e m o c l W eo ł he ł nt e m e s Ba STUDY GUIDE
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO BUILDING JESUS’ FIRST-SHALL-BE-LAST, UPSIDE-DOWN KINGDOM
TIM ROSS WITH SAM O’NEAL
Welcome to the Basement Bible Study Guide © 2024 by Tim Ross Requests for information should be addressed to: HarperChristian Resources, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 ISBN 978-0-310-17068-6 (softcover) ISBN 978-0-310-17065-4 (ebook) All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.® Scripture quotations marked esv are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this study guide are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by HarperChristian Resources, nor does HarperChristian Resources vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this study guide. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. HarperChristian Resources titles may be purchased in bulk for church, business, fundraising, or ministry use. For information, please e-mail ResourceSpecialist@ ChurchSource.com. First Printing January 2024 / Printed in the United States of America $PrintCode
CONTENTS A Note from Tim � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � vii How to Use This Study Guide � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ix
Session 1: Being an Upsetter for Christ � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 Session 2: What Upsetters Need to Lose � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 17 Session 3: What an Upsetter Looks Like � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 35 Session 4: Upsetters Are Disturbing � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 49 Session 5: Start Upsetting the World Today � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 65
Leader’s Guide � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 85 Scriptures for Further Reading � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 91 Notes � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 95 About the Author � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 97
When [Jesus] noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” LUKE
14:7–11
A NOTE FROM TIM The most expensive residential home in the United States is a penthouse in New York City. No surprise there. The Big Apple has always been in a world of its own when it comes to real estate—a world most of us never see. But the details of that particular penthouse are a bit surprising, even for the city that never sleeps. Located at the top of Central Park Tower, the three-story unit was listed for sale in September 2022 at a price of $250 million. (Isn’t it nice when sellers use round numbers? Just makes everything easier.) The unit is the pinnacle of the world’s tallest residential building, which makes it the world’s tallest residence. If you were to schedule a showing and take a peek—you know, just in case you’ve got a quarter of a billion lying around—here is what you would find:
• 17,545 square feet of interior living space; • seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and three powder rooms; • twenty-seven-foot high ceilings; • a huge private ballroom that is nearly two thousand
square feet by itself; • a library, a media room, a gaming lounge, a private salon, an observatory, a private gym, and a catering kitchen; and • the highest outdoor terrace in the world, from which you could observe the curvature of the earth.1 Okay, neither of us is likely to be purchasing any New York real estate any time soon. But many people who believe in Jesus and
Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
seek to serve Him every day view the successful Christian life as some version of that penthouse at the top of Central Park Tower. In life, we’re taught the only way to be great is to go up. But I want to challenge that idea. I want to show you that the way up is actually down. God hasn’t called us to get to the “top” where we mix and mingle with the religious elite in our own spiritual penthouse. Rather, He has called us to live our lives closer to earth— in what we could call the “basement.” Think about a basement in the natural sense. Its traditional purpose is for safety. You run to it during a storm—especially a tornado—because it’s the safest place in the building. The Bible says Jesus is “the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). I don’t know about you, but if Jesus is the cornerstone, I want to be as close to the foundation of that building as I can possibly get! Following after Jesus means rejecting the trappings of the penthouse and instead accepting His call to join Him in the basement. It means taking Jesus at His word when He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like [a] child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4 esv). This is the call I want us to explore together in this study. Let me warn you, moving to the basement in God’s kingdom will be upsetting and disturbing. Those are important words that we will study more deeply in the sessions to come. But suffice it to say, basement-dwellers need to have a lot of stuff shaken up and turned upside down in their lives before they can feel comfortable living down low—and then they get called to do a lot of shaking and a lot of disrupting in the lives of others. If you’re ready to learn more, let’s get going. And let me be the first to welcome you to the basement! —
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TIM
ROSS
HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE In this study, you will explore what it means to have Jesus as the “basement” foundation of your life and how that should compel you to “upset the world” to spread His love. Before you begin, note that there are a few ways you can go through this material. You can experience this study with others in a group (such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any other small-group gathering), or you may choose to go through the content on your own. Either way, you will maximize your experience by using it alongside the Welcome to the Basement book. The sessions in this study guide are intended to provide you with a basic framework on how you can open your group time together, get the most out of the content, and discuss some key ideas from the book that you are studying together. Each session includes the following:
• Big Idea: The opening box lists what chapters to read in Welcome to the Basement and provides the key ideas that will be covered in the session.
