The Hard Job of Following Jesus Mark 8:27 - 38 Oh, that confusing Jesus and his mysterious words. In this week’s Bible story he gave a very confusing and kind of scary sounding message. He talked about denying yourself, taking up your cross, and losing your life. All so that you could be a follower of Jesus. Yikes! What does it mean to deny yourself? Well, it might mean that if you want ice cream you decide not to have it. Or, if you want to go to a movie, you don’t go. But, do you think Jesus never wanted us to have yummy or fun things? That’s probably not really what he meant. It was more important to Jesus that we not be selﬁsh with the things we want and do. If you want ice cream, go ahead and have it, but share it with someone. And take a friend to that movie. What about taking up the cross? When Jesus was about to die, he had to carry his own cross to Golgotha. That was the hill where he was cruciﬁed. When we talk about taking up our own crosses, we mean that we’re going to do things that might be really hard, but they’re also VERY important. Can you think of things that might be hard, but God would still want you to do them? What about losing your losing your life? Aye yi yi! Does Jesus want you to die, just so you can be a good follower? That doesn’t make much sense. Then you’d just be, well, dead. So, think about it this way… you like to do things your own way. You probably like to have your bedroom YOUR way. You like to play games YOUR way. You like to watch YOUR TV shows. But what does this say to the people around you? Sometimes, Jesus wants you to stop thinking about YOUR way. He wants that way to die away and he wants you to think about other people’s way. Because other people and their feelings and what they hope and want is important, too. So, lose your life a little bit. And let somebody else live, sometimes. Life’s a pretty cool balance when we look out for each other. Don’t you think? Click here for a full size coloring page. Single use permission granted in homes and churches © 2012 Tamalyn L. Kralman Please contact [email protected] for all other uses.

Mark 8:27 - 38 the Hard Job of Following Jesus

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Weekly Bible story for children, based on the gospel lesson from the Revised Common LectionaryFirst Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Bellingham, WA

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Page 1: Mark 8:27 - 38 the Hard Job of Following Jesus

The Hard Job of Following JesusMark 8:27 - 38

Oh, that confusing Jesus and his mysterious words. In this week’s Bible story he gave a very confusing and kind of scary sounding message. He talked about denying yourself, taking up your cross, and losing your life. All so that you could be a follower of Jesus.

Yikes!

What does it mean to deny yourself? Well, it might mean that if you want ice cream you decide not to have it. Or, if you want to go to a movie, you don’t go. But, do you think Jesus never wanted us to have

yummy or fun things? That’s probably not really what he meant. It was more important to Jesus that we not be selfish with the things we want and do. If you want ice cream, go ahead and have it, but share it with someone. And take a friend to that movie.

What about taking up the cross? When Jesus was about to die, he had to carry his own cross to Golgotha. That was the hill where he was crucified. When we talk about taking up our own crosses, we mean that we’re going to do things that might be really hard, but they’re also VERY important. Can you think of things that might be hard, but God would still want you to do them?

What about losing your losing your life? Aye yi yi! Does Jesus want you to die, just so you can be a good follower? That doesn’t make much sense. Then you’d just be, well, dead. So, think about it this way… you like to do things your own way. You probably like to have your bedroom YOUR way. You like to play games YOUR way. You like to watch YOUR TV shows. But what does this say to the people around you? Sometimes, Jesus wants you to stop thinking about YOUR way. He wants that way to die away and he wants you to think about other people’s way. Because other people and their feelings and what they hope and want is important, too. So, lose your life a little bit. And let somebody else live, sometimes.

Life’s a pretty cool balance when we look out for each other. Don’t you think?

Click here for a full size coloring page.

http://bestcoloringpages.com/userImages/cp/friendship-day-coloring3.jpg