ENGAGE: Introductory questions that everyone can answer easily. These help break the ice and get the conversation started.

Transcription

1 Welcome to the college edition of the Holy Vocabulary Leader Guide. This leader guide, along with the additional leader tools available on the DVD-ROM, are designed to provide you, the leader, with the foundation you need to lead your group of college students through an effective, engaging, and meaningful time of Bible study. As group leader, you have the unique responsibility to set the tone for your group and guide each gathering s conversation. As you spend time with your group, pray with them and serve them in unexpected ways. When you lay that foundation of trust and belonging, you enable God to transform the lives of your group members. Visit threadsmedia.com for topical articles, additional leader helps, and blogs from Threads staff. At lifeway. com/bible you ll find several Bible translations, commentaries, word studies, and other resources to supplement your preparation. Before Your First group gathering Read the Holy Vocabulary member book included in the leader kit. Preview the contents of the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM to familiarize yourself with the leader tools available to you. Leader Tools The Leader Tools folder of the DVD-ROM includes a variety of resources designed to help you lead. > Holy Vocabulary Leader Guide > Sermon Outlines > Five video segments that illustrate key concepts from Holy Vocabulary. Session 1: God (gŏd) n. Session 3: Jesus (jē zәs) n. Session 4: Holy Spirit (hō lē spĭr ĭt) n. Session 5: Church (chûrch) n. Session 6: End Times (ĕnd tīmz) n. > A playlist of music that complements the topic and themes of the study. > Supplemental articles to deepen your understanding of the biblical principles at the foundation of this study. *Special thanks to Biblical Illustrator, a quarterly magazine devoted to exploring the background of Scripture, for permission to share these materials. For more information, visit lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator. > Visual aids to be adapted for your group or church s use, including: promotional poster, media slides, bulletin insert template, header. Questions & Discussion You may use the questions in the member book, those provided in the leader guide, or a combination of the two. The member book will be a helpful tool in guiding the discussion as it contains further insight into the open-ended questions. In the leader guide you ll find key quotes from the member book, three types of questions for each session, and specific points of action for you as a leader: ENGAGE: Introductory questions that everyone can answer easily. These help break the ice and get the conversation started. ENCOUNTER: Focus on God s Word and each other. These questions ask what the biblical text says or means about a particular topic. EXPRESS: Ask, So what? Help identify how truth applies directly to our lives. EQUIP: Parting thoughts to leave your group with. Includes a creative prayer element that will re-emphasize the principles from your meeting time. Read the article What Did I Sign Up For? in the Leader Tools folder of this DVD-ROM. Display the promotional poster around your church and/or campus announcing the start of this study. Post study information on your church or campus ministry s Web site, in the church bulletin, or on your personal blog, Facebook, or MySpace page. Distribute the member books to your group. Encourage your group members to visit threadsmedia.com/holyvocabulary and download the songs from the playlist. ICON LEGEND: Things to listen to Fun facts and useful tidbits of information On the Web Things to watch Digging deeper into concepts from the study Expanding on biblical concepts Discussion questions for the Leader LifeWay Press College leader guide holy vocabulary

2 Session 1: God For Session 1, you ll need: A Mighty Fortress and Your Love Is Strong from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE God (gŏd) n. found on the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM Engage Holiness is a good place to start when considering exactly who God is (p. 14). To spark conversation about the character of God, watch the video God (gŏd) n. Then continue your discussion. > What three words come to mind when you hear the word God? > How often do you think most people think about God? Why? How often do you think about God? > How often do you hear God talked about around campus or in your circle of friends? > If you had to pick a single truth you believe it s imperative to know about God, what would it be? Why did you choose that one? Encounter Any attempt to define love apart from God is a misrepresentation or distortion of what true love is (p. 23). > Which word was most meaningful to you during this week s study? Why? > Which of these words do you think is the most misunderstood by believers? Why do you think that is? > Which is the most under-appreciated by the church? Read Jeremiah 9: > What do you think the Bible means by knowing God? > What does this passage reveal about knowing God? > Why does God value that kind of knowledge so highly? > How does this kind of knowledge differ from the knowledge you re gaining from your classes and studies? > Do you think most people have a real grasp of God s love? Why or why not? > How important is understanding the love of God? > Do you have any difficulty calling God Father? Why? LifeWay Press

