Beginning in Jesus Participant's Guide: 6 Small Group Sessions on the Life of Christ (Experiencing Christ Together Student Edition) - Softcover

Fields, Doug; Eastman, Brett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310266440 ISBN 13: 9780310266440

Publisher: Zondervan, 2005

Synopsis

The Experiencing Christ Together Student Edition curriculum contains everything you need to facilitate small groups that want to learn more about Jesus, whether it’s a complete lesson or just some prompts to move your group along. This series gives you the chance to introduce your students to the godly, human, shocking, saving person of Jesus. Each book includes all the Scripture for a given lesson, the student-friendly commentary, and individual questions and experiences to deepen and strengthen a small group. This first book in the series, Beginning in Jesus, brings your group face to face with different character qualities of Jesus. Students will understand the many aspects of Jesus’ character: · Teacher: How and why is Jesus’ teaching so different? · Healer: Why does Jesus restore people? · Shepherd: How is Jesus leading and caring for his people? · Servant: Why is servanthood so important to Jesus? · Savior: What does it mean that Jesus is a savior? · Risen Lord: Why is it so important that Jesus really is the son of God? Beginning in Jesus lets students love more deeply, live more honestly, and develop their character in Christ as they help each other answer His call everyday.

About this title

About the Author:

Doug Fields has been a leader in youth ministry for over 30 years. In addition to being a youth pastor at two churches for 11 and 20 years, Doug is the founder of Simply Youth Ministry, the co-founder of Downloadyouthministry.com, the author of more than 50 books, and is currently working with Youth Specialties & Azusa Pacific University (HomeWord’s Center for Youth/Family). More information about Doug is available at www.dougfields.com.

Brett Eastman has championed small groups and leadership development at both Saddleback and Willow Creek Community Church over the past decade. He is president and founder of LifeTogether, and one of the authors of the Silver Medallion winner Doing LifeTogether, the adult curriculum published by Zondervan.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Beginning in Jesus, Student Edition: Six Sessions in the life of Christ Copyright 2005 by Youth Specialties Youth Specialties Products, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fields, Doug, 1962- Beginning in Jesus : six sessions in the life of Christ by / Doug Fields and Brett Eastman. -- Student ed. p. cm. ISBN 0-310-26644-0 (pbk.) 1. Jesus Christ--Person and offi ces. 2. Christian education--Textbooks for youth. I. Eastman, Brett, 1959- . II. Title. BT207.F54 2005 226'.433--dc22 2005015209 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version (North American Edition). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means--- electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other---except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication. Please contact Youth Specialties via e-mail (YS@YouthSpecialties.com) to report URLs that are no longer operational and replacement URLs if available. Creative Team: Dave Urbanski, Holly Sharp, Mark Novelli, Joanne Heim, Janie Wilkerson Cover Design: Mattson Creative Printed in the United States of America 05 06 07 08 09 10 / DCI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 JESUS: Session 1 19 Justin never really knew his father because he died of cancer when Justin was just three years old. As a teenager, Justin doesn't have many memories of his dad, but he does have a lot of photos and stories that have helped shape his dad's legacy. Because of those photos and stories, Justin has grown up with a desire to be more like his dad. The stories he's heard over the years make him feel proud that he had such a great dad. His father was a man who followed God's ways, loved his family, and worked hard to make a living. He was adored by many, and everyone describes him to Justin as 'one of the greatest guys I've ever met.' He was tender, patient, wise, and a great father---and everyone says he loved his son. Even though his time on earth was short, Justin's dad made a significant impact on others, including Justin. In fact, even though he never knew his dad, Justin's hero is his dad.20 As you study the Bible passages in this book and discuss them with your small group, you'll meet (or be reacquainted with) someone you've never seen face-to-face, either, but is more worthy than anyone of hero status---Jesus. You'll learn more about the legacy that Jesus passed on to you. Th e stories you'll read were written so that as you learn more about Jesus, you'll want to be like Jesus even more. As you study Jesus with this book, there is an important question you'll want to answer at some point: Do you really believe Jesus is worth following? If he's not, you'll keep searching for something or someone to follow. If Jesus is worthy, this study will help you follow him with great enthusiasm, align your life to his teachings, receive his love, and tap into his life-changing power. Th is book series, your own study, and your group's discussion will provide chances to look at Jesus in deeper and more meaningful ways---you'll get to know Jesus better! And the great thing about being in a group is that you're not searching, learning, and discovering alone---your group can become an environment where you develop stronger relationships. It's within this group that you'll likely grow, learn, and fall more in love with Jesus. Life isn't meant to be lived alone---doing life together is the way to live it up. Let the journey with Jesus begin! Goal: To share about your life and listen attentively to others, caring about what they share As you study the life of Jesus, you'll notice that people expressed their first impressions of Jesus in different ways. Some were amazed, some afraid, some mad, some confused. You'll develop your own impressions of Jesus as you continue to learn more about him. Because you're learning in a small group setting, you're21 not learning alone. You may already have formed impressions of the other people in your group without knowing much about them. This fellowship section (which is in all six sessions) will provide an opportunity for your group's members to get to know each other better. When you open up a little bit of your life and share pieces of your story, you'll get to know each other better. Just as the stories of Jesus will give you a clearer picture of him, others' stories will give you a clearer picture of who they really are. To get the most out of this group, it's worth taking a risk and revealing some of yourself and carefully listening to others' hearts. While it can seem scary at first, it does get easier to open up. The benefits of getting to know each other in this way are huge. Be sure to have someone keep an eye on your time in this section, or you may spend your entire time here and not get any further! Just a reminder: There probably isn't enough time in your small group session to answer every question. Instead choose which ones you'll answer, and then answer the others on your own time. Have fun! 1. Who is one of your current heroes? Why? 2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you think you know about Jesus? 3. What do want to get out of this small group experience? If your group hasn't discussed the small group covenant on page 18, please take some time now to go through it. Make commitments to each other that your group time will reflect those values (and any additional ones you add). One sign of a healthy small group is that it begins each session by reading the covenant together as a constant reminder of what the group has committed to.22 Goal: To explore God's Word, gain biblical knowledge, and make personal applications We all have our own understandings of right and wrong---our own systems of values and judgments we consider true. Unfortunately, we often miss the mark with our limited wisdom and believe things are true even when they're not. For example, as a child I was convinced that chocolate and cookies made a healthy lunch. Th at was my truth. But I learned actual truth from reliable sources and saw the ignorance of my ways. If you've bought into lies and myths, you need to hear the truth about them. Jesus spent a lot of time teaching people the truth about God. He taught all kinds of audiences---from gigantic crowds to small groups. He even taught one-on-one to help individuals discover and understand truth. As a teacher, Jesus wasn't interested in just imparting information; rather, he taught to change lives. Read Mark 1:14-28. (If you don't have a Bible, the passage is on page 113.) 1 According to this passage, what is Jesus teaching? 2. Why do you think Jesus said the 'time has come'? 3. In your own words, what does repent mean? 4. What is the 'good news'? Is there anything from the passage that can help answer this question? 5. In your opinion, what's the connection between 'repenting' and 'believing the good news'? 6. Why do you think the disciples were so quick to leave their jobs and families behind to follow Jesus? 7. What is the Sabbath? What is a synagogue, and why was Jesus teaching there? 8. According to this passage, what

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0310266440
• ISBN 13: 9780310266440
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176