Standing Around

• There is this great moment in Acts 1 where Jesus ascends into heaven and his disciples are all standing around staring at the sky. Afterwards two angels show up and one of them asks the question, "why do you stand looking into heaven?" It reminds of that line you always hear in movies... Don't just stand there! Do something! It seems to me that the disciples were so amazed by what they had just seen that they were paralyzed. But before Jesus left he gave them a mission. He told them what they needed to do. They couldn't just stand around anymore staring at the sky. It was time to do something. It was time to follow Jesus by obeying his commands.

• I think this is a great reminder for us! We often get distracted or stuck in our lives. We end up paralyzed spiritually. If we are going to faithfully follow Jesus, we have to keep moving. That means we need to keep growing in our faith, serving others, and reaching the lost. Everything Jesus wants us to do he has graciously recorded for us in the words of scripture. The Bible gives us our mission. It gives us our instructions for how to live. We need to spend time in the Word and then go and live it out. Jesus has spoken! How will you respond?

• By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
  1 John 5:2 (ESV)

• Family Discussion

• What are some ways that you get stuck or distracted in your faith?

• How do you want to grow in your faith this year?

• What are some action steps you might need to take to follow and obey Jesus more?

All School Chapel