Before the Session
Facilitator: In advance of the session
- Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
- Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
- Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)
Context (From the Media Session Page)
Set up the video by telling your group:
*Some legends/traditions claim that St Patrick was the first to talk about God as Trinity with examples and that he removed the snakes from Ireland. This may or may not be true but it makes this next video more entertaining and somewhat rude also. *
Play the Bad Analogies video and ask:
(Note: If your group will not appreciate the next video, feel free to skip and play Why Trinity? video.)
- How did you feel about this video and why?
- How do you explain God as Trinity to someone?
- What analogies have you heard used to describe God as “three in one and one in three?”
- In what ways can such explanations be more or less helpful and why?
- If God and faith can be so difficult to explain in simple terms what do we gain from making the attempt?
Content (From the Mind Session Page)
Read John 16:12-15, then watch the Bible Background Video.
Ask questions like:
- Why do you think Jesus claimed that his disciples could not bear to hear the things he had to say?
- To what degree might that still hold true and why?
- In what way do you think the “Spirit of truth” talked about here might guide Jesus’ followers into “all the truth?”
- What might “all the truth” mean, either in the original disciples’ context or yours?
- What do you think Jesus means when he says “All that the Father has is mine?”
- In what ways does “declaring” God’s possessions glorify Jesus, and why is it important to do so?
Closure (from the Youth Session page)
Have your group spend some time in silent prayer, not speaking to God, but listening to the Holy Spirit. Set a timer for 5 minutes (or however long you choose), and have the group get comfortable, telling them to seriously listen to what God has to tell them.
After the time, bring everyone together and ask them about their experience with questions like:
– What is the hardest part of doing this kind of thing and why?
– How might given you a focus (such as some music, a picture, or some other guidance) affected this experience for you and why?
– What did you learn from doing this?
– In what ways do you think God might have spoken to you during this experience?
Close this session in prayer.