may 2013
celloutlines | overview Introduction This month’s Cell material focuses on difficult questions. This is not necessarily an attempt to try and answer these difficult questions, as they are subjects that theologians have spent many years trying to figure out, and therefore it might be pretty tricky to try and come up with an answer in one Cell session! However, it will hopefully give you and your group the opportunity to explore some of the trickier questions that we as Christians ask. It is important that we keep asking questions and that we don’t just take stuff at face value all the time without really thinking about why we believe what we believe. The format of this month’s Cell will involve three weeks in which you explore a different question each week – and then the final session will be slightly different. Week Four is your group’s opportunity to think about questions that bother them. It will be good to ask them in Week One what these questions are, so that you can take some time to plan Week Four. You could do this either by facilitating the session yourself or by inviting the corps officer and/or some people from the church to help share their thoughts and opinions. Make sure that there is enough time for preparation for either yourself or your guests. Also, make sure that the young people realise that either you or the special guests are not necessarily going to give them the answers to all the things that they have asked, but will hopefully be able to give them some useful tips and ideas for exploring these big questions themselves, as well as what their own opinions are and how they reached that point. It will be helpful to have a copy of The Salvation Army Doctrines handy so that you can keep referring to those if needs be. It is hoped that these sessions will provide a good forum for discussion. The idea is that you will be able to unpack some key issues and questions, and that this will help the young people to realise that they don’t necessarily always need to have all of the answers for everything, but that it is important to keep asking questions and unpacking things themselves. An interesting thought to get your group to consider at the start of this series: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.’ (Luke 10:27 NIV)
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What do you think is meant by loving the Lord your God ‘with all your mind’?
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may 2013
celloutlines | week one These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available each week from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/alove/resources
‘Do people of other faiths go to Heaven?’ Welcome Spend some time pondering these mind-boggling questions! If it is zero degrees outside today and it is supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be? How does the person who drives the snowplough get to work? Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains? Why are there no TV adverts for pencils? If people say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, what was the best thing before sliced bread? Does anyone have any of their own questions?
Worship Explain to the group that this month you are going to be exploring difficult questions that people often ask with regards to the Christian faith. This is not necessarily going to give people all of the answers (if any at all) but will hopefully get you all thinking. This week’s difficult question is:
‘Do people of other faiths go to Heaven?’ Spend some time at the start of this session in prayer asking for God’s wisdom and guidance as you unpack some really big stuff!
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Word Some Christians believe that when Jesus said ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6 NIV), he meant that there is absolutely no way that people of other faiths can know God or enjoy eternal life in Heaven. However, there is another way to understand this verse… Jesus could have meant that everyone who comes to the Father and then goes to Heaven does so because of what Jesus did for all people everywhere when he died on the Cross and rose again from the dead, regardless of their religion. In 1 Peter 3:18 we read that Jesus died on the cross ‘once for all’, and this could be understood in a similar way. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus talks about God sorting out the sheep and the goats at the time of judgment, and he doesn’t describe the sheep as people who have the right kind of faith and the goats as people who have the wrong kind. In fact, both groups of people are surprised when the judgment comes, because the people who are saved are the people who have given food to the hungry and water to the thirsty, offered hospitality to the stranger, clothed the naked and cared for people in captivity. Jesus says, ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”’ (v40).
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may 2013
celloutlines | week one (continued...) Some people have described this as ‘the gospel of the inasmuch’, because Jesus seems to be teaching that whatever your beliefs God receives your good actions and intentions as acts of love for him, and because of that God will receive good, loving people into his Kingdom whatever their religion. This doesn’t mean that it is pointless to have real faith now, because for us eternal life begins now, we can really know God now, and we can be sure of eternal life in Heaven now, whatever we have done.
Questions to consider… Do you think that the only way to get into Heaven is to know and accept Jesus as your saviour? What do you think about the alternative argument that suggests that if people do good, even if they are not doing it in the name of Jesus, Jesus will still see this as an act for him and that they will go to Heaven? What do you think happens if someone has not had the opportunity to get to know Jesus (eg, they died at a young age or have lived somewhere where they haven’t been exposed to Christianity)? Is the Christian faith all about going to Heaven? Is your faith just a ticket to Heaven?
Closing Share with the group that these sessions won’t necessarily provide all of the answers and in reality will probably create more questions than answers. However, encourage them to keep asking questions and keep digging into their faith and the Bible.
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Preparation for Week Four – don’t forget to ask the group what questions bother them so that you can help prepare for Week Four!
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may 2013
celloutlines | week two These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available each week from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/alove/resources
How do I know it’s Gods voice and not just me trying to convince myself? Welcome If you could ask the Queen anything, then what would you ask her? If you could ask One Direction anything, then what would you ask them? If you could ask David Cameron anything, then what would you ask him? If you could ask God anything, then what would you ask him?
Worship This week’s difficult question is:
How do I know it’s Gods voice and not just me trying to convince myself? Read these Bible passages either as a group or in small groups. 1 John 4:1
Hebrews 1:1-2
James 1:22
Ask the group how these Bible verses could be helpful for the topic you are covering today. Discussion time Your group might have a lot to say on the topic and don’t need too much guidance to get started. The material below is to help you facilitate the discussion time and input some Bible references and ideas etc that should help.
