SERMON ON THE MOUNT: TRUE DISCIPLES

We’re learning about the Sermon on the Mount. It’s Jesus’ most famous sermon! It’s called the Sermon on the Mount because he stood up on a hill—or mountain—to preach. Today we’re learning that Jesus’ friends live like him.

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SUNDAY SCHOOL WORSHIP

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The more time we spend with friends, the more alike we become! That’s true of our friendship with Jesus, too. Jesus’ friends live like him.

​What does it look like to live like Jesus?
     
Let’s see what kinds of things we do that show we live like Jesus.

Be honest—which of the things in this video are hardest for you?
            • Which come the easiest?
            • Why don’t we always live like Jesus?
Jesus is perfect, so living like him is hard! But the closer we get as friends of Jesus, the more we’ll live like him. Just like our human friends can influence us, being friends with Jesus changes us! Jesus’ friends live like him…with his help!

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BIBLE LESSON

Supplies you'll need:

• Bible
• paper
• scissors
• markers
• tape

Become Fruit Trees
In today’s part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about trees. Before we find out what he said, let’s play a guessing game where you’ll become trees.
           
Have each person decide what kind of fruit tree to be. (Don’t worry about kids being a little scientifically inaccurate…there can be a grape or strawberry tree for this game.) Each family member will draw several pieces of the kind of fruit they choose, then tape the fruit all over themselves and pose like a tree.
            When everyone has finished, have them look around and guess what kind of fruit tree each person is.

Why was it so easy to figure out what kind of tree someone was pretending to be?
If I’d just told you to pose like a tree, you’d never know if someone was trying to be an apple tree or a banana tree. But when you could see the fruit growing on the tree, you knew exactly what it was!
           
That’s kind of like what Jesus said as he was explaining how Jesus’ friends live like him.
            Matthew 7:20 -- Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
           
You could easily identify trees by their fruit. So let’s become “Jesus trees” and think about what kind of “fruit” we’d grow!
           
Become Jesus Trees
            Discuss some things you know about Jesus’ character—adjectives that describe him or things he did (besides miracles). Think about the way Jesus treated people, the kinds of things he cared about, and so on.
            As ideas are named, anyone who can write will write ideas on papers and tape them to themselves and each other until everyone is covered in Jesus’ fruit.
           
Jesus’ friends live like him. Apple trees grow apples, and Jesus’ friends grow fruit that shows how Jesus lived. So when we do the kinds of things we wrote on our papers, it’s obvious that we’re Jesus’ friends…just as obvious as the fact that a tree growing oranges is an orange tree. It’s beyond just being nice people…it’s about living a life that shows off Jesus.
           
Which fruit have you grown well?
         
What fruit—or Christ-like action—is the hardest for you? 
           
An apple tree doesn’t have to try really hard to grow apples. Apples just grow because that’s the kind of tree it is. And for us, growing fruit isn’t about trying really hard to be good; it’s about rooting ourselves in a friendship with Jesus. Jesus’ friends live like him. In fact, Jesus talked about that, too!

            John 15:5 -- Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

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PRAYER

Jesus, thank you for being our friend. Help your good influence rub off on us! Help us live like you and produce good fruit in our lives.
​In your name, amen.

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COLOURING PAGE

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