HOW TO USE
METAHISTORIA Cristo, el sentido de todo.
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MetaHistory is a 5-articles magazine to read and discuss in groups. This magazine is really easy to use. You may want to use it to talk with your friends about Jesus.
► IS IT A MAGAZINE OR A STUDY GUIDE? Both. MetaHistory was made for you to share with your friends a clear and deep message about who Jesus is and what God’s plan for the world is. You can give this magazine to your friends, or even better, you can invite your friends to read and discuss with you the topics covered in the magazine.
► SUPPORT MATERIAL AND STRUCTURE FOR THE GROUPS If you are going to use the MetaHistory magazine with your friends, we recommend you to have: 1. A MetaHistory magazine for every person. 2. One or more Bible – a Bible for every person is the ideal. 3. A quiet place to spend 60 minutes without any interruption, noise or distraction. 4. Enough time (50 – 60 minutes) to read an article with them and discuss the answers.
STEP BY STEP 1. WELCOME Once all the participants have arrived, begin by having everyone to share the last events of their lives. Ask them to introduce themselves by saying their names and sharing their funniest event during the last 15 – 20 days. 2. PRAYER Once all of them have introduced themselves, start the session in prayer. Invite them to pray, asking God to lead the session. 3. KNOWING THE GOALS In every article you will find the section called “Straight to the point”, which is a summary of the main ideas in the article. We put it right in the beginning, so that you can have an idea of the goal for each article.
Read always the goal first, so you can point your conversation better during the session. 4. ARTICLE READING
Read the article together. Split the group in small groups of 4 or 5 people. Have every person to read loud a paragraph, until they finish the chapter. 5. GROUP DISCUSSION Go to the “Guide to Think About it” on page 17 of the magazine. You will find a summary of the article and the discussion questions. Ask them the questions so they can answer the questions in their groups. Have them to choose a person to share their opinions and answers. 6. SUGGESTIONS Encourage all of them to participate in the discussion. All of us can learn from another person. Once all the groups have shared their answers and opinions, encourage them to share their individual opinions. 7. PRAYER After finishing every discussion, close the session in prayer considering the goals of the program mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, in Straight to The Point. Then, close the day with a prayer, giving thanks to God for what just happened and for every person who could participate in the session.
Invite them to come to the next session to read the next chapter together.
TIPS 1. Be friendly and provide an informal and quiet environment. Let your friends to feel good, but also help the to understand the seriousness of this proposal. 2. Having snacks before or after the session is very helpful. Everybody like that! 3. Listen to them. Allow them to speak and share their doubts. 4. Be objective. Highlight the section “Straight to The Point” after reading the text. 5. Whatever you do, don’t be boring. Be spontaneous and surprise them. 6. Don’t speak too much. 7. Remember to point everything to Jesus, not to you, nor other people or things. Learn more about Jesus with your friends in every session.
TO UNDERSTAND IT BETTER We want to help you to know more about Jesus and to make Him known among your friends. That’s why these 5 articles talk about Jesus. Rather than talking about what’s in the Gospels, we want to tell you about Jesus’ purpose and His relationship with the whole Bible. Let’s see, step by step, what’s the point in every study. 1. ADAM AND JESUS This study is about the creation of the world and its implications for our lives. Our goal in this article is for you to understand that the creation of the world is a real event, not a myth, as many people think. Why do we think like this? Because the Bible tells it so. Since the Bible is God’s Word, true and infallible, we believe that the Almighty God created the world in six days, by his power. Now, if that’s real, we have to understand the consequences of living in a world that has an author. If God is the Creator of the world, He created us, and if it happened like the Bible says, we were created in His image. Therefore, we share some aspects of God’s character, that no other created being has, such as auto-perception, freedom, intelligence, creativity, morality, artistic skills, etc. But the most important thing is that we were created to have a relationship with Him and with the other human beings. This relational ability is directly related to God’s identity, because He is a relational God who reveals Himself proposing us a relationship. The thing is that after being created, the human being betrayed God by disobeying Him. That had an impact on us because it separated us and the creation from the true God. From that day on, human beings began to create other gods and continued living in spiritual death. All of us inherited that kind of death. Then God proposed that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity and God Himself, would become flesh and bone to pay for the sins of all human beings. That was the promise God made to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after they sinned. He would send a savior, God