BIBLE STUDY LEADER’S GUIDE
IMITATE 2015 June 28-july 2 Seaford, va
Thank you for your willingness to serve students the week of IMITATE 2015. It is setting up to be an amazing week and you are an integral part of that. I am praying for you as you prepare. Here are a few things you need to know. Our theme in Bible Study for camp is WHEN YOU ARE IMITATING CHRIST… Our goal is to show our students and campers the call to follow, imitate, rely upon, join with Christ as His ambassadors to a lost world. Each day (Monday-Thursday) you (or a leader from your church) will be leading your students in Bible Study. You will be given a room at Seaford Baptist Church. This will be used for your Bible Study and church devotions. Please take care of these rooms. For larger groups, feel free to spread out in the room and have several leaders prepare the Bible studies for smaller groups. This is completely at your discretion. Each day, you will be given about 1 hour and 15 minutes for Bible Study. If you do not finish the Bible Study during that time, you can use some of your church group devotion time at night as well. Church group devotions are also a great time to debrief from the day and pray for one another and your ministry teams/ sites. PLEASE REMEMBER 1. Preparation is essential. This won’t work unless you prepare. 2. These Bible studies may be the most important times of the week. Don’t waste them. 3. Student believers are FULL-FLEDGED followers of Christ. Expect a lot out of them and they will amaze all of us this week. 4. LISTEN to your students and teach for transformation, not just information. 5. If you have questions, you can ask Brad Russell (brad@powhatanbaptist.org). Don’t hesitate to ask for clarification or more resources. Thanks again for the ministry you will do during IMITATE. I pray that you will grow just as much, if not more than the students you will minister to. Our hope is that the truths learned and the experiences had will serve to grow intimacy with Christ and with one another in your student group.
In Christ, Brad Russell Pastor Old Powhatan Baptist Church
Monday Morning LESSON 1 Monday will be a little different of a schedule. Your Bible Study on Monday will be in the morning as opposed to the evening like the rest of the week. Your passage of Scripture will be our theme verse for the week, Ephesians 5:1-2. This study will set the stage for understanding the calling on the lives of all believers. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2) OPEN WITH PRAYER: Pray for students and chaperones to be transformed through the Bible Studies, the Worship Services, and the Missions Opportunities. Have students pray for each other. MIRROR GAME: Have 2 students face each other sitting on the floor or in chairs. The object is for one student to lead and the other to “mirror” everything they do. Moving arms, legs, facial expressions… the goal is to mimic as perfectly as possible. After a couple of groups do this… ASK… What makes it difficult to mirror one another… to imitate one another? (Possible Answers: You don’t know what they are going to do next… you can’t read their mind to know what to expect… and more) WE ARE CALLED TO BE IMITATORS OF CHRIST… IMITATORS OF GOD ON EARTH… LIKE MIRRORS REFLECTING HIS GLORY TO OTHERS. HOW CAN WE BE IMITATORS OF GOD ON EARTH? I.
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WE ARE COMMANDED TO BE IMITATORS OF GOD. a. How? The good news is that we don’t have to GUESS what God is like. We don’t have to GUESS what He expects of us. We don’t have to GUESS what glorifying Him looks like. b. IMITATING GOD means DISPLAYING HIS GLORY. Ask: What is God like? How does He treat His people? How can we display that character to others? c. IMITATING GOD means ACTING LIKE HIS CHILDREN. We learn so much from watching our parents. And we learn how to glorify and imitate God by EXPERIENCING and KNOWING Him. Knowing the truth of what being a Child of God is will lead us to IMITATE Him. i. READ John 1:12-13. How do we get the right to be Children of God? ii. READ Galatians 4:4-7. What do we receive as Children of God? iii. READ 1 John 3:1-2. What is our hope as Children of God? IMITATING GOD LOOKS LIKE LOVE a. Love leads to ACTION (Walking). Love is more than words. How can saying I LOVE YOU actually be pretty meaningless. b. Love is CONSTANT. Walking in something means to live it out consistently every day. What would that look like in our lives. IMITATING GOD’S LOVE HAS CHRIST AS THE EXAMPLE a. Christ’s love is for OTHERS. How do we make the mistake of loving in a way that serves ourselves and not others? (Only serving those who like us or will serve us back) b. Christ’s love is SACRIFICIAL. How can we love and sacrifice for others instead of trying to protect and defend ourselves? c. Christ’s love is WORSHIPFUL and PLEASING to God. How can we love others as an act of worship? Why do you think loving in this way pleases God? d. Christ’s love seeks to HONOR GOD. Love for others is not just about loving them… it is about loving Christ. The more we demonstrate Christ-like love, the more we look and act like Jesus… the more honor God gets.
