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.
- Paper & pencil/pen for each person.
- 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 Current Session Page)
Show the Supergirl Clip and ask:
- Regardless of your take on various superhero storylines, what do you think are the most powerful messages that arise from this clip?
- What kinds of things might justify hating someone so much that you would be angry at them, rather than grateful, for saving your life?
- Who kinds of people do you or some people you know tend to distrust or dislike, and why?
- What kinds of people might dislike people like you, and why?
- Why do people tend to form attitudes towards groups of people based on one person’s actions?
Content (From the Mind Session Page)
Read Romans 5:12-19, then watch the Bible Background Video.
Then ask questions like these:
- Paul spends a lot of time in this passage talking about Adam’s guilt – why do you think he doesn’t even mention Eve or the serpent?
- How would you define “sin” and what kind of “death” do you think Paul’s talking about?
- Did Adam’s bad choice ruin it for all of us, putting all the blame on him; was Adam’s sin problem like some kind of virus we have no control over; or did we only inherit Adam’s tendency to sin, putting the blame on each of us?
- What is Paul saying about our state before God without Jesus?
- How does Paul contrast Adam and Jesus – specifically their actions and the results?
- What’s the difference in the outcomes of Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift through Jesus (verses 15-19) and in what way was Jesus’ action so much stronger?
- In your opinion, to what extent does Jesus’ sacrifice affect us all and to what extent does it only affect some of us?
Closure (from the Youth Session page)
Give each person a sheet of paper and have them list their goals for their life. Tell the group:
According to the scriptures, Jesus not only changes the ending of our story, but also changes the story in the middle, because when we follow him, we experience abundant life. Ask:
- Which things on this list are you most or least sure of being able to accomplish and why?
- If I invited you to list all the things you think you’re going to struggle with in the future, what kinds of things might you have listed and why??
- In what ways might your relationship with Jesus affect your life goals?
- Which of these goals and accomplishments might Jesus decide to change in your life and why?
- How do you think you might feel at those times when your story changes and why?
- In what ways is your story guaranteed to change if it has Jesus in it?
- What kinds can we do to ensure that other people’s stories go well, or might be changed if they find them going poorly?
Close this session in prayer.