Tim Brown - The Making of a Man Bible Study Guide: How Men and Boys Honor God and Live with Integrity

2014 Tim Brown

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

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

Author is represented by the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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

Scripture quotations marked NLT 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.

Names have been changed where indicated to protect the identities and privacy of those discussed in this book. Events and experiences are all true. Quoted conversations are not word-for-word transcripts but have been faithfully rendered as the author remembers them.

ISBN 978-0-529-11304-7

ISBN 978-0-529-11425-9 (eBook)

Cover design: Kristen Vasgaard

Cover photo: Tom Hussey, Tom Hussey Photography

Interior photo: paulista / Bigstock

Interior illustrations: Beth Shagene

Interior design: Beth Shagene

First Printing July 2014

Contents

GROUP SIZE

The Making of a Man 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 no larger than fifteen people. If the total number of participants in your group is much larger, consider breaking into two or more groups.

MATERIALS NEEDED

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

TIMING

There is enough material for each session to last an hour approximately 20 minutes for the video and 40 minutes for opening remarks, discussion, and closing prayer. If you have a longer meeting, you may wish to allow more time for discussion and activities.

SESSION FORMAT

Each session of the study guide includes the following group components:

Get Together an icebreaker question that relates to the session topic and invites input from every group member

Get Thinking the session video presentation with an outline of its key points for group members to follow along and take notes if they wish

Get Talking several group discussion questions based on the video presentation

Get Insight several more group discussion questions centering on Bible passages pertinent to the session topic

Get Going personal and/or group application activities designed to help group members interact with the sessions teachings in practical, spiritually-stretching ways

Additionally, each session concludes with a Between-Sessions Personal Study section that includes further Bible exploration as well as recommended reading from The Making of a Man book.

FACILITATION

Each group should appoint 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, prompting participants to respond and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

PERSONAL STUDY

You can maximize the impact of the course with additional study between the group sessions. Carving out about an hour per session for personal study should be adequate; though you can complete it all in one sitting, we recommend spreading it out over a few sittings to give yourself time to process what youre studying. If you are unable to finish (or even start!) your between-sessions study, still attend the group study video session! We are all busy and life happens.

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 checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

, the group is going to participate in an activity that requires a large bowl of water and identical books of matches for every group member but the facilitator. Designate one person to be responsible for bringing these supplies to the group meeting.

GET TOGETHER

If the men in your group are just meeting each other for the first time, be sure to go around the circle and introduce yourselves to each other. Have each group member complete the following icebreaker sentence:

As a boy, I wanted to grow up to be a [Your Response] , because [Your Response] .

GET THINKING

Watch the video for . Use the outline provided to note any thoughts or concepts that stand out to you.

NOTES

Tim Brown made the transition from being a Heisman Trophy college star to playing in the NFL. A 97-yard kickoff return in his first game boosted his confidence though he quickly discovered that the professional players he encountered were faster, stronger, and more talented than in college.

[Your Notes]

After his first season, Tim was named to the Pro Bowl as a kick returner. When he returned home, his parents welcomed him with a big banner across the porch to congratulate him. However, his mother told him to leave the big head outside and just be Timmy when he got inside!

[Your Notes]

We all have talents, but we need to use our skills and abilities for Gods glory, not our own.

[Your Notes]

Jesus told a parable about a man who gave his three servants bags of gold to use in his absence. The first two used theirs well to increase their masters wealth. The third one foolishly did nothing with the treasure entrusted to him. The point is clear: God wants us to use the talents He has given us and not hide them away.

[Your Notes]

You may think God cant use your abilities for Him, or you may not know what your God-given skills are. However, when youre in tune with God, and are reading the Bible and praying, youre in a position to get the answers you need.

[Your Notes]

You may not have the talents others have, but thats okay. Maybe you have the ability to listen well, or multitask, or find solutions to complex problems. God has entrusted you with those skills, and He wants you to use them for His glory.

[Your Notes]

I mean to make myself a man, and if I succeed in that, I shall succeed in everything else.

Attributed toPresident James A. Garfield