID.”
“It’s not really hard tooo understand a true disciple of Jesus is someone who knows what Jesus said and does it. That’s how you hold to his teaching.”
Give Kids a Way to Respond
“Here’s what I want you to do after you leave today. I want you to go home from here and find this verse in your own Bible. I want you to read it for yourself. Not only that, I want you to read what Jesus said before and after. Take a piece of paper and write down what Jesus said and stick it on your mirror. Put what Jesus taught in a place where you will see it every day, so it will be on your mind and heart this whole month.”
Closing
HAVE A STUDENT DO THE GOSPEL STEP UP
Have the kid stand in front of the group and encourage them to speak loudly and clearly.
Download Gospel Step Up
My name is ______________________
I am a follower of Jesus. I believe what Jesus Said.
Jesus said He loves me and created me to be like Him.
But I broke God’s heart.
We all chose to live our own way.
Jesus calls that sin.
So here is the Gospel, the Good News.
“Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
SAY JESUS IS THE WAY (they repeat)
He died the death I deserve.
He paid the price for my sin.
To make me right with God.
SAY JESUS IS THE TRUTH (they repeat)
Jesus said that if you know Him, you know God.
Because I know Jesus, I know God.
SAY JESUS IS THE LIFE (they repeat)
Jesus gave me a new life, He put His spirit in me. Now I am a child of God.
Jesus said that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life in Heaven.
No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.
I believe in Jesus because He is the only one who can save me,
and I put my faith in Him.
Jesus said, “Who do you say that I am?”
I Say ___________________________
Who do you say Jesus is?
HAVE A STUDENT PRAY THE PRAYER OF BLESSING
“Will someone please come and pray a prayer for us? Start by asking the Lord to be with us as we go begin to put His teaching into practice.”