Directions! Come in quietly Be ready for prayer Lined paper out for reflections Title: you will be what you are becoming

reflection Create 3 columns labeled: Good badneutral Under each heading think about circumstances/situations that you have found yourself – fill in about 3 to 5 for each What do you need to change to grow as a Christian?

THE FIRST CHRISTIANS Witnesses to the New Covenant

What is an apostle? Apostle: from the Greek apostolos, meaning “messenger”, especially a messenger who is sent on a mission. In the Gospels, Jesus chose the Apostles and sent them on a mission, just as Jesus was sent by the Father to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

Jesus called not only apostles during his lifetime, but also men and women to be apostles in the early Church Some of them are: Simon (Peter) Andrew James, the son of Zebedee Jude Thaddaeus Bartholomew Thomas Matthew James, the son of Alphaeus Simon the Zealot Judas

Characteristics of Apostles They were obedient They understood the need for purpose and divine justice There were committed to ethical responsibility Men and women who committed themselves to God and his request to be voice among the people

Jesus invited men and women to share his mission by sharing the Good News When he called them Jesus offered them unconditional love in exchange for their love and devotion. The two sided agreement extended the previous Covenant These men and women who accepted Jesus’ calling and spoke on his behalf became known as his Apostles

COME IN QUIETLY TAKE COPIES FROM BACK TABLE SUBMIT HOMEWORK TO TURNITIN.COM LINED PAPER FOR REFLECTION: TITLE: THE LIGHTHOUSE IN THE STORM BE READY FOR PRAYER Class Directions

Reflection questions What storms are in your life in which you lose sight of God? How do you fix your attention on God? What distracts you from following the light?

The importance of the 12 Apostles They were messengers of the Gospel because they were chosen by Jesus to accompany him on his journey The 12 were witness to his acts, listened to him and spent time with Jesus.

The mission of the Twelve was to spread the Good News to the world They were to preach the nature of the Reign of God (the Kingdom of God) The Reign of God was the central message of Jesus’ preaching during his earthly ministry The message spoke about the benefits and advantages of all kinds that flow from his rule to the subjects of this Reign, the Church

The Apostles were to convert many Conversion comes from the Greek word metanoia, meaning “change of heart.”

The Apostles were in charge of the following task: Interpreting Jewish Law – As founding members of the Way, the Apostles had the daunting task of interpreting Jewish Law to help new converts to understand how Jesus fulfills the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants Interpreting Jesus’ teaching – The Apostles had the equally daunting task of interpreting the teachings of Jesus to help the new converts and foundling communities to understand how to live out Jesus’ teaching in the early first century AD

Jesus used many actions to teach the Apostles He spoke to them in various forms: parables, conversations, speeches and scriptural interpretations He preformed miracles to demonstrate the depth of his power, the love of God for his people and the power of faith to change one’s life Through actions – he modeled the way they should act and treat one another, even after he left them The Apostles were to take Jesus’ teachings, messages, and actions to heart as they attempted to spread the Good News

Group work/individual essay for HW As a class we will discover how Jesus called his disciples – look for verses in the four Gospels Then you will identify 5 passages in your assigned Gospel that portrays Jesus teaching a lesson directly or by example to the Apostles Next, still in your groups) you will identify 5 passages from the Acts of the Apostles that show the Apostles applying what Jesus taught them HW – 3 paragraph response (see copy for details) due next class