A Fish Story

Opening question: Have you ever caught a fish?

Read Luke 5:1-11
1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. 8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me -- I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Discussion:
1. Go over any difficult works or phrases.
2. Describe in your own words what happened in this story.
3. How did Jesus know where there would be so many fish?
4. Why did Peter ask Jesus to leave?
5. What did Jesus mean in verse 10?
6. How did Simon, James and John respond to the actions and words of Jesus? Explain.
7. What does it mean to you to “leave everything and follow Jesus”?

A Parable of the Cross

Most (“The Bridge”) is a film about a father who decides he must crush to death his own son, whom he loves very much, in order to save the lives of many others. This story is a parable, because it teaches us about what God the Father did to his own Son on the cross. Isaiah 53:10 says that “it was the LORD's will to crush him.” Let us look at the story of The Bridge and see what it shows us about God and the meaning of the death of Jesus on the cross.

1. Why do you think the father is sad when he is having tea with his son? Is God ever sad? What do you think might make God sad? What do the following verses tell us about this?

The LORD saw how bad the sins of man had become on the earth. All of the thoughts in his heart were always directed only toward what was evil. The LORD was very sad that he had made man on the earth. His heart was filled with pain. (Genesis 6:5-6, NIRV)

This verse refers to a time when a good friend of Jesus died, and many people were grieving:
Jesus saw her crying. He saw that the Jews who had come along with her were crying also. His spirit became very sad, and he was troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus cried. (John 11:33-35, NIRV)

2. In the film, when the train comes too early, the bridge is up and the son is trapped where the bridge must come down. The father must decide between crushing his son or letting the people on the train die. In what way is this like the decision God had to make?

All have sinned. The payment for sin is death. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)

Christ didn't have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIRV)

But the servant was pierced because we had sinned. He was crushed because we had done what was evil. He was punished to make us whole again. His wounds have healed us.
(Isaiah 53:5, NIRV)

How can we become healed because of what Christ has done for us?

3. In the end of the film, the father is in a new city. There he recognizes a woman from his former neighborhood, who had been on the train. She had been a drug addict, pregnant, alone, and very unhappy. But now she has a new life. She and her baby boy are healthy and happy. When the father sees this, he rejoices. How is this like the joy the Father and Jesus experience?

Jesus said: "I tell you, it will be the same in heaven. There will be great joy when one sinner turns away from sin.” (Luke 15:7 NIRV)

Jesus was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. (Hebrews 12:2, NLT)

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, my righteous servant will be satisfied. (Isaiah 53:11, NLT)

4. The son in the film died, just like Jesus died, so that others could live. But unlike the son in the film, Jesus rose from death a few days later. He is alive. Happy Easter!

Jesus at Work

Opening question: What kind of work do you like doing?

Read Luke 4:31-43
31 Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 His teaching amazed them because he spoke with power. 33 There in the Jewish meeting place was a man with an evil spirit. 34 He yelled out, "Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One." 35 Jesus ordered the evil spirit, "Be quiet and come out." The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him. 36 They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, "What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!" 37 News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country. 38 Jesus left the meeting place and went to Simon's home. When Jesus got there, he was told that Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. 39 So Jesus went over to her and ordered the fever to go away. Right then she was able to get up and serve them a meal. 40 After the sun had set, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus. He put his hands on each one of them and healed them. 41 Demons went out of many people and shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But Jesus ordered the demons not to speak because they knew he was the Messiah. 42 The next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone, and crowds came looking for him. When they found him, they tried to stop him from leaving. 43 But Jesus said, "People in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom. That's why I was sent."

Word List:
Sabbath -- the day of rest for the Jews. Saturday for us.
evil spirits / demons -- angels that are constantly at war with God.
Son of God -- the second person of the Trinity (Trinity, or Tri-Unity, means 3-in-1. The Bible teaches there are 3 persons in one God -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- who operate in perfect harmony with each other).
Messiah -- anointed one. (Anoint means rub. Throughout time, cultures have used nice-smelling oils for various reasons, like perfume, cologne, cosmetics, burial preparation, and even in ceremonies to install their kings).
good news -- the message that we can be forgiven of all our sins, and be given power to live a new life of love.
God’s kingdom -- a system in which everyone surrenders to God and serves Him as their chosen King.

Discussion questions:
1. What was Jesus doing in the verses above?
2. How would you describe demons?
3. Say something about the different kinds of people that Jesus helped.
4. Any comments about the way Simon’s mother-in-law responded to being healed?
5. Jesus gave a lot of orders (see verses 35, 39, 41). Comments?
6. What would the world be like if Jesus was King, and everyone was serving Him?
7. How can we join Jesus, and help spread the good news about God’s kingdom?

Job Description of Jesus

Opening question: Can you describe the job you now have, or you hope to have in the future?

Let’s read about Jesus’ job description, found in Luke 4:14-22

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. News about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as he usually did. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has anointed me to tell the good news to poor people. He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners. He has sent me so that the blind will see again. He wants me to free those who are beaten down. 19 And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free."

20 Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him. 21 He began by saying to them, "Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen." 22 Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.

Word List:
Galilee – the region where Jesus was from.
Holy Spirit – the 3rd member of the trinity (3-in-1, Father + Son + Holy Spirit = God)
synagogue – a place where the Jews met for fellowship.
Nazareth – the city where Jesus was raised.
Sabbath – the day of rest for the Jews, Saturday.
scroll – a paper-like material that was written on, and kept rolled up.
prophet Isaiah – one of God’s messengers to Israel, who lived about 700 years before Jesus was born.
anoint – to pour or put on a perfume-like oily substance.
Scripture – the word of God, the Bible.
gracious – beautiful, pleasant.
Joseph – the step-father of Jesus (Jesus’ real father was God).

Discussion questions:
1. How would you put what Jesus said into your own words?
2. What do the following words mean to you? Poor_______ Prisoners_______ Blind_______ Beaten down________
3. Have you ever felt poor, imprisoned, blind or beaten down emotionally or spiritually? Please explain.
4. How can Jesus set people free today?
5. Has Jesus set you free in any way? If so, please share how?