Himself, born from a woman. It is important to understand that sin brought destruction to all things: relationships, nature, even the human being identity. Just a few minutes watching the news give us an idea of how destructed is our world! Drugs, corruption, murders, was, famine, injustice; everything is wrong and the cause is sin; the sin of all of us. When Jesus came as a man, he took our place and our debt before God. That is how He restored all things because He has all the power and authority above all. Peace with God brings peace with men and with nature. At the end of the article we suggest some questions. You can use them to help your friends to understand what the text says. Here we will help you to understand what they may answer. This must be a free conversation, but we will help you to understand where these questions are heading:
A. How did this article change your belief about God? Why? They could answer: I thought God didn’t exist or if He did, he didn’t care about us. Now I see He does exist and care about me. Let them to share their opinions about God and allow them to say if something changed about it after reading and understanding the article. B. What do you think about God’s solution to the problems of mankind? The goal here is to make them think about God’s plan for mankind after sin. Probably not all of them will understand that the solution was to send Jesus as savior, to die in our place and pay for our sins. They could answer: God’s solution was very radical and merciful. Or, I didn’t understand what was the solution. You may need to give a better explanation about the solution and how is related to Jesus. Reading the “ayudas” above may help them. C. How are Adam and Christ related and what is the difference between them? This is a very important question. Adam was the first man created by God and Jesus is God Himself, made human. They are related since Adam represented the human race in the pact God made in the beginning. We are paying all the consequences of his mistakes. Jesus also represents the human race before God, but while Adam separated us from God, Jesus draws us near to Him. He paid the price so that God could accept us again. That is the connection. Your friends could say: Adam messed it up, but Jesus fixed it.
2. ABRAHAM AND JESUS This may seem weird, but this man is very important for us and it is crucial to know why. Abraham was chosen by God to be the first member of the nation He was going to create. Through that nation Jesus would come to save the world. If Jesus could save the world, He can save you too. This starts with Abraham. He is a kind of a spiritual ancestor that all those who believe in Jesus have. It is important to understand what that people means. God formed that people to allow them to know Him and to make Him known; just like the church is today. God would reveal Himself to His people and give them His laws, so that they could live the way God commanded, in contrast to the world, showing who is God and what He wants us to do. Then, God’s plan to save the world began forming a people He would call His own. It is important to let them see the way God did it. He called an old man who was married to a woman who was barren. He gave them a son when they were almost 100 years old to show He can do whatever He wants, because He is powerful and He has everything under control. This means he will surely save us. If He could give a 90 years old barren lady a child, nothing will be impossible to Him. We can trust His power and His purposes. He loves us and the proof of His love is the pact He made with Abraham, which stated that, He would bless us through him. This blessing is Jesus, Abraham’s descendant, who brought us salvation and a new life. Help your friends to understand that Abraham wasn’t a superhero, but an ordinary man whom God used to fulfill a great plan. God uses ordinary people to fulfill his wonderful plan: to save people from sin. You may be experiencing God’s plan while studying in a small group, to bless someone with the message of salvation. Let’s see how can we answer this article’s questions: A. How is Abraham related to Christ and to us? Through Abraham God formed the people from which Jesus was born as a man. That was crucial in God’s plan. Your friends could answer: Abraham was a Jesus’ ancestor. Understanding this connection is very important to prove that God really wants to save us, and that He has done everything to do it. B. How can we see God’s love for mankind in this story? This question encourages the participants to read the story from God’s love perspective. All what God did with Abraham was designed to save us. Thus, we can see God’s love when He shows He cares about us, and uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things to bless others.
C. God has a plan and it’s a plan of love. If that’s what you understand, how that impacts your relationship with God? Understanding that God loves me changes everything. It helps me to understand that I don’t live by chance, but God knows me, loves me and has a plan for me. Then I can have a relationship with Him, not with an impersonal and distant being, but with a personal God and friend who loves me and accepts me through Jesus, my savior. This question may be difficult to some people to answer, maybe because they don’t want to be embarrassed or because they don’t know how to express what they think. Help them to understand that God really cares about them.