3 Session 1: God > How do you think God s role as Father resonates in the life of your roommate(s)? Your best friend? > Does having God as your Father guarantee prosperity and comfort? Why or why not? > As your Father, what is God the most committed to? > How does it make you feel to know that God s primary motivation is His glory? How does understanding that concept change the way you view the acts of God? > Do you think we feel the same way God does about justice? > How do you reconcile the state of the world with God s commitment to justice? Express The very fact that God loves us enough to discipline us is evidence of His Fatherhood (p. 33). > Do you gravitate toward a certain one of these words more than the others in your relationship with God? Why? > Which do you struggle with the most? > Why is having a balanced understanding of these terms important? > What are some practical ways you can get to know God better? > What s the one word from this session you need to work into your vocabulary? Why? How do you plan to do that? Equip Lead your group in a time of prayer based on your study this week. During your prayer, invite the group to say specific attributes of God as an affirmation of His character. After these words have been spoken out loud, close your time in prayer. Dig Deeper > Lead your group in the research of the other major religions of the world. Compare those religions beliefs about the nature of god with the biblical record. What differences did you find? Do any of these groups have a presence on your group members campuses? If so, brainstorm ways to form relationships with students who hold other beliefs and show them God s love. > Take a field trip outside. Spend some time in silence observing nature. Then come back together to compare notes on what nature reveals about who God is LifeWay Press

4 Session 2: humanity For Session 2, you ll need: Savior, Please and I Believe from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. Holy Vocabulary Promotional Video found on the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE Read The Meaning of Salvation, found in the Leader Tools section of the DVD- ROM, for some background information into Session 2. Engage More and more people are ascribing to the view that being a part of a religious system is a lot like climbing a mountain with many pathways (p. 36). To spark conversation about the language of faith, watch the Holy Vocabulary promotional video. Then continue your discussion. > Share a story that makes you optimistic about the potential of humanity. > Share a story that makes you pessimistic about the potential of humanity. > Are people more prone to think the best or worst about others? Why? > Which should be the case? Why? Encounter Because sin runs so deeply into the very core of who we are, the solution for sin can be nothing less than an absolute change of that same core (p. 38). > Which word was most meaningful to you during your study this week? Why? > Share one insight you gained about a particular word this week. > How does that particular insight change the way you view humanity? > How grave is the biblical picture of the state of mankind? Why do you think it s so bad? > What do you think is the proper response to the bad news of humanity? > In thinking about your own story, where have you seen the visible effects of sin? > Where do you see the effects of sin on your campus? [Leader s Note: If your group members responses turn too specific, consider moving on to the next question to avoid gossip.] > What does the Bible mean when it calls men and women lost? How lost are we? > Why is it tempting as a Christian to use the term lost in a derogatory manner? > Why is repentance about turning and not just stopping? > What does repentance look like in your life? LifeWay Press

5 Session 2: humanity > How do the words lost and saved fit together? > What are we saved from? > For many people, college is a season of life that includes wrestling with belief. Maybe you can relate. If so, how are you coping with doubt and the struggle to believe? > If this happened earlier in your life, what caused you to wrestle? How did you overcome it? > We often talk about what to believe, but how would you explain how to believe to someone? > Is there a difference between belief and faith? If yes, what s the difference? Express Jesus, the Great Rescuer, has come, and He saves us from spiritual death by giving us spiritual life forever with Him. Never stop telling people you re saved (p. 50). > How does knowing the natural state of humanity change how you feel about salvation? > Why do we have to go through the bad news about humanity to get to the good news? How does the bad news and good news work together? > How should you treat your classmates, dormmates, professors, parents, and others in your life in light of the biblical truth about humanity? > What s one practical way your understanding of humanity needs to change in light of these words? Equip Spend the first part of your prayer time in a spirit of thanksgiving for what God has done for us in the gospel. Confess your own previous lost and helpless condition and give thanks for the gift of Christ that lifted you out of it. Then spend the rest of your time in intercession. Pray particularly for people in your life and on your campus who aren t Christ-followers. But also expand your prayer to other areas around the world. Note: To prepare for this time of prayer, consider doing some research ahead of time into specific areas of the world where unreached people groups live. Check out imb.org or operationworld.org for information. Dig Deeper > Get out together in the world. Host a free car wash on a Saturday and just engage people in conversation. > Volunteer for a couple of hours at a local nursing home or assisted living facility. Spend your time in an intentional effort to listen to and get to know the stories of the people living there. > Watch a movie that demonstrates both the depravity and potential redemption of humanity. Consider Hotel Rwanda or Schindler s List LifeWay Press

