CHAPTER 1
Session 1:
ONE LIFE
PREPARATION
As you prepare for this first session, read through the description of each activity and discussion and familiarize yourself with it. You might wish to mark pages in the journal and the relevant passages that you will discuss, so that you can locate them easily. View the video for this session in advance, making note of important points that you want to discuss with the group.
There are a few materials that you need to gather beforehand. First, each member of your group will need a copy of ONE Journal. If everyone does not already have their copy, bring enough copies for each person. They will take these home and bring them back during each week of the ONE Curriculum. It may also be a good idea to have a couple of extra copies on hand in case someone forgets his or her journal.
Second, bring a supply of pens or pencils, enough for each person in your group to have one. They will use these to write or draw in their journals during the session.
Finally, you may wish to have a few Bibles on hand in case you want to refer to specific passages. Usually, the passages that you work with directly will be printed in the ONE Journal, but you may find that you wish to look up others as well.
Arrive to the meeting area early to set up the video for viewing. Greet your fellow group members as they arrive, and start on time.
STARTING OUT
(5 minutes)
God has created humans to exist in relationship with one another. That idea is central to this study, which is designed to guide and reinforce the formation of relationships among members of your small group. That has to start on day one with all of you getting to know one another. Each participant in your group comes from a different background and has a different story. In order to break the ice and begin to build strong connections among yourselves, take time to ask one another the questions under the "Starting Out" section of the journal on page 20. The questions are printed here also for your reference:
1. What is your name? Where are you from? What would you like to share about your family or home life?
2. What do you hope to accomplish by being a part of this ONE study?
Ask all participants to turn to page 20, and read the two questions out loud. Ask for a volunteer to respond, and move clockwise until the entire group has had a chance to answer.
Allow plenty of time for this; don't rush it. This is not a beginning activity that must be done before the "real work" can begin. The real work begins right here! Remind the group to listen actively to one another. As the group leader, it's important that you model this behavior. Make a note of each person's responses, and ask one or two follow-up questions where appropriate.
THE THREE QUESTIONS
(10 minutes)
After you complete the "Starting Out" section, turn to the Three Questions. You'll ask and answer the Three Questions at the beginning of each week's meeting. Here they are:
1. What are you grateful for?
2. What are you anxious about?
3. What are you learning?
Each person in your group will answer one or more of these questions every week. A key goal of this curriculum is to get you all talking — really talking — about your spiritual lives. These three questions give you some common vocabulary for doing that, sharing more than surface-level details and asking about what's going on in your inner life. For more information on the Three Questions, turn to page 33 in the journal and read the section entitled "A Word About Those Three Questions."
Ask your group members to turn to page 21 in the student journal. Ask a volunteer to read the Three Questions out loud. Explain to the group that you all will begin each class meeting with the Three Questions. Remind them how important this will be to help you begin to develop deep relationships.
Invite all group participants to answer one of the Three Questions, using one of the methods below to help you determine which question to answer.
Method 1: Choose one person in the group to begin, and ask him or her one of the Three Questions (you as the leader choose which question). After he or she has responded, that person will choose the next person, asking him or her another of the Three Questions (the first person will choose which question). Then that person will choose the next person and the next question. Continue in this manner until everyone has responded, with you as the leader answering last.
Method 2: Print the Three Questions on small slips of paper and put them into a hat or bowl. Beginning with a volunteer, ask each person to select one piece of paper from the hat or bowl and answer the question on it. Then proceed counter-clockwise until the whole group has responded.
Method 3: Begin with a volunteer, who will choose which of the three questions to answer. Proceed counter-clockwise until the whole group has responded to one of the question, with each person deciding for himself or herself which question to answer.
As the group leader, it's up to you to set the tone for this practice each week. It might not happen right away, but it's important that you all take these questions seriously as an occasion to open your spiritual lives toward one another. As you continue over the next several weeks, ideally you will see individuals grow more comfortable with these questions and give deeper, more thoughtful answers.
