Session 1:

ONE LIFE

PREPARATION

As you prepare for this first session, read through the description of each activity and discussion and familiarize yourself with it. You might wish to mark pages in the journal and the relevant passages that you will discuss, so that you can locate them easily. View the video for this session in advance, making note of important points that you want to discuss with the group.

There are a few materials that you need to gather beforehand. First, each member of your group will need a copy of ONE Journal. If everyone does not already have their copy, bring enough copies for each person. They will take these home and bring them back during each week of the ONE Curriculum. It may also be a good idea to have a couple of extra copies on hand in case someone forgets his or her journal.

Second, bring a supply of pens or pencils, enough for each person in your group to have one. They will use these to write or draw in their journals during the session.

Finally, you may wish to have a few Bibles on hand in case you want to refer to specific passages. Usually, the passages that you work with directly will be printed in the ONE Journal, but you may find that you wish to look up others as well.

Arrive to the meeting area early to set up the video for viewing. Greet your fellow group members as they arrive, and start on time.

STARTING OUT

(5 minutes)

God has created humans to exist in relationship with one another. That idea is central to this study, which is designed to guide and reinforce the formation of relationships among members of your small group. That has to start on day one with all of you getting to know one another. Each participant in your group comes from a different background and has a different story. In order to break the ice and begin to build strong connections among yourselves, take time to ask one another the questions under the "Starting Out" section of the journal on page 20. The questions are printed here also for your reference:

1. What is your name? Where are you from? What would you like to share about your family or home life?

2. What do you hope to accomplish by being a part of this ONE study?

Ask all participants to turn to page 20, and read the two questions out loud. Ask for a volunteer to respond, and move clockwise until the entire group has had a chance to answer.

Allow plenty of time for this; don't rush it. This is not a beginning activity that must be done before the "real work" can begin. The real work begins right here! Remind the group to listen actively to one another. As the group leader, it's important that you model this behavior. Make a note of each person's responses, and ask one or two follow-up questions where appropriate.

THE THREE QUESTIONS

(10 minutes)

After you complete the "Starting Out" section, turn to the Three Questions. You'll ask and answer the Three Questions at the beginning of each week's meeting. Here they are:

1. What are you grateful for?

2. What are you anxious about?

3. What are you learning?

Each person in your group will answer one or more of these questions every week. A key goal of this curriculum is to get you all talking — really talking — about your spiritual lives. These three questions give you some common vocabulary for doing that, sharing more than surface-level details and asking about what's going on in your inner life. For more information on the Three Questions, turn to page 33 in the journal and read the section entitled "A Word About Those Three Questions."

Ask your group members to turn to page 21 in the student journal. Ask a volunteer to read the Three Questions out loud. Explain to the group that you all will begin each class meeting with the Three Questions. Remind them how important this will be to help you begin to develop deep relationships.

Invite all group participants to answer one of the Three Questions, using one of the methods below to help you determine which question to answer.

Method 1: Choose one person in the group to begin, and ask him or her one of the Three Questions (you as the leader choose which question). After he or she has responded, that person will choose the next person, asking him or her another of the Three Questions (the first person will choose which question). Then that person will choose the next person and the next question. Continue in this manner until everyone has responded, with you as the leader answering last.

Method 2: Print the Three Questions on small slips of paper and put them into a hat or bowl. Beginning with a volunteer, ask each person to select one piece of paper from the hat or bowl and answer the question on it. Then proceed counter-clockwise until the whole group has responded.

Method 3: Begin with a volunteer, who will choose which of the three questions to answer. Proceed counter-clockwise until the whole group has responded to one of the question, with each person deciding for himself or herself which question to answer.

As the group leader, it's up to you to set the tone for this practice each week. It might not happen right away, but it's important that you all take these questions seriously as an occasion to open your spiritual lives toward one another. As you continue over the next several weeks, ideally you will see individuals grow more comfortable with these questions and give deeper, more thoughtful answers.

WATCH THE VIDEO

(18 minutes)

To serve as a transition into the rest of this week's discussion, play the video titled "One Life." Ask the following questions for group discussion:

Ask: In your experience, are your favorite moments connected to your favorite people? Give an example or two that come to your mind.

Ask: In the video, Nick mentioned that God is Trinity. What does this say about relationships and the image of God?

Ask: How does this change your understanding of the role of relationships with other people in your own faith life?

STUDY THE SCRIPTURES

(15 minutes)

Ask group members to turn to page 22 in the journal. Explain that you will spend a few minutes reading over the two passages, Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37. Invite group members to make notes on these passages in the space provided, using the following questions as prompts (these are also printed in the journal):

1. What parts of the community described in these verses do you find attractive? Why?

2. What characteristics of these early believers do you find the same in each passage?

3. What does it means to live in community with "one heart and mind"?

4. What makes this type of community so elusive in our culture today?

Allow seven or eight minutes for members to read and respond individually in the journal. Then discuss these four questions as a group.

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