IMITATING THE LOVE OF GOD LEADS TO WILLING SACRIFICE. CHURCH GROUP DEVOTIONS MONDAY NIGHT SO… WHO do we love and HOW do we love? READ 1 John 3:16-18 1. Who are the brothers? How can we love our brothers and sisters in Christ? 2. What does it mean to LAY DOWN OUR LIVES? 3. What warning is given in verse 17? 4. What does verse 18 tell us TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE looks like? What is the difference between loving in “word” and “talk” vs. loving in “deed” and in “truth?” 5. In your youth group, what will love look like this week? What about when you get home? What about when school starts back up? 6. With other youth groups at IMITATE, what will love look like? On your work sites with other students? With the weird kid from another church? 7. With the people you meet on missions sites this week, what will love look like? "Love is the root of missions; sacrifice is the fruit of missions" — Roderick Davis
Tuesday Evening LESSON 2 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:3-6) OPEN WITH PRAYER: Pray for students to show love for one another and for those they are serving this week. Have students share prayer requests and ask other students to pray for them. There is a massive difference between SAYING you know Jesus and LIVING like you know Jesus. Ask: If you knew that something you did or didn’t do would make you an obvious LIAR, would you want to be careful about it? What are some things you could do or not do that would make people think you were a HYPOCRITE? These verses tell us that if we SAY we know Christ, but do not OBEY Him, then we are LIARS. These verses also tell us that those who KNOW Christ will keep His commandments. I.
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ABIDE IN JESUS? a. Read John 15:4-5. Where does the life of a branch come from? How does a branch bear fruit? i. Abiding in Jesus Means producing FRUIT. How can we produce fruit if we aren’t connected to the life source of Jesus? ii. Abiding in Jesus Means He is our LIFE. Jesus is not just a major part of our life. We actually don’t have life without Him. Branches that are not connected to the vine or tree are only good for firewood. iii. Abiding in Jesus Means relying on His ABILITY/STRENGTH, not our own ability. Branches don’t get to decide what kind of fruit they want to produce, nor can they produce fruit on their own. b. What are some ways that you can focus more on abiding in Jesus? HOW DO WE SHOW WE LOVE JESUS? a. Read John 15:9, 12. The fact that Jesus loved us first with a love that is Divine and Unending is our only hope for loving Him. (I John 4:19) i. Loving Jesus means first being LOVED. How has Jesus demonstrated the depth and strength of His love for us? ii. Loving Jesus means loving ONE ANOTHER. If we don’t love one another, then the love of Jesus is not in us. Every time we show a lack of love or a lack of forgiveness to one another, we are showing a lack of love for Jesus. Read 1 John 4:7-8. This is a non-negotiable truth. iii. Loving Jesus means OBEDIENCE. Obedience is Love for Jesus, Love for others IN ACTION. WHAT DOES OBEDIENCE LOOK LIKE? a. Read John 15:7-8, 10 i. Abiding Obedience looks like relying on the LOVE and OBEDIENCE of Jesus Himself. The Good News of the Gospel is that our hope rests in the perfect obedience of Jesus. We can’t accomplish perfect obedience outside of the grace, love and obedience of Jesus to all that His Father has commanded.
ii. Abiding Obedience looks like ASKING for what we need. As we abide in Jesus and seek to obey Him, we can ask and receive all that we need for obedience and life. iii. Abiding Obedience looks like WALKING in the same way Jesus walked. We love, serve, sacrifice, go, tell… all as we IMITATE Jesus. Look to Jesus for the strength and the example of OBEDIENCE. We are not called to live our Christian lives by our own strength.
Obedience is not something we can accomplish on our own. Good News: Jesus provides EVERYTHING we need to obey EVERYTHING He commands. When Jesus is our LIFE, we are abiding in Him. ABIDING IN THE LOVE AND LIFE OF JESUS PRODUCES OBEDIENCE CHURCH GROUP DEVOTIONS TUESDAY NIGHT Have students share about their days on work sites. What were the challenges? Who do they want to pray for? READ Luke 19:10. If Jesus came to seek and to save the lost… what should our mission of IMITATING Him look like? How can we be more obedient and better imitators of Jesus tomorrow?
