LIVING THE FAITH:

BEING DISCIPLES OF
JESUS CHRIST
 01 explain how Christians should live
out their faith in Jesus who calls
them to be his disciples;

Objectives: 02 identify ways to follow Jesus

today through their concrete
actions; and
At the end of the day, I will be
able to:
03 appreciate through a prayer of
gratitude your call as Christians to
follow Christ in a life of loving
service.
 Activity
List down your various challenges that
you personally face that makes it
difficult for you to follow Jesus. Why
does these things make it difficult for
you to follow Christ?
GOSPEL
“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever
you go.” And Jesus said to him. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but
the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he
said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead
bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. “Another
said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus
said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom
of God” (Luke 9: 57-62).
Following Christ is the same challenge to the Rich Young Man in the Gospels
(Matthew 19:16-21; also, Mark 10:17-30 and Luke 18:18-30)

Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to
have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is
good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the
commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall
not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not
bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, you shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what
do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in
TRUE OR FALSE: Write TRUE if the statement is correct, and FALSE if otherwise.
Write the answer on the space provided before the number.

________ 1. Jesus teaches that the way to live a good life is by entering a
relationship God.
________ 2. The Rich young Man is searching for Jesus.
________ 3. Consumerism, corruption, individualism and indifference make it
difficult us to keep the commandments.
________ 4. Following Jesus is a life-long process.
________ 5. Like the Rich Young Man, there is a longing within us which can be
Reflect on the following questions;

1.What is goodness for you

2.What makes an action good?

3. What is the basis of goodness in an action?

Assignment:

1.Interview 2 random people (family members) about how they understand

living out their faith in Christ. Consolidate your findings.

2.How can you follow Jesus in your daily life today? Evaluate your
condition and reflect on your various relationships. Identify concrete ways
of following Jesus in your various relationships.
INTRODUCTION
TO THE NEW
TESTAMENT
Objectives:
At the end of the day, I will be able to:
a. explain how to properly read the bible.
b. identify how the bible is being used and abused.
To differentiate the old and the new testament.
 Activity
Answer honestly, how do you read the
bible personally. How do you
understand the Words in the Bible?
The BIBLE, Used and Abused
The bible is the most widely used book in the world.
One reason we need to study the bible because we use it but others abuse it. One reason why we have
so many different Christian sects is because some people or groups use/abuse the bible for their own
agenda. We study the bible so that we will not fall trap to those who abuse it.

An Orthodox Jewish man would seriously study the Hebrew Bible in a Yeshiva or Bible school until
the age of 40. There he would learn to transcribe the entire Torah from memory! This duty is
considered so sacred that the government of Israel even today allows this as a substitute for ordinary
military conscription.
LITERAL vs CONTEXTUAL
READING
Literal Reading – to quote the bible verbatim.
– brings one to two ‘words’, but not to the message of the text.

Example: Story of Creation (Gen 1 vs Gen 2)

Noah: whether he took “two of each kind” (Gen 6:19) or “seven pairs” (Gen 7:2)

Results: Conflict between theory of Evolution vs Creation.

People fight over the text and figures = animosity and hostility
LITERAL vs CONTEXTUAL
READING
Contextual Reading - takes in to consideration God’s and Man’s authorship
= God’s message is wrapped in human situation, history, language and culture to which the
text was addressed. (ex. The Prodigal Son, differences of narrating Jesus’ Crucifixion)

HISTORICO-CRITICAL METHOD
The Catholic Church suggests the historico-critical method for starters. By learning the whole
gamut of substructure underlying the text (language, history, culture, philology and semantics),
one is better empowered to appreciate the text and arrive at meaning.
COMMUNITY AS A CONTEXT
• Sacred Scriptures (book of faith) was addressed/given to a community of faith
The LIVING FAITH of this community determined whether a book (of faith) was truly
inspired or not.
• Today the LIVING TRADITION of the faith community or Church is the best interpreter of
Scriptures and the context in which the Word becomes alive. = studied, shared, proclaimed in
the Liturgy.
• APOCRYPHA/APOCRYPHAL:
Catholic – false writings = not inspired nor canonical
• Protestants – “hidden” books

• PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
Protestants – false writings
YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE BIBLE

• Reading, studying, sharing the bible becomes more challenging for young people today.
• Source of distractions:
• TV, MTV, Smartphones, Computer Games, Laziness, Shallow view of life.
Ways to present the bible to you:
• a. Focus on Stories – connect biblical stories to present realities (David VS. Goliath)
• b.Dramatization - A passage is chosen and reflected on. Members are then asked to choose a character,
reflect on it, act it out.
• c.Biblical Songs and “biblical dances” (ex. Yahweh You are Near, Sing to the Mountains)
• d.Focus on Heroes – Young people are idealistic. They can be “reported” like TV Patrol or Saksi.
THE BIBLE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
• “CHURCH” comes from the Greek “ekklesia” and “kaleo”
• Means “ASSEMBLY OF THOSE CALLED”
• What calls them? THE WORD OF GOD!!
• Therefore, the BIBLE has PRE-EMINENCE (high status) in the Life of the Church
The SETTINGS for the use of the bible in the church:
1.In every Sunday Christian Assembly, everyone gathers around two tables:
a.The table of the EUCHARIST
b.The table of the WORD
2.The Bible used in preaching
a.The preacher is the servant of the Word. He listens, prays and proclaim it to be life giving for the people today.
b.The Bible is the source of themes and examples in preaching.
3.The Bible used in theology, in the study of Christian Tradition and belief
a.The Bible is the soul of theology.
b.It is “rule above all other rule” as we try to understand more God, the world and ourselves.
THE SEVEN STEPS IN BIBLE SHARING
Praise songs may precede the actual start of the Bible Sharing.

1.We invite the Lord.

2.We read the text.
3.We look at the text again
4.We let God speak to us
5.We share what we have heard in our hearts
6.We search together
7.We pray together
RELEVANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

a.The OT is relevant today because it IS the Word of God.

b.It prepares the New Testament
c.It reveals God’s nature & characteristics
d.It makes us understand ourselves & our role in God’s plan of salvation
e.Introduces us to great figures of faith
f.It provides themes developed in the New
g.It prepares us for the coming of the Messiah (the fulfillment of the Old Testament)
Reflect on the following questions;

1.Why is a literal reading of the Bible insufficient?

2.What is the meaning of a “contextualized” reading of the Bible? How

does one go about this?

3.How is the Bible used in the Church?

4.Describe the Seven steps in Bible Sharing.