Week 4—Feb 23-Mar 1

Group Discussion (20 minutes)

What do you feel when you hear about the work of Mother Teresa?
Read what Mother Teresa said,

“We must ask for the grace to love one another. As Jesus said, ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ (John 15:12). To be capable of doing that, our sisters live a life of prayer and sacrifice. That is why we start our day with Communion and meditation.”
Mother Teresa

Have you tried to love on your own strength? What are the results?
What are we reflecting on when we partake of Communion?
How does Communion relate to being “The Salt of the Earth”?
With your Group or Triad, go through the Communion Prayer Experience:

Communion Prayer Experience (1 hour)

Part 1 (15 min)

Gather the group together and set a timer for 2 minutes of silence.

After the silence—Read out loud 3 times:

¹⁹ [Jesus] took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰ After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”
Luke 22:19–20 (NLT)

After reading the scriptures, pass out the bread and ask people to hold onto the bread.

Read this out loud 2 times:

[On the night of his betrayal, Jesus was in the garden praying]
⁴¹ [Jesus] walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” ⁴³ Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
Luke 22:41–44 (NLT)

Invite the group to think about how much Jesus loves us—that he was willing to suffer immensely.

Eat of the bread.

Part 2 (10 min)

Have someone Read Out Loud:

“¹The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. ² He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. ³ He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. ⁴ Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. ⁶ Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.”
Psalm 23:1–6 (NLT)

Set a timer for 5 minutes and have every person find a quiet place to go and pray this Psalm by personalizing the pronouns with their name. E.g. “The Lord is ISAAC’s shepherd…He lets ISAAC rest…”

Come back together.

Part 3 (25-35 min)

Break up into triads and make sure everyone has a cup of juice.

In the triad, have one person read the following scripture over the person next to them by personalizing the verse:

²³ For ~~everyone~~ (INSERT NAME) has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us (INSERT NAME) right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us (INSERT NAME) from the penalty for our sins.
Romans 3:23–24 (NLT)

Have that person then drink of the cup. Go around the triad until everyone has partaken.

Share needs with each and pray for each other.