Golgotha :: Father forgive them.

• Use the lead app to check in students and make sure any students not listed fill out a connect card digitally.

• Do not move on until check-in has happened and any students not listed have filled out a connect card.

• Take a moment to check in from last week: Follow up with any questions they might have had with “What’s up with evil?”

• Have everybody in the group share their favorite (Leaders choice).

• Ask “What does Golgotha mean?”

  • The Skull

    • This hill was used for crucifixions. Mainly because it was right outside the city walls where many people would have passed through to see Jesus.

• Ask the students “Does forgiveness come easy or hard to you?”

  • Leaders: Answer this question yourselves as well

• Have a student read Matthew 5:21-24 in group.

  • What are some things that stood out to you in this passage?

• Ask “How does it change the way you view forgiveness knowing the lengths Jesus went through to forgive you?”

• What does it mean to you when you hear “Jesus bled forgiveness?”

• The son of God has chosen to forgive each of us for each and every sin we commit. Every drop of blood He shed was there to tell us, “You have hurt me, You have wronged me, but I forgive you and I love you.”

  • Ask, “Does that seem like something you could say to someone?”

    • Leaders: Make it clear that if they are in an abusive situation, forgiveness doesn’t mean staying in that. They can and should get out of the situation but even though that, they are still called to forgive because Christ forgave us.

• Ask the students “Do you have that person in mind that you need to forgive or ask for forgiveness from?”

  • Does it need to be someone you forgive face to face?

  • We know we are asking a lot here. It is incredibly difficult to walk up to someone who has wronged you and tell them that you forgive them.

    • The first step might be just to get to a place of actually forgiving them in your heart.

• Encourage them this week to take some sort of action step towards forgiveness. 

  • Maybe it is just starting in their heart.

  • Maybe it’s time to talk to that person face to face and tell them that you forgave them.

  • Maybe it’s time to share Jesus with them and tell them that the way that forgiveness is possible is through Him.

• Whatever it is, point them towards their next step and follow up next week.

• Pray as a group.

We will know we have hit our target if:

-Everyone understands the weight of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

-Everyone leaves with action steps towards forgiveness.

-The students feel seen and heard from their leaders..