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Series: Switch Title: a Pottery Class Text: Jeremiah 18:1-6, Mark 8:34-36 ______

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Series: Switch Title: a Pottery Class Text: Jeremiah 18:1-6, Mark 8:34-36 ______ Series: Switch Title: A Pottery Class Text: Jeremiah 18:1-6, Mark 8:34-36 ______________________________________________________________________ Leader note: This Message Guide is intended to help you facilitate discussion with your Grace Group. You can use the guide exactly as it is, ignore some of it, or add to it. We hope you view this guide as a flexible teaching tool, and not a rigid teaching task. Development Leader note: In one of your group meetings, please try to develop another group member by giving them some part of the responsibility within the group. This may be a person who is on your radar for leadership in the future, but invest in them a little at time. Announcements Easter RSVP - Be sure to RSVP for one of our eight Easter services for you, your family, and guests at gracefellowship.cc/easter. Welcome & Icebreaker What is the funniest sign you have ever seen? What about the church sign that read, “Whoever stole our AC unit, keep it, it’s hot where you’re going!” Action Step Follow-up Ask your group members how it went as they took a deeper look at Jesus (switched back to him) over the last week. Biblical Teaching Read Jeremiah 18:1-6. In this passage, God is using his prophet Jeremiah to warn Judah of impending wrath should the people not repent and turn to God. God commands Jeremiah to visit the potter’s house and see his work. The potter has power over the clay and through working it, makes it useful. Much like God has power over us and will make us useful if we yield to his ways. 1. There is always tension about who is in control. We all want to be in control, especially related to our lives, our direction, our purpose, our actions. We want to be the potter, but we’re not. We’re the clay. Describe a time and situation in your life when you fought to be in control. 2. The clay has been marred. We are marred. We are not perfect. Are we ok with being the clay? Can we admit that we are marred? We need molded into something that has much more value and worth than before. Without the work of the potter on the clay, the clay is destroyed and of no value. Describe a situation in your past in which you knew for sure that God’s intent was to mold you. How did that feel? How did you know that it was God? !1 3. The potter takes a long time to form the clay. The process isn’t easy. Our society has taught us to want the quick fix and there really isn’t any. There isn’t any quick fix related to being shaped by God either. We have to trust Him which isn’t easy either. It’s uncomfortable. We don’t know what shape he’ll work us into. When we can’t see the future, we resist the unknown. In this scripture, Jeremiah, speaking to the nation of Israel, encourages the people to yield to the potter. We must yield. Describe a time in your life in which you yielded to the wishes of another. How did that turn out? Read Mark 8:34-36. Mark writes about the ministry of Jesus, probably 20-30 years after the crucifixion. He writes to the Christians in Rome to remind them of Jesus teachings. In this passage, Mark is telling the story of Jesus denying himself to fulfill the Father’s will. 4. Jesus uses the imagery of carrying the cross as complete submission. Criminals carried their own crosses toward their ultimate death. Complete submission isn’t easy, yet he knew that if we understood what carrying a cross portrayed then maybe we would give in and submit. He knew that what we would get would be life. Talk about a time when you were asked to submit to something, but didn’t want to. 5. Jesus wants us to lose our current life, in order to gain life through him. We can’t control our own destiny anyway. So, if we chose to yield and submit, we enter into the life that God ultimately has in store for us. Have you chosen your life path? Did you always want to do what you do and be the person you have become? (Leader note: Be careful to minister to group members who have regrets about their life. For some this is not an easy thing to think about or share.) 6. Read verses 35 and 36 again. Many of us have spent our entire life seeking to gain the things that the world thinks we should have: house, car, money, vacations, power, position, etc. Through God’s lens, these things are worthless, as they have no Kingdom value. Even with all these things, without Christ, we forfeit our soul. Describe the times in your life when this concept of losing your sinful, human life, became clearer as you make attempts to yield and submit to Christ. Action Step Pastor Tim said that for all of us, there are some pieces of this discussion that are harder to pay attention to than others. For you is it admitting that you are marred? Is it, resisting the quick fix? Or, is it, embracing the unknown? This week, give these questions significant time, thought and prayer. Digging Deeper For those group leaders who want to dig deeper into the subject of submission: Luke 14:25-34 - Jesus teaches about the cost of being a disciple. John 2 - Doing what Jesus tells you. Acts 21 - Paul demonstrates submission to Jewish custom. John 14 - Jesus demonstrates how to submit to the Father. 1 Corinthians 11 - Instructions related to choices. Care Please take time to listen to the needs of the group members and pray for one another. (Leader note: This is an important part of the group meeting. Resist the temptation to have this be an afterthought. The cares, hurts, struggles of your group members are very important.) !2.
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