Leader s Prep Guide The Leader s Prep Guide is a ne- page glimpse f the stuff yu need t knw t begin preparing t teach the Large Grup Sessin. Sessin Overview The Sessin Overview is a glance at sme f the big picture details f each sessin. Sessin Title: The Saving Shepherd Sessin Purpse: T encurage students that Jesus will never leave them, and that fllwing Him leads t ultimate safety and rest. Scripture Passages: Jhn 10:22-30 Sessin Snapsht: The wrld can be a pretty rugh place. Sure, we re surrunded by blessings, and few f us will ever suffer as many in the wrld d. But, the wrld ur students live in can be pretty harsh, relatively speaking. What a cmfrt, then, fr them t knw that Jesus nt nly can save them frm their sins, but prmises that it is a frever salvatin. When students cmmit t fllwing Christ, they are cmmitting t fllw a strng shepherd, ne wh will never let them g. Sessin Specifics Sessin Specifics are just that: imprtant aspects f the sessin utline that yu need t keep in mind as yu prepare. Details n Large Grup Sessin Outlines Here s the verall flw f each Large Grup Sessin. (This way yu ll knw where yu re headed as yu think abut tailring this utline t fit yur needs.) Sessin 1: Theme pitch, plus a lk at Jesus as the perfect leader wrthy f fllwing. Sessin 2: Jesus is the gate. If we fllw, it leads t green pastures. Sessin 3: Jesus laid dwn His life fr us. He is active in leading us. Sessin 4: When we cme t faith in Christ, we are frever safe in Him. A nte abut Small Grups In Small Grup Sessin 4, students will be encuraged as they cmmit t pursuing an authentic faith with Christ, empwering them t make real change in their lives. Small Grup Sessin 4 Passages are as fllws: Main Scripture: 1 Crinthians 9:24-27, 2 Crinthians 4:7-9, Jhn 14:25-27, Hebrews 12:1-3 Keep them in mind, s if yu freelance a bit yu wn t steal any f the Small Grup Leader s thunder. 2013 yuthministry360, Inc. 1
DETAILED Large Grup Speaker Outline: Sessin 4: The Saving Shepherd This DETAILED utline is specifically designed t give lts f tls t craft a great Large Grup talk. Fr every talking pint, we ve prvided sme ptinal cntent fr yu t use, if yu chse. (If yu d like a mre streamlined utline, please see the SIMPLE Large Grup Speaker Outline.) Sessin Intr In this sectin yu ll see sme suggestins t help yu intr the sessin. Use as is, add t them, r cme up with yur wn! Review Start by reminding students f what yu talked abut last sessin. Use the fllwing teaching pints frm Large Grup Lessn 3 t review: Jesus Gave His Life S That We Culd Fllw Him. Jesus Is Active In Leading Us. Jesus Cares Deeply Fr All His Sheep, Especially Thse Wh Are Lst. Then, cnsider using ne f the fllwing intr ptins t set- up this sessin s theme. Intr Optin 1: Cntent Intr Explain t students that this sessin will be the final lessn in the Gd Shepherd narrative frm Jhn 10 yu ve been studying ver the last three gatherings. Remind students why Jesus was making the statements He made in this passage. Remind them that the Pharisees were challenging Jesus authrity and dubting His identity. Jesus was prving thrugh this teaching that He was the Messiah, but the Pharisees were unwilling t see Jesus fr wh He was. Cnsider saying smething like: In this sessin, we re ging t see that Jesus will never leave yu, and that fllwing Him leads t ultimate safety and rest. Intr Optin 2: Fllwer Clsing Vide Sme f yu will be wrapping up yur DNw r Retreat Weekend with this large grup time. Yu can chse t either shw the Fllwer Clsing vide nw, r at the end f the lessn. Watch the vide and decide where it wuld be best fr yur grup. If s, arrange t shw the Fllwer clsing vide t yur grup. The vide des an excellent jb f wrapping up the weekend. It ends n an encuraging, uplifting nte, but nt withut a bit f a challenge. Bible Study In this sectin yu ll find the heart f yur Large Grup Sessin cntent, the Bible Study. This sectin gives three Teaching Pints with varius supprting, ptinal cntent suggestins. All f the ptinal cntent is designed t help yu custmize hw yu will teach the sessin. Teach it as is r tailr it t allw rm fr yur persnality and experience. Teaching Pint 1: The First Step In Fllwing Jesus Is Seeing Him Fr Wh He Really Is. Remind students that the fcus f Fllwer is the idea f living ut an authentic faith. Then, instruct students t turn t Jhn 10:22-30. Befre reading the passage alud, remind students f the cntext fr the Bk f Jhn. Explain that Jhn is ne f the Gspels, the fur bks f the New Testament that cntain the stries f Christ. Remind students that Jhn was ne f Jesus mst trusted disciples wh wuld g n t write 1, 2, and 3 Jhn and Revelatin. Explain that Jesus had just finished healing a man wh was brn blind, and a grup f Pharisees were cnfrnting Jesus abut His identity. They dubted that He was the Sn f Gd. And s He delivered the Gd Shepherd narrative t make the case fr His true identity and missin. 2013 yuthministry360, Inc. 2
