Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way

Read Mark 1-2

Head

Today, we are reading from the book of Mark. Mark is about Jesus’ life and the good news of Jesus. You can even find the phrase “good news” eight times in this book! The book of Mark shows Jesus in action, and we see that today in our reading of Mark 1-2. Today, we read about Jesus on the move- being baptized, going into the wilderness, choosing disciples, praying to God, healing the sick, performing miracles, and preaching to crowds. He had a mission to fulfill, and Mark showed Him in action! Not only was Jesus in action, but so were other people we see in our reading today. One day, as Jesus walked along the beach, He came across some fishermen working. The fishermen were Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Jesus called to the men and told them to follow Him. And guess what, they did! They put down their nets, left their jobs, and followed Jesus. They put their faith in Jesus, and they went into action!

Later in our reading, we learn about a group of friends who carried their paralyzed friend to a home where Jesus was teaching. They had faith that Jesus would heal their paralyzed friend. The crowd was so large that they could not get their paralyzed friend to the front to see Jesus. So, they dug a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was and lowered their friend to Him. They put their faith into action, and Jesus healed their friend!

Heart

Faith is putting our trust in someone or something. As followers of Jesus, we put our faith in Him. But we are not only called to have faith, we are also instructed to put that faith into action (James 2:14-17). Faith is not just about believing with our hearts and minds; it’s about what we do with our hands and feet! Read Matthew 25:35-40 to see what Jesus has to say about faith in action.

Hands

How can you put your faith into action this week by serving others? Some ideas could be to help your family clean up the kitchen after supper, say a nice compliment to a friend, hold the door open for someone, offer to help your teacher pass out papers in class, or pick up trash from the playground at school.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for giving us Jesus as an example to live a life for You! Help me to put my faith in action every day and to point others to You. Show me the needs of others around me. I love You, Amen.

More:

• Take a piece of paper and write down (or draw a picture) three ways to put your faith into action this week.
  
• Remembering the friends in the story of the paralyzed man, go around the room saying ways you can practice being a good friend this week.
  
• House Church Games 
  
• House Church Activity Sheet