FOR USE IN GROUPS

If you would like to use this in a group setting, there is a leaders guide/appendix at the end of the book. I can also provide the pdf file of the leaders guide and other helpful materials as well.

In general, it works best if one leader begins the session by telling the story in their own words - except for the direct Bible quotes. If you have a projector available, I can send you the power point slides which contain these specific scriptures. They serve as both an outline and a visual tool to let others see that you are not making up the story! I can also send you the pdf version of all the stories. Each story can be printed on one page, front to back, and given to the group. It also contains the discussion questions. Newcomers can take this home and review the story even if you don't have a book to give them.

After the story is told, the larger group can split up into smaller discussion groups - using the follow-up questions provided. Feel free to add your own questions to adjust to your specific group.

Here is an example of the leaders guide/appendix from chapter four. It is mostly designed to help people answer the discussion questions - since not everyone is going to automatically know where I'm going with each question.

1. Who was Nicodemus? He was a Pharisee – one of the main parties of religious rulers who placed a great deal of emphasis on obeying both the laws in the Old Testament, but also a lot of laws not in the Bible. Why do you think he wanted to talk to Jesus alone? This is an opinion-based question, really. He probably didn’t feel free to talk to Jesus in public for fear of other Pharisees.

2. What did Jesus say that confused Nicodemus so much? “You must be born again” was the main thing that confused him. What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “You must be born again?” It means that we are so dead in our sin that what needs to happen to us spiritually is the equivalent of a new birth. We can’t rely on working harder or getting better. Jesus is also telling him that he can no longer trust in anything that he has known previously. Everything has to start over and it begins with Jesus being in charge.

3. Who was Moses? What are the main things that Moses is known for? He was God’s chosen leader to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. He led them across the Red Sea on dry ground as Pharaoh’s armies were pursuing them. God gave Israel the Ten Commandments through him.

4. Even after God delivered the people of Israel from Egypt by sending ten disasters and the miracle of walking across the Red Sea, they still had times of disobeying God. How do you think could they possibly do that? Possibilities: 1. They forgot what God did. 2. They panicked when things didn’t seem to be going well. 3. Temptations were just too strong. There are other possibilities, but it basically comes down to the fact that we are sinful. Throughout Israel’s history this continued to happen even though God led them to the Promised Land. Israel’s history in the Old Testament is proof of man’s sinfulness and that fact that we can’t be saved by obeying the law. No matter how hard we try, we always eventually fail.

5. Imagine that you were an Israelite during this time. After the bronze snake had been made and put on a pole, would you still be afraid of the snakes? Why or why not? This is an open-ended question designed for your personal reflection. Personally, I would probably still be afraid of them because I don’t like snakes. After all, they’re still poisonous snakes. However, the amount of peace I could have would be in direction proportion to the amount of faith in God’s promise to heal me if I were bitten. If I had trouble believing God, I would be paranoid and extremely fearful.

6. What does it mean to trust in Jesus to be forgiven instead of trusting in your own goodness? For Nicodemus to be forgiven for his sin, he must give up hope of ever being good enough to earn salvation by obeying religious laws. The law was given to us as a mirror that reveals our sin – not as a means to save ourselves. When we acknowledge our sin before God and express faith that Jesus died for our sin, we are trusting in Him instead of our own goodness. We aren’t telling God that we deserve Heaven because of our good works. As Ephesians 2:8-9 makes clear, we can never earn our way to God. We must simply trust God with our lives and believe that Jesus paid the price of our sin.