Adult & All Age
For Adults and Young People
- Beforehand, read John 12.20-33. Read and print out a copy of the Bible study sheet for each group member. Click here for additional Bible notes.
- Gather interviews and profiles of celebrities from magazines and newspaper supplements, to use in the Explore section. Use an internet search engine to find and print a few images people have created of Jesus.
- In the session, read the Bible passage together, preferably from a Bible so the group can see what happened immediately before and after the events here. Look at the Bible notes and Make connections sections.
- Use this conversation spark to provoke first reactions from the group: What’s the difference between an A list celebrity, a Z list celebrity, and you?
- End with the Live in faith and Send out prayer items for the week.
Young people
- Encourage the group to respond to their discussion using one of the respond activities in the CYP Respond to the Word section. There is a specific activity for Young People which you may like to look at first.
Ideas for sermon preparation based on John 12.20-33
- For up-to-the-minute comment, see PostScript.
- The RAF teaches its personnel that ‘flexibility is the key to air power’. Flexibility is also a great asset for any of us to have and possibly the key to many things. Current thinking in management training similarly suggests that to be effective we must develop the capacity to move comfortably from one area of skill to another. A calling to follow Jesus is unsettling, it involves being prepared to change. Verses 24 to 26 of today’s Gospel are unequivocal: our fundamental instincts will be challenged and we will be called to be ever on the move. It is no coincidence that the disciples here, who are asked about seeing Jesus, are among those who were called fi rst: Andrew and Philip. What aspects of ‘following Christ’ do we find difficult?
- Cardinal Newman said ‘To live is to change; to be perfect is to have changed often’. We are all affected by the environment we find ourselves in and we must develop the capacity to adapt,nurturing the capacity to judge how we can bring life to a situation rather than seeking comfortably to fit in. A seed must develop roots as well as shoots.
- ‘Father, glorify your name’, we hear Jesus say in verse 28. How can we ‘glorify’ God in the twenty-first century? It has been suggested that we give glory to God by being what we are, when we need to be it.
- The image of shoots sprouting is particularly evident at this time of year. The renewal of the earth can challenge us to consider our own renewal. This organic metaphor of growth and development may be more accessible to some than the idea of a sudden conversion. Nevertheless, this passage is challenging. What is it about hating this life in order to inherit eternal life that sits uneasily with us? Is this statement the complete opposite of what Jesus says in John 10.10: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’?
- In a globalised economy, the question of who rules the world is once again topical. It certainly isn't kings; some would say that it is bankers rather than politicians; other might suggest that it is personal ambition or human greed. Do these suggestions connect more readily with the questions that Jesus is asking here? Those of us who might have been mistrustful of the language of spiritual warfare might see a different expression of this idea here.
Links to the story of Persephone
You will need: some wheat seeds (available from health stores); a tray of sprouted wheat grass (this could be left out if not prepared in advance); a storybook or downloaded version of the story of Persephone for children (see below for sources). If downloading a story, then search on the internet for suitable pictures to accompany the story.
Put the wheat grains in a bowl and hand them round so everyone can take one to hold and look at but don't say what they are. Explain that the tale of Persephone is a famous story from Ancient Greece. It would have been well known across the ancient world at the time of Jesus. Tell the story of Persephone with some projected pictures. Invite people to explain what the story of Persephone is trying to say. The story encompasses many themes – about life and death, the turning of the seasons, the role of memory, and growing and changing. Ask people if they can identify the seed in their hand. Show the wheat grass that has grown from the same seeds. Consider the story of Persephone and think about why Jesus used the grain of wheat metaphor in his teaching. Does this offer any insights into our faith? Is faith always the same or does it grow and change as we grow and change
For the Persephone story, beautifully illustrated see,
Persephone: A Journey from Winter to Spring , Sally Pomme Clayton and Virginia Lee, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2009, ISBN: 978-1845075330, available from Amazon.
Simpler versions can be downloaded from:
www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/religion/persephone.htm
www.greece.mrdonn.org/greekgods/demeter.html
Ideas for sermon preparation based on Hebrews 5.5-10
What is the distinctive nature of Jesus and how can we grow to be more like him?
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The author of Hebrews draws a very clear distinction between the appointment of Melchizedek and that of Jesus. The former is appointed by men, the latter is appointed by God. In a sense, therefore, we are invited to compare them and to discover the distinctive nature of Jesus: that which portrays God.
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It is helpful as we move nearer to Easter to look at ourselves and make similar comparisons. The nature of our calling, the commitment of our service, the relationship we enjoy with God. Perhaps we have to have the Easter courage of allowing the ‘crowd’ to join in the comparison; how do others see us? That which portrays God?
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What are the substantive differences between Jesus and ourselves? We are both rooted in and created by God. His life is one of perfect obedience; his obedience through suffering even to death, brings hope for all. What of our lives as disciples, how obedient are we? Will we endure suffering for the sake of the kingdom, what hope will others see reflected in our living?
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Jesus had the faith to enter his ministry knowing it would cost all he had to give, but only by so giving could he enter into the immeasurable fullness of God, and establish God’s kingdom for men and women. What offering do we make as we journey towards Easter? Does the suffering of Jesus help us understand the magnanimity of God’s New Covenant?
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If the Church is the ‘body of Christ’ does that not mean we have to live for the world as he did? The challenge of Easter is not simply to remember but to participate in his self-giving love. Not only do we worship one who has given us a pattern, we believe and practise that pattern in our own lives for the well-being of others.
Living faith
For discussion: Can we identify ways in which we give our own lives for the world? Is it realistic to demand this of ordinary people?
Children
Story for children based on John 12.20-33
An idea for presenting the story to children
Link to story
You will need: some gentle music (though not essential); some music and the means to play it.
- Invite the children to become seeds and to curl up as small as they can.
- Explain that they are buried in the ground.
- As you play the music, encourage the children to grow, to push through the soil and then to stretch as tall and as wide as they can. Ask them to stay where they are and listen to the story.
Talk about
After reading the Bible story to your group, use these discussion points.
Think about how you felt when you were rolled up in a tight ball.
- Did you feel safe? Could you see? Could you hear? Could you do anything?
- If we stay wrapped up in a ball we might feel safe, but we can’t grow.
- What do you need to help you to grow?
For very young children
Today’s activity offers a chance to explore what is involved in planting seeds.
You will need: gardening toys – buckets and spades, kneelers, watering can, wheelbarrow, fabric flowers or vegetables; some tiny plant pots; some sand and some dried peas to use as seeds.
Encourage the children to play with the toys in the sand. Finally, help the children to put some sand into a plant pot and then plant a pea ‘seed’ in it. If appropriate, you might talk about what might happen to the seed. An extension to this activity might be to sow some mustard seed on to damp cotton wool in an egg box lid for the children to take home.