• Opening Reading: A short story or illustration about
the topic of the session for you to either read on your own or read through together as a group.
Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
• Opening Prayer: A short prompt on how to open your group time in prayer.
• Beginning Question: An icebreaker question to get you and your group members thinking about the topic and interacting with each other.
• Consider Your Life: A short exercise for you to do on your own to help you reflect on your life as it applies to the topic of the session.
• Discuss as a Group: Questions to help you and your group reflect on the material from the book, engage in discussion, and apply the concepts to your lives.
• Apply What You Learned: A short personal exercise for you to do on your own after the group discussion time to help you reinforce the key ideas.
• Pray to Close: A short prompt on how to close your group time in prayer.
• Looking Ahead: A brief note on what will be covered in the next session.
If you are doing this study in a group, you will want to have your own copy of this guide so you can write down your thoughts, responses, reflections, and complete the assessments. You will also want to have your own copy of the Welcome to the Basement book to read during the week. Finally, keep these points in mind:
• Facilitation: You will want to appoint someone to serve as the group facilitator. This person will be responsible x
H o w t o U s e Th i s s t u d y G u i d e
for keeping track of the time during discussions and activities and generally making sure things run smoothly. If you have been chosen for this role, there are some resources in the back of this guide that can help you lead your group through the study.
• Faithfulness: Your small group is a place where tremen-
dous growth can happen as you reflect on the Bible, ask questions, and learn what God is doing in each other’s lives. Be fully committed and attend each session so you can build trust and rapport with the other members.
• Friendship: The goal of any small group is to serve as a
place where people share, learn about God, and build friendships. So seek to make your group a safe place. Be honest about your thoughts and feelings . . . but also listen to everyone else’s thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Keep anything personal that your group members share in confidence so that you can create a community where people can heal, be challenged, and grow spiritually.
If you are unable to read through the chapters assigned from Welcome to the Basement in any given week, still attend the group time. You will get a lot out of listening to the other group members even if you have not done all the reading, and the group members will still benefit from hearing your insights on the questions. Above all, as you go through this study, be listening for what God is saying to you and what He wants you to learn. Be open to hear His words about what it means to be a basement-dweller for Jesus.
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SESSION ONE
Being an Upsetter for Christ Read chapters 1–5 of Welcome to the Basement by Tim Ross. Big Idea: We spend a lot of time making sure the people in our lives don’t feel upset—our family, neighbors, bosses, and others. But if we want to experience everything God desires for our lives, we need to be upset by our Savior.
There are people all over the world who somehow made a commitment to have their lives turned upside down—even me. I came to a revelation that I was not living my life the way I should be. I was determined to make it to the penthouse, but through Scripture and through an understanding of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I found out what so many others— to the tune of more than two and a half billion people (by most recent records)— have discovered: my life should not be lived the way I want it but the way that He wants me to live it. This threw the way I’d lived my whole life up until that point into chaos and disorder until I landed in the Basement. —
TIM
ROSS2
T
he USA men’s basketball team that went to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, was supposed to be another iteration of the “Dream Team” that had come onto the stage in 1992. Before that Olympics, professional basketball players were banned from participating in the Games. But a rule change in 1989 meant that players like Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird could all play together on the same team. The result was a superstar-packed team that defeated their opponents by an average of forty-four points.3 Now it was time for the 2004 men’s team to do the same. They certainly had a dream lineup, with greats such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, and Carmelo Anthony joining the team. They represented the best players in the NBA, which was the best basketball league in the world. So how could they not win?4 The short answer is that some of the other teams just played better. The USA team lost its opening game to Puerto Rico, ending a twenty-four game winning streak. They lost to Lithuania. Then they lost to Argentina. Led by Manu Ginóbili and Luis Scola, the Argentines won the semifinal match 89–81 to advance to the finals, where they eventually grabbed the gold. The day after that loss, everyone in the media was talking about the Argentine squad and their crazy upset. That word was everywhere in the news headlines—“Major Upset!” “Monumental Upset!” “USA Basketball Upset by Argentina!” Basketball fans in the USA were also upset. Up until that point, the USA teams had dominated basketball on the international stage. Everyone expected them to win gold—and win easily. The upshot was that the world of basketball was turned upside down for weeks after the loss. In fact, one could say the whole world of sports was turned upside down. Assumptions were thrown out the window. Expectations were re-evaluated from the ground up. What had once been guaranteed was now upended, and nobody felt confident about what was to come. 3
Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
It might sound strange, but something similar happens when Jesus enters our lives. He turns over the tables. He upsets the apple cart. He spins our world upside down. It’s all for better, to be sure, but the initial experience can still be overwhelming. Jesus is an upsetter, so to follow after Him means to have your life upset by Him. Not in the sense of being angry or emotionally charged but in the sense of being transformed from the inside out. Up becomes down. Losses become wins. The penthouse becomes the basement. Not only that, but one of our goals in following Jesus is to become more like Him. This means He intends for us to be upsetters too. He expects us to turn the world upside down.
