Susan Robb - Seven Words Leader Guide: Listening to Christ from the Cross

SEVEN WORDS
LEADER GUIDE

SEVEN WORDS

LISTENING TO CHRIST
FROM THE CROSS

Seven Words
978-1-7910-0781-2
978-1-7910-0782-9 eBook

Seven Words: DVD
978-1-7910-0785-0

Seven Words: Leader Guide
978-1-7910-0783-6
978-1-7910-0784-3 eBook

LISTENING TO CHRIST
FROM THE CROSS

Susan Robb

Leader Guide
by Randy Horick

SEVEN WORDS
LISTENING TO CHRIST FROM THE CROSS
LEADER GUIDE

Copyright 2020 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37228-1306 or emailed to .

ISBN-13: 978-1-7910-0783-6

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org/

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In Seven Words: Listening to Christ from the Cross, Susan Robb invites readers to listen to the final words of Jesuss life in a new waya way that can be both challenging and empowering.

As the books title suggests, the Gospels record only seven utterances from Jesus during the six hours he spent on the cross. No individual Gospel, however, includes more than three of these utterances, and Matthew and Mark each mention only one. Thus, in reading the passion narrative of Jesuss arrest, suffering, and death from only one Gospel, readers are unable to consider the totality of Jesuss last words, and they may see them more as details in the story than as statements with richer meaning for our lives.

In the book, Robb shows that Jesuss words from the cross, taken together, allow us to see the broad arc of Jesuss ministry and teaching. They offer us an intimate portrait of Jesuss humanity and of his relationship to the Father. They contain a powerful display of forgiveness and offer a glimpse of the inclusiveness of Gods kingdom. They reveal that, even on the cross, Jesus teaches about the new kind of relationshipsfamilies defined by belief rather than bloodthat he has called into being. And they show us Jesuss understanding of, and faithfulness to, the mission that God gave him. Robb shows us how each of these last words connects to themes established earlier in Jesuss ministry, and she provides the scriptural context that gives readers a much deeper appreciation of what Jesus was really saying.

Most of all, she invites readers to lean in and listen not just to what Jesus is saying in response to those around him on that fateful day, but to each of us, here and nowand to hear how those words can bring us into more faithful, committed discipleship in our journey through Lent and beyond.

This Leader Guide is designed to help Christian adult education leaders guide a group through a six-session Lenten study of Jesuss final words, a study informed by Robbs book. The guide contains quotations from her book that can serve as prompts for discussion, but groups will gain the most when the guide is accompanied by reading both Seven Words and the Gospel narratives of Jesuss arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

Here is an overview of the six sessions in this Leader Guide:

introduces participants to Jesuss final words, how they are presented in the four Gospels, and what they reveal about Jesus when we examine them together rather than individually. The session also leads participants to avoid the temptation of skipping the pain of the cross to reach the joy and triumph of Easter, keeping us focused on the meaning of what Jesus said. In exploring Jesuss words, Father, Forgive Them, this session also will help participants place themselves at the scene, as co-conspirators in Jesuss crucifixion, making his appeal to God for radical forgiveness not just a one-time event but one offered on our behalf as well. The session will help participants understand that, as forgiven people, they are called to radical forgiveness.

In , participants will connect Jesuss experience on the cross to his temptation in the wilderness, pitting his human desire to be spared the cup of suffering against his faithfulness to the mission. The session also takes us behind the simple words of a criminal hanging next to Jesus to understand what he was really saying and what Jesus said to him in turn.

that form the title of the chapter to explore the fuller meaning of the scripture that Jesus quoted and its implications for our lives.

In , participants will explore what Jesus was really saying, not just to his mother and one of his disciples but to all of his followers, then and today. Then participants will consider how Jesus calls his disciples into a different kind of familyand how they should use that call to see relationships with others in a new way.

In , participants will go beyond Jesuss words to explore how he represented living water for those who are spiritually thirsty. They will also consider his words in the context of the message of the cross, when this source of living water was poured out for humankindand what it means for disciples to live into this example.

In , participants will consider Jesuss words not as a statement of surrender and defeat but one of faithfulness and triumph. In so doing, they will explore their own sense of mission as disciples and what it means to entrust their lives and spirit into Gods hands.

Each of the six session plans includes:

Stated goals to keep in mind as you lead discussions.

The printed text, from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), of the portion of Jesuss words from the cross discussed in that session. (Sessions contain additional scripture texts, as well, and all sessions refer participants to other passages in several discussion questions.)

Extensive discussion questions to facilitate participants engagement with both the biblical text and Seven Words. You likely wont have time or desire to use all of the questions; choose the ones most interesting and/or relevant to your group.

Opening and closing prayers to ground your sessions in an atmosphere of worship.

Some sessions contain optional, easy-to-prepare, and easy-to-do activities to serve as icebreakers or interactive introductions to the sessions topic. The use of a markerboard or flip chart is suggested for some of the discussions. Each sessions Suggested Leader Preparation section will alert you to any extra materials you need to gather or preparation you need to do.

May God, in great grace, use this guide and your groups study to draw you closer to the crossand closer to Jesuss words to you.

This sessions reading, discussion, reflection, and prayer will equip participants to:

Consider what Jesuss words from the cross mean when taken together rather than individually.

Resist the temptation to skip over the pain and shame of the Crucifixion story to focus on the joy of Easter.