Mark Wk 6

Series Big Idea: Who is Jesus, and who are we because of Him?

Today’s Big Idea: Religion vs. Relationship With Jesus

Leader Reminders:

· Consider fasting on behalf of your students this week. Give up a meal, and use that time to pray and seek God on their behalf. Let your hunger be a reminder of their need for Jesus. Ask God for alignment with His heart for these students. Ask for discernment and wisdom that would help you in discipling them. Let it be a time of thanksgiving and praise to God, not a badge of honor for yourself.

· Look for opportunities to give students in your group a chance to step into leadership. Let a student lead the ice breaker time. Give another the chance to ask some of the questions. Let them have input on decisions about the group. Eventually, you want these students to be disciple-makers! To do that, they need practice! Eventually, you want them to be able to lead this type of study on their own with a group at school or at college. Even middle schoolers can lead!

Starter Activity:

• As you are doing your ice breakers today, give students each a piece of paper and some crayons. Have them draw a picture of a heart, and write words that describe what a disciple of Jesus should look like. [Youth Pastor Note: Provide white paper and crayons for your small group leaders to use with their groups, or ask them to bring enough for their group in advance.]

Ice Breakers:

• Highs, lows, prayer request

Starter Questions: Start your group in prayer. Have a student pray!

· How many clean freaks do I have? How many of you are super messy? Tell everyone about a time when you found some food or dirty dishes that had gotten moldy! Who has the best story?

Say This:Today, we are going to study what dirty dishes and the heart that you drew have to do with Jesus!

Digging into the Word: Have a student read Mark 7:1–23

Mark 7:1–23 NIV

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

· Can someone paraphrase what just happened in Mark? That might have been a little confusing. What was going on here and who was involved?

· What was Jesus’ point about washing their hands? Obviously they didn’t know about germs back then! But what was His point?

· What is the difference between religion and a relationship with Jesus? How might it seem easier to be religious than it is to have a relationship with Jesus?

· How have religions caused problems in the world?

· How can we have a clean heart?

· What does a relationship with God actually look like? God is invisible! Give examples from your life or a Christian that you look up to.

· How is the Gospel different from a “follow the rules and do good works” approach to life?

Now pick a student to read Romans 3:10, 21–26.

Romans 3:10 NIV

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;

Romans 3:21–26 NIV

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

· What does Romans 3:10 say about hypocrisy? Who does it say can live a fully consistent life?

· But what does Romans 3:21–26 say?

· How does religion set us up to be hypocritical as Christians?

· Why did Jesus clash with the Pharisees so much in the four Gospel accounts? Why was He always warning His disciples about the Pharisees more than about the pagans?

Wrapping it Up:

Application Questions:

· Is your tendency to be more like the Pharisees (religious) or the pagans (irreligious)? Why?

· What evil things in your heart most often make their way out?

· How are you most hypocritical? [Leader Note: Share how you are after everyone else has.]

· What does this story tell us about who Jesus is?

· What does God want you to change about the way you think in light of both this account and the Gospel message?

· How is the foundation of your identity starting to change through this study? Who are we because of Jesus?

· What is something you can do this week to invest in a relationship with Jesus, and not just add another badge to your religious collection?

Abide Activity: Have your students spend 5 minutes alone with Jesus and read James 1:22–25. Encourage them to journal on the other side of their paper they made with the heart.

Challenge: Encourage students to continue using “The Other Six” to build their relationship with Jesus. Remind them that this is not doing the right religious thing, but spending time in the presence of God.

Prayer Partners: Let your students decide how to end in prayer today. As a group, popcorn prayer, in partners, individually, etc.

Stay Connected: Text each student individually later in the week just to say, “Hey! What’s up? How has your week been?” Show your students you care about them as a person and don’t have an agenda. Also, post the follow-up social media graphic and devo for the week so your students see it!