From the moment that Jesus called the fishermen away from their nets and boats so that He could show them how to "fish for people" (Matthew 4:19), He showed them how He wanted them to love. If we are truly to "live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ" (Ephesians 5:2) we would be wise to consider the following stories, just a glimpse of the life of our Lord from a few chapters from the book of Matthew:- Matthew 8:1-4 - Jesus is always ready and willing to help - healing a man from leprosy
- Matthew 9:1-8 - Jesus forgives and meets needs - healing the paralysed man
- Matthew 9:20-22 - Jesus reaches to the unclean, ends suffering, and brings hope and encouragement - healing the woman with constant bleeding
- Matthew 12:9-13 - Jesus puts people over tradition, schedule or being in a religious club - healing the man with the deformed hand on the Sabbath
- Matthew 14:13-15 - Jesus' compassion for the lost overrides his own grief and emotions - following the death of John the Baptist
- Matthew 15:21-28 - Jesus loves and serves indiscriminately - the story of the faith of the Gentile woman
- Matthew 19:13-15 - Jesus loves the little ones - blessing the children
For the kids:
If we want to love others, the best things we can do is copy the way that Jesus loved others - because He did it perfectly. Choose one of the passages above, or your own favourite story of Jesus showing love to others, and talk together about how Jesus showed love to others, before asking God to teach you to love like Jesus through the help of the Holy Spirit.
Jodie chose Matthew 14 v 22-32, she likes the story of Peter walking on the water. So we read it today to remind ourselves and to see how Jesus shows his love through this story. Jesus loves us and takes care of us when we are in trouble or difficulty or when things around us are in chaos. He is faithful and doesn't leave us and we need not feel overwhelmed. The story reminds us to keep our eyes on Jesus, and not to worry or be afraid of the problems that may be around us. We prayed and thanked Jesus for always being with us for his love and faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed Jesus healing Bartimaeus - both children picked this independently at bedtime. Jesus stops when he hears a cry for help and meets Bartimaeus's need. He is never to busy to come down to where people are. Abigail also wanted to read Jesus and the children because she loves the picture of Jesus giving the little girl a cuddle in her Bible story book and says that it is a picture of Jesus and Abi. And actually, we all need to remember that Jesus is happy to give us a hug when we need one and will never send us away.
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