3. MOSES AND JESUS This article helps us to understand who God is. We have already talked about his plan of love and about his creating power; now we are going to see God revealing Himself as the one true God, the only savior we have. Moses was a great leader from Israel. God used him to deliver His people from slavery and to take them to the Promised Land. By doing so, God wanted to show His people who He was and His unique, holy, powerful and loving character. When everyone thought there was no hope, God defeated the powers of Egypt, the most powerful nation of that time, and set the Hebrews free from the Egyptian army. This salvation is relevant to us, since from that moment, God revealed Himself as the God who saves. When He told them to do something, he used to say: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery”. That means that the deliverance from Egypt is an illustration of the deliverance that God does in the lives of those who believe in Jesus: they are delivered from the evil power of sin and taken to a new land, to a new life, where they will be free and happy forever. God is powerful to save all those who believe in Him. That’s what this story proves. We are like the people of Israel. We are slaves of our own sins, but God already has a plan to set us free. Even He has already begun fulfilling it. Moses and the Hebrews are part of God’s plan to save everyone. But while Moses was an ordinary man, Jesus was God Himself made man, perfect and pure. That means that God’s plan to save us won’t have failures or errors. Let’s take a look at the questions in this article to see how we can better share this story. A. What are the differences between Moses and Jesus and what are their similarities? Here the point is to show that Moses was the leader of the deliverance of the Hebrews, but Jesus is everyone’s savior. Moses was an ordinary man, but Jesus was human and God Himself at a time. Moses made mistakes, but Jesus is and was perfect. These are some of the differences and similarities. The goal is for them to see Moses as a kind of savior and Jesus as the perfect and the absolute savior. B. How is Moses’ story related to Adam’s and Abraham’s? God is still working on His plan. He began with the creation. Man mess it all up, but God decided to save the human race by sending Jesus through a special nation. He began forming this nation with Abraham; He saved His people through Moses, He showed them who he was, his character and holiness, He gave them laws to live as the people of God. Your friends could answer: God has a plan and He is working through different characters. That’s the idea: To understand there is a plan that is being fulfilled, to save the sinners.
C. The slavery of the Hebrews is a metaphor for our slavery to sin. Only God can set us free with his powerful and loving hand. What changes in your life when learning that only God delivers us from the slavery to sin? This is a personal question. The point here is for them to understand that all of us are slaves to sin and, unless we are delivered by Jesus, we will continue being slaves to sin. They may understand sin differently, like something less powerful or less aggressive. This story shows us that, just like the Hebrews, we are slaves to sin until Jesus sets us free. And He has power to do it, and He already did it. Whoever believes in Him will enjoy the deliverance from sin.
4. DAVID AND JESUS This story is awesome! David was the king of Israel and a great friend of God. This story teaches us that our relationship with Jesus must be understood within some standards for it to work accordingly. The first thing we learn with David is that he had a true and vital relationship with God. This is important for us to really know God. But there’s even more: David represented Jesus’ royalty. In other words, David was an ancestor of Jesus. He was king, and then his sons and descendants inherited the kingdom. It should have been like that until Jesus. God promised David that one of his descendants would reign forever. But the kingdom of Judah was dominated by other nations and they no longer had a royal dynasty. Now we understand that God wasn’t speaking about a human king like David, but a Sovereign King, a spiritual kingdom above all things. Jesus is David’s descendant, that is to say, He is King, but a different kind of King. That’s why we call Him Lord: The one who has control over our lives. This changes the relationship we have with Him: His will is not only a suggestion for us; it is our command. Obedience to Christ should be taken seriously because he isn’t only a religious leader, but He is a real King who has all authority over us. Surprising though it may seem, this dependency and submission to Christ is the best way to live our lives. That’s how we are really free. We can love others because Jesus’ will for us is to love Him above all things and to love others as ourselves. We can also understand that Christ’s salvation is not only a sort of final destiny, but is a lifestyle; salvation is a way to be, rather than a place or a thing. Salvation is being like Jesus: being like Him in His love, in His mercy, in His grace. That is living under the rule of a King of love. Let’s take a look at the questions and see how we can answer them. A. What is the difference between the kingdom of David and the Kingdom of Christ? It is very important for them to know that David had a Kingdom (Israel) and Jesus has a kingdom too (spiritual). David’s kingdom was human and his rule lasted until he died; then his descendants inherited the throne. But just like all human kingdoms, it ended because of death or foreign domination. Jesus’ kingdom, on the other hand, is eternal. He reigns above all things and not only has a political power, but also a complete and spiritual power. Help your friends to understand that one kingdom is temporary, and the other one is eternal. Jesus continues reigning over us. B. What does it mean for Jesus to be King? How does this change our relationship with God? Many people think that Jesus was only a religious leader, but He was so much more. The fact that He is King means that we are His subjects, his words are commandments and his will must be obeyed. Now, His will is to make us love God more and love our neighbor.
