Ready for Impact (10 minutes)
Catch up on how things have been since the last time your Impact Group met. Allow anyone new to introduce themselves. Then ask group members:
- How do you deal with things in life that feel unknown?
Ask for a volunteer to read Exodus 16:1-26 to the group, praying a short prayer that however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d get to know him better because of your time together.
Impacted by the Word (25 minutes)
Watch the first part of the video.
Download this video to watch offline or read the transcript here.
God’s people have just experienced God’s power at work to rescue them. They’ve been brought out of slavery in Egypt, away from the pressure of life under Pharoah. Now, God is leading them to the promised land where they can be free.
- As they wander in the desert, how do the Israelites look back on their slavery in Egypt?
- What strikes you about how God responds to his people’s grumbling?
- Imagine yourself as one of the Israelites. What would it have felt like to daily have to gather bread?
- Why do you think God only gave his people manna enough for one day? What do verses 4-8 reveal about what he wanted them to learn?
- What do you think was motivating the Israelites mentioned in verse 20?
Ask for a volunteer to read John 6:48-56, and then watch the second part of the video.
Download this video to watch offline or read the transcript here.
- Make a list of the similarities and difference between the manna in the wilderness and the kind of bread Jesus offers.
- How is the kind of bread Jesus offers better than the manna?
- It’s strange to hear Jesus asking us to ‘eat’ his flesh. What do you think Jesus means by this?
Just as the Israelites desperately needed bread to live, so we desperately need Jesus. To ‘eat’ him is to come to him and depend on him for forgiveness and eternal life that only he can provide.
- Given your current circumstances, where might God be inviting you to depend on Him for what you need?
Jesus’ imagery in John 6 – that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood (verse 51) – seems confusing and even gory. What is Jesus seeking to communicate through such an odd choice of words?
Throughout the chapter, Jesus moves the crowd’s focus from their physical hunger onto their deeper hunger for spiritual life. This is because it’s not ultimately physical but spiritual bread we need most. Jesus claims that he himself is that God-given spiritual bread (see verses 35, 48 and 51). Unlike the physical bread that God provided for his people in the wilderness, Jesus nourishes us for eternity (see verse 58).
Jesus emphasises that we receive his spiritual food through faith (see verses 40 and 47). ‘Eating’ him pictures the kind of faith response required.
Most Protestant Christians understand Jesus to be speaking metaphorically: we are to look to Jesus for eternal life in the same way a starving person looks to food to keep them physically alive. Some Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe Jesus is speaking more literally: that the bread and wine of communion are transformed into Jesus’ actual body and blood, or that Jesus infuses the bread and wine with his real presence. This seems unlikely, given Jesus’ words in verse 63: ‘the flesh counts for nothing.’ It’s probably better to think of eating bread and drinking wine at communion as symbolising the bond we have with Jesus our life-source.
Impacting our Hearts (15 minutes)
Jesus is the ultimate provision of ‘bread from heaven’. Jesus' provides for our greatest need as his body is literally broken at the cross. He faces God’s judgement in our place so that we can receive forgiveness. This means we can also depend on him day to day.
Even though this is true, we often act as if it’s not. We act as if we’re alone in the world and have to fend for ourselves.
- Can you identify areas of your life where you anxiously try to provide for yourself? (e.g. future plans, managing time, finances, deadlines and exams)
God gave the people manna for each day. Even though they hadn’t yet experienced it, he invited them to trust him for his grace tomorrow.
- How does what we’ve seen today give you confidence to trust God in the unknowns of tomorrow?
Spend some time responding as a group in prayer, letting go of the fear of self-provision, and trusting again that your Father in heaven will provide all you need.
Impacting the University (15 mins)
The invitation of Christianity is to know the ultimate provision of Jesus. We’re freed to experience the daily care of a Father who loves us.
If this were to characterise your group:
- What would the culture of your group feel like in times of stress and pressure?
- In what ways might this group look different to other societies or groups on campus?
- How could your group practically love and care for those around you, especially those who are anxious in the unknowns of life?
Spend some time praying for those in your life who you would love to hear more about Jesus.
Wrap-up – TACOS 🌮
Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life alongside one of you.
Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or just hanging out in the meantime!