Responding to Christ's Call - Class 8 CRE Revision Notes

• Responding to Christ's Call
• The Meaning of Discipleship
• The Teachings of Jesus Christ on Discipleship
• Abiding In The Vine
• Loving One Another
• Serving One Another And Denying Oneself
• The Place of Wealth in Christian Discipleship
  • Misuse of Wealth in Christian Discipleship
• The Role of Evangelistic And Witnesses

Responding to Christ's Call

The Meaning of Discipleship

• A disciple is a follower of another person’s religious or political teaching.
• Jesus had twelve disciples.
• John the Baptist and the Pharisees also had disciples.
• In Christianity, discipleship is a response to Christ’s call
• The first four disciples of Jesus were :
  1. Peter and Andrew
  2. James and John.
• All disciples of Jesus gave up their comfort and worldly possessions to follow him.
• Discipleships call for love and commitment in serving God and others.
• A disciple should have unshakeable faith in Jesus and God.
• Disciples of Jesus are expected to be his witness all over the world.
• Disciples should also be ready to suffer for their faith like Stephen and Paul.

Quiz

1. Name four disciples of Jesus with multiple names.

The Teachings of Jesus Christ on Discipleship

• Jesus taught his disciples to deny themselves so as to follow him.
• He taught them to love their enemies and do good to those who persecute them.
• Jesus taught his followers to forgive and forget.
• Our forgiveness completely depends on our forgiveness.
• God forgives the sins of those who forgive others.
• Disciples must be ready to endure hardships.
• Family obligations should not interfere with the demands of the kingdom.
• Discipleship calls for total commitment on the part of the disciple.
• Jesus was approached by a man in the Samaritan village who wanted to follow him. 
• Jesus told him that foxes have holes and birds have nests but the son of man has nowhere to rest his head.

Quiz

1. Mathew 5:44 says ______________________
2. The disciple who said ,” can anything good come from Nazareth" was________________
3. The disciple who walked with the risen Christ to Emmaus was_______________

Abiding In The Vine

• Christ is the true vine and his followers are the branches.
• His father, our God, is the vinedresser.
•  Abiding in the vine is accepting Jesus and obeying his commandments.
• Christians too, should be totally dependent on Jesus the source of life.
• They are also expected to bear fruits of love, patience and service to God and mankind
• Without abiding in Christ, such fruits cannot be produced.
• We should desire to be true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Quiz

1. John 15:7 says __________________________
2. Write four qualities of a Christian disciple
   1. ___________________________
   2. ___________________________
   3. ___________________________
   4. ___________________________
3.  The most loved disciple of Jesus was

Loving One Another

• To love is to care deeply for someone.
•  As disciples of Jesus we are expected to love one another.
• Loving others involves
  1. Caring for the well being of others
  2. Sharing with the needy
  3. Forgiving those who offend us.
  4. Praying for our enemies.
  5. Denying oneself comfort for others’ sake
  6. Suffering for those we love.
• God demonstrate His love by offering his son as a sacrifice for sin
• Apostle Paul taught that love is the greatest thing a disciple can achieve
• Love without good deeds is worthless.
• Apostle John taught that from the beginning God wanted us to love onr another.
• Christians should love one another as a mark of true discipleship.

Quiz

1. All commandments are summed up by __________________
2. The first four commandment are about loving __________________
3. Love ____________ is the way Jesus summarized the last six commandments.

Serving One Another And Denying Oneself

• Service refers to actions of kindness and love to others.
• Christians should serve all people without discrimination
• They should deny themselves some comfort in order to be of service to others.
• Self denial in an important characteristic of a Christian disciple.
• Jesus taught that his disciples should be ready to endure suffering.
• During the last supper, Jesus washed his disciple’s feet.
• By so doing, Jesus taught humility in service.
• We can serve God through serving our fellow human beings.

Quiz

1. List four New Testament names for Passover.
2. Who had denied Jesus the chance to wash his feet?

The Place of Wealth in Christian Discipleship

1. Wealth is material possessions such as money, land or property.
2. God blesses people to be wealthy.
3. Wealthy people should not be proud or arrogant.
4. Instead, they should live with humility and thankfulness.
5. Wealthy Christians can use their wealth to work for God.
6. They can use their wealth to support church programs such as evangelization and outreach.
7. They can also support the needy in the communities they live in.
8. The bible teaches Christians to ask God to bless them with enough.
9. We should share with gladness what God has given us.

Quiz

1. Wealthy people are those who have
   1. ________________________
   2. ________________________
   3. ________________________
   4. ________________________
2. Africans believe that wealth came from ________________________

Misuse of Wealth in Christian Discipleship

• Wealth is said to be misused when it is used in a way that does not glorify God.
• Christians should not in opulence and luxury to draw people’s attention.
• They should not exploit their workers to work for long hours.
• Christian employers should not threaten their employees.
• Wealthy Christians should give tithe to support the work of God.
• Prophet Micah condemned the rich who gave bribes to subvert justice.
• They paid prophets to give favourable revelations.
• The priest interpreted the law for them to favour their interests.

Quiz

1. List two wealthy bible personalities.
2. State three things done by the rich condemned by Apostle James.

The Role of Evangelistic And Witnesses

• An evangelist is a person who preaches to person urging them to accept Christ.
• A witness is a person who tells the truth about what he has seen or heard.
• A Christian witness tells others about Christ through their actions.
• we can all be witnesses of Christ if we conduct ourselves according to the teachings of Christ.
• Jesus started the greatest commission on earth
• He sent his disciples to make people of all nations his disciples.
•  The early missionaries responded to that call by spreading the gospel to Frica.
• We should appreciate the role of evangelists and witnesses in the church.

Quiz

1. was the apostle of the gentiles.
2. Jesus told his disciples to begin their missionary work in to the uttermost parts of the earth.
3. Paul made missionary journeys.