a tickEt for fiShin'

Teaching preschoolers provides a unique perspective God often uses to get me thinking about His Word. One particular week of teaching about Peter, Andrew, James, and John still provides insight I often need to be reminded of. “They were some of Jesus’ first disciples,” I said. “Do you remember what a disciple is?” I had spent a good bit of time talking about disciples choosing to follow Jesus and learn from Him about God and His Word. It was encouraging to see several kids eager to share an answer. I chose Luke because he was about to explode with pride over knowing the answer.

“They’re the guys who had a ticket to go fishin’ with Jesus on His boat.”

Not wanting to discourage future attempts to answer, I quickly processed how to diplomatically respond and correct his theology. Ultimately, I realized Luke wasn’t too far off base. Knowing the Lord and choosing Him as Savior certainly provides the connection (ticket) needed to hang out with Him on His “boat.” Fishing represented typical daily activities for the men of that town during that time in History. Being a disciple of Jesus and choosing to follow Him definitely requires doing normal daily activities with Him.

As the day progressed and long after the kids were picked up from class, I found myself thinking about Luke’s response. I was struck by the many times I missed the boat because I mistakenly assumed it was best to wait until Sunday, a certain conference, or a Lifegroup gathering to focus on discipleship.

When our Lord encouraged the men to follow Him that day, He was not referring to a short jaunt across the lake or even a full day of casting nets. Jesus was calling them to make a life-long, every-

day commitment to Him. When asked to describe disciples, little Luke could have said: • “They are the workers at the bank who count the money—with Jesus.” • “They are the farmers who grow vegetables —with Jesus.” • “They are the mommies who take kids to soccer practice —with Jesus.” • “They are the teenagers who play in the band —with Jesus.” • “They are the neighbors who help pick up trash —with Jesus.” • “They are the dads who read the same book a million times —with Jesus.” • “They are the kids who choose to be kind at the park —with Jesus.”

Discipleship means doing life WITH JESUS every moment of every day. It means there’s no expiration date on your ticket and no limit to how many times you can fish on His boat.

D6 EveryDay Curriculum is designed to encourage daily discipleship for individuals of all ages and provides tools for families to engage in discipleship together throughout the week. This new curriculum encourages Bible engagement and emphasizes biblical literacy and apologetics. For more information, check out www. D6EveryDay.com.

About the Writer: Katie Greenwood is the Curriculum Director at Randall House and D6. She has served in local church ministry for more than three decades and has a passion for inspiring godly marriages and encouraging parents as the spiritual leaders in their homes. Katie has been married to her best friend, Steve, for thirty years (as of June 2021) and enjoys serving God's Church with him and their three adult daughters. She is also quite fond of her grandpup, Bentley.

thirtysomethings

by Sarah Sargent

Christmas challenge…

I know you are familiar with the Christmas story. Let’s take a closer look and see how we can make it an active part of our holiday season. My prayer is that it will draw you closer to God, and you decide to make it a new Christmas tradition.

Elizabeth encourages Mary (Luke 1:41-45). Mary was undoubtedly going through a stressful time. Elizabeth affirmed her with her words. Do you have someone in your life who will be having a rough Christmas season? Maybe they’ve recently lost a loved one, and this is the first Christmas without them. Christmas challenge: Use your words to be an encouragement. Joseph shows compassion and embraces God’s plan (Matthew 1:18-25). Joseph resolved to divorce Mary quietly until an angel of the Lord visited him. He awoke and took Mary as his wife and Jesus as his son. He accepted God’s plan for his young family. Christmas challenge: Show kindness to those in need and embrace where God has placed you this Christmas season. Shepherds were invited to celebrate (Luke 2:8-20). Shepherds were often seen as outcasts. However, that first Christmas, they were invited to celebrate the birth of Jesus by a heavenly host. They, in turn, went and told everyone what they had seen and heard. Christmas Challenge: Invite someone to church who others often see as an outsider.

Wise men give generously (Matthew 2:1-12). They traveled from far away to see the Christ Child. They celebrated Jesus by giving lavish gifts to His family. Christmas challenge: Give a generous gift to someone or a family in need.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). Let’s take the Christmas challenge and share the great news and love of Jesus with everyone we meet.