The Twelve (video blog supplement #1)
Study Questions
Feel free to answer any or all questions in the comment section below for interaction with fellow participants~Thx
1. What do you think it was about Jesus that these twelve men would follow Him?
2. In your mind, what does it mean to "follow Jesus"?
3. Jesus prayed all night prior to choosing the Twelve (Luke 6:12). And then the Twelve He chose were, quite frankly, full of flaws. Do you think Christ's prayer was answered? Why or why not?
4. How did it happen that the Lord called you to follow Him?
Labels: aheartforgod, bible study, mcProdigal, men jesus called
posted by Mike C @ 1:01 AM
17 Comments
17 Comments:
1.They saw and heard the love in His heart and followed His voice. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27 NIV They recognized His voice as their Shepherd.
2. To seek him and follow His path, not yours.
3. Yes, his prayer was answered. We can't assume Jesus prayed "Father, send me some good men who will reflect the best values." We can assume Jesus prayed "Father, send these men to me and I will teach them your ways." Jesus saw in others what we can not see in the flesh.
4. Initially, he sent three priests in black clothing. I was at a hospital visiting my husband in ICU and kept meeting priests. One asked me for directions, one rode an elevator with me, and the third walked before me in the hall. I was raised Catholic and left the church for about 15 years. When I saw the priests, I wanted to return to a relationship with God. I had been hiding from Him in rebellion.
Thx Christine. I like your emphasis on the love of Christ impacting the twelve. And His voice really isn't hard to recognize once you understand His love.
Interesting questions. To follow Christ, we must become smaller, He must become greater. Sounds rehearsed, almost canned, but it's not. Not for me. We must allow Him to become the greater portion in our lives. He needs to be the one in control. I think at some point all people in a relationship with Christ come to a point where they deal with the question of "will I let God have COMPLETE control, or will I maintain that duty?" ~ the problem is that so, so many deny Christ His rightful authority, and lose the peace, the joy, the true happiness that comes from handing the reigns over to God. So much understanding is gained from "releasing" God, if you will, to work the miracle of completing His work in us. To follow Christ?? Lose it all, give it all over. Become sold out for Jesus. Lose your life and find it. My .02
Right on, Chris. Love how you put it: "So many deny Christ His rightful authority, and lose the peace, the joy, the true happiness that comes from handing the reigns over to God." He truly is in control, orchestrating our lives. Isn't He? Jesus planned it from the beginning. All we have to do is trust.
Following Jesus is about the journey and the destination. Journey - Jn. 13:15 and Jn. 15:13. Destination - Jn. 3:16 and Jn. 10:10
Indeed Ken the journey is about laying our lives down after the example of our Lord; the destination is abundant/eternal life. Thx 4 sharing brother ;D
To follow jesus means to seek him each day and each moment of our life.not just when we find ourself in problems.
Well said, Satyajit. I think it happens to us all. We can forget God during the good times and only look to Him when things go bad. He means for us to walk with Him AT ALL TIMES. Nice to hear from you, brother ;D
1. They wanted a true leader-teacher. 2.First, you have to find him (or be found by him.) Then you follow his commands and his example. 3.His prayers were answered. God did not choose "perfect" people. He came to die for the imperfect. 4. I was attracted to his "Father's" heart. Still am.
Thank you, honey
1. What do you think it was about Jesus that these twelve men would follow Him?
Jesus had given to 2 of them a great fishing haul; miracles clearly have an impact. The miracles, wisdom, and authority that He displayed was worth following. The text says he chose them; we need to remember that.
2. In your mind, what does it mean to "follow Jesus"?
There is a difference between a believer and a disciple to me. A believer is not necessarily a disciple, whereas a true disciple is by necessity a believer. I view it in the Corinthians context; to be an ambassador for Him, to model his teachings in a visible way.
3. Jesus prayed all night prior to choosing the Twelve (Luke 6:12). And then the Twelve He chose were, quite frankly, full of flaws. Do you think Christ's prayer was answered? Why or why not?
I believe it was; the twelve of them were all so different they were all able to fill varying roles in His traveling ministry.
4. How did it happen that the Lord called you to follow Him?
Ah, the tough stuff. I view it like this. The New Covenant is a very uneven exchange. The most holy and Biblically knowledgeable people we know are still very far short of God in terms of purity in thought and deed. God has done much for me. What should I do in turn? When I examine all He has given me, and then contemplate the to whom much is given much is expected verse, I envision a judgment discussion where God asks me a question like this. Brian, I have given to you tremendously. What have you done with what I have given you?
1. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, He was and is the Light to the world that they were compelled to follow. In Matt 4:18-22 Simon, Andrew, James & John were fishing & Jesus merely called to them and immediately they followed not having known Him before.
2.Leaving behind 'self' and fully becoming His servant to do His will.
3. Yes. He was lead to pick men with flaws and of such backgrounds as be an example to all what can be overcome with Christ. How He can use any man no matter their past, no matter how limited their natural abilities may appear to be...that by & thru Him any man may be made Holy & worthy & useful to His kingdom.
