Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

All lessons on this website are protected by copyright, but you can use them for free in small groups or Bible classes. You may share a link to this page, but please do not copy these pages and put them on other websites.

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever started a big job or plan and found it harder than you expected? What happened?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn what it means to truly follow Jesus. Jesus teaches that following him is not always easy, but it is worth it. We will also talk about how God wants us to live with care and purpose.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Being — The state of existing or living.
2. Began — Start doing something.
3. Build — To make something by putting parts together.
4. Carry Their Own Cross — To accept and deal with hard things in life because you follow Jesus.
5. Children — Sons and daughters.
6. Come After — To follow someone or go behind them.
7. Cost — The amount of money or effort needed for something.
8. Crowd — A large group of people.
9. Decide — To choose what to do after thinking about it.
10. Disciple — A person who follows Jesus and learns from him.
11. Ears — The parts of your body you use to hear.
12. Enough — The right amount or as much as needed.
13. Everything — All the things a person has.
14. Face — To deal with something difficult or dangerous.
15. Father — A male parent.
16. Figure Out — To think carefully and find an answer.
17. Fight — To battle or have a war.
18. Finish — To complete or end something.
19. Give Up — To let go of or stop having something.
20. Going Along With — Walking or traveling with someone.
21. Happened — Took place or occurred.
22. Job — Work that needs to be done.
23. King — A man who rules a country.
24. Large — Big in size or number.
25. Laying The Foundation — To begin building by making a strong base.
26. Listen — To use your ears to hear what someone says.
27. Long Way Off — Far away in distance.
28. Love — To care for someone deeply.
29. Make Fun — To laugh at or joke about someone in a mean way.
30. Manure Pile — A place where animal waste is put to help plants grow.
31. Messenger — A person who carries and delivers a message.
32. Money — Coins or paper used to buy things.
33. Mother — A female parent.
34. More — A greater amount of something.
35. No Way — Not possible.
36. Planning — Thinking ahead about what you want to do.
37. Salt — A white mineral used to flavor food.
38. Saltiness — The taste or quality of salt.
39. See — To use your eyes to look at something.
40. Send — To have someone go to deliver a message.
41. Sister — A girl or woman with the same parents as you.
42. Sit Down — To lower yourself into a chair or seat.
43. Soil — The top layer of earth where plants grow.
44. Still — Continuing or happening now.
45. Strong — Having great power or strength.
46. Terms Of Peace — An agreement to stop fighting and live in peace.
47. Thrown Away — Put in the trash or removed.
48. Tower — A tall building or structure.
49. Turned — Moved your body to face a different way.
50. Unless — Except if; if not.
51. Wife — A woman married to a man.

Summary of the Passage

This passage is about a time when many people were walking with Jesus. He wanted to teach them something very important. Jesus said that following him means loving him more than anything or anyone else. Even more than family or your own life. He told the people that they must be ready to carry their own cross. This means they should be ready for hard things if they follow Jesus.

Then Jesus gave two short stories to help the people understand. In the first story, a man wanted to build a tower. Before he started, he had to figure out if he had enough money to finish. If not, people would laugh when the building stopped halfway. In the second story, a king wanted to fight another king. But first, he needed to think carefully about whether he had enough soldiers. If not, he would ask for peace.

Jesus explained that following him is like these stories. People must think carefully before they choose to follow him. It is not easy. It takes courage and sacrifice. At the end, Jesus said that salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, it is no good for anything. In the same way, people who say they follow Jesus must truly live like his followers.

This passage teaches us that following Jesus is not always easy, but it is very important. It means giving up some things and being ready for hard days. But it also means having a full life with God’s love and peace.

Read The Passage

The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them,
26 “Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.
27 Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples.
28 If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job.
29 If you don’t, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you.
30 ‘You began to build but can’t finish the job!’ they will say.
31 If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king.
32 If he isn’t, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off.
33 In the same way,” concluded Jesus, “none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have.
Worthless Salt
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again.
35 It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown away. Listen, then, if you have ears!”

Luke 14:25-35 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 14:25-35 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 14:25-35 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 14:25-35 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 14:25-35 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 14:25-35 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Where were the people going with Jesus?
2. What did Jesus say about loving him more than family?
3. What does it mean to carry your own cross?
4. Why did the man sit down before building a tower?
5. What would the people do if the man could not finish the tower?
6. Why did the king sit down before going to war?
7. What would the king do if he did not have enough soldiers?
8. What does Jesus say about people who follow him?
9. What happens when salt loses its saltiness?
10. Why do you think Jesus talks about salt at the end of the story?

Application Questions

1. What is something hard you have done because it was the right thing?
2. Why do you think Jesus wants people to think carefully before following him?
3. What are some things people might need to give up to follow Jesus?
4. How can you be like good salt in your family and community?
5. Who helps you when life is hard and you feel weak?

Theological Insights

1. Jesus wants us to love him most of all, even more than family.
2. Following Jesus means hard days will come, but God will be with us.
3. We should think carefully about our choices and plans in life.
4. God gives us value and a job to do, like salt that helps food.
5. People who follow Jesus must stay strong in faith and not give up.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for teaching us what it means to follow Jesus. Help us to be brave and trust you when life is hard. Thank you for loving us and giving us your peace. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.