February 10th draft

February 10

The Beginning!

Mark 1.29-34

“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Greetings! And welcome to the Broadus Sunday School Small Group Shuffle. You may know everyone in the room seated with you right now and feel very comfortable. But, you may also not know a single person in the room and feel a bit intimidated. This will be your small study group for the next 7 weeks—today through Easter Sunday, March 23.

We hope that two things happen in your group over the course of the next seven weeks. First, we hope that you get to know one another. Many of you would usually be meeting with a pretty familiar group of people at this exact moment. While you may know some or all of the people seated here, it’s obviously different. We hope you get to know one another and create a sense of community together. For that purpose, this week and each week, we encourage you to use the get-to-know-you questions to get to know each other. Each of you has something really special to share and a story to tell. Please be willing to share yourself with some folks who will share themselves with you. So, the first purpose is community formation. This is right in line with one of Broadus’ Core Values: forming authentic community.

Second, we hope that together you explore what discipleship means for Christians and specifically for Broadus. That’s a big subject obviously. Of all of the Core Values of Broadus, discipleship was the number one identified emphasis. Discipleship is also the general theme of our worship during Lent this year. Specifically, we are looking at Gospel stories in which Jesus sought out people or told stories of seeking and finding. Maybe you have a story of how someone found you or helped you. Maybe you have a story of how you were part of finding someone and helping someone. Maybe you have a story about how God found you just when you needed Him. These are stories that point to Jesus’ own actions to seek and find those who are lost. Where is that still happening in the world and how do disciples follow Jesus today?

Please take some time as you begin this morning to introduce yourselves to one another. You might want to answer some or all of these questions if you have time:

· When did you first come to Broadus? Where did you come from?

· Who else is in your family?

· What are you involved in with the church?

· What about outside the church—work, other organizations?

· What do you enjoy most about the church? (Besides your Sunday School class that you can’t meet with right now!)

Once you have finished those questions, let’s get started on today’s lesson. This is the first in a series of Bible Studies that parallel the emphasis in worship this morning. Since the beginning of January, we have been focused on the life of Christ and what his life means for our discipleship. This emphasis will continue through Easter. Starting this morning, we are going to look specifically at people Jesus intentionally sought out. Lots of people came to him and found him, but there were some people to whom Jesus made a bee-line. Who were they? What was their situation? What does it mean today for Jesus to make a bee-line for people? Who should we be seeking out today?

The Incarnation

Read John 1.1-14

Incarnation: “to enter into or become flesh”. It refers to the Christian doctrine that the pre-existent Son of God became man in Jesus. The term does not appear in the New Testament, but the elements of the doctrine are present.

When the Son of God became human, God came to all of us. This act of love was continued in his actions and stories in his life of God coming to us. We’ll be looking at some of these stories in this series. We start with what seems like a simple, pretty mundane story of a woman being healed from her sickness.

Please read aloud Mark 1.29-34

Then read it in its context Mark 1.16-39

Then read 1.29-34 again slowly.

Here are some questions to get you started:

In vs. 21-28, 29-31, and 32-34, Jesus heals many people. What do you notice in the stories?

· In the first and third, people seek out Jesus. In the second, Jesus goes to the sick.

· The first and third have high drama; story of Peter’s mother is simple little story

· As soon as the first disciples started following Jesus (v 20), they see Jesus healing people.

Notes on Peter’s mother in law:

Peter was married! (1 Corinthians 9.5)

The ‘fever’ is not specific. When Jesus touched her the fever ‘left her’. This is an aorist greek verb that implies an immediate cure, and this is underlined by her getting up and resuming her household duties.

Questions/

What is the sickest you have ever been? Who helped you during that time?

What conclusions do you imagine the disciples might have drawn from this early experience with Jesus?

What might this mean for disciples today?

See Matthew 8.14-17 (the parallel story)

Matthew quotes Isaiah 53.4. Please read Isaiah 53.1-9

Who does this sound like it’s talking about?

What does it mean for you that “he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”?

What are some ways we can incarnate the gospel to those who are sick and suffering today?

In what ways can the group pray for you this week?