Who did Jesus say he is? How can I introduce him to my friends?

In 2014, we had a number of people who did not know Jesus come along for bible study. We wanted to introduce them to Jesus, so we started on the "I am" sayings of Jesus from the book of John.

Students wanted to know if they could just use ready made online bible study guides as a springboard for study the bible and if it was easy to adapt the material to our group. We used material written by Richard J. Mendola A ministry material of International Students, which was found online. The students leading were given extra material to help them consider the pros and cons of using a guide instead of using bible study techniques such as Swedish method, manuscript bible study etc. They were asked to pray for wisdom to adapt the material to suit the group and theme. Extra material, found in this blog, was used together with the online material as a springboard to more ideas and resources.

Aim:
1. Evaluating the usefulness of an online bible study guide as a springboard to going even deeper.
2. Adapting the ready made studies to the interest and needs of our group
3. Introducing Jesus to friends who know little about Jesus.
4. In 2015, we are exploring how to introduce more people to what Jesus said about himself. Check out our ideas here https://www.pinterest.com/tscfh/i-am/

Some considerations when using bible study guides

There are many good bible study guides online and in bookshops. These provide ready made questions to help us unpack bible passages. Like, frozen meals these can be a quicker way to prepare for a bible study and if adapted well to the needs of your group it can provide a nourishing meal. Using such guides, can give you ideas on how different people approach the same passage to emphasize different themes. Remember the key to using guides effectively is choosing material that unpacks what the bible is saying rather than imposing a theme and twisting the bible to fit it.

A bible study series I would recommend is the IVP Life guide booklets: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206&version=NIV They cost about $10 in the Christian bookshops and has answers at the back of the book. There are free bible study material online but of varying quality. Studying the text with a friend before you lead, helps you evaluate the quality of the bible study you are using and sometimes trying to change the material takes more time and effort than writing the study yourself.

Study 1: I am the Good Shepherd

Security: John 10.

Aim: Comparing a guided study to a non-guided study in helping spiritual growth.

1) Get one group to do Lesson 4 and another to use the Swedish method (highlight, question, application and share) Note how long each took. Get each group to share what they learnt. Is there a difference? Which goes deeper into the text?

2) The point of doing a bible study is not so much knowledge but changing a mindset that leads to changed perspectives and lives. Which study do you think makes the aim clearer? Talk about how as a group you can help each other apply the “I am” studies to your life.

3) You may like to watch this video to summarise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkzC7lbC5Ns

Adaptations from student leaders
Elizabeth and Hannah organised sheep games, put the bible study questions on sheep designs and decorated the room with sheep images. The value of doing this was it lightened the atmosphere during the study and the discussion was not heavy or intense. A quick introduction was given on how reading in an active way helps us get more from the story.

Study 2: I am the Vine

 Purpose: John 15

Aim: Going deeper in applying the text to our present situation on campus.
Exploring how picture language and diagrams adds layers of meaning to a text.

1) Video of the text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KXmPZS-gZg

2) Do Lesson 7 Do you find the diagram helpful in going deeper? Why or why not? How does it compare with the picture in the video? Why are pictures important in trying to convey truth?

3) Exploring picture language and images. 
The metaphor of the vine
A metaphor is picture language which invites you to imaginative come up with what something means. It hints at deeper connections and inner meanings and is the language often used in advertisements today. This passage explores our source: Jesus says he is the source of fruitfulness. There are many claims that promise to give meaning, goodness and richness to life. Some may even claim that they are God endorsed. The only way for us to be sure if something is from God is be “pruned and purified by the message” (ie what does the bible say about it?). The Father is the “gardener”--not someone we buy good gifts from but who cuts away from our lives unimportant aspects so that we can concentrate on being fruitful.

“Remain in me “ echoes through all three sections and when we do we are able to meet the challenge to “lay down our lives for another”. Often we learn to love one another to forgive each other, to not resent our differences but celebrate them. We learn to accept gifts of friendship from others and to have compassion on those who have never experienced love. We do not consume relationships but accept or receive love as gifts with gratitude in our hearts.

Three focus questions to bear fruit:

We need to create SPACE TO FORGIVE and CELEBRATE EACH OTHER and SPACE TO EXPRESS GRATITUDE AND COMPASSION

1) Who do I love?

2) Who am I learning to love?