WATCH THE VIDEO
(18 minutes)
To serve as a transition into the rest of this week's discussion, play the video titled "One Life." Ask the following questions for group discussion:
Ask: In your experience, are your favorite moments connected to your favorite people? Give an example or two that come to your mind.
Ask: In the video, Nick mentioned that God is Trinity. What does this say about relationships and the image of God?
Ask: How does this change your understanding of the role of relationships with other people in your own faith life?
STUDY THE SCRIPTURES
(15 minutes)
Ask group members to turn to page 22 in the journal. Explain that you will spend a few minutes reading over the two passages, Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37. Invite group members to make notes on these passages in the space provided, using the following questions as prompts (these are also printed in the journal):
1. What parts of the community described in these verses do you find attractive? Why?
2. What characteristics of these early believers do you find the same in each passage?
3. What does it means to live in community with "one heart and mind"?
4. What makes this type of community so elusive in our culture today?
Allow seven or eight minutes for members to read and respond individually in the journal. Then discuss these four questions as a group.
In answering the questions and leading the discussion, be sure to refer back to the relevant section on pages 11–14 in the journal. Remember, Luke is not only describing how this community lived but also saying something quite profound about who they were. By quoting Jeremiah 32 and Deuteronomy 15, Luke is declaring that this early group of Jesus followers was in fact the true covenant people of God. What identified them as such was their commitment to a shared life with one another.
A great place to steer the conversation is the question of whether or not we as the church today still use these same identifiers. Conclude this discussion with the following question:
In a highly individualistic society, what would we tend to say identifies us as the "people of God?" Would you say most church goers are committed to a community like we see in Acts 2 and 4? Why or why not?
THE ALLURE OF INDIVIDUALISM
(10 minutes)
Ask group members to turn to pages 25–28 in the journal, reminding them of the discussion on individualism on pages 15–16. Pay specific attention to the part about how individualism has influenced what we believe about salvation.
Ask group members to write or draw in the space provided the ways that individualism is evident in each of these areas of our lives: Family, Friendship, Workplace, and Faith Community. Using a watch to keep time, allow one minute for each area, for four minutes total. Even if members have more to write or draw, instruct them to move to the next area when the minute is up.
After this speed-brainstorming exercise, take time to discuss the following questions:
Ask: What did you discover about individualism in your own life through this exercise?
Ask: How does this compare with the picture of the early church in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37 that we just read and discussed?
Ask: What might our individualism be causing us to miss out on?
EXPERIENCING GOD TOGETHER
(15 minutes)
Ask group members to turn to pages 29–31 in the student journal. Ask them to read the three biblical passages that have been printed and consider the following question (this is also printed in the journal):
Ask: In each passage, what are some aspects of our life with God that we experience more fully together rather than on our own?
Allow seven or eight minutes for everyone to read, think, and make notes in the space provided in the journal. Then discuss the question.
Be sure to refer back to the examples given on pages 16-19 of the journal to help spark conversation around similar experiences each of you have had.
Conclude your discussion with the following question:
Ask: Based on your reading and our discussion, is a commitment to a shared life with other followers of Jesus something that is optional or is it essential? Why? Why is it important for us to wrap our brains around this notion of individualism at the very beginning of our time together?
ONE CHALLENGE
(5 minutes)
Relationships are organic, and therefore they must be birthed and sustained with intention. This week's challenge is for everyone in the group to spend some one-on-one time together with one other person in your group. Refer to the description of the challenge on page 32 of the student journal.
Instruct each group member to pair up with another group member, ensuring that everyone (including yourself) is a part of a pair. If there are an odd number of people, form one group of three. Group members should pair up with someone that they do not know very well. Two best friends, in other words, should not be in a pair together.
One way to form pairs is to assign each person a number and then write the numbers on little pieces of paper. Put the pieces of paper into a hat or bowl, then mix them up and draw two numbers out. Those people will be paired up. If two people are paired up who know each other well, simply put their numbers back and draw again. Repeat this process until everyone has been assigned a pair.
