Mark Ashton - Jesus Greatest Moments: The Week That Changed Everything

What would you do if you knew you had only one week to live? How would you relate to others? Set your affairs in order? What would you want to pass on as your legacy to the generations to comesomething worth living for and dying for? How would you spend that precious last week?

There is a final week of one mans life that stands out in all world history. A single week that has caused people to change life direction, leave jobs, give up habits, reconcile relationships, and fall on their faces in worship. A week that has caused the rising and falling of empires. A week that has breathed new life into weary souls. A week about which more songs have been sung, more celebrations have been thrown, more poems have been read, and more books have been written than any other single week.

What week is this? The last week of Jesus earthly life. Even the eyewitnesses of Jesus life knew the pivotal nature of this week. In fact, the writers Matthew, Mark, and Luke devote one-third of their reports to Jesus final week, while John commits half of his account to this series of events.

If there is any week thats worthy of study, its this one. This discussion guide is devoted to making the events and the meaning behind these events clear and understandable. Youll see Jesus grand entrance into Jerusalem, feel the horror and disappointment of his betrayal by a friend, and discover how he was framed by the religious leaders. Youll watch the unfolding reasons for his deathand his compelling comeback! And youll be astounded by his startling impact not only on the people directly around him, but on the world.

Many groups have found that Lent (the forty days preceding Easter) is the perfect time to study Jesus last weekespecially since the discussion can walk hand-in-hand with church celebrations. (For a quick overview of Lent, read What Exactly Is Lent, Anyway? following this introduction.)

However, you dont have to wait until Lent to use this guide. It works well any time of year. Even better, its designed to be friendly to all kinds of peoplechurched or unchurched, with great knowledge or little knowledge of the Bible.

In this guide, every discussion begins with an Icebreakera question or two that will stimulate your thoughts and also make it easy for you to share your ideas and opinions, even with people you may not know very well or at all. Youll read words from the Bible that reveal the purpose of Jesus last week on earth and then have the opportunity to discuss them with others. Each topic ends with a Reality Checka few questions that will help you apply what youve learned to your own life. And you also wont want to miss the poignant message of Weighing Xs and Os.

As you find answers for your own life, youll get a bonus too. Youll not only see for yourself the powerful events of Jesus greatest moments, youll also discover fascinating things about Jesus himselfand the way he responded to people. People in all parts of their spiritual journey. People like you and me.

The key to remember is that anyone can learn from the greatest leader in history. Theres only one requirement: that you believe the final week of Jesus life is worth discussing.

In addition, discussing this guide as a group is a great way to build relationships with neighbors, coworkers, and friends. It can also help people make good on commitments and practices to grow toward God.

As you walk through this guide and meet its engaging charactersPeter, Pilate, Mary, the guards, the criminals, and, of course, Jesusmay you have the same deep and profound spiritual experience that has marked the lives of millions.