January 25th

Introduction Question: Did your parents have any rules that you didn’t like?

Read Luke 6:1-11 as a group, and then again by yourselves.

Difficult Words:
Sabbath day – the seventh day of the week (our Saturday) when the Jews were supposed to stop working and rest.
disciples – followers or students.
Pharisees – the religious leaders of the Jews.
the Law – the rules that God gave to Moses, and Moses gave to the Jews.
house of God – the temple where the Jewish people worshipped God 2000 years ago.
holy bread – 12 fresh loaves of bread that were put in the temple each day as a way to worship God for providing the needs of the 12 tribes (family divisions) of the Jews.
priests – the men who did religious work in the house of God.
synagogue – the place where Jewish people met to worship God and learn about their religion.

Discussion Questions:
1. Are rules important? Explain.
2. Are there any rules that you don’t always follow exactly? Explain.
3. Which rules do you think God should care about the most?
4. What was the main issue for the Pharisees? And for Jesus?
5. What do you guess the man with the new right hand thought about the Pharisees? And Jesus?
6. What impresses you the most about Jesus from these two stories?

January 18th

Opening Question: Have you ever been unable to walk for any reason? How did it affect you?

Read Luke 5:17-26 as a group, and then again individually.

17 One day Jesus was teaching. Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. They heard that the Lord had given Jesus the power to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. They tried to take him into the house to place him in front of Jesus. 19 They could not find a way to do this because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. Then they lowered the man on his mat through the opening in the roof tiles. They lowered him into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw that they had faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." 21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to think, "Who is this fellow who says such an evil thing? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven'? Or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he spoke to the man who could not walk. "I tell you," he said, "get up. Take your mat and go home." 25 Right away, the man stood up in front of them. He took his mat and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with wonder. They said, "We have seen unusual things today."

Difficult Words:

Pharisees – the religious leaders of Israel 2000 years ago.
teachers of the law – experts in what the Old Testament part of the Bible had to say.
Galilee & Judea – the northern and central parts of today’s Israel.
Jerusalem – the capital of today’s Israel.
sins – all the selfish things that we think, say or do.

Discussion Questions:
1. How did Jesus “see” the men’s faith?
2. Why did Jesus call the man “Friend”?
3. How did Jesus know what the Pharisees were thinking?
4. What was so evil about what Jesus said in verse 20, according to the Pharisees?
5. How would you answer Jesus’ question in verse 23?
6. What do you learn about Jesus from Luke?
7. Do you ever give praise to God? If so, when and why?

January 11th

Jesus Heals a Leper

Introduction Question - Have you ever experienced any kind of rejection?

Read Luke 5:12-16

12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along. He had a skin disease all over his body. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground. He begged him, "Lord, if you are willing to make me 'clean,' you can do it." 13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing to do it," he said. "Be 'clean'!" Right away the disease left him. 14 Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone. Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded. It will be a witness to the priest and the people that you are 'clean.' " 15 But the news about Jesus spread even more. So crowds of people came to hear him. They also came to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often went away to be by himself and pray.

Vocabulary:
beg – to ask for something in a very serious, emotional way.
clean – back to a normal condition.
priest – the religious leader of the Jews.
sacrifices – Gifts and offerings that people gave to God.
Moses – a famous Jewish leader from the past.

Discussion Questions:
1. How would you describe the man’s life before Jesus healed him? After?
2. Why did Jesus order the man not to tell anyone?
3. Did the man follow Jesus’ orders? Explain.
4. What can we learn about Jesus from this story?
5. How would you explain verse 16?
6. Do you often get away by yourself and pray? If so, please explain why.

January 4th

Happy New Year!

Q 1: How was your Christmas break? What did you do?
Q 2: Do you have any New Year’s resolutions (plans)?
Q 3: What do the following Bible verses say about making New Year’s resolutions?

13 “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city. We will spend a year there. We will buy and sell and make money.’ 14 You don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist that appears for a little while. Then it disappears. 15 Instead, you should say, ‘If it pleases the Lord,’ we will live and do this or that. 16 As it is, you are proud. You brag about it. That kind of bragging is evil.” (James 4:13-16)

Q 4: Is James saying it’s wrong to plan?
Q 5: According to James, what should be the reason for making plans?
Q 6: What do the following verses say about making plans?

“Everything a man does might seem right to him. But the Lord knows what that man is thinking.” (Proverbs 16:2)

“Commit to the Lord everything you do. Then your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3)

“The Lord works everything out for his own purposes.” (Proverbs 16:4)

“In your heart you plan your life. But the Lord decides where your steps will take you.” (Proverbs 16:9)

Q 7: According to Jesus’ words below, what was the main plan of his life?

“The One who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:29)

Q 8: If you are a Christian, what are some of your plans to please God in 2008?

December 7th

Introduction Question: Have you ever been really sick? How did you feel after you got better?
Read Luke 4:38-44 out loud as a group, and then silently.

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. At that time, Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they asked Jesus to help her. 39 He bent over her and commanded the fever to leave, and it left her. She got up at once and began to serve them. 40 At sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick. He placed his hands on each one and healed them. 41 Also, demons came out of many people. The demons shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But he commanded them to be quiet. He would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. 42 At dawn, Jesus went out to a place where he could be by himself. The people went to look for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, "I must announce the good news of God's kingdom to the other towns also. That is why I was sent." 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Word List:
synagogue – a place where the Jewish people would meet to worship God.
demons – evil spirits that always try to control and destroy people.
Son of God – one of the main titles of Jesus.
Christ – means “anointed one.” Anoint means to “put oil on.” In the Bible, oil represents God’s blessing and power, which he poured out fully on Jesus.
kingdom – a governmental system that is ruled by a king.
preaching – telling something that is supposed to be very important.
Judea – the central part of Israel, including its capital, Jerusalem.

Discussion Questions:
1. How did Jesus heal Simon’s mother-in-law, and how did she respond?
2. How did all the demons know who Jesus was, and why did he want them to be quiet?
3. Why did Jesus want to be by himself?
4. Why do you think the people wanted to be with Jesus, but he wanted to leave them?
5. Which examples of Jesus do you think Christians should follow today, and why?

November 30th

Introduction question: What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
Read Luke 4:31-37 as a group, and then by yourselves.

31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee. On the Sabbath day he began to teach the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man controlled by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice. 34 "Ha!" he said. "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!" 35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said firmly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down in front of everybody. And it came out without hurting him. 36 All the people were amazed. They said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits. And they come out!" 37 The news about Jesus spread throughout the whole area.

Word list:
Sabbath - Saturday, the day of rest for the Jewish people for the past 3500 years.
synagogue - the place where the Jewish people met (and still meet today) to worship God.
demon / evil spirit - an angel who was kicked out of heaven in the past and thrown down earth.
Nazareth - the town where Jesus grew up.

Discussion questions:
1. Do you believe there are demons or evil spirits in the world today? Explain.
2. What can we learn about demons from this story?
3. Who was speaking in verse 34, the man or the demon?
4. Why do you think Jesus wanted the demon to be quiet?
5. What can we learn about Jesus from this story?