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WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 26, Issue 7
What Can We Learn From Jesus Inviting His First Disciples To Follow Him?
By Carey Kinsolving Year-End 2025
said, “Come and see” (John 1:39). When we follow Jesus, He doesn’t show us everything at once. Every day, we must come and see what He has for us.
16:13-20).
“We can learn from John the Baptist to tell people who Jesus really is,” says Danae, 10. “John had many followers himself, but he didn’t try to compete with Jesus.”
“Jesus wants everyone to come to Him,” says Rebekah, 6. “Jesus has time for everyone and will not say ‘hurry up’ or tell them to go away because He is busy.”
Nothing is more challenging to successful min- isters than to keep pointing people to Jesus Christ. Everyone has the tendency to take credit for a work that the Lord did through us. Don’t do it. Keep pointing people to Christ. “Jesus invited simple fishermen to follow Him,” says Emily, 12. “I think He did that to show us that God’s love is for everyone, not just the people who are pretty, smart or popular.” Jesus didn’t set up a recruiting office at the Jerusalem school for rabbis. He began His min- istry in a remote desert place where two disciples of John the Baptist followed Him.
In an age where technology speeds up the way we communicate with each other, it’s hard to imagine a God who has time for us. If we don’t make time to “come and see” Jesus, we’ll never get to know Him in a way that mo- tivates us to tell our loved ones about Him. Spending quality time with Jesus will result in telling others about Him. “When you are being open and willing to allow people to follow you, it might make them curious,” says Sarah, 11.
Jesus provoked people’s curiosity. We see that all the way through His ministry. He asked a lot of questions to which He already knew the answers. Think about this: Jesus was the master fisherman of peo- ple. He knew how to provoke people’s curiosity so that they wanted to know more about God.
“We can learn that once we learn about Jesus, we should tell others,” says Anna, 10.
“What do you seek?” Jesus asked them. By asking this ques- tion, Jesus forced His disciples to think about their motives. People follow Jesus for different reasons. Many Jews wanted the Messiah to overthrow the Romans. They saw Jesus as a splendid king (Isaiah 9 and 10). Jesus didn’t come the first time to crush His enemies, but to put Him- self into the hands of those who would crush Him (Isaiah 53). Jesus had to explain to His disciples that the cross must come before the crown.
After only one day with Jesus, Andrew told his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). When Jesus saw Simon, He immediately changed his name to Cephas, which means “stone” or “rock.” The name Cephas in the Ara- maic language is the same as Peter in Greek. When we follow Jesus, we give up our own identity for one that God gives us. Jesus knew that Simon would change. His testimony that Jesus is the Christ would serve as the founda- tional rock upon which Jesus would build His church (Matthew
Memorize this truth: “Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Matthew 4:19).
Ask this question: Are you fishing for people by pointing them to Jesus Christ? KidsTalkAboutGod.org
When the disciples asked Jesus where He was staying, He
Violence Erupts At UC Berkeley During Turning Point USA Event
Courtesy OffThePress.com Year-End 2025
Even with police and barricades, the protest felt more like a siege. Officers in riot gear flanked Eshleman Hall, hold- ing zip ties at the ready as protesters danced, shouted, and shoved against the metal barriers. Tensions spiked as night fell and ANTIFA demonstrators began surrounding exits, blocking doors and taunting attendees trapped inside. “Fascists!” they screamed, as students in MAGA hats tried to leave, escorted by lines of officers who formed human shields. Inside, the tone was starkly different. The crowd of Turning Point supporters — many in red, white, and blue “Freedom” shirts — cheered as Schneider and Turek honored Kirk’s legacy. Turek said recently that he “wanted to go to UC Berkeley because it is so progressive and liberal in their views, and I wanted to provide evidence that Christianity was indeed true.” “He really wanted to empower young people, be- cause this is your country, you are the future,” Schneider said. “People say that all the time, but I mean it, and he meant it.” A Turning Point spokesperson said the event “went off without a hitch,” even as pounding on the doors could be heard outside. When the program ended around 8:45 p.m., the tension outside hit a fever pitch. Protesters had sealed off all four exits, shouting at police and attendees alike, their faces lit by the red strobe of emergency lights. Some attendees shouted back, others hurried out silently as officers cleared paths with riot shields.
A violent, bloody brawl broke out outside the Turning Point USA finale event the night of No- vember 10 at the University of California, Berke- ley, where protesters, clad in black masks and keffiyehs, swarmed the hall's entrance, chanting “No Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA” and scream- ing obscenities at attendees, calling them “fas- cists.” The chaos erupted on Bancroft Way ahead of the conservative group’s event at Zellerbach Hall, headlined by comedian Rob Schneider and Chris- tian author Frank Turek, and held exactly two months after Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a Utah col- lege campus, reports Berkeleyside. Mikey McCoy, who had served as Kirk’s chief of staff, accused the protesters of being ANTIFA, an anti-fascist movement with no official leaders. What started as a war of words erupted into vi- olence when a masked protester tackled a man selling Kirk memorial “Freedom” shirts, sparking a flurry of punches as Berkeley police rushed in. The fight exploded into a crush of bodies as on- lookers screamed, “Get him!” and “Let him go!” while the vendor, red-faced and defiant, shouted, “I was gay until Charlie Kirk showed me the way!” before being detained. Dozens of officers in helmets rushed the scene, forming a phalanx along Bancroft Way as private security struggled to control the crowd. Two cops held pepper-ball launchers aimed squarely at protesters while others barked com- mands drowned out by the mob's chants of “Anti-
semites, go home.” One man in a “Freedom” shirt screamed, “Spray them, tase them, lock them up!” as police tight- ened their line and pressed protesters back from the gates. The brawl was only the start. By dusk, roughly 300 demonstrators had flooded the streets around Zellerbach Hall, the air thick with pepper spray residue and rage as drums pounded and megaphones blared. Aerial footage captured a person in dark clothing pummeling someone in a red shirt on the sidewalk, their scuffle illuminated by flashing red and blue lights. Berkeley and campus police confirmed multiple arrests, including a Turning Point supporter and a protester from the fight caught on video. Earlier that morning, UC Berkeley police had ar-
rested four students for felony vandalism at Sather Gate after they allegedly hung a massive card- board insect and posters mocking Kirk’s death. Flyers plastered around campus accused the conservative firebrand of racism, misogyny, and homophobia, citing his statements that the Civil Rights Act was a “huge mistake” and that birth control made “bitter young women.” UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said the university had braced for the mayhem. “The protest in question is being organized by a group that has no affiliation with the university,” he said. “Our student organizations have every right to invite whoever they wish to events on campus, and our police will take whatever measures are deemed necessary to ensure a safe and success- ful event.”
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