Your friends may say that they don’t know what does it mean for Jesus to be King, but maybe they will understand that our relationship with God isn’t something impersonal and religious, but something radical, like a revolution. Jesus is our great leader and we are lead by Him in the revolution of the world. C. If Jesus is King, how should we interpret his teachings? This questions points to the same direction of the previous ones. If Jesus is king, His words aren’t suggestions or advices; they are commands. This shows us that following Jesus is serious and obeying Him isn’t about opinion or pleasure. Share with your friends about these ideas.
5. PAUL AND JESUS This is the last article. Paul is the only character from the New Testament, so he lived after Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. He has a clear perspective of what we should think about Jesus. We have used the word “Gospel” a couple times and it is important to emphasize, with your friends, that this word means “good news”. Paul helps us to understand why these news are good, by explaining better what happened in the past until Jesus’ coming and the consequences of his life, death and resurrection. Paul teaches us that there are good and bad news for everyone. Bad news is the one, which tells us that we are sinners and deserve eternal condemnation according to our life and works. But the good news is that even though we deserve condemnation, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, God Himself, to come as a man to die for our sins. Then God accepts us; when he looks at us, he no longer sees our sins, but Christ’s sacrifice paying for them. We are accepted as children, even though we don’t deserve it. How wonderful is that! It is important for all of them to understand that our good works don’t save us. We can’t compensate or reduce the debt we owe to Jesus for dying in our place for our sins. On the contrary; it’s by grace, that is to say, without merits or works. It is only because He wanted to save us. Jesus already made everything that could have been done for our salvation – we have nothing else to do. Now, the only thing we can do is to admit that’s true. We can give our lives to Jesus because he already bought them with His blood. Now we can live for Him. It seems simple, but it’s sensitive. We all have idols in our hearts and by acknowledging Jesus as Lord, we have to get rid of all these idols: selfishness, comfort, arrogance, other religions and ideologies different from what Jesus taught. Throwing away all these things is difficult and painful, but it heals us. God Himself washes us from these things when we surrender to Him. Finally, this is the good news: Jesus has already saved you – just surrender to Him. Explain that we used to be slaves (even without knowing it), but now all we need to do was already done. We just have to rest ourselves in Him. This is a very important message. Help your friends to understand that everything is about Jesus. Let’s see how we are going to answer the questions in this article. A. How does Paul explain who is Jesus? Why is that good news? Paul says that Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins. In other words, Paul shows that Jesus is God and man at the same time, and that He is the only one who really can pay for our sins. Jesus is our savior and the good news is that He saves us for free, without any of our works.
Let your friends discuss the fact that this is good news. To go in depth, ask them if this is good news and why. B. Do you think the “bad news” mentioned in this article are applicable to your life? Why? That question is very important because everyone consider themselves as “good people”. The point here is that everyone may understand that there are no such “good people”, but all of us are condemned for our sins. All of us have done something that offends God, and even more: We all are prone to do, and to want to do things that offend God. The more sinner I feel, the greater I’ll consider God’s salvation for me. This question wasn’t designed to create low self-esteem feelings or something like that, but it’s intended for us to be realistic about who we are, to look at ourselves in the mirror. C. If Jesus paid for our sins, took our place and obeyed God for us to be accepted by God, what do we have to do to be saved? This last a question serves to highlight the essence of the whole message in this magazine: There’s nothing we can do to be free from the condemnation of God for our sins. From the beginning, God Himself decided to send His own Son to pay for our sins. God has a plan and he has done everything. Our part is to surrender to this truth, to trust in the fact that we belong to Him and live for Him. The answer to this question in just one word is: Nothing. There is nothing we can do. Jesus has done everything.