“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” ― Henry Martyn
Wednesday Evening Lesson 3 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." (John 20:21) OPEN WITH PRAYER: Pray for God’s Spirit to change us through His Word. Pray for the Spirit’s power to make us more like Jesus. Pray for our Identity to be wrapped up in who we are in Christ. Pray for our activity to be wrapped up in our identity in Christ. Being Like Jesus, IMITATING Jesus, means being a SENT OUT person. These verses are some of the first words Jesus spoke to His disciples after His resurrection. They are astounding and important words. IMITATING Jesus starts with having PEACE with God through Jesus. READ Romans 5:1-2: Ask: How do we obtain peace with God? (Through FAITH.) Ask: Why is this peace essential? Why was their no peace with God? See Romans 5:10 (Sin, we were His enemies.) We could never make peace with God. So, how did God make peace with us? (Point back to the verses and what Jesus has done) IMITATING Jesus continues with having PEACE from God through Jesus. READ Philippians 4:7 Ask: What does the peace of God give us? (oneness with Jesus, guarding us, keeping us in Jesus) If we are going to be like Jesus, we must be GUARDED by His peace. READ John 16:33 Ask: What is the basis we have for being at peace as we follow Jesus even in hard times? (He has OVERCOME the world) Only those who have PEACE with God can be sent out in His POWER to be His AMBASSADORS. Jesus was sent from the Father. Jesus sends us out in the same way. READ 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 We are sent out with His MISSION. (To take the peace of Jesus to others. Be agents of reconciliation) Ask: How can we be agents of reconciliation this week? How can we be agents of reconciliation the rest of the year? We are sent out with His MESSAGE. (“Be reconciled to God”) We are His AMBASSADORS. We don’t speak our own message or our own opinions. We speak on behalf of Jesus. We speak with His AUTHORITY. (We are sent out by Him for this—Great Commission authority. If our message is anything other than the true Gospel, there is no authority, no power, no change, no reconciliation, and no peace.) To be a follower of Jesus means to be SENT OUT. To be like Jesus means to be SENT OUT. Jesus is our AUTHORITY, our MESSAGE, and our PEACE. THE PEACE OF JESUS LEADS US ON A MISSION OF PEACE
“We must be global Christians with a global vision because we serve a global God.” ― John R.W. Stott CHURCH GROUP DEVOTIONS WEDNESDAY NIGHT Have students share about their days on work sites. What were the challenges? Who do they want to pray for? How can they be more obedient tomorrow? READ Matthew 28:18-20. How should the presence and authority of Jesus empower us to be more faithful tomorrow?
Thursday Evening Lesson 4 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7) REVIEW. OPEN WITH PRAYER: Pray for students to be bold with their faith, bold with the Gospel, not only at IMITATE, but as they prepare to go home. Pray that the fruit from IMITATE will lead to pursuing opportunities for the Gospel in your community. Pray for students to IMITATE Jesus in love, obedience, peace, mission, sacrifice, and joy. IMITATING THE LOVE OF GOD LEADS TO WILLING SACRIFICE. ABIDING IN THE LOVE AND LIFE OF JESUS PRODUCES OBEDIENCE. THE PEACE OF JESUS LEADS US ON A MISSION OF PEACE. SACRIFICE FOR JESUS LEADS TO EVERLASTING, SUSTAINING JOY READ 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7: How does this passage say that we are imitators of Jesus? Two marks of IMITATING Jesus are SUFFERING (Affliction) and JOY. Simply suffering does not mean that you are IMITATING Jesus. Suffering can be either negative or positive. 1. Negative suffering often comes because of STUPIDITY or SIN. a. Often we suffer because of bad decisions, selfishness or putting ourselves in dumb places and dumb circumstances. b. Suffering that is a result of sin is discipline and is not imitating Jesus. However, when it leads us to repentance, it can be used as a positive to turn us from sin and make us more like Jesus. Discuss with your students times they suffer because of stupidity and sin. 2. Positive suffering comes from sacrificing for the GOSPEL. a. READ Philippians 3:8. What does Paul say that He gains by losing? b. READ Matthew 16:24-25. What does it look like to follow Jesus? i. Following Jesus means DENYING self. Ask: What does it mean to deny yourself? (Possible answers: not following your own way, not being boss, etc.) When we embrace and submit to Jesus as King, we deny our own position as king/queen of our lives. ii. Following Jesus means SACRIFICING and often SUFFERING. Jesus suffered and we are His followers, so suffering for Jesus will be normal. What are ways you might suffer at your school or with your friends if you follow Jesus as Lord? iii. Following Jesus means WALKING His way. Ask: How does Jesus walk through suffering? (possible answers: obediently, with joy.) To IMITATE Jesus as you follow Him through suffering, we must suffer with JOY. READ: Hebrews 12:1-2: What does this verse say is the reason Jesus endured the cross.
