– The Jesus Series –
NEW . TEACHER . PAYMENT . RESURRECTION
LAUNCH
Xavier is having lunch in the cafeteria with some of his friends when one of his friends starts talking about a recent church service she attended. “I’ve always heard that Jesus is God, but I don’t know if I believe it,” she said. “Maybe he’s a prophet, but I don’t think he’s God.” “I don’t think he’s either,” another friend chimed in. “I just think he’s a good, moral teacher.” “I think Jesus is a myth,” a third friend said. If you were in this conversation, what would you say about Jesus?
EXPLORE
Read Mark 2:1-12
1. Read verses 1-4, describe what’s happening in your own words.
2. In verse 5, what stands out to you about Jesus’ response to the paralytic and his friends?
3. In verses 6-9, how do the religious leaders react to Jesus?
4. Why did Jesus say what he said to the religious leaders?
5. What does Jesus do to show his authority?
6. How does the crowd react to what Jesus did?
7. Look at the image of the plant at the top of the page.
– How is the paralytic like the plant physically?
– How is he like that plant spiritually?
APPLY
8. How would you have felt if you were there and saw what Jesus said and did?
9. Think about Xavier’s lunch conversation with his friends. What would you say about Jesus now?
10. Jesus wants to meet our deepest need for forgiveness. Have you asked Jesus to forgive your sins? Have you invited him to be the Leader of your life?
11. Jesus is a good God who meets our obvious needs in ways that are best – like he did with the paralytic. What’s an obvious need in your life you’d like Jesus to meet?
EXTRA STUFF
What ideas do you have that could improve this study? Are there creative things you do to bring this topic home to your students? Please share with the community clicking the FEEDBACK button or leaving a comment below.
