Group leader’s guide

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IntoOne Learning Map · Group leader’s guide

Rooting Path · New Testament Survey · Lesson 1: The Four Gospels: One Jesus, Four Angles

This lesson in one sentence: The four Gospels tell of one and the same Jesus, each beginning from its own starting point.

Timing (about 60 minutes)

Opening5 min
Read Together10 min
Practice Together15 min
Discussion20 min
This Week5 min
Pray for One Another5 min

Opening

Is there someone in your life whom different friends would describe in very different ways?

Read Together

¹⁴Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”
Mark 1:14–15 · WEB

¹⁴The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 · WEB

The Word became flesh and lived among us … full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 · WEB

Practice Together

Ask four members each to read the opening of one Gospel: Matthew 1:1, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1–4, John 1:1–5. After each reading, the group says in one sentence: where does this book begin? Finally read John 20:31 together and see what John himself says about why he wrote his book.

Discussion

“The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14)—what does it mean to you that God ‘lived among us’?
“The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.” (Mark 1:15)—as you hear Jesus’ first words today, are they good news, or unsettling?
The disciples asked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41) How would you answer that question now?

This Week

This week, read Mark 1–4 straight through, or one chapter a day. After each chapter, write one sentence: what did Jesus do? How did people respond to him?

Each person says when they read Mark 1–4 this week.

Closing

Read John 1:14 together; the leader prays: Lord, in these seven meetings, help us to know you better.

Tips for the leader

The four books differ in some details; as the lesson puts it, four witnesses tell of the same Jesus from different angles. Which was written first, and how they draw on one another, is not something to go into in the group.
Don’t pin labels on the four books; just look at what each one says about itself at the start.
If someone is reading the Gospels for the first time, encourage them to start with Mark; anything they don’t understand, they can note down and bring next time.

General principles for leaders

The leader is not a teacher but someone who walks alongside everyone.
Give everyone a chance to speak; with someone who talks a lot, you can gently say, ‘Let’s also hear from friends who haven’t spoken yet.’
Don’t rush to give answers. If someone is silent, wait a few more seconds.
For a question you can’t answer, you can say, ‘I don’t know either; let’s look it up together,’ and note it down for next time.
What is said in the group stays in the group.
At the opening, the leader can give their own answer first, showing that it can be simple and honest.

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