Week 2 - Why did Jesus die?

*** Week Two Small Group Leader Notes click here

6:15 pm Prayer / Administration Meeting
7:00 pm Supper
7:40 pm Introduction/Welcome suggestions
<Joke>
7:50 pm Worship
8:00 pm Talk – Why Did Jesus Die? Introduction
8:45 pm Optional coffee break
9:00 pm Small Groups (start at 8:45, if no coffee break)
9:45 pm End (end at 9:30 pm if no coffee break)

6:15 pm Prayer / Administration Meeting

5-10 minutes	Worship: led by the Worship Leader or use a worship CD 2-3 songs of worship to prepare team
15- 20 minutes	Prayer Points: led by the Prayer Leader • Give thanks to God for the previous week • New guests and their group allocation • That last week’s guests would return and that the Holy Spirit would be working in their lives • That the small group discussions would be open and non-threatening
5 minutes	Announcements: led by the Course Administrator • There will be some new guests tonight that will be put into groups that were low in numbers the previous week and some new groups may start • There are nametags for you to give to the guests who return from last week • Please have your group members check the address list and add their email addresses • Make sure each guest has a copy of ‘Why Jesus?’ • The Alpha Weekend away will be mentioned tonight
5-10 minutes	Training tips: led by the Course Administrator • Please remember to leave convenient parking spaces free for the guests. • There may be some new guests, please keep an eye out for them. Remember to introduce the new people in your small groups. • Flexibility is key to the small groups this week. For the first three weeks you do not know where the discussion will go, it could go in any direction. It is most likely that in the first three weeks the discussion will at some point go towards the subject of suffering or other religions – but you cannot be certain. Please don’t decide beforehand where you want it to go, don’t try to ask questions designed to direct conversation and don’t try to force it. Even some of the best leaders get tempted… It is good to hear what the guests have to say and we can all learn from hearing others’ views, and these views should be affirmed that their opinion is valid. You will probably not know until Week 4 where the discussion will go. From Week 4 onwards guests talk about the talk. Weeks 1 to 3 they don’t want to talk about the talk – they come to talk about the things that they want to and we need to give them the space to do that. • You can start the discussion by asking ‘What did you think (or feel) about the content of the talk?’ • If the suffering question comes up, everyone will have a story to tell and it’s important to give everyone the chance to speak. Ideally, everyone should have contributed something to the discussion by the end of the evening. But do not call on anyone who is quiet, this could make them decide to not return in the future. One helper should choose to be as quiet as the most quiet guest. • Remember the booklets from Searching Issues on these topics. You can use them as a framework for your own answer or simply give them to members of the group who are struggling with these areas. • Give the team the dates for the weekend and the cost.

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7:00 pm Supper

7:40 pm Introduction/Welcome suggestions

Remember that it is always good to include a brief summary of what you covered in the previous week. You may like to follow something like the below…

“Good morning/evening and welcome. Thank you all for coming, and welcome to everyone, but especially to all those who are joining us for the first time.

Last week we were looking at who Jesus is. We only had a short time to look at some very important theological questions related to Jesus, and some of you might want to do more reading about this. There are three books that I would recommend. One is by C.S. Lewis, called Mere Christianity. This book has become a classic, and has been helpful to many people, especially if you are from a philosophical background. Others of you might want to look at a more theological book. I would suggest Basic Christianity by John Stott. It is also a classic. The third one I would like to recommend is by a Roman Catholic, G.K. Chesterton, it is called Orthodoxy.

(*Note: You can recommend other books that you think would be useful. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that the books that are recommended are available for the guests to purchase.)

Alpha is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, with each talk presenting a different piece of the puzzle. One part of the course is the Weekend Away. The Weekend/Day is coming up [provide the date/s]. It is a very important part of the course and it is a lot of fun. Please make note of this date on your calendar. We will give you more information about this next week.

(Note: Here is a link for more suggestions on ways to introduce and promote the Weekend Away)

If you are providing tapes, CD's or the option to check out a video of the previous weeks talks for those who missed what was discussed, that can be mentioned here.

Hosting Alpha can be a real challenge. One of the things I've found is key is to tell a joke every night. Now this fills me with dread as I am not a natural joke teller. Often I forget the punch line, or mention it at the wrong moment.

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<Joke> Which reminds me of another small detail... like the importance of typing in the correct email address!

There was this couple from Wisconsin who decided to go to Florida for a few days to thaw out during one particularly cold winter. Since both spouses worked, they had difficulty coordinating their schedules, so the decision was made to have the husband leave for Florida on a certain day, with the wife following him one day later. The man made it down to Florida and arrived at his hotel. Upon getting to his room, he decided to open his laptop and send his wife back in Wisconsin an email. However, he left off one letter in typing his wife's email address and sent the email off without realizing his error.

In another part of the country, a widow had just returned from the funeral of her husband, a pastor of many years who had been called to glory just a few days earlier. She decided to check her email because she was expecting to hear from her husband's relatives and friends. Upon reading the first email she let out a loud scream, fainted and fell to the floor.

The woman's son rushed into the room and found his mother on the floor. He glanced up at the computer screen and saw the following email message:

To My Loving Wife:

I've just been checked in. Everything has been prepared for your arrival here tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then.

Your Devoted Husband.

PS: Sure is hot down here!"

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7:50 pm Worship

Click here for worship considerations and a list of suggested songs.

8:00 pm Talk – Why did Jesus Die? Introduction

One course leader in Minnesota stood up to introduced this talk with a rope noose around his neck. He did not call attention to this until just before he sat down. There were several snickers and whispers in the audience.

Then he said, " Oh, I bet you think this noose looks a bit out of place hanging from my neck. No, I do not plan to go and hang myself after the talk tonight. I just think there is a lot in common with this noose and the crosses that many people like to wear as jewelry. Listen to the talk tonight and think about it."

Make sure that each guest that did not receive a “Why Jesus?” booklet last week receives one after the talk tonight. They may be at the registration table, on the tables or passed out in the small groups.

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8:45 pm Optional coffee break

9:00 pm Small Groups (start at 8:45, if no coffee break)

9:45 pm End (end at 9:30 pm if no coffee break)

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