“FAKE OR FOLLOWER”

2022 Theme: “Doing Life with Jesus”
Week 25: “Fake or Follower”
Weekly Bible Bite: Matthew 7:15-27

Video lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yE-1SoD5m8 (Lifekids – Trees and their Fruit)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWSkdx-XwWY (Lifekids – Sheep and Goats)

Jesus ended his sermon on the mountainside with a number of metaphors to explain how his followers should be and what they should look like. He warned that many people would try to fake their way into heaven, but we should very cautious of these types of people. They don’t really want to obey God; they just want to use Jesus as a means of getting things for themselves, like followers and money or a place in heaven.

Jesus said that we can tell the followers from the fakes by how they live their lives. Do they follow God’s commands to be generous, to love their enemies and to treat others the way they want to be treated? Or are they selfish, resistant to help others and only do something for God when it is convenient or to look good?

Jesus’ true followers will be like Jesus…not like wolves, thistles or thornbushes, or goats. What you say and what you do are not nearly so important as who you look like!

Family goal:
How can we be certain that we are being a follower of Jesus…and not a fake?
[Be sure to pick a measurable goal involving a task so that children will know when they have completed it.]

Weekly verses:
Matthew 7:20, NLT – “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

Family activities:
• Colour the picture of the tree and add some fruit.
• Make a wolf mask and a sheep mask for play.
• This week, identify and talk about some of the traits that Jesus’ followers should possess.

Prayer:
Thank you, God that you have warned us not just to pretend to have a relationship with you…it’s not good enough. Help us to not just be good at playing the part of being a follower of Jesus…help us to be just like him!