OPENING PRAYER Heavenly Father, You have a plan for me as I begin this study. You have truths You desire for me to learn, conversations You want me to start, Scripture You have set before me to study, and convictions You have already destined to lay on my heart. In the name of Jesus, I say yes to those plans. I say yes to every blessing and every lesson You have prepared for me in these pages. Thank You for this opportunity to join You in the Basement. In Your name, amen.
BEGINNING QUESTION If you are engaging this study as part of a group, take a moment to introduce yourselves. Then, get things started by discussing one of the following questions:
• Why did you decide to join this study? What do you hope to learn or experience from it? — or —
• What has happened recently that turned your life upside down? How did that event change you? 4
Being an Upsetter for Christ
CONSIDER YOUR LIFE No one stays the same after a genuine encounter with Jesus. The disciples didn’t stay the same. Nor the woman at the well. Nor Nicodemus, Jairus, or Paul. When our lives intersect with the Savior of the world, things don’t stay the same. They get shaken up, shaken loose, and turned upside down. Take a few moments to consider what your life was like before you encountered Jesus. Then consider how that encounter forever “upset” the person that you used to be. Before I met Jesus
My biggest goals:
My biggest fears:
My view of God:
My view of myself:
5
After I met Jesus
Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
DISCUSS AS A GROUP Use the following questions to engage with the main themes from part 1 of Welcome to the Basement.
1. We are often told by people that success means continually moving upward—that it means reaching for more, for better, for the best . . . for the “penthouse” suite at the very top. In your own words, what is the difference between reaching for the “penthouse” and living in the “basement” as a follower of Jesus?
2. Our world is filled with definitions of success: money, fame, inf lu-
ence, intelligence, attractiveness, and more. How have you been inf luenced by these definitions?
3. We are defining the term upset in this study guide to mean the fol-
lowing: “(1) to overturn, to destroy the power of, to overthrow, to defeat, or to vanquish; (2) to disturb or derange completely; to put 6
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out of order, to throw into disorder.” What are some of the biggest ways that Jesus has upset your life in some of these ways?
4. There are three key reasons why you should allow God to upset your
life and turn your world upside down. The first is because God is madly in love with you. If you don’t live your life from a standpoint of understanding God’s love, then you will live it from a standpoint of fear. So . . . how have you experienced God’s love in recent weeks?
5. A second reason why you should allow God to upset your life is because His Son sacrificed everything so you could gain everything. He died on the cross so that you could have salvation—forgiveness and eternal life with Him. What do you remember about the first time you heard the message of the gospel? How did you respond?
7
When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. ACTS
17:1–9
Being an Upsetter for Christ
6. A third reason why you should allow God to upset your life is be-
cause He has a plan for you. When has God changed your plans or adjusted your trajectory in a major way?
7. Read the passage from Acts 17:1–9 on the opposite page. Paul and
Silas had not yet “caused trouble all over the world,” so these words from the Jews in Thessalonica were both exaggerated and prophetic. What do you think they recognized in the message that Paul and Silas were preaching that caused them to respond in this way?
8. A lot of people believe that God is not using them if they’re not
preaching from the pulpit or engaged in some other kind of “spiritual” vocation. But God’s plans are so profound and strategic that they include people in all kinds of varied industries. What do you feel are some of God’s plans for your life right now? (Be specific.)
9
Let me tell you the good news about the gospel: Jesus didn’t wait to see if you wanted Him to [die for you]. The good news of the gospel is that before you even knew to ask the question, Christ decided to die for your sins. It’s the most upsetting thing that’s ever happened in all of human history. Not because it makes anyone angry, but because it presents this amazing opportunity for a shift in a person’s life, an invitation to the Basement, all off of a maybe. —
TIM
ROSS5
Being an Upsetter for Christ
9. Consider the quote from the Welcome to the Basement book on the
opposite page. What have you lost by choosing to follow Jesus? What have you gained?
