rbc Small Groups 9.16.12

Happy Monday, all!   We hope you all had an amazing weekend!  Tailgating was a little 'soggy' on Friday night, but we had fun anyway!   Saturday was no exception to the 'sogginess' either...We hope you took the time to spend with those that mean the most to you.  

Yesterday was yet another great time in Small Groups.    Where else might you see a fellow student mummified?   Or have some candy with a unique twist?  It was certainly a "Thriller"!  All was not without purpose, though.   Our lesson yesterday was about Lazaras being raised from the dead.    The opening activity involved a brief discussion about what a dead, decaying body looks like and the various stages it might go through.   (No worries - we didn't get graphic!) We wrapped a willing volunteer to illustrate the process by which one was buried in that time period.   It was amazing to later learn that Jesus raised a dead and decaying Lazaras from the dead!   What a tremendous way for us to see who Jesus was and is.    Who do you say Jesus is?   What does your life tell people about who Jesus is?   Often times we try and live in a way to make ourselves look good or successful.  Our goal should be to align ourselves with Jesus in all we do using caution to insure that we aren't letting 'life' get in the way.  

Have a great week and make it your goal to strive and live a life that exemplifies you know who Jesus is and what he has done for you!  

411 September 16

rbcstudents Small Groups 9.9.12

What a great Monday!  The weather was awesome over the weekend and today is looking very nice, as well.  We hope that you had an opportunity to spend some time outside enjoying it!     The weather isn't the only thing that was pretty amazing.  Small groups were once again an hour of fun-filled, jammed-packed, getting to know God's word action!   

The lesson was Chapter 24 of The Story which continues with the many miracles and teachings of Jesus.   The hour started with an illustration of the feeding of 5,000.   It's a familiar story of Jesus taking food from a boy and multiplying it so that it would feed the masses.   As a group, we enjoyed some bagels and gold fish as a result.    In the story, the boy gave all he had to Jesus.  Are you willing to give your all to him, as well?    This was simply one of the many accounts of Jesus' miracles.  In class we tried to list as many miracles as we could.   Seems the 11th grade boys came out on top with recalling 17 of them!  (Well done, boys... you must have an amazing teacher?!)  In small groups we also studied the Lord's prayer.  This is a prayer many of us know, but are we truly praying AND forgiving?   Jesus teaches us to forgive others and the heavenly Father will forgive us.  Gossip, jealousy, revenge and bitterness are all toxic products of the lack of forgiveness.  The Lord's prayer can be found in Matthew 6.   Challenge yourself to commit it to memory and when you pray, do so with a forgiving heart.  

Have a great week~  

411 September 9

rbcstudents Small Groups 9.2.12

We hope you were able to rest and relax over the long Labor Day weekend.  Small Groups were full of energy on Sunday.   The hour opened with an activity to get the minds (and feet) moving!   It was a trivia game of "Who Am I?" which provided to be quite interesting by identifying football players, baseball players, pop singers and even TV sitcom accountants.  The goal was to tie into the lesson about John the Baptist and Jesus...about knowing who each was.  

In our Small Groups, we discussed many things about John the Baptist and Jesus.  We learned that Jesus went to John to be baptized, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and that Jesus performed many, many miracles.   We were introduced to the twelve disciples who were selected by him to go and preach His word.   This really is the beginning of Jesus' Ministry.  While this week contained a lot of information, we hope that you have an even better understanding of Jesus and who He really is, what he is capable of and how he can impact your life if you simply seek to have a relationship with Him.   

Have you seen miracles in your own life?   They may not be the turning of water into wine or multiplying the fish and loaves to feed a multitude, rather the small stuff that we take for granted.  Challenge yourself this week to look for the small miracles that you are blessed with.  In doing so, it will help you to appreciate more of who Jesus really is.   

Have a great week!   

411 September 2