Session 1:

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Here is a link to the pages for session 1.  Your part will be on page 11 (page 3 of the pdf file.)

Session 1 pdf file

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Here are the instructions (this picks up after the part where I will lead the students through pages 9 & 10:

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THEN, direct their attention to page 11 of their Student Books. Read or have a student read Isaiah 55:8–9. When they have finished, work through the questions on page 11 as a group. The answers are as follows:

• What does it mean that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts?

  • Answers will vary, but help students understand that God is “other.” The way He “thinks” isn’t the way we think. How He "decides" things isn't how we decide things. The entire framework God uses to see time and creation is completely different from ours. He’s not better or purer. He's other. He's in a completely different category.

• What do you understand verse 9 to be saying about God and us?

  • : God is helping us see this profound difference between Him and us by using a word picture. It's not a literal distance. It's a symbolic way for God to say, "Hey guys, we're nowhere close to being on the same level."

• If we were never able to know about God but still know of Him, how would this change the nature of our faith?

  • Answers will vary. But this would be odd. It would lead us to feel distant from God. We would know there WAS a God but not know His nature. This could lead to fear or anxiety or an overall lack of wanting to know Him.

• So, how do we know that God wants us to know Him?

  • Answers will vary, but this is kind of a fun question. Let students offer answers until no one seems to have anything different to say. Then transition to the wrap-up portion of your discussion.

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Session 2:

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Here is a link to the pages for session 1.  Your part will be on page 19 (again, page 3 of the pdf file.)

Session 2 pdf file

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I included Caleb and Annabelle and my parts just so you could see a little bit about how things will flow. 

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CALEB:

NEXT, read Philippians 2:8 and answer the questions below. Ask:

• What do you see in this verse that is unexpected?

  • Answers will vary, but the most unexpected thing has to be that Jesus, God Himself, humbled Himself even unto death on the cross for the payment of the sins of humankind.

• What is an example of someone you know humbling themselves to do something kind for someone else?

  • Encourage students to try to write something down.Anyone have anything they wrote or thought about?

• As if it were not already humbling enough to take on the form of a servant, Jesus, God Himself, went to the cross to die an innocent man. How could Jesus bear to do this?

  • Answers will vary, but we can only understand it in the context of Jesus’ love for us, which is where you’re headed with this lesson.

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• If Jesus is God, couldn’t He do anything He wanted? Who was He being obedient to?

  • : There are a few different ways to arrive at the same point. Essentially, Jesus was being obedient to His own plan. But in the role of the Son within the context of the incarnation, Jesus, the Son, was being obedient to the will of God, the Father. It's a mysterious and awesome thing to consider. But what we know is that Jesus had a choice, and He willingly chose to go to the cross to save us.

 

ANNABELLE:

THEN, read Philippians 2:9 and ask the questions on the page. Ask:

• What does “therefore” refer to?

  • : Because Jesus was obedient to God’s plan.

• In Paul’s picture he paints here, Jesus went from being the servant to being what?

  • : Exalted, honored above all else.

• But before He was exalted above everyone, what did Jesus’ obedient death and resurrection make possible for us?

  • : Life through faith in the person and work of Jesus.

 

MILES:

NEXT, read Philippians 2:10-11 and work through the questions below. Ask:

• What is the proper response to people when they see Jesus in His rightful place?

  • : Worship. That’s what Paul is saying here. Worship.

• There were people around Jesus when He was living on this earth who never saw Him for who he truly was. They only saw the humble carpenter’s son. What do you think their response was when they read words as Paul wrote here?

  • Answers will vary.

 

MONTY:

Explain that this passage shows us something truly unexpected: the lengths Jesus went to in order to save us from our sins. But point out that the most unexpected thing is why. Paul fleshes out the “why” pretty clearly in another passage. Direct your students to the 2nd Corinthians passage. Read or have a student read the passage. Then, ask the question underneath:

• What do you see in this verse that is unexpected?