Allow a few minutes for the pairs to set a day and time for their one-on-one meeting and exchange contact information if they do not already have it.
CLOSE THE MEETING
(2 minutes)
Before everyone leaves, be sure to nail down the logistics of when and where you will meet next. Also, point everyone's attention to the week-long devotional starting on the page 33 of the student journal. There will be one of these each week that will either reinforce something you learned previously or prepare you for the following week's conversation.
Ask a volunteer to close with a prayer.
CHAPTER 2
Session 2:
ONE MIND
PREPARATION
Read through the description of each activity and discussion, and familiarize yourself with the session plan. If you will find it helpful, mark pages in the journal and the relevant passages that you will discuss. View the video for this session in advance, making note of important points that you want to discuss with the group.
Gather pens or pencils, extra copies of the journal, and Bibles to have on hand to assist you in the discussion.
Arrive to the meeting area early to set up the video for viewing, and be sure that you start the session right on time.
THE THREE QUESTIONS
(10 minutes)
This past week's daily devotional prepared you and the group to answer the first of the Three Questions. Remind everyone of the importance of the Three Questions, the importance of allowing plenty of time, and the importance of actively listening to and engaging one another's responses. Then begin your session by asking each participant the first question:
What are you grateful for?
Go around the room clockwise beginning with a volunteer, or proceed from one person to the next in alphabetical order based on first names. Alternatively, you as the leader can choose the first person to answer, then that person will choose the next person to answer. Proceed in that manner until everyone has answered. You as the leader will respond last.
It's important that you as the group leader model active listening as a part of this process. Ask questions for clarification or other follow-up questions. Comment on interesting points or what speaks to you.
Be sure, however, that the group moves from one person to the next in a timely manner. Try to ensure that you all spend the same amount of time on each person in the group.
ONE CHALLENGE FOLLOW-UP
(5 minutes)
After answering the first of the Three Questions, spend a few moments talking about the group's time connecting one-on-one during the past week. Check in briefly with each pair, asking where they met, for how long, and what they learned about the other person through this exercise. Decide as a group if this is something you want to continue doing throughout the study, or if you want to arrange a different schedule (such as every other week or once a month) based on time constraints. Meeting one-on-one with every group member can be a great way to move past a classroom feel to actually doing life with one another.
WATCH THE VIDEO
(18 Minutes)
Transition to the rest of this week's discussion by watching the video titled "One Mind." Then discuss the following questions as a group:
Ask: How have you observed the difference between a "crowd" and a "community"? What purpose or passion stands at the center of the communities that you have been a part of?
STUDY THE SCRIPTURES
(20 minutes)
Ask group members to turn to page 55 in the ONE Journal. Explain that you will spend a few minutes reading over the two passages, Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37. Invite group members to make notes on these passages in the space provided, using the following questions as prompts (these are also printed in the journal):
1. How would you describe the kind of connection among the believers that we see in these two passages?
2. Share a time when you have experienced this kind of connection with other people.
3. What words, phrases, or verses do you think best summarize the purpose around which the early church was gathered?
Allow seven or eight minutes for members to read and responding individually in the journal. Then discuss these three questions as a group.
In answering the questions and leading the discussion, be sure to refer to what was said on pages 43–48 of the journal.
Read this quote from page 46 of the journal out loud to the group:
"In Acts 4, Luke tells us that the apostles continued to testify to the Resurrection not just with words, but with great power. They didn't just tell people about what they had experienced. Their lives, both individually and communally, bore 'powerful witness' to Jesus' resurrection. The community of believers was the very place where the Kingdom of God was advancing, where heaven was crashing to earth."
Ask: If you asked most people what it means to go to church or be the church, how would their answer differ from this quote?
Ask: What does this have to say about the role and importance of our shared life in Christ?
Ask: Why would our relationships with one another be the very place where the kingdom of God is breaking in?
