Judah Smith - Life Is _____ Bible Study Guide: Gods Illogical Love Will Change Your Existence

2015 by Judah Smith

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any mans electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written consent of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-718-03071-1

ISBN 978-0-718-03072-8 (eBook)

First Printing December 2014

CONTENTS

Life Is _____.

How would you fill in that blank?

Several years ago, our church launched a campaign to get our city of Seattle to think about Jesus. We put a similar phrase, Jesus Is _____, on billboards, bus signs, and bumper magnets. We invited people to fill in the blank for themselves on our website, jesus-is. org.

Thousands of responses came in. The answers reflected what the people of Seattle thought about God and where they were on their spiritual journeys.

Thinking about who Jesus is led me to the premise of this book: we can live life to the fullest only through Jesus.

We all ask questions about the meaning of our lives, what we are here for, and what is truly important. We all have our own answers to those questions. For me, it all comes back to Jesus. He is the perfect example of a life well lived, and he is the source of authentic, refreshing, satisfying life for us.

The goal of this small-group study is to help you find fulfillment in life by looking at what God says about it in the Bible. Small groups are a great place to go through the material in the Life Is _____ book, this study guide, and the videos. To this end, the following will provide you with a few ideas on how to most effectively organize and facilitate your group time.

Group Size

The Life Is _____ video curriculum is designed to be experienced in a group setting such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any small group gathering. After viewing the video together, members will participate in a group discussion. Ideally, this group should be between five and fifteen people. If your group is much larger, consider breaking into two or more groups.

Materials Needed

Each participant should have his or her own study guide, which includes video teaching questions, small group discussion questions, and daily personal studies to deepen learning between sessions.

Facilitation

Each group should have a facilitator who is responsible for starting the video and for keeping track of time during discussions and activities. Facilitators may also read questions aloud and monitor discussions, inviting the group to respond and ensuring that everyone has a chance to participate.

Between-Sessions Personal Study

During the week, you can maximize the impact of the course with the daily personal studies provided. For each video session, there are five short studies with accompanying questions that will help you think about and apply that weeks topic to your life.

Each study can be completed in about twenty minutes. The studies are personal and devotional in nature, so feel free to utilize them in whatever way works best for you and your schedule. You may wish to read one each day or complete the entire week in one sitting.

If you are unable to finish your between-sessions study, still attend the group study video session! We are all busy and life happens. You are still wanted and welcome at class, even if you dont have your homework done.

Ebook Instructions

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to check-mark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

Welcome

Welcome to the first session of Life Is _____. For the next six weeks, you will be exploring with your group how to find true fulfillment and significance in life.

During this first week, you will discover with your group how life is... to be loved by God. Being aware of Gods love is foundational for everything we do in life. It is a truth that will change your perspective about yourself, about others, and about life itself.

Whether you have been following Jesus for years or arent even sure God exists, you are welcome on this journey. The group will provide a safe place for you to think, share, and ask questions as you work through the topics. It will provide a place where you can belong, no matter what stage of the journey you are on. Its going to be an amazing few weeks.

As we begin today, find someone near you a friend or maybe someone youve never met before and ask each other the following questions:

Have you ever been lost before? Describe the event briefly.

How did you feel when you realized you were lost?

How did you feel when you finally found your way?

Video Teaching

The following are a few key thoughts to note as you watch session one of the video. Use the space provided to jot down personal observations or applications.

Love is the major theme of this life and our existence. And not just any love, but Gods love for you and for me. Our significance and our identity can be summed up in the word love.

[ Your Notes ]

Life starts not with our love but with us being loved with us discovering how much God loves us.

[ Your Notes ]

In John 3:16 we read, God so loved the world (NIV). That includes bad people. In fact, God is obsessed with evil, sinful, bad people. His love for us is passionate and even illogical. He loves us whether we recognize and reciprocate his love or not.

[ Your Notes ]

Love finds its maximum expression in Jesus. Jesus died for us at the chance at the mere possibility that we would accept him. God gave Jesus to us with no strings attached and with no guarantees. This is how risky and ridiculous Gods love for humanity is.

[ Your Notes ]

Life begins with us realizing the value we have before God. He is obsessed with us. He knows every detail and every nook and cranny of our lives.

[ Your Notes ]

The story of Hosea and Gomer in the Old Testament is one of the most beautiful and scandalous pictures of what God has done for humanity. It illustrates his shocking, relentless love for you and for me. We already belong to God, yet he paid to buy back what was already his and the price he paid was the life of his son, Jesus.

[ Your Notes ]

We find our value not in things, status, and influence, but in the fact that the most powerful being in the universe is completely obsessed with us. He desires for