Rooting Path · New Testament Survey · Lesson 6: The General Letters: Standing Firm in Suffering
This lesson in one sentence: These letters were written to people in suffering: look to Jesus, stand firm, don’t turn back; faith must be lived out, and love must show in deeds.
Timing (about 60 minutes)
- Opening5 min
- Read Together10 min
- Practice Together15 min
- Discussion20 min
- This Week5 min
- Pray for One Another5 min
Opening
Of the things you have done, which one most needed you to ‘keep going to the end’?
Read Together
1Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:1–2 · WEB
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Pet 1:3 · WEB
10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10 · WEB
Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.
Heb 12:2 · WEB
Practice Together
Divide the eight letters among the members (if the group is small, two each): Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude. Each person reads the first verse or two and says two things: how does the writer describe himself? Who is it written to? Afterward the group looks together: how many of them call themselves a ‘servant’?
Discussion
- “looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:2)—lately, what are you most likely to look at instead of looking to Jesus?
- Ask one member to read Romans 3:28 and James 2:24 side by side. Don’t rush to a conclusion; each person says only: of these two verses, which one do you especially need to hear right now? Why?
- “not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10)—when do you find it hardest to believe that God loves you?
This Week
This week, read James or 1 John; each has five chapters, so one chapter a day. Afterward write one sentence: what is one concrete thing this letter tells me to do this week?
Each person says whether they read James or 1 John this week.
Closing
Read Heb 12:1–2 together. In pairs, pray for the stretch of the race the other person is running now.
Tips for the leader
- Faith and works: as in the lesson, read the two verses side by side without ruling between them. If someone wants to argue, use the standard wording—ask your own church.
- Who wrote Hebrews is not discussed in the lesson; don’t go into it in the group either.
- Someone in the group may be in the middle of suffering right now. Being with them matters more than explaining; don’t explain someone else’s suffering as ‘not enough faith’.
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.