Jesus ENDURED suffering on the cross for the JOY that was coming. 1. Joy was in the REWARD of His suffering. a. READ Revelation 5:9. What was the reward? He was purchasing PEOPLE for Himself. b. READ 1 Peter 2:9 He was saving people to PROCLAIM His Greatness FOREVER. 2. Joy was in the FUTURE reality of Glory. READ: Philippians 2:5-11. a. Jesus endured temporary pain for eternal reward. b. Jesus endured tremendous suffering for a heavenly glory. IMITATING Jesus means being like Him in suffering. Go back to Philippians 2:5-11. How does Paul tell us to be like Jesus? 1. We DENY ourselves. Jesus had every right to demand to be served, but He served instead. 2. We obediently ENDURE. Jesus was obedient to death on the cross. 3. We endure suffering with HOPE. Suffering is temporary. Hope in the reward of heaven, the reward of being more like Jesus, the reward of growing closer to Jesus, the reward of many coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior… is eternal. 4. We have hope because of the POWER of Jesus. READ: John 16:33. Because Jesus has overcome the world, we will overcome with Him. This means that we can endure with Hope and with Joy. WHEN WE HAVE JESUS, WE HAVE JOY… even in Suffering. Have student look up verses that talk about reward for suffering for Jesus. Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 5:10; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12-19; Psalm 34:19; Matthew 5:10; James 1:12; Matthew 19:29-30. Bring to their attention the facts about persecuted Christians that they have read in their booklets and heard in service. What are they willing to give up to gain the reward of KNOWING Jesus and the hope of others KNOWING Him?
Tonight in church group devotions, debrief from the week. Have student share the best moments from the week, the things they have learned and the things that they need to take home with them. Spend time praying for your group and the other groups and for the growth to continue as you go home.
“God is calling us to live for the sake of Christ and to do that through suffering. Christ chose suffering; it didn’t just happen to Him. He chose it as the way to create and perfect the church. Now He calls us to choose suffering. That is, He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him on the Calvary road and deny ourselves and make sacrifices for the sake of ministering to the church and presenting His sufferings to the world.” ― John Piper "God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him." — Hudson Taylor
APPENDIX 1: PSALMS OF THE DAY
150 Psalms divided by 30 days = 5 Psalms per day Take 30 seconds or so to scan 5 Psalms and pick one to pray through. 1. Day of the month 2. Add 30 3. Continue up to 5 Psalms
16th (Psalm 16 would be your first Psalm) +30 46 +30 76 +30 106 +30 136
So, on the 16th the 5 Psalms would be 16, 46, 76, 106, and 136. On the 17th, they would be 17, 47, 77, 107, 137. On the 29th you’ll end up in Psalm 119, but you’ll also want to designate it for the 31st. THIS ENRICHES YOUR PRAYER, and after learning this, you won’t say the same old things about the same old things if you pray this way. You will also pray about things you have not prayed about before. Even better, these words you will be praying are GOD’s WORDS! In the Psalms, God reveals to us how He wants us to praise Him. Here, God gives us the words He wants us to say, sing and pray. (And He knows best what He desires.) The Psalms are the best place to pray Scripture since they were inspired for the purpose of being reflected back to God.
This document is posted here with the permission of Dr. Donald S. Whitney. This material is adapted by Doug Smith from class notes taken in Dr. Whitney’s Biblical Spirituality class, June 5, 2007, in Owensboro, Kentucky. For more information about praying through Scripture, please see Donald S. Whitney, Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2003), especially pages 60 and 80.