10.In Ephesians 2:10, Paul offers another window into God’s plans for us: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” What are some of the main obstacles that hinder or prevent us from living out what God “prepared in advance for us to do”?
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Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED The “upsetting” experience that we call salvation is a game changer. It’s a life changer. But when we come to salvation, not everything about our lives changes at once. Receiving the gift of Jesus’ righteousness instantly makes us legally righteous in God’s eyes, but implementing that righteousness in our everyday actions and attitudes takes a lifetime of growth. Yet here’s the good news: God will give us everything we need in order to experience that growth. This is a promise from His Word: Grace and peace by yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2
PETER
1:2–8
God provides everything you need to lead a godly life, but you have the responsibility to make use of those gifts that He provides. So, take a moment to evaluate where you currently stand in that process. Use the scales that follow to get a benchmark of your 12
Being an Upsetter for Christ
current life and your current level of growth. Specifically, think about where you are experiencing progress in your spiritual life— and where things need another level of upset.
1. To what degree would you say that your prayer life has grown or expanded in recent years? 1 2 [very little]
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 [a lot]
2. To what degree would you say that your knowledge of the Bible has grown or expanded in recent years? 1 2 [very little]
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 [a lot]
3. How often do you invite others to join you in the “basement”? (In other words, how often do you share the gospel with others?) 1 2 [very little]
3
4
5
6
13
7
8
9
10 [a lot]
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4. What are some words that describe your experiences with worship at your church? What are some words that describe your experiences with worship at home?
5. What are some habits or strongholds in your life that need to be turned upside down?
PRAY TO CLOSE Praying for each other is one of the most important things you can do as a community. So use this time wisely by making it more than just a “closing prayer.” Be intentional about sharing your prayers, reviewing how God is answering your prayers, and actually 14
Being an Upsetter for Christ
praying for each other as a group. Consider this prompt when you do come to a close: Lord Jesus, I have willingly accepted You as the Lord of my life, which means I have given You permission to upset me or turn my plans upside down in whatever ways You choose. When I say, “May Your will be done,” I do not mean, “May Your will conform to my will.” Instead, may I hear Your voice and obey Your commands each and every day. Please show me today where I need to be upset. Please show me right now where You intend to use me as an upsetter in the lives of others. I say yes to those plans. In Your name, Lord Jesus, amen.
LOOKING AHEAD As we move on to session 2, we’re going to take a deep look at a word that is both revered and hated: religion. This has been true throughout history, and it’s true today. What you will see, hopefully beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that religion doesn’t work. Especially when it comes to something as important as your eternal destination.
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LEADER’S GUIDE
Thank you for your willingness to lead a group through this study! What you have chosen to do is valuable and will make a great difference in the lives of others. The Welcome to the Basement Study Guide is a five-session study built around the book content and smallgroup interaction. As the group leader, imagine yourself as the host of a party. Your job is to take care of your guests by managing the details so that when your guests arrive, they can focus on one another and on the interaction around the topic for that session. Your role as group leader is not to answer all the questions or reteach the content—the book and study guide will do most of that work. Your job is to guide the experience and cultivate your small group into a connected and engaged community. This will make it a place for members to process, question, and reflect—not necessarily receive more instruction. There are several elements in this leader’s guide that will help you as you structure your study and reflection time, so follow along and take advantage of each one.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN Before your first meeting, make sure the group members have a copy of this study guide. Alternatively, you can hand out the study guides at your first meeting and give the members some time to look over the material and ask any preliminary questions. During your first meeting, ask the members to provide their name,
Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
cell phone number, and email address so you can keep in touch with them throughout the week. Generally, the ideal size for a group is eight to ten people, which will ensure that everyone has enough time to participate in discussions. If you have more people, you might want to break up the main group into smaller subgroups. Encourage those who show up at the first meeting to commit to attending the duration of the study, as this will help the group members get to know one another, create stability for the group, and help you know how to best prepare to lead them through the material.
