welcome
Spend some time introducing people to one another and having a drink. Make people feel comfortable and relaxed. Then get the group to pair up with someone they do not know well. Ask them to find out three things about their partner (as serious or as funny as they like) and then ask them to introduce each other back into the wider group.
worship
Go round the group asking everyone to talk about why they love Jesus and what he means to them. Then take time to pray into what has been said, praising and worshipping God for everything he has done.
witness
Take some time praying for your university and everything connected with it. Identify five key issues that God needs to turn from a negative to a positive (eg. pride to humility, apathy to spiritual life etc ) and pray for them. We will spend the first four weeks praying for these things before moving on to anything else as it is so important to be laying the foundations of prayer.
word
read
John 1: 1-18 and Hebrews 4: 14-16
Discuss
John 1: 14 says, “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” What does this mean?
Try to use this question just as an initial discussion starter, for about five minutes or so, to look at what it actually means that Jesus became a human and what the implications are of this. (You might like to tell everyone that the word translated “made his dwelling” is literally “tabernacled”: he “pitched his tent” among us.)
group work
Have a big piece of paper ready. Divide it down the middle into two columns and title the first column, “Jesus’ humanity” and the second‚ “Jesus’ Lordship”.
Get into pairs and imagine if you were trying to explain to someone who had never heard of Jesus about how he was human. Use analogies or references from the bible.
Together make a list of things that describe Jesus when he lived on the earth - brainstorm as many descriptions as you can think of!
Examples can be things such as loving, homeless, great teacher, tempted etc. Keep the paper for next week when you can fill in the other column.
Group work
Divide the group into four. Ask one group to look at Jesus’ compassion and love; another to look at his supernatural power; another his relationship with God his father, and another to look at what Jesus taught.
Ask each group to go through the gospel of Mark noting down everything that is relevant to the particular area that they are looking at. When that is done have each group feedback what they have found out.
application
Hebrews 4: 15 says that Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”
- what does Jesus’ humanity mean to us personally?
- what are the implications for us?
ask
Jesus has experienced everything that we are going through.
Therefore we are able to have an intimate relationship with him. Ask how people feel their relationship with Jesus is at the moment. Take the opportunity to pray for each other to enjoy the same fellowship the Son has with the Father to be our experience.
Finish this section by thanking Jesus for everything we have learnt about him and asking for strength to help us live in him.
