(Key references are marked with a + You need to know these references for the exam!

Faith and prayer are central to the life of a Christian, they believe that without faith in God then prayer is ineffective. In the references there are two main points to consider:

Jesus made it clear that it was not easy to follow him, it would require a person to '...deny himself and take up his cross..', but he also said that eventually a person would be rewarded if they did follow him - their motives must be genuine however.

'Disciples' means 'people who learn'. Other Jewish teachers had disciples. Jesus is unique in that he 'calls' his disciples. He does not wait for them to come to him, he seeks them out. Jesus' disciples are ordinary people, not just educated men: his message is for all. The four fishermen- Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John - follow Jesus straight away. This is how Mark thinks people should respond to Jesus' call. They will no longer catch fish: their catch will be people. They will get others to follow Jesus- to draw them into the net of the 'Kingdom'. From the references we can see that the main task of the disciples was to spread the good news. Christians today are also required to fulfil the same task, that is why Christian churches send out missionaries to bring the message of Jesus to others. Christians also live out the good news by helping and serving those in need.