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| EXPLORE THE BIBLE: (15 minutes) Hand out the colorful 3 x 5 cards and pens. Ask students to listen as you or another student reads the passage from Romans 12:1–8, slowly and deliberately. Ask students to jot down on their cards something that sticks out to them or a question that comes to mind. Hand out the Bibles and ask students to go through the passage again on their own, adding to the comments or questions on their cards. Divide into small groups for students to discuss what they wrote on their cards. Then come back together as a large group and continue the discussion. Share the following mini–lecture: This passage talks about being a “living sacrifice.” In Jesus’ time, sacrifices were mainly done with animals, although sometimes humans were sacrificed as well. Sacrifices were done for several reasons—the main one was to give praise and worship to God, or to pagan gods. It was a way to tell God you would give everything to him in appreciation for the things he would do for you. Another reason to give a sacrifice was to get rid of sins—people would kill the sacrificial animal or bird, and that would represent giving the sin to God. Once the sacrifice was given, the person would be cleansed from their wrongdoing—until they sinned again. When Jesus died on the cross, he was the sacrificial lamb who took on the sins of the whole world. No longer were animal sacrifices needed, because Jesus took on the sins of everyone. Paul uses the terminology here of sacrifices because it was something the people understood—sacrifices had been a part of their Jewish faith. He now asks them to present their own bodies as living sacrifices in appreciation for what God has done for them. One of the ways to give our body as a living sacrifice is to discover and use the gifts and abilities that God gave us. Continued... |
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