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Leader Guide: Who is Jesus

This section is very important. Jesus is the essence of our faith, He is who we worship, and the center of all things.  Don’t assume the people you are doing this with know these things. We need to very clear on who Christ is and who he is not. We cannot undervalue who Christ is, his life and work, and his reign and rule. Our prayer as your group leaves this section, they will grow in their affections for Jesus.

Supply list

all printables can be found here / psd: feebies

  • Print: Foundations Workbook and Getting Started Guides
  • Print: Story of Scripture Printable
  • Print: Literary Genre printable
  • Colored pencils or Highlighters
  • Pens
  • Library Card pockets
  • Bibles

Conversation Starters

  • Is this statement true or false: Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.
  • In the State of Theology survey, 40% of participants said this was true. It is False: “The Son of God—whom we now know as the God-man Jesus Christ—is God and was in the beginning with God (John 1:1). He is from all eternity and has always existed according to His divine nature (John 8:58; Col. 1:19). Thus, the Son of God, according to His divine nature, is uncreated, and there has never been a time when He did not exist.”

Main Points

When you get below the surface, people are all over the map on who Christ is. This is really fundamental to the faith. If you go back through church history the early church fathers were very clear and there were severe consequences for heresy (belief or opinion contrary to biblical doctrine). But nowadays, many of these heresies exists among Christians as you can see from the State of Theology survey.

As you go through the truths to remember, is to consider what the false statement would be. That will give you an indication of what people might falsely believe!

Key Scripture

  • John 1

Truths to Remember

  1. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ
  • Write down on an index card the answer to this reflection question:  a time when you recently where you felt “condemnation” – that feeling of “I’m a failure, I messed up again, I’m stupid” feeling of disapproval from others or God?
  • Romans 8:1 together and highlight. Let these words wash over you: “But God tells us in his Word that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. That means if you are found in Christ, God does not disapprove of you. In fact, his response to you is just the opposite. God not only approves of you, he even counts you as righteous because of his Son.”- Trillia Newbell, If God is For Us

2. The gospel makes us ambassadors for Christ, with a new purpose

  • Look up and define the word “ambassador”
  • “..Because of God’s gospel work in you, you are on mission: to people in your work, school, neighborhood, and those in need. As everyday missionaries, God has sent us to live out his Great Commission in the ordinary, normal, all-too-busy, and even most mundane moments of our lives.” Ben Connelly
  • Make a list of all the places you are in a week. Work, neighborhood, school, gym, baseball field etc? Do you think of yourself as an ambassador for Christ when you are at these places?

3. Our sin does not define us, but leads us to Christ

  • In the Loved Bible activities, have the group insert the quote from Jeff Medders

4. In Christ, we have true freedom and power

  • In the Loved Bible activities, have the group insert the quote from Jeremy Treat.

5. Our relationship to Christ is the one that defines us

  • Discuss the following quote: Mary Anderson at The Village Church said, “Our identity is to be found in three callings: child, disciple, and ambassador. Initially, we enter into our God-given identity as a child of God by responding to faith in Christ. Just like as a child hopefully matures into adulthood with additional responsibilities and freedom, we likewise grow up into Christ as His disciple and further mature as His ambassador.”  As you leave today, pray about your identity as a child, disciple, and ambassador.

6. God made man and woman in His image – the Imago Dei

  • Read Genesis 1:25-27.  You will read that three times Scriptures states man is made in God’s image. God created man and woman to be in relationship with Him and to bear the image of God-the imago dei.  Underline the 3 times and write Imago Dei. We see that all things and all people were created by Him, therefore God is the only one who can define our identity. Since we were created in God’s image, we are to draw our identity from the triune God and reflect His image to the world. We are placed here to show the world what God is like by reflecting the character of God reminding people of His goodness, grace, justice, mercy, etc. Sin has corrupted this, but sin cannot destroy the image of God in people. Because every person who has lived was created by God in His image, all of human life is worthy of honor, respect, and love.

Follow up email:

After the workshop, send a follow up email with links.

Thank you for coming to the “Who is Jesus” section this week! As we mentioned during the workshop, Jesus is the essence of our faith, He is who we worship, and the center of all things. It is vital we know who he is, especially when someone asks us “Who is Jesus?”

Continue to read and highlight notes from the Biblical Overview and Truths to Remember. We encourage you to continue to dive deeper into knowing who Jesus is by exploring the below books, articles, and podcasts.

  •  “All 66 books point to Jesus”
    • https://lovedbibleproject.com/every-book-of-the-bible-is-about-jesus/
      • Write out the statements from J.D. Greear’s blog for example: On the title page of Genesis, write, “In Genesis, Jesus was the Word of God, creating the heavens and the earth.”
      • Create a bookmark with Jen Wilkin’s summary from Proclaim truth
      • Write out a card with J.A. Medders’ overview of each major section
  • Books If you would like to go deeper
    • The Good Portion: Christ by Jenny Reeves Manley
    • Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

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