Growing Deeper

Jesus – worth following!

Quick jumps:

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Mark 1:14-20	Jesus’ message	Jesus’ invitation	Jesus’ task for His followers
Warm-up	Running on hot lava	Bear shoulder taps	Follow the leader
Move	Burpee preparation	Burpees	Burpee frog jumps
Challenge	Push-up challenge	Dice challenge	Burpee time challenge
Explore	Read the verses and write ‘good news’	Read verses and chat about leader qualities	Reread the verses and act it out
Play	Knee tag	Sock basketball	Ready, set … move

Watch the family.fit five steps

Getting started

Help your family to be active this week with three fun sessions:

Involve everyone – anyone can lead!
Adapt for your family
Encourage each other
Challenge yourselves
Don’t exercise if it causes pain

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Day 1: Warm-up

Running on hot lava

Spread out around a space. Select a leader. When the leader says “hot lava” everyone runs on the spot as fast as they can. When the leader says “stop” everyone does squats. Repeat until everyone is breathing heavily.

Rest and talk together.

Talk about a time when you received some good news.

Day 1: Move

Burpee preparation

Part of a burpee is pushing off the floor. Do three rounds of 9 push-ups and 12 squats. These movements will help you to build up to a burpee.

Rest between rounds.

Day 1: Challenge

Push-ups challenge

See how many push-ups your family can do in two minutes. Set this number as a benchmark. Rest for one minute and be sure to praise each person’s effort.

Repeat the two-minute challenge and see if you can beat your benchmark number.

Rest and drink water.

Day 1: Explore

Jesus’ message

Read Mark 1:14-20 from the Bible.

After God’s affirmation from heaven, Jesus begins His public ministry. His first tasks are to announce His purpose and choose His small team of followers who will travel with Him for the next three years.

Click here to read the passage

Discuss:

Read the first two verses.

Jesus came proclaiming the ‘good news’. What is the ‘good news’ of God?

Write five statements describing this ‘good news’ on separate pieces of paper. Put each paper on a plate at the meal table.

Think: Our food gives us life – the ‘good news’ gives us true life.

Day 1: Play

Knee tag

Compete in pairs. Try to touch your opponent’s knees as many times as you can in 60 seconds while you protect your own with your hands and body position. Change partners and repeat.

Try it in groups of three.

Day 2: Warm-up

Bear shoulder taps

Get down on hands and knees facing a partner. Try to touch your partner’s shoulder with your hand while keeping your ‘bear’ position. Play until someone reaches 11 shoulder taps.

Rest and talk together.

Who are the people or teams you follow?

Day 2: Move

Burpees

Start slowly and use the correct technique. Stand upright and move to the plank position to do a push-up on the floor. Then leap into the air and clap above your head. Try to do it in one fluid movement.

Do three burpees then rest. Do three rounds.

Day 2: Challenge

Burpee dice challenge

You will need a dice or small pieces of paper numbered 1-6 in a bowl.

Stand in a circle and take turns to roll the dice or select a piece of paper and do the number of burpees indicated. Add the total number of burpees for your family. What’s your score?

Do four rounds or continue for four minutes.

Day 2: Explore

Jesus’ invitation to follow

Read Mark 1:16-20.

Click here to read the passage

Why do you think the disciples were so quick to follow Jesus?

List some of the qualities you would look for when choosing to follow someone.

Take three kitchen utensils. Make a ‘+’ sign with two of them and a ‘-’ sign with the other one and place them on the table. Talk about the ‘+’ ways your family is following Jesus. Then talk about ‘-’ ways you struggle to follow Jesus. Pray about these together.

Day 2: Play

Sock basketball

Make a ball from a rolled-up sock. One person uses their arms as the goal.

Choose three places to shoot from. Everyone gets three shots at each place. Count the number of successful shots to find the winner.

Day 3: Warm-up

Follow the leader

Put on your favorite music. Run around in a circle. One person is the leader and uses hand claps to communicate instructions:

One clap – one plank
Two claps – two mountain-climbers
Three claps – three squats

Change leaders after one minute.

Rest and talk together.

Talk about a favorite memory from a fishing experience – yours or someone else’s.

Day 3: Move

Burpee frog jump

Start from a standing position and do a normal burpee. Each time after you stand and clap, jump as far forward as you can like a frog.

Take turns and measure how far each person can jump!

Day 3: Challenge

Burpee time challenge

Choose four areas in your home or yard where you can all do burpees together. Start a timer, run to the first area and do 20 burpees. Complete 15 burpees at the second area, 10 burpees at the third, and five burpees at the fourth.

Stop the timer.

How long did your family take to finish the challenge?

Day 3: Explore

Jesus’ task for His followers

Read Mark 1: 14-20.

As you read the verses, act out the story together.

To catch fish, you need the right bait to attract them. Jesus is sending His followers out to ‘catch people’.

Click here to read the passage

Brainstorm some ways to attract people to the ‘good news’ of Jesus. You can even use a magnet and a paper clip to show how people could be drawn to Him.

Day 3: Play

Ready, set, move

The leader calls out “Ready … set … move”, and everyone moves their bodies. The leader calls out “Ready … set … stop” and no one should move. Everyone must stay still if any word other than ‘move’ is called.

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