Christ and the Disciples

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the history module is to teach children the rich history and traditions of the Coptic church. In this module, we will go over Christ and disciples, St.Mark, St.Anianus, and St.Polycarp. These Saints established the grounds of our Coptic faith and built the foundation of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The overall objective is to learn about the church's history through the works of the disciples. Children should understand there were 12 disciples and should know how each one preached God's word.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Please review the previous week's lesson. (5 minutes)

For the introduction, diverge into this lesson by talking about how we all have friends. That each of our friends contributes something to us. For example, maybe one friend makes you happy by giving you candy, and another makes you happy by giving you a book. That you and your friends love each other a lot and you all do different things to make each other happy. You can show this through a puppet show, drawings, or by a short skit. Keep in mind you will use this as an analogy to diverge into the 12 disciples aka the "friends" of Jesus.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

Verses are meant to supplement servant not necessarily to be directly read

Matthew 8
- 23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.
Matthew 9
- 9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
- 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well, have no need of a physician, but those who are sick

Matthew 10
- 1-4: And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
- 6-8 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Mark 1
- 16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him.
- 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
Mark 2
- 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.
Mark 3
- 14 Then He appointed twelve, dthat they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have epower fto heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.
Luke 5
- 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they aforsook all and followed Him.
- 27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Memory Verse:
"And he said to them, 'Follow Me.'" (Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, and Luke 5:27)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 20 Minutes

After intro: Make the analogy of your friends to Jesus' friends, the disciples. How He had 12 friends, they all made him happy by spreading His word in various ways.

When Jesus was ready to start his mission in the world, he gathered some friends along the way. One day, he was walking and saw four fishermen. They were Simon Peter and Andrew, who were brothers, and James and John, also brothers. They were on a boat all day, trying to fish. They couldn't catch anything at all. But when Jesus came, all of a sudden he was able to catch SO many fish Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John were so amazed and astonished at what Jesus could do. He told them "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men, not fishers of fish." Jesus meant that he would make them fishers of men by having them preach His word and bringing people to God. They followed him and became his special friends, which we call disciples.

After, they all walked and came across a tax collector called Matthew. Jesus told him "Come follow me" and so he did. So many people were confused because tax collectors were known as cheaters who stole money. They wondered why Jesus, the Son of God would choose someone like that to be his friend. Jesus told them "Just as the doctor helps the sick, I help those who need it. I also chose people based on their hearts. It doesn't matter if they are poor or rich. Young or old, dirty or clean, smart or not. I love everyone equally and I choose my friends based on their pure hearts"

Jesus chose his friends to preach and spread the word of God. That's exactly what Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew did. They followed Jesus and preached his word. As they walked, Jesus found 7 more friends that he picked. They all came from different places and were very different people. He chose them all based on their hearts and chose them to spread God's word. Their names are Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus (who was also a tax collector), Simon the Canaanite, Judas Iscariot. There were a total of 12 overall.

Jesus' 12 special friends followed him everywhere He went. They loved him so much and accepted Him. Jesus loved them too and respected them. The disciple friends preached God's word everywhere and told everyone about the true faith. Jesus didn't need the help to preach, he could do it all by himself. He chose the disciples to preach about God and about pure hearts. After the ascension of Jesus, the disciples dedicated the rest of their lives to the mission that Jesus wanted them to do. They all went to different parts of the world to teach about the one true faith. Some of them even wrote books in the Bible to preach about God's word.

Just like Jesus chose his disciples, God chose us. Even if we are young or old, God sees our hearts. He wants us to preach his word through our actions. He wants us to follow Him through our actions.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

Look at the icon of our Lord with His disciples. Review what the 12 names of the disciples are. Ask the students what they see in the icon. Direct them towards the tree symbol that is represented. If our Lord is the tree, the disciples are the branches that spread Christianity across the world.

LIFE APPLICATION - 10 Minutes

Jesus chose us to preach His word through our actions and words. We can do this by being kind and nice people. We can help those who need it, by giving to the homeless, helping our parents, or making a friend happy

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Option One: Print and distribute the attachment to the kindergarteners. Have them read the names of the disciples and color the page. Next, have them cut out and glue the 12 friends around Jesus on the second page. Discuss the disciples importance in church history.

Make sure they write their names on their paper and take it home to review during the week.

Option Two: Print and distribute the attachment to the kindergarteners. Have them write the names of the disciples and color the page.

Be sure to identify the 12 disciples with them:

Saint Peter was the oldest and is usually illustrated as bald, he'll be standing next to his younger brother, Saint Andrew.

Saint John was the youngest and has no facial hair, he'll be standing next to his older brother, Saint James.

Three brothers: Saint James the younger, Saint Thaddeus, and Saint Simon, were first cousins of our Lord. Their mothers were sisters.

Saint Thomas doubted the Resurrection at first, so he'll have a thoughtful expression.

Next are Saint Philip, Saint Bartholomew, and Saint Matthew

Judas betrayed our Lord and is carrying a money bag.

Discuss the disciples importance in church history.

Make sure they write their names on their paper and take it home to review during the week.

SERVANT RESOURCES

The Holy Spirit with the Disciples, essay on LACopts.org

The Twelve Disciples Coloring and Activity Book, by Father David Abdelsayed

Songs:

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Review the names of the disciples with your kindergartners. Discuss how we can continue their good work of spreading God's love in our community. Pray through the intercession of the disciples during your prayer routines this week.