Wednesday nights @atonement 9th grade



Small Group Time: Why is the Bible True?February 3rd, 2021 @7:15-8 pmInstructionsBe sure to start on a positive note. Welcome each learner by name. Let them know you're glad they're here! If anyone is absent, mention you'll be praying for that person together. Small Group Time is for give-and-take discussion. Your main job is to draw learners out and get them talking about the theme. Ask open-ended questions that will provoke responses. Once the conversation begins, intervene only to bring it back on track or to stimulate more talk.Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Matthew 22:34–40Big Idea: God created the law to help us embrace the gospel. The Bible is true because it speaks God’s Word to us as Law and Gospel.? The law is given by God for our well-being, but the law is not what saves us.? The law reveals God's will, but it also reveals how far short we fall from God's vision for us.? The gospel is God's welcome, and it precedes everything else in our relationship with God.? The gospel is a gift. It comes to us at God's initiative and is always offered.? The tension between the law and the gospel is what energizes our relationship with God and with each other. In the space between, we find hope, forgiveness, encouragement, and our future.? To be good news, the cross has to have the empty tomb, and the tomb has to have the cross.Discussion TimeUse the following questions to kick off a conversation about the theme:1. What do you think about truth found in the Bible? 2. Which people, events, or stories do you think are not factually accurate? Is there a difference between truth and facts?3. What do you think is the most important event in the Bible? Would you feel differently if that event didn’t happen in the exact same way the Bible says? 4. What is the Law? What is the Gospel? Do these two categories help to make sense of what the Bible is saying? Do they make the Bible ‘true?’5. If the law can lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair, then why do we still have it? Shouldn't we just focus on the gospel?6. Have you ever played an unfamiliar game with someone who had played it before? Did it seem like they were making up the rules as it went along just so they could win? What does that teach you about rules? Does it teach you anything about the gospel?7. If rules are for our own good, why do they often feel so negative?8. Many things in the world are seen as either/or, right or wrong, true or false. As a group, write down as many either/or issues as you can think of. (Affirm all responses. To encourage conversation, you may want to discuss war and other issues significant to people of faith.)9. God sent Jesus into the world to save us and to model grace-filled, loving relationships. Talk about a time when you experienced that kind of relationship. (Affirm all responses. As a conversation starter, talk about a time when you experienced forgiveness.)10. What does holy mean? (Affirm all responses. Explain that Jesus narrowed down the Ten Commandments to two: Love God and love people. Read the definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. That's what "holy" is.)11. The sacrament of Holy Communion is both commanded by Christ (DO this) and is the foundation of the gospel of forgiveness. How can it be both LAW and GOSPEL? (Affirm all responses.)Open the Bible1. As a leader, what questions do you have about figuring out what’s true in your life? Help kids think about the word truth by sharing a time when your personal experience impacted your version of the truth. Is your true story the same as someone else’s who shared that experience? Is truth always based in proven facts? Can opinion ever enter into truth? Consider sharing an experience from your childhood that kids can relate to. -Questions for conversation: a. Read John 18:37-38. What made Jesus’ truth different from Pilate’s truth? b. Was there common ground that could have been shared by Jesus and Pilate? c. When have you had a different version of a story than someone else? 2. Invite learners to open their Bibles to Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and ask a volunteer to read the verses aloud. Briefly explain the importance of the phrase, "The Lord is our God, the Lord alone." Explain that it wasn't uncommon for people to pray to many gods for the many needs they had, but the God of their ancestors is the one true God. This is the foundation for all the law and the prophets. After reading verses 6–9, invite learners to write the word ritual in the margin and list any family faith rituals they practice at home.3. Invite learners to open their Bibles to Matthew 22:34–40 and ask a volunteer to read the verses aloud. Ask learners to write the word focus in the margins. Jesus boiled down the law and the prophets to its purest form: loving God and loving people. Explain to learners that the most important relationship is God's relationship with us. It's a vertical relationship and a model for how we can love others. The way we love people is a horizontal relationship. Where the two points intersect is Jesus.4. Invite learners to open their Bibles to Leviticus 19:2, and ask a volunteer to read the verse aloud. Then ask readers to read aloud Matthew 5:43–48. Ask learners to write "OT Connection" in the margin of their Bible, and explain that Jesus' teaching was filled with Old Testament imagery and scripture. It's another example that the law and gospel live on the same plane.5. Invite learners to open their Bibles to Matthew 5:17–20, and ask a volunteer to read the verses aloud. Ask learners to write the words "Moses Connection" in the margin. Explain to learners that Jesus wanted people to move past the letter of the law, which created false pride in the Pharisees, to the spirit of the law. It's only in getting past the physical law that we can see the emotional and spiritual impact it has on our relationships. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download