LEADING THE GROUP TIME Each session begins with an opening reading that either the group members can read on their own or you can read out loud to the group. An opening prayer has also been provided to help you get things started—but feel free to pray for the group members in any way that you feel led by the Lord. The questions that follow serve as an icebreaker to get the group members thinking about the topic. Some people may want to tell a long story in response to one of these questions, but the goal is to keep the answers brief. Ideally, you want everyone in the group to get a chance to answer, so try to keep the responses to a minute or less. If you have talkative group members, say up front that everyone needs to limit their answer to one minute. Give the group members a chance to answer, but also tell them to feel free to pass if they wish. With the rest of the study, it’s generally not a good idea to have everyone answer every question— a free-flowing discussion is more desirable. But with the opening icebreaker questions, you can go around the circle. Encourage shy people to share, but don’t force them. Following the icebreaker question, give the group members a few minutes (but no more than five to ten) to complete the 86
Leader’s Guide
“Consider Your Life” exercise. You can then go through each of the ten discussion questions, looking up the passages of Scripture and reading the callouts from Welcome to the Basement as directed in the study guide. After your time of discussion, allow a few more minutes for the group members to go through the “Apply What You Learned” activity to cement the key concepts of the session in their minds. Close with prayer.
PREPARATION FOR EACH SESSION As the leader, there are a few things that you should do to prepare for each meeting:
• Read through the session. This will help you become
more familiar with the content and know how to structure the discussion time.
• Decide which questions you want to discuss. Based on the length of your group discussions, you may not be able to get through all the questions. So, ahead of time, choose which ones you definitely want to cover.
• Be familiar with the questions you want to discuss.
When the group meets, you will be watching the clock, so you will want to make sure that you are familiar with the questions you have selected. In this way, you will ensure that you have the material more deeply in your mind than your group members.
• Pray for your group. Continue to pray for your group
members during the week and ask God to lead them as they study His Word. 87
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Note that in many cases, there will not be a “right” answer to the discussion questions. Answers will vary, especially when group members are sharing their personal experiences.
GROUP DYNAMICS Leading a group through Welcome to the Basement will prove to be highly rewarding both to you and your group members. But you still may encounter challenges along the way! Discussions can get off track. Group members may not be sensitive to the needs and ideas of others. Some might worry they will be expected to talk about matters that make them feel awkward. Others may express comments that result in disagreements. To help ease this strain on you and the group, consider the following ground rules:
• When someone raises a question or comment that is off
the main topic, suggest you deal with it another time, or, if you feel led to go in that direction, let the group know you will be spending some time discussing it.
• If someone asks a question that you don’t know how to
answer, admit it and move on. At your discretion, feel free to invite group members to comment on questions that call for personal experience.
• If you find one or two people are dominating the discus-
sion time, direct a few questions to others. Outside the main group time, ask the more dominating members to help you draw out the quieter ones. Work to make them a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
• When a disagreement occurs, encourage the group mem-
bers to process the matter in love. Encourage those on 88
Leader’s Guide
opposite sides to restate what they heard the other side say about the matter, and then invite each side to evaluate if that perception is accurate. Lead the group in examining other scriptures related to the topic, and look for common ground. When any of these issues arise—or any others not mentioned above—encourage your group members to follow these words from Scripture: “Love one another” (John 13:34); “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18); and “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). This will make your group time more rewarding and beneficial for everyone who attends. Thank you again for taking the time to lead your group! You are making a difference in your group members’ lives and having an impact on their understanding of God’s kingdom.