6 Session 3: jesus For Session 3, you ll need: Lead Me to the Cross, None but Jesus, and Hold Me, Jesus from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. Jesus (jē zәs) n. found on the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE Read Jesus as the Son of God, found in the Leader Tools section of the DVD-ROM, for some background information into Session 3. Engage Everything we need to know of God is found in the person of Christ (p. 60). > How have you observed Jesus name being used out of context? (Think Jesus is My Homeboy T-shirts.) > Who do you think the world wants Jesus to be? > If you ve studied religion in college, what were some of the ideas you ve heard about who others believe Jesus was/is? > Why do you think there is so much controversy surrounding the identity of Jesus? > Based on Scripture, do you think Jesus cared if people liked Him? Why or why not? To spark conversation, watch the teaching video Jesus (jē zәs) n. Then continue your discussion. Encounter By His grace, we are transformed into people who actually want to do the right thing instead of people who have to do the right thing (p. 67). > Which word was most meaningful to you during your study this week? Why? > Why is it important to understand the truth about Jesus identity? > Think about the following characters from Scripture. What s the one word you think each would have used to describe Jesus? Why? Peter John Zacchaeus Mary Magdalene Lazarus > What does the word begotten mean when applied to Jesus? > Why is it essential to understand that Jesus is God? How would Christianity be different if we believed Jesus was just a great teacher? > How important is understanding the cross to understanding the identity of Jesus? Why? > Why is the cross an appropriate symbol for the Christian faith? LifeWay Press

7 Session 3: jesus > How do you think God feels about the ways the cross is marketed in our culture? > Define propitiation in just a few words. > Why do you think this is such an unpopular concept, even among Christians? > What s one example in your life where someone other than God has shown you grace? How did it make you feel? > Why do you think grace is so easy to understand but so difficult to believe? Express The greatest difference between biblical propitiation and what we find in other major religions of the past and present is this: God not only received the propitiation His justice demands, but He planned it, carried it out, and took the punishment upon Himself (p. 72). > What are some examples from Scripture of how different people responded to Jesus? > What sort of response does Jesus expect? > If someone you know from class or someone who lives in your dorm asked you who Jesus was, what essential elements would you include in your answer? > What is one way the study of these words changes how you will interact with Jesus going forward? > What does accurately representing who Jesus is to the people around you look like? Equip Ask your group to share a few of the most meaningful Scriptures about Jesus. Use these verses as a jumping off point in your prayer. Pray specifically that Jesus identity would become clear to the people around you and that you would accurately represent Him to those in your life. Dig Deeper > Search online for Jesus and find the strangest interpretation, marketing, T-shirt, or other piece of Jesus paraphernalia you can. Bring a picture of it with you to your group meeting next week. > Challenge your group to pick up a copy of The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancy to read more about the historical Jesus. > Think about the people who you interact with on a daily basis professors, dormmates, campus staff, employers. Make it a priority to show someone grace this week LifeWay Press

8 Session 4: holy spirit For Session 4, you ll need: Sweet Holy Spirit from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. Holy Spirit (hō lē spĭr ĭt) n. found on the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE Read The Holy Spirit: A History of Interpretation, found in the Leader Tools section of the DVD-ROM, for some background information into Session 4. Engage God isn t interested in people who put forth the effort to do good things; He s interested in people who are, at the very core of their being, good people (p. 85). > Which name do you prefer: Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? Why? What does each make you think of? > Why do you think many people are more comfortable discussing the Father and the Son than the Holy Spirit? > What are the three words you think of first when you think about the Holy Spirit? To spark conversation, watch the teaching video Holy Spirit (hō lē spĭr ĭt) n. Then continue your discussion. Encounter While we work to have faith in who we are as God s redeemed children and to act in a manner that reflects that, God s busy doing the actual prying of those white-knuckled fingers from around our hearts (p. 90). > Which word was most meaningful to you during your study this week? Why? > Did your perspective on the Holy Spirit change as a result of this session? How? > What evidence have you seen lately of the Holy Spirit s work in your life and in the world around you? > What s the difference between the way the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament and the way He works now? > In what sense is the Holy Spirit the Counselor? > How does knowing that God is for you change your perspective? > How is the Holy Spirit an expression of God s for-ness? > Why is the fruit of the Spirit called fruit and not works or something else? > College is a time of learning who you are and who God intends for you to be. Who is the Holy Spirit conforming you into? What does it feel like to be conformed? > What does it feel like to be sanctified? Is it always a comfortable experience? LifeWay Press

