​Share a high and low from the week. 

Matthew 4:1-11 (NLT)
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Why do you suppose Jesus was sent to the desert?
How does Jesus’ time in the desert relate to the the time during LENT?
How does addition, subtraction and introspection relate?
Describe the picture you chose during large group. Why did you pick it?

​Use the Lord’s Prayer to end your time together.

​Use this simple blessing for your group to end your time together.
The Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. Amen

A Journey of Discovery by Addition, Subtraction and IntrospectionThis isn’t just another devotional book. This is a guide to a 40-day journey to resurrection.
Lent? What is Lent? Is it that stuff you dig out of the depths of your pants pocket or your belly button? (No. That’s lint by the way). Maybe you think Lent is something only other churches do.
Even if you’re not familiar with Lent, you can probably agree that Easter is essential to the life of the followers of Jesus. It’s the time of year when we are intentional about retelling and rehearing the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Because Christ invites His followers to not just hear about the resurrection, but to participate in it, Christians have historically taken the 40 days leading up to Easter to prepare their hearts and minds to enter the story of Jesus.
This little book is a guide…a help…a companion on the 40-day journey of prayer and Christian practice known as Lent. On this journey, you’ll practice the disciplines of addition, subtraction, and introspection so that you may more fully participate in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is Lent.
And we take this journey because we all need resurrection.

Session 2 Summary: Electricity
Have you ever seen the show The Amazing Race? Sure, it’s one of five billion other reality shows on television right now, but it’s definitely one of the best. Every week as teams literally race around the world, they are given unique tasks to complete in cities they know next to nothing about—usually including the language! At some point in every episode, the teams find themselves having to ask for help. Some ask for help quickly and run off on their own to try and figure it out while others ask for more than that—they ask for someone to guide them as they go. Isn’t this how many of us approach God? We go to Him for help with big moments—impossible tasks—and then move on quickly without Him. We don’t remember that He wants to do more than just help us. He wants to guide us. He wants to go with us. He wants us to remain with Him. Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled to grasp what it looked like to stay close to Him. And as we look at how He explained it to them, we get a clearer picture of what it means to remain in closeness with God and the impact that can have in our lives.
BOTTOM LINE:
If you want to get the most out of life, stay close to the Source of it.

God, thank you for being our source in life. You bring us strength, energy and most important hope! Be with us this week as we continue to grow closer to you, knowing we can never do it all and your grace helps us draw close to you. Amen.

Session 1 Summary: Confidence
Think back to elementary school. Who were you closest friends? Who did you hang out with all the time? Maybe you spent every single second with the same one or two friends for years, but then, as you got older, something changed. You can’t put your finger on why, but, for some reason, you just drifted apart. The same could be said for a lot of us when it comes to our relationship with God. At some point you used to be close to Him, but lately, you just aren’t. And even though you go to church and hear how much God wants a relationship with you, you feel like being close to Him is difficult, complicated, and nearly impossible at times. This week, we’re going to take a look at Abraham and the lengths God went to in order to pursue a close relationship with him. And as you see how much God wanted a relationship with him, maybe you’ll begin to understand the lengths He’s gone to be close to you, too. 
BOTTOM LINE: God is always drawing us in God's direction.

Genesis 12:2-3 New Living Translation (NLT)
​2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 15:6 New Living Translation (NLT)
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

God, thank you for our relationship with you. Thank you for pulling us toward you, even when we are unaware of your work in our lives. Help us to see where you are active, help us to reconnect with you on a daily basis. Amen.

Do the acts of some people who are (or claim to be) Christians invalidate the ministry and claims of Jesus? Christianity can be given a bad wrap, especially when what seems to be focused on in the news is how Christianity or those associated with it, stumble, get caught in a scandal, or do something horrible and claim to be "led by God." This session we look at some of the incredible contributions followers of Jesus have made to world history.

You've seen the news feed scrolling on the bottom of your television..."Famous pastor admits to cheating on wife and stealing money from church- will face charges..." We've also probably been part of a conversation which starts with "I'm so tired of these hypocritical Christians!" And the response of "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven," can be trampled under foot by those who want nothing to do with easy answers to hard conversations. There is a history of Christians and the terrible things throughout all of history: The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, the killing of Native Americans, and slavery. So our question becomes, "Why would God let Christians do such terrible things?"