4.He knocked, I answered & let Him in :)
1. What do you think it was about Jesus that these twelve men would follow Him? - Everyone is looking for the "one" to fill the void in our hearts - I think these guys knew beyond a doubt that Jesus was the one. and loooove the vs Christine reminded us of.
2. In your mind, what does it mean to "follow Jesus"? - To be/live and walk as close to what Jesus would do as we can. Seeking wisdom that only He can give, trusting even when we don't understand.
3. Jesus prayed all night prior to choosing the Twelve (Luke 6:12). And then the Twelve He chose were, quite frankly, full of flaws. Do you think Christ's prayer was answered? Why or why not? - Yes his prayers were answered. All of our prayers are answered, even when the answer is NO. Even though there were many flaws, when you put them all together, their individual strengths were what made up a wonderful team.
4. How did it happen that the Lord called you to follow Him?
Growing up in church each week, I was fortunate enough to hear wonderful teaching. When I was 15 years old, I was sitting in a church service and realized that I could not remember a time when I asked Christ to forgive my sins. I love how Jesus calls us - each of us.
@spreadingJOY
Love this statement. "No matter what God decides, we want that".
1.They (Andrew and Peter) had a heads up through John the Baptist's ministry. think they were amazed when Jesus showed up and told them He wanted them to be his diciples. How fast can we sign up? I agree after the miracle of the fish catch, the others probably were easy additions. Word probably spread fast in the small geographical area they were all from.
2. To me it's a mentoring type term. Come, learn to live exactly like me.
3. Of course. Anyone He picked would have beem full of flaws. He never did anything that He didn't hear the Father say or see the Father do John 5:19. He picked the exact men the Father wanted.
4. I was seven. When I made my first communion, I gave my heart to Jesus. I actually thought I was marrying Him. In a way I really was.
Brian: I like how you described a true disciple: "is by necessity a believer. [He/she is] to be an ambassador for Him, to model his teachings in a visible way."
Rose: I love your description of how you came to Christ: "He knocked, I answered & let Him in." It's really as simple (yet profound) as that, isn't it?
Marie: Your salvation experience is so cool: "I was sitting in a church service and realized that I could not remember a time when I asked Christ to forgive my sins." That was the voice of God, wasn't it? Lord, help me to become like a child again so as to hear Your voice clearly.
Colleen: You like my line; I like yours, too: "I actually thought I was marrying Him (Jesus). In a way I really was." And we really are the "bride of Christ," aren't we? Bless you sister ;D
I finally got the letters to come up by not on the previous post, so these are my answers to those questions and you can move them if you want.
2) A modern example would be that of Professor and student at Seminary when the professor would take the student 'under his wing' and meet with him weekly to discuss the bible.
3) The first thing to pop in my head is "one who is learning to be like."
4)Yes, I believe in our busyness this has largely been lost in our culture. This is unfortunate because I LOVE to sit 'at the feet' of another who is wise about the Lord and has the time and willingness to share their knowledge with me.
5)I was just discussing this with someone the other day. I know there is much in my life that would be different if I were not submitted to Christ's authority. I know I am depraved and there are many times when temptation lurks it's head and my dedication to the Lord keeps me in check. One example is that I have been with a man in a pure relationship for a long time and if not for Christ in both our lives I know this would not be so. Oh so thankful for HIM!
6)I believe there is a deception existing that says if I give of my time in service isn't that enough? We don't want to get up earlier on a Sunday morning to include a Bible study, or give up another evening. Often I hear that it is boring, service replaces study. I guess it is like a Mary and Martha thing.
7)Hmmm. I think I would seek out a more knowledgeable, experienced mentor that I could learn from and pick their brain. What a gift it would be if I can find someone willing to give that time. I have sought this before and it always falls through. I will pray about it. (flux613)
3. Jesus prayed all night prior to choosing the Twelve (Luke 6:12). And then the Twelve He chose were, quite frankly, full of flaws. Do you think Christ's prayer was answered? Why or why not?
There are flawless in the job market? Nah. I've interviewd hundreds of people. No messiahs among them. hard to be perfect. He needed worker bees who could relate to his constituency to be, sinners. Who better than a bunch of fishermen to start with? We often lose focus of the Bible as an historical documentary in the sterilization and half life decay of the English language in vernacular. I am working on a relational database version of the Urban Dictionary that is keyed by any number or combination of qualifiers such as age, gender, demographic group, political leanings, native language, likes, dislikes etc.. the first goal is to translate the Book of Rith or the first chapter of Genesis, maybe both, in vernacular for three audiences, yet to be chosen. Care to join the project? I'm a 30 year computer supergeek who helped IBM design their progrmaming language for the AS/400 (i-series. I wrote the systems for half the FOrtune 500 in the 80's and 90's. Ya never heard of me, unless you;'re a fisherman. Fishing magazines and talk radio were my side gig. I'm a fun guy to work with. Call me. 631-399-4710/ Any linguistics experts out there? I'm just a writer. Bill Purkins.)
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