3) Why did God place me in this particular time and space?

4) Do your own collaborative drawing of the vine in groups. Add in pictures of how it applies to you as a group.

Adaptations from student leaders
Nick and Nick got students to brainstorm their understanding of the verse and their idea of fruit. They moved away from the questions in both resources and came up with their own scenarios. Students were asked to respond to each scenario and justify their response. The scenarios sparked a discussion late into the night, long after the study ended.

Ideas from student leaders in Dunedin
They used the Observation, Interpretation, Application method on a whiteboard to unpack this verse, see results here.

Study 3: I am the Resurrection and the Life

Eternity John 11

Aim: 
To explore whether creative ways of presenting the text allow you to go deep enough as a group.
Repetition and re-enactment as a way of experiencing a story more vividly.

1) Introductory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS6W-aaOAZE

2) Do Lesson 5

3) Act out the story of Lazarus. What do you learn from playing a part in the story?

4) Do you learn similar things? How would you apply what you’ve learnt as a group?

Adaptations by student leaders
Instead of watching the Youtube clip, students took turns to read the story as a group. Shanice and Kathleen lead a discussion and summarised the key lessons from the story. Students were given sheets, scarfs and other materials to re-enact the story in small groups. The acting was hilarious and after repeating the same story about five times, most of them now know it by heart.

Study 4: I am the Bread of Life

Survival John 6.

Aim: To explore the importance of context and word studies in bible study.

1) You may like to use this video as an introduction to the study.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spof--aP1KM

2) Do the study using the guide Lesson 1.

3) Going deeper

Context: Make sure you get everyone to read the whole of John 6 this time. How does the first part and last part of John 6 help you understand Jesus teachings better. Does Jesus water down his message in order to retain the crowds?

Word Study: What does the word “believe” mean? http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/pisteuo.html

This is a key concept in the book of John because his aim for writing is so that people will “believe”. What do people think believe means and how does this teaching of Jesus divide those who believe from those who don’t. Does it mean mentally thinking Jesus is God or does it mean more for the disciples?

If you are interested in exploring the word more this is interesting and clear. http://cicministry.org/scholarly/sch007.htm
Here is a summary of the key lessons from John 6 http://www.j-e-s-u-s.org/english/2003/e030525.htm
Warning: These websites may contain other articles that are not as sound or good. 

Adaptations by student leaders
Queenie and Charissa bought loaves of bread and each group was give different material to act out different parts of John 6. Many groups put sunglasses on the loaf of bread and had the bread speaking as Jesus. This idea was surprisingly effective in stressing that Jesus is the bread of life rather than the giver of bread. In the OT, God was the provider of food ie Manna, Jesus says he is the bread of life and today, bread reminds our group of Christ.

Study 5: I am the way, the truth and the life:

Peace John 14.

Google Via, Veritas, Vita (way, truth, life in Latin) and you would find many universities with that as their motto. In Auckland TSCF, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship is called Veritas. The challenge at university is to seek the way, the truth and the life. How do you see Jesus fit in this picture? This is a how we understand this if we know the sweep of the bible (stop at 6 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy2AQlK6C5k&list=PLH0Szn1yYNec-HZjVHooeb4BSDSeHhEoh

Show the video if you think the group is not clear of the bigger picture.

Aim: Applying scripture to the university context.

1) Introductory video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEftDn-OOUY  Not all the ways of getting out of the hole is the same and not all ways lead to God.

2) Do Lesson 6

3) Read the whole of John 14, how is this passage reassuring?

4) Consider the passage in the light of this quote.  Apologist Paul Copan writes:

“Truth is true – even if no one knows it

Truth is true – even if no one admits it

Truth is true – even if no one agrees what it is

Truth is true – even if no one follows it

Truth is true – even if no one but God grasps it fully

How would you apply Via, Veritas, Vita to Waikato University?

Taken from interesting article: http://www.academia.edu/4245889/Via_Veritas_Vita_The_Way_the_Truth_and_the_Life.

Adaptations by student leaders
Cally made her own worksheet to explore the passage in depth. We discussed the questions as a group. Li Lian summarised all the studies and wrote a blog article, here. We felt that adapting the studies to our group meant that the material had to do more than transfer biblical knowledge, it had to arouse curiosity, a desire to know God more, allow for discussion and be applicable to our lives alone and together.