Compelling Spirit ‘They know his voice’ (John 10:3,4; Acts 16:7)
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1. God speaks as you pray (Acts 13:1-3) The good thought Strong impressions Feelings that don’t go away 2. Strong desire to do something ‘To will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13 NIV). 3. The need for testing (1 John 4:1) Is it loving? (1John 4:16) Is it in line with the Bible? Is it strengthening, encouraging and comforting? (1 Corinthians 14:3) Does it bring the peace of God? (Colossians 3:15) (Adapted from the Alpha Course material)
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may 2013
celloutlines | week two (continued...) The Bible teaches that God speaks through Jesus (see Hebrews 1:2) and the way that we hear Jesus is through the Scriptures – the Bible. The Scriptures are described as breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and as the word of God (Mark 7:13). This is very important for us. It means that while God can speak to us however he likes, he has promised to speak to all of us through the Bible. So if you want to hear God, then read, study and discuss the Bible (especially with others). This helps us in two important ways: Firstly, anything we think or believe about God must be measured against the Bible. If what we think God is saying to us goes against what the Bible says, then it is not God talking to us. This is how we recognise Satan’s temptations – they will not be in line with the Bible. Secondly, it means that we won’t waste time searching for God’s voice outside the Bible. If you want to hear your favourite band you check the tour dates and you go to the correct venue on the correct night. You don’t say: ‘Well they might play at this particular club tonight so I will go there.’ No – you go by the published tour dates. It is similar with God; he has promised to speak to us in the Bible and he has told us that the Bible is ‘alive and active’ (Hebrews 4:12); it is not a boring old document – it’s God’s living and active word. (Adapted from http://christianity.net.au/questions/god-is-speaking) Discernment is vital when trying to work out whether something we have heard is from God. Sometimes we can hear something and it feels a bit vague, and that means that we needs to discern whether it is really from God. Here are some thoughts and ideas to help you figure out what you are hearing: Do you feel the presence of peace even if there is conflict or threat overshadowing the circumstances? How does what you have heard relate to what the Bible says? Check out the facts and commit to continue learning so that you can have confidence in God’s message.
Discussion questions if needed Do you think it can be possible to hear God talk to you? Have you ever experienced God speaking to you? Have you thought you’ve heard from God but are now not so sure? Do you think that the suggestion of just using the Bible is helpful or not really?
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As the group leader, do you have a verse or passage that has ‘spoken to you’ in the past?
Closing Four key things to remember to help you know when it is God who is speaking. Test the ‘message’ against Christian tradition. Test what you are hearing against what the Bible says. Specifically, is it in line with what the Bible tells us about Jesus? Talk about it with trusted friends/leaders. Challenge the group to spend time over the next week talking to God and asking him to speak to them.
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may 2013
celloutlines | week three These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available each week from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/alove/resources
Are biblical laws still relevant today? Welcome Spend some time pondering these very serious and mind-boggling questions! Why don’t you ever see baby pigeons? If shampoo comes in so many colours, why is the lather on your head always white? Why do we say the alarm went off when, in fact, it went on? When does a large puddle become a pond, and a pond become a lake? Why, on TV, did the Incredible Hulk’s shirt always rip but his trousers never did?
Worship and Word This week’s question is
Are biblical laws still relevant today? Watch the video below. There are two options, so just use whichever version is easier for you to view or download. It is quite long (17 minutes), so make sure everyone is comfy, and it could be a good idea to bring some popcorn or sweets to share with the group to make it a bit more of an event. www.ted.com/talks/a_j_jacobs_year_of_living_biblically.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5MkpzMAOZM
Questions to discuss How do you think we should take the Bible?
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Does the ‘pick and choose’ approach sound like a good idea? If not, then why not? If you think it is, then why? Do you think God would expect you to follow all of the rules in the Bible? Is it about laws and rules, or is it really about lifestyle and relationships? Or should it be all of these things? If a biblical law is against the law of the country, which should you follow? How does knowing that the Bible was written by many authors make you feel? How does knowing that the Bible has been translated many times over the years make you feel about it? How does Jesus’ coming affect some of the Old Testament laws? Do you think that makes some of them irrelevant or not?
Conclusion Your group’s minds might be boggling after all of this, so take a few moments to encourage them with this: Question to a theology scholar (reputedly the great 20th-century theologian Karl Barth)… ‘What is the deepest bit of theology you have discovered in your many years of studying?’
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Answer… ‘Jesus loves me; this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ Don’t forget that next week’s session is slightly different; make sure you have everything in place that you need to.
celloutlines
may 2013
celloutlines | week three (continued...)
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These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available each week from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/alove/resources
Summary of session As this week’s session is going be slightly different and could possibly involve a special guest/guests, use the welcome time to share some snacks or cake and drink so that everyone feels relaxed and is ready to chat! Make sure that you have some questions or ideas prepared to keep the discussion going just in case the young people don’t speak up much. Round off the session by summarising what you have all talked about, and by encouraging the young people to keep pondering these difficult questions and using all of the resources available to them to make sure that they don’t ever stop asking questions.
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may 2013
celloutlines | week four
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