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SCRIPTURES FOR FURTHER READING The following are all the passages of Scripture referenced in the Welcome to the Basement book. (Key passages referenced in this study guide are indicated in bold type.) Take them into your quiet time with the Lord in the weeks ahead and ask God what He wants to say to you through them. Look them up and write them down. Post them around your house so you can see them often. You can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is get to know Him. SESSION 1: BEING AN UPSETTER FOR CHRIST Acts 17:1–9 (chapter 2) John 3:16 (chapter 3) Ephesians 1:4–5 (chapter 3) Romans 8:28–30 (chapter 3) Romans 5:6–8 (chapter 4) Jeremiah 29:11 (chapter 5) Ephesians 2:10 (chapter 5) Psalm 18:32 (chapter 5) Psalm 139:14 (chapter 5) Romans 8:37–39 (chapter 5) 1 Corinthians 3:16 (chapter 5)
Welcome to the Basement Study Guide
2 Corinthians 5:12 (chapter 5) 2 Corinthians 5:20 (chapter 5) 1 Thessalonians 1:4 (chapter 5) 2 Timothy 1:7 (chapter 5) 1 John 3:1 (chapter 5) 2 Peter 1:3–8 (study guide) SESSION 2: WHAT UPSETTERS NEED TO LOSE Amos 5:18–27 (chapter 6) Matthew 23:1–26 (chapter 6) Acts 19:13–22 (chapter 7) Philippians 2:3–11 (chapter 7) Matthew 11:28–30 (chapter 8) Romans 10:9 (chapter 8) Matthew 5:17–20 (chapter 9) Isaiah 1:2–20 (chapter 9) SESSION 3: WHAT AN UPSETTER LOOKS LIKE (chapter 11) Ephesians 6:23–24 Matthew 5:43–48 (chapter 12) Ephesians 5:18 (chapter 13) Romans 8:11 (chapter 13) Acts 10:38 (chapter 14) John 14:15–18 (chapter 14) John 2:1–11 (chapter 14) Matthew 14:13–21 (chapter 14) Mark 6:32–44 (chapter 14) Luke 9:10–17 (chapter 14) John 6:1–14 (chapter 14) Luke 19:1–10 (chapter 14) Ephesians 5:2 (chapter 14) Nehemiah 8:10 (chapter 14) 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 (study guide) 92
Scriptures for Further Reading
SESSION 4: UPSETTERS ARE DISTURBING Matthew 7:3 (chapter 16) John 4:1–30 (chapter 17) Matthew 8:14–15 (chapter 18) Leviticus 24:19–21 (chapter 19) Matthew 22:1–14 (chapter 20) Luke 14:15–24 (chapter 20) Genesis 3:11 (chapter 20) SESSION 5: START UPSETTING THE WORLD TODAY Luke 23:33–46 (chapter 21) Philippians 2:5–11 (chapter 21) John 2:14–16, 18 (study guide) Acts 3:6, 19–20 (study guide) Acts 1:8 (study guide) James 1: 22–27 (study guide) Matthew 7:7 (study guide) Matthew 17:20 (study guide)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Ross gave his life to Jesus on January 14, 1996, and preached his first sermon on February 25, 1996. For nearly thirty years he has preached around the world and served the local church in several ministry capacities, including youth evangelist, young adult pastor, director of student ministries, associate campus pastor, executive pastor of apostolic ministries, and lead pastor. Tim now spends his time as a podcaster (of The Basement with Tim Ross), influencer, author, consultant, and speaker. Tim has been married to Juliette since 1999 and they have two sons, Nathan and Noah. For more information about Tim, visit upsettheworld.com and follow him on Instagram at @upsetthegram.
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM
TIM ROSS
AVA I L A B L E W H E R E VE R B OOKS AR E S OLD.
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Has your faith felt a bit stagnant lately? Do you long to see God do powerful things in your life like He did in the days of the early church? Do you want God to use you to make a difference in the lives of others? This practical study guide, based on Tim Ross’s Welcome to the Basement, will help you assess where you are in your relationship with God and what steps you need to take to move to the next level in your faith. You will see that when Jesus comes into your life, everything should get turned upside down . . . or, from heaven’s perspective, get turned right side up. When that happens, it changes how you think, how you behave, and how you act toward others. It opens up the floodgates for God to change your heart, pour out His blessings into your life, and empower you to do great things for Him.
• The big ideas that will be covered in the session as you read through the book • An assessment exercise to help you reflect on your relationship with Christ • Ten group-oriented discussion questions based the Bible and book content • A closing exercise to help you apply the concepts you’ve studied to your life • Prompts for opening and closing your group or personal study time with prayer
Original package design © 2023 HarperCollins Christian Publishing Cover image: Shutterstock / Guenter Albers Author photo © Rance Elgin
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RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth USD $14.99 / CAD $18.50 ISBN 978-0-310-17068-6
S T U DY GUIDE
A Book Companion Study
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO BUILDING JESUS’ FIRST-SHALL-BE-LAST, TIM ROSS
TIM ROSS gave his life to Jesus on January 14, 1996, and preached his first sermon on February 25, 1996. For nearly thirty years he has preached around the world and served the local church. He now spends his time as a podcaster, influencer, author, consultant, and speaker. Tim has been married to Juliette since 1999, and they have two sons, Nathan and Noah.
STUDY GUIDE
This study guide is ideal for you to go through on your own or with a group of friends in your small group. Each session includes:
WELCOME to the BASEMENT
(
World-Changing Faith Begins from the Ground Up
UPSIDE-DOWN KINGDOM
TIM ROSS 11/28/23 2:07 PM