Come and See!
John 1:43-51 (a Paraphrase)
One day, Jesus went to Galilee. He found Philip and said, “Follow Me!” Philip went and found Nathanael. He said, “Guess what, Nathanael! We found the person that Moses and the prophets wrote about. His name is Jesus and he’s from Nazareth.” Nathanael said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip told him, “Come and see for yourself.” So, Nathanael went with Philip to meet Jesus. When Jesus saw them coming, He said that Nathanael was a very good man. Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip talked with you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael was amazed and said, “You are God’s Son! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe in me just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will get to see a lot more amazing things than that!
Theme Discussion
Did you know that in the Bible some of twelve disciples came to Jesus through their friends? Philip was called to be a disciple by Jesus himself. But his friend Nathanael came to Jesus through Philip. Phillip was so excited about meeting and following Jesus that he ran to tell one of his friends. Nathanael ended up becoming one of the twelve disciples, living and traveling with Jesus in his ministry.
Some of the best things we experience happen because a friend invites us to “Come and see!” Nathanael had heard of Jesus but dismissed him because he was from Nazareth, a place where Nathanael thought no one would have the education to become a great rabbi. He would have missed the experience of being one of Jesus’ disciples if his friend Philip hadn’t invited him to come and meet him.
Can you think of a time when you experienced something great because someone invited you to come and see?
It seems that some people have ideas about what church is like because of things they’ve heard or read in the media. Not all churches are the same though! I think we have a pretty special community here at BCUC. It’s a shame that someone might never know what a great place it is, just because they think it will be something they don’t like. They should come and see!
Have you ever invited a friend to “come and see” what happens at our church or in our Youth Group?
Response Activity Ideas
Covid Kindness
Look through photos or review last year’s family calendar to revisit some of the positive, helpful, and kind actions or activities you and your family have done over the past 10 months to make this pandemic a little better for those in your family or community.
We are back under a restrictive lockdown and front-line workers are under continued or even worsening stress than they were back when this all started. Many people are struggling because they feel lonely and isolated. These people still need our support!
Using the photos or drawing your own pictures, make a little poster to celebrate these great achievements and to encourage others to ‘follow you’ in doing some of these kind gestures for others now.
Lead the Way
Set a maze or obstacle course in a large room by putting toys or other objects all over the floor. Have one person put on a blindfold and attempt to cross the room without stepping on a toy or running into furniture.
Repeat several more times, taking turns, but having someone help the blindfolded person by:
answering questions from the blindfolded person
giving directions to the blindfolded person
Or try a super-challenge:
having one member of the family give false directions, and another give helpful instructions (can you figure out which is right?)
have one person give instructions, while other family members give continuous unhelpful commentary (“Ooo… are you sure…?” “This is going to be bad…” etc.)
Link your experience back to Lorrie’s Children’s Story, the Bible passage, and the Theme discussion. It helps to have the guidance from others to get though difficult times, but sometimes we have to work hard to listen and think and make sure we get our facts straight!
Wordsearch
Find a wordsearch based on today’s Bible passage at: https://sermons4kids.com/knows_you_by_name_wordsearch.htm