What if we were underground? B-Group Lesson - October 19

Transcription

1 What if we were underground? What if we were underground? B-Group Lesson - October 19

2 What s included in this packet? B-Group Format - How the meeting should go...3 Reporting Information - How to report your B-Group.3 Special What if? Events...3 B-Group Lesson...4 Children s Lesson.6 What if we were underground?! 2

3 6:45-7:00 - Group is arriving, fellowship B-Group Format 7:15 - Open up with P. Jon s intro video (provided) 7:20 - Lesson, Questions and Discussion begins (provided) 8:00 - Close in prayer for each other 8:10 - Dismiss 8:30 - Send in report Report can be sent via: Text or voic report@bethany.com What if? Special Events: What if? Miracle Service: Wednesday, October 7 P.M. (Bethany South) What if? Fall Fest: Wednesday, October 6 P.M. (Bethany South) What if we were underground?! 3

4 B-Group Lesson: What if we were underground? What if we, as the church, could not meet every Sunday in an air-conditioned, technologically advanced building? What if we were forced into basements and boarded up rooms? What if every time we met there was risk of jail, false trials, and torture? For millions believers across the globe, this is a weekly reality. In Pakistan and India, churches are burned and believers are arrested for being baptized. In Malaysia, pastors are held at gunpoint and there houses bombed or burned to the ground. In China, the underground church faces seemingly insurmountable pressure and persecution from the government. There are estimates from 70, to as high as 130, million Christians in China alone; that are a part of the underground church. In North Korea, approximately 40,000 Christians are currently in prison labor camps for their faith. This is reality. The same volatile atmosphere that surrounded the birth of the New Testament church in Acts, is still roaming this earth. Thank God for our brothers and sisters that stand in the face of persecution, mocking, and torture for the Gospel s sake! Thank God that we live in a nation that allows us to freely worship Jesus Christ and proclaim the Gospel...for now. Let s talk about how the underground church applies to our life, relationships, and faith. 1. The Underground Church doesn t have all of the modern conveniences that we do. Their worship is raw and, often times, only a whisper. What is worship to you? (What does it look like, sound like, etc.) What inspires your worship? How does your (answer to the previous question) inspire your worship? 2. For most of the Underground Church members, their decision to accept Christ separates them from friends and family. This separation forces them to into a new family, a family of believers knitted together by God and bonded by persecution. Do you have the kind of relationships with other believers that is as strong as family? What hinders you from having that type of relationship with other believers? How is your faith being encouraged by other believers? How are you encouraging other believers? 3. The Underground Church does not have access to the Bible, like we do today. There are countless stories of believers sitting for hours, listening to teachings from the Bible. In some instances, only one page of the Bible is available and has resulted in believers dying rather than give up that one page. Do you place the same level of value on the Bible as the Underground Church? How important is the Word of God in your life? What if we were underground?! 4

5 4. The Underground Church is constantly under pressure. Their faith is tested daily through persecution and secrecy. What does the Underground Church s constantly tested faith cause you to think about your current level of faith? Has your faith been tested like those in the Underground Church? As we close, let s take some time to pray: 1) That our worship would be genuinely inspired by Christ, 2) Our relationships with other believers would thriving and strong, 3) That we would have a love and passion for the Word of God, and 4) That our faith would be as resilient as the Underground Church. Let s also take a moment to pray for the faith of those in the Underground Church, that it would be strengthened and would not waver! What if we were underground?! 5

6 B-Group Children s Lesson: Big Picture: As a christian, Jesus said I will face many trials and troubles for his name. Scripture Memory Verse: God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Matthew 5:11 ICEBREAKER Does anybody have a funny story about something about something that happened to them at school, home, on a vacation? How did that make you feel? Now for this Ice Breaker, we are going to put all the kids in a circle standing shoulder to shoulder. When I say go, each child, one at a time, will lean in and nudge the persons shoulder, with their shoulder and not their hands, next to them. If that person, loses their balance, they are out. We will go all around the circle. LESSON Have you ever been so sure of something that you were willing to defend it? So sure that you were ready to argue your point until everyone understood? Did people made fun of you because of your points? Did you stand firm or were unwilling to move or change your mind? What if someone were to make fun of you at school for your belief in Jesus, or that you go to church every Sunday to learn the bible. Would that change your perspective, or would you consider it worth it, when you face so much trouble for this belief? Today, we are going to discuss the topic of persecution. In America, we don t truly understand what it is, because since you were born you have ALWAYS been able to go to church and read your bible without anybody messing with you. How many of you would say that you are a Christian? Around the world there are millions of people who have to meet in church in secret, because it is ILLEGAL to be a Christian. It is ILLEGAL to have a page of the bible. In the early church, after Jesus had gone back to heaven, people still were being persecuted for believing in the name of Jesus and preaching that He is the only one who saves. What if we were underground?! 6

7 LESSON CONTINUED... If your teachers, friends, or the government said that it was now ILLEGAL to be a Christian, would you still say that you were? Even if it could get you in trouble? The early disciples were so convinced that Jesus was King and was the resurrected LORD that they were willing to die, before renouncing his name. They were so sure that Jesus was the only way to heaven that they were willing to face persecution for the name of Jesus, not only that they prayed and thanked God for it. Read Acts 5:41 The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. Would you consider it an honor to be persecuted for Christ? Being persecuted in America, may not mean jail, but it could mean that your friends will not want to be around you, you will become the weird one in school, or the religious fanatic. Let us go over our Big Picture: As a christian, Jesus said I will face many trials and troubles for his name. Praise God, we aren t the only one on earth, there are millions of people ready to stand up for the name of Jesus. In the book of Acts, the believers met together, prayed and encouraged each other in the Lord. Do you hang around people who encourage you to stand up for Jesus, or are you around people who want you to be cool, and popular, not caring about Jesus? The early church had hundred and hundreds of people that were able to encourage and pray for each other, daily. Is the only time you are around Christian people, is at church on Sunday? What if church was canceled for a weekend, would you know what to do, or would you sleep in and not even care? As we close our lesson, Jesus told us that the world would hate us, because of Him. That is why we must count the cost, for being called a Christian. Are we willing to stand for Jesus even if doing that could get us in trouble, if it would make us unpopular, or even make us lose friends. We need to make sure that we are ready to stand up for the Savior and Lord of our souls, as we begin to tell the whole world, that we are CHRISTIANS! Let us go over our Big Picture one more time: As a christian, Jesus said I will face many trials and troubles for his name. CLOSING **Conclude your small group time by closing with a prayer of salvation for any child that would like to make Jesus Lord of their life** What if we were underground?! 7