The Gospel Project® for Adults

Leader Guide CSB, Unit 19, Session 6

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THE SAVIOR IS OUR SACRIFICE

SESSION OUTLINE

1. Jesus came to be the greater temple (John 2:13-22).
2. Jesus came to be the greater Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:6-8).
3. Jesus came to be the greater sacrifice (Heb. 10:1-10).

Background Passages: John 2; 1 Corinthians 5; Hebrews 10

WHAT WILL MY GROUP LEARN?

Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice to pay
for the sins of the world and bring people into relationship with God.

HOW WILL MY GROUP SEE CHRIST?

The Passover along with the temple
and its perpetual sacrifices revealed God's desire
to be with His people and the way they could be made right with Him.
These signs pointed to the greater way that God would restore people
to Himself through Christ. All who trust in Jesus's
once-for-all sacrifice are forgiven and made right with God forevermore.

HOW SHOULD MY GROUP RESPOND?

Because Jesus's sacrifice provides us with complete forgiveness
and acceptance by God, we live with assurance and gratitude,
obeying God's commands so we reflect our new identity in Christ.

GROUP TIME

INTRODUCTION

Click on the link or scan the QR code for a reproducible handout of this session's Scripture passages:

Setting:

Easter week is a vivid reminder of Jesus's purpose and work,
the reason why He was born into this world as a human being.
We focus on the cross and resurrection at Easter since
this week commemorates these key events in Jesus's life.
However, all the way back at His birth, the descriptions used
of Jesus pointed forward to the way His life would lead
to His sacrificial death. These descriptions also point back
to the Old Testament as many of the images that foreshadowed
His death were woven into the story of God from long ago
such as the temple and the sacrificial system.

Discuss:

• What is the biggest promise you've ever made,
• and what makes keeping that promise difficult at times?
• (wedding vows would be a prominent example,
  and these are hard to keep because we ar people who are prone
  to shifting emotions;
• difficult things happen that make it hard to keep our word;
• our sinful hearts make us desire to break our promises;
• life is long and it's hard to stay true
  to what we've said over a long period of time)

Transition:

It's hard to imagine the faithfulness of God
because we struggle to keep our promises. But while
our promises may last a few decades at the most,
God's redemptive story started in the garden of Eden,
and God began a process that would come to fruition
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesus was the promised answer
to God's eternal plan, and this plan would run
all the way through a cross and an empty tomb. This week,
we will consider three major images the Bible's authors
used to describe Jesus as He began His ministry
and show why they matter for us this Easter.