9 Session 4: holy spirit > How is being sanctified different than being conformed? > In what ways and circumstances have you experienced the sanctification of the Holy Spirit? > What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? What does it feel like? > What is your responsibility in being filled? > For what purpose does the Holy Spirit gift people? > Do you know what your spiritual gift is? If yes, what is it? If no, consider meeting with your college minister or campus pastor to find out. Express If you are a Christian, you have been gifted by the Holy Spirit. There are no exceptions to this rule (p. 96). > How should your relationship with the Holy Spirit impact your ministry in the world? > What would a church look like if everyone was rightly relating to the Holy Spirit? > What aspect of your relationship with the Holy Spirit needs to grow? > What are some practical ways you can keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25, NIV)? Equip Emphasize to your group that God wants to speak to us in prayer and not just listen to us. To that end, spend your closing prayer time in silence, trying as best you can to listen to the voice of the Lord in the stillness. Dig Deeper > Attend a worship service at another church with differing beliefs about the Spirit. Then spend some time talking about the similarities and differences. > Pick up a copy of Salvation on Sand Mountain to read a reporter s interaction with a fringe group of Christians. > Watch The Apostle together and discuss the spiritual implications of the film LifeWay Press

10 Session 5: Church For Session 5, you ll need: Shine from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. Church (chûrch) n. found on the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE Read Metaphors for the Church in Ephesians, found in the Leader Tools section of the DVD-ROM, for some background information into Session 5. Engage The church has a cosmological, universal purpose that is a bigger extension of its role here on earth (p. 103). > What is the worst church sign you ve ever seen? > What are the popular opinions in our culture about the church? Is there any merit to those opinions? > Do you think the church is going through an identity crisis? Why or why not? > What do you look for when deciding to be a part of a church? What should you look for? To spark conversation, watch the teaching video Church (chûrch) n. Then continue your discussion. Encounter In order for a church to function as a healthy body, we have to first convince each other that we are critical parts of the body (p. 116). > Which word was most meaningful to you during your study this week? Why? > Given what you studied, how would you define the church? > How important is it to be a part of a local church? Why? > Has it been more or less difficult than you expected to get involved in a church during your time at college? Do you think being involved in one is important during this time in your life? > Is involvement with a campus ministry the same as involvement in a church? Why or why not? > Does your attitude toward baptism and the Lord s Supper need to change? How? Why? > Why is the church called the body of Christ? Is that figurative or literal language? Why? > Which part of the body of Christ do you think is the most under-appreciated? How can you tell? > What role do you currently play in the body of Christ? > What is the mission of the church? > Do you think the church has a good understanding of its mission? Explain LifeWay Press

11 Session 5: Church Express Until the church embraces her mission fully and completely, we ll always be living in a sort of limbo (p. 120). > Are you a giver or a taker from the church? Is either one wrong? Why or why not? > What should the balance be between the two? > What is one prayer you would pray for the church in the world? For your own church? > How might you become more committed to the church than you are now? Equip Spend your closing time praying for your local church. Pray for your leaders and for its mission in the community, on your campus, and in the world. Dig Deeper > How can your group serve your church leadership? Spend some time writing thank-you notes, s of encouragement, or doing something else to show your support. > If you haven t found a place or the time to plug into a church since going to college, now is the time to do so. Talk to others in your group or campus ministry who will help you find a place to get involved. You are a vital part of the body! > Watch Luther to see how one leader wanted to reform the church LifeWay Press