Then, read Jhn 10:22-30 alud. Explain t students that yu want t start by fcusing n verses 22-26. Re- read these verses alud. Explain that these verses reinfrce the first teaching pint. If yu haven t already mentined it, d s nw. Then, say smething like: The Pharisees wanted t knw if Jesus was the Sn f Gd. Nw, whether they really wanted t knw r if they were really just lking fr smething t get Him in truble fr, we dn t knw. But, the pint is this: Thrugh His wrds and actins, Jesus had made it clear t all wh were interested in seeing that He was truly the Sn f Gd. The Pharisees culdn t fllw Jesus because they were unwilling t see Him fr wh He was. If yu have cme t faith in Christ, yu have been saved. The mre yu get t knw Jesus, and the mre yu learn abut His character, the strnger yu will be cmpelled t make fllwing Him yur first pririty. Explain t students that they can t grw in their understanding f wh Jesus is unless they are taking steps t d s. While the Hly Spirit wrks in ur lives t make us mre Christ- like, ur cmmitment t knwing Gd mre is essential. Cnsider challenging students t evaluate their prayer and Scripture reading practices. Encuraging them t grw in these areas will lead t them knwing Christ mre, which in turns leads t a strnger desire t fllw Him. We ve prvided an ptin fr yu t use t supplement this Teaching Pint, if yu chse. Use the ne we ve prvided, r prvide yur wn! Optin 1: When D I Say I D? Explain t students that marrying smene is ne f the biggest decisins they ll ever make. And like mst peple, they want t be sure they get it right. Explain that accrding t ne study, the average length f time peple date befre ppping the questin is 2.8 years. Say smething like: Des that seem like a lng time t yu? Certainly there are peple wh get engaged after a shrter perid f time. But when yu think that yu will spend the rest f yur life with smene, it desn t seem like a bad idea t make sure yu knw him r her first. The fact f the matter is that it is hard t have a relatinship with smene unless we really knw him r her. It s the same with Jesus. The mre we knw Him, the mre we see Him fr wh He truly is, the mre we ll want t be clser t Him. Transitin Statement: Explain that knwing Jesus mre is just ne aspect f being in relatinship with Him. There is anther aspect that is pwerful in its truth. Teaching Pint 2: When We Cme T Faith In Jesus, We Enter Int A Frever Relatinship With Him. Then explain t students that yu want t re- read verses 27-28. Re- read these verses alud. Explain these verses reinfrce the secnd teaching pint. If yu haven t already mentined it, d s nw. Say smething like: Knwing Jesus leads t fllwing Jesus. We fllw Jesus because f wh He is. But wrapped up in Jesus identity is what He gives us. Here, Jesus says He gives us eternal life. That is life with Him frever. Frm the day we cme t a saving relatinship with Christ, we re united with Him frever. And lk hw He describes it: n ne, n frce, nt Satan, nt death... nthing can snatch us frm Jesus grasp. We are frever with Him in relatinship. As we fllw Him, He will always be there. We ve prvided sme ptins fr yu t use t supplement this Teaching Pint, if yu chse. Use the nes we ve prvided, r prvide yur wn! Optin 1: Lng Life Explain t students that yu re ging t tell them a stry f ne f the lngest living animals ever recrded. Intrduce students t Adwaita, the Aldabra Giant Trtise, wh died at the age f 255 in March f 2006. If yu want t find sme supprting pictures, yu can g t http://en.wikipedia.rg/wiki/adwaita, r yu can Ggle image search fr Adwaita and trtise. 2013 yuthministry360, Inc. 3
