Owners: Who Is Jesus?

(5-8 minutes, easy setup)
Learners will personally consider the question, “Who is Jesus?”
Provide a dry erase board and markers. For more information on what world religions believe about Jesus, go to: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/who-is-jesus-according-to-other-religions/.

Ask: Who do people say Jesus is? Encourage learners to consider how non-believers would answer that question. As learners respond, write their responses on the board. Add to their responses some of these responses from world religions:

Jesus was a teacher.
Jesus was respected.
Jesus was able to perform miracles.
Jesus was a prophet.
Jesus was a Holy Man.
Jesus is a ‘god.’

Ask: What about these responses are incorrect? (Jesus was more than a prophet and a Holy Man. Jesus is not ‘a god’ but is the only unique Son of God.) What is missing from these responses that describes who Jesus really is? (Jesus is the Messiah who came to redeem the world; Jesus desires to have a relationship with us.) State that Jesus’ identify is not in question: He is God’s Son and the long-awaited Messiah. Say: What is at question is how do we respond to Him? As our Savior and Lord? Or as a good teacher and a good man who spoke about God? That question is the most important question we will ever face.

Divide learners into groups of three or four and lead them in praying in their groups with the following prompts (pause after each prompt for prayer):

With words and/or phrases, acknowledge who Jesus is.
With words and/or phrases, thank Jesus for being the long-awaited Messiah.
With words and/or phrases, acknowledge who Jesus is to you.

Close: Lord Jesus, forgive us when we fail to realize the enormity of what You’ve done for us. You are the Son of God, and our Messiah. We pray that we are worthy of all You’ve done. Amen.