12 Session 6: End Times For Session 6, you ll need: Waiting for My Child to Come Home and I ll Fly Away from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. End Times (ĕnd tīmz) n. found on the Holy Vocabulary DVD-ROM Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE Engage Christians are changed people. And their new value system reflects their Savior s. They love what He loves. They do what He does. They follow Him where He goes. And by doing so, they prove the authenticity of their supposed conversion (p. 126). To spark conversation about the events surrounding the end times, watch the video End Times (ĕnd tīmz) n. Then continue your discussion. > What s the worst end times movie you ve ever seen? What made it so bad? > What seems to be the general attitude people have about the end times? > Do you think there is too much, not enough, or just about the right amount of emphasis on the end times in Christian circles? Why? Encounter God isn t the One who was, or the One who will be, but the One who is. To Him, everything is always right now. In God s eyes, the future is now. The past is now. Everything is now. He is the Is-ing One (p. 130). > Which word was most meaningful to you during your study this week? Why? > Why do you think God gave us such a confusing picture of the end of the story? > How would your life be different if you knew all the specifics of the end? Why might God not want you to? > How do you think God means for the Christian to view the end times? > How do you view it? Why? > What role does hope play in the life of a Christian? Of a non-christian? > What are we hoping for? > Did your understanding of eternity change this week? Why or why not? > What makes hell so bad? What makes heaven so good? As a college student, it s easy to get caught up in all the learning and life changes that you re experiencing, which only makes it harder to pause and think on life s brevity and eternity. > Why is it important to think regularly about heaven? LifeWay Press

13 Session 6: End Times > Is there any value in thinking regularly about hell? Explain. Express In the same way as hell is hell is because it s the realm where God is not, heaven is heaven because it s the realm where God is most fully realized (p. 136). > How does living with a sense of hope change the way you approach painful circumstances? > What is the best way to express your view of eternity to those around you? > How important is heaven to you? How important should it be? > How might you regularly remind yourself of the realities of eternity? What do you think would be different about your life if you did? Equip Before closing in prayer, turn to Revelation 21:1-7 and read this passage out loud. Allow a few moments of silence, then ask for a volunteer to close in prayer. Dig Deeper > Scan through a copy of Dante Alighieri s Inferno, from The Divine Comedy. How many of our images of eternity are actually from the Bible, and how many are from books we ve read or movies we ve seen? > Take a field trip to the local Christian bookstore. Look specifically for titles about heaven. What can you learn about the Christian subculture s ideas of heaven from these titles? > During your group gathering, pick out a few of the more vivid descriptions from Revelation and spend time drawing pictures of them LifeWay Press

14 Session 7: scripture For Session 7, you ll need: Wake Up, Oh Sleeper and Thy Word from the Holy Vocabulary playlist to play as your group arrives. Your copy of the Holy Vocabulary MEMBER BOOK A copy of this LEADER GUIDE Engage Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we find that when we go to the Bible to read it, it actually reads us. We see ourselves measured against its commands. Our true motivations are revealed in its characters (p. 151). > Which part of the Bible do you struggle the most to read? Why? > In your opinion, what is the weirdest story in the Bible? > If you gave the Bible a rating (G, PG, PG-13, R), what would it be? Why? Encounter Embracing the authority of Scripture doesn t bring slavery. It doesn t encroach on our freedom. Rather, it gives us the freedom to fully follow God with our whole hearts (p. 152). > Which word was most meaningful to you during your study this week? Why? > Based on our study this week, what is the attitude with which we should approach Scripture? Why? > What does it mean to say that Scripture is God-breathed? What implications does that have for the way in which you approach it? > Define authority. What kind of authority does the Bible have? How would we read it differently if we truly believed in its authority? > Do you tend to respect authority or push back against it? How does this impact the weight God s Word has in your life? Explain. > Do you agree that Jesus is the central character in Scripture? What objections do you have to that? > Why is He the central character of Scripture? > How does that inform the way you read the Law? > Why did God give the Law to begin with? > What is the relationship between the Law and the gospel? LifeWay Press

15 Session 7: scripture Express When it comes to Scripture, we have two options: We say amen to its entirety, or we entirely reject it. No taking it in parts; no dividing it in pieces (p. 164). > Why is it important to not just read the easy parts of Scripture? > What is your plan for studying Scripture? Why is it important to have one? > What is your plan for Scripture memorization? Why is that an important discipline to integrate into your life? > What are three concrete ways you want your spiritual life to change as a result of your study of Holy Vocabulary? Equip Ask each group member to share one prayer concern they have about their lives leading out from this study. Pair the group up and ask each person to pray for their partner. Dig Deeper > Celebrate your final study together with a party or group outing. > Plan your next Threads study by encouraging your group to visit threadsmedia.com/studies, where they can browse through other Bible study resources and download free samples. Finalize what you ll do next. > Finally, compose a thank-you to your group, highlighting specific moments from your time together LifeWay Press