Adwaita spent mst f its life in a z in India. Brn smetime in r arund 1751, the trtise was given t a British explrer as a gift. It stayed n the explrer s farm in India until 1875 where it was transferred t the Alipre Z in Klkata, India. Say smething like: Think abut hw incredibly awesme this is. In this turtle s lifetime, he wuld have seen Benjamin Franklin ding his experiments with electricity, Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephne, Henry Frd mass prduce the autmbile, the Wright brthers take flight in 1903, the Civil War and bth Wrld Wars, the inventin f the TV, the mvie theatre, and the persnal cmputer. He wuld have even seen the inventin f the Internet, and if he had lived arund lng enugh, n dubt wuld have had his wn Twitter accunt. This turtle lived abut as lng as anything culd pssibly hpe t live. And yet, it s nt even a blink f an eye cmpared t the eternity we ll spend with Gd. Help students understand that their faith in Jesus pens the dr fr a life lived frever in relatinship with Gd. Optin 2: Til Death D Us Part Explain that as f the date f this writing, the ldest living married cuple in the wrld is Karam and Kartari Chand. The cuple lives in England and has been married fr ver 88 years. Explain that they were married in December f 1925, when Karam was 19 and Kartari was nly 13. Say smething like: Can yu imagine what it must be like t be married t the same persn fr the better part f 100 years? At what pint d yu think their annying habits stp being annying? D yu think after 50 years Karam remembers t put the tilet seat dwn? Imagine the lve and unselfishness necessary t keep a marriage tgether fr 88 years. It s a truly amazing stry. Explain t students that marriage is Gd s best earthly example f the cvenant lve He has fr us. Explain that when we fllw Jesus, trusting Him t pay fr ur sins and believing in His identity, we enter int a binding relatinship with Gd, strnger than even the strngest marriages. It will never fail. It will always last. Transitin Statement Explain that the frever relatinship we have with Gd has sme unique qualities yu ll lk at in Pint 3. Teaching Pint 3: This Frever Relatinship Is One f Ultimate Safety And Rest. Finally explain t students that yu want t re- read verses 29-30. Re- read these verses alud. Explain that these verses reinfrce the third teaching pint. If yu haven t already mentined it, d s nw. Say smething like: One f the many mysteries f cming t faith in Christ is that Gd the Father knew that yu wuld. He has placed yur salvatin in Jesus hands. Jesus purchased yur life, snatching yu ut f death s grasp. As Creatr f all things, Gd is supremely pwerful. When yu cme t faith in Christ, submitting yur life t His leadership, yu are cmmitting t walking with the One wh will never leave yu, never frget yu, and never NOT be with yu. There is n safer place in the wrld, despite what ges n arund yu, than fllwing Jesus. We ve prvided an ptin fr yu t use t supplement this Teaching Pint, if yu chse. Use the ne we ve prvided, r prvide yur wn! Optin 1: Dmsday Preppers Prepare t shw the trailer fr Natinal Gegraphic s Dmsday Preppers TV series. Yu can shw this trailer, r if the link is inactive, simply search n YuTube fr a vide that is active: https://www.yutube.cm/watch?v=dejsq1nmtv8 Befre shwing the vide, ask if anyne watches the TV shw, r has ever heard f preppers befre. Explain t students that preppers are peple wh fear sme srt f wrldwide disaster. They live their lives preparing fr the wrst pssible scenari. The lengths they g t are extrardinary. Shw the trailer. Then, say smething like: These peple have gne t an incredible amunt f expense and truble t be prtected in case f an emergency that may r may nt ever materialize. It s certainly their right t prepare in the way they have. But their lives reflect an interesting pint: peple have a natural desire fr safety and survival. And while these measures may keep these peple safe in the shrt run, the nly permanent safety plan is believing in Gd and fllwing Him in ur daily lives. CLOSING Optin 1: Fllwer Clsing Vide 2013 yuthministry360, Inc. 4
Sme f yu will be wrapping up yur DNw r Retreat Weekend with this large grup time. If s, arrange t shw the Fllwer clsing vide t yur grup. The vide des an excellent jb f wrapping up the weekend. It ends n an encuraging, uplifting nte, but nt withut a bit f a challenge. Yu can let the vide speak fr itself, r yu can chse t fcus n ne aspect f it and flesh it ut a bit mre. Optin 2: Persnal Challenge At this pint yur students shuld have a really gd idea f what it means t live ut an authentic faith. They grasp what it means t fllw Jesus. Maybe the best thing yu can d fr them is t cme up with yur wn persnal challenge based n what the Spirit is leading yu t say. Encurage students. Challenge them. And remind them that the Hly Spirit is their pwer surce fr living as true fllwers f Christ. 2013 yuthministry360, Inc. 5