Illustration: One shining moment

The
point
where
students
connect
to the
lesson
(Teacher’s Note: Show the Kairos series video and then present the
following illustration.)
Illustration: One shining moment
Many children grow up hoping for their one shining moment
— the moment in which they gain glory or fame for their
play in athletic competition. Most people don’t get
that moment, but from time to time we hear stories of
mentally challenged teenagers getting their chance to
get onto the basketball court or the football field or
some other field of play. These are feel-good stories,
but moments that are soon forgotten. But when Jason
McElwain got his moment, time stood still.
Jason is autistic, and he loves basketball. He
served as a manager on his high school’s basketball
team, but on February 15, 2006, his coach let him
dress out for the game. When Jason’s team took a big
lead on that day, the coach put Jason in the game with four
minutes to go. He missed his first two shots, but finally made
a three-pointer. It was a great moment. But then Jason kept
shooting. He made another three-pointer and then another,
and before long he had scored a whopping 20 points in just
four minutes of play. Jason later said he was “hotter than a
pistol.”
Jason’s moment became national news. He got
to meet President George W. Bush and Oprah Winfrey,
and star NFL quarterback Peyton Manning came to
visit him. That year at the ESPY awards, Jason won
the award for Best Sports moment — beating out Kobe
Bryant’s 81-point game and George Mason University’s
Cinderella run to the Final Four of the NCAA men’s
basketball tournament.
(Teacher’s Note: Search “Jason McElwain” on YouTube
to find a video you can show of Jason’s one shining
moment.)
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Connecting the illustration:
Jason’s moment in time was so memorable that people around the United
States stopped and took part in it. In many ways, Jason’s moment made time
stand still.
In this series, we’re going to look at these types of moments when
time seemed to stand still — moments we can call Kairos moments. Let’s
explain why we use this title. The Bible uses two Greek words for time. One
is chronos, which is tick-tock time. This is the time on our watches and our
calendars. But the Bible also has another word for time — kairos. Kairos is the
idea of God’s appointed time, of just the right time. It indicates God’s timing.
These are the moments when God breaks in to act, to heal, to correct, and to
change things — in big ways, small ways, and any way in between.
We all need these Kairos moments, these times when God breaks
into tick-tock time. So in this series, we’re going to see how Jesus broke into
people’s lives in the Gospels, and we’ll see what this shows us about our present
and our future.
When God breaks in, we must take the change He creates —
whatever it may be. We must accept both the work of Christ and the way of
Christ. We must trust in what God is doing instead of trying to do it ourselves.
And then we must step out in faith and believe that God’s goodness will come
in time.
Are you ready for Jesus to break in? The moment is upon us. Don’t
you think it’s time?
The point
where you
& Text: J o h n 6:25-6 9
Background
examine
Scripture
and share
your vantage
points on it
John 6 tells us the story of some of the biggest Kairos moments in
the gospels. First, Jesus fed the crowd — more than 5,000 men, women, and
children. After this sign, many began to see Jesus as the Messiah, and so Jesus
had to retreat “knowing that they intended to come and make him king by
force.” (v. 15)
Then came a Kairos moment for Jesus’ disciples. The disciples were in
a boat on the lake in the middle of the night, when a massive storm erupted.
In the midst of the storm, Jesus walked to them on the water. At this point, the
disciples had no doubt Jesus was someone special.
After they reached the shore, the crowd quickly found Jesus and the
disciples again. Because God had broken into time in these remarkable ways,
Jesus’ popularity had never been higher, and the crowds had never been larger.
But Jesus used His growing platform not to consolidate His popularity but instead
to challenge everyone following Him about what their motivations were.
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Picture: Popularity popped
Howard Dean was unknown outside of his home state of
Vermont when he decided to run for president in 2004.
But he quickly gained popularity among Democrats, and
after being endorsed by several prominent party leaders,
he actually became the frontrunner to win the presidential
nomination. But after the Iowa primary, Dean gave a speech
that sounded so strange that it immediately made him the
butt of jokes. Late-night comics made fun of Dean, and his
popularity plummeted. He basically lost any chance of the
presidency with this strange speech.
(Teacher’s Note: Search “Howard Dean speech” on YouTube
so that you can show this speech to your students.)
Connecting the picture:
Dean chased away followers with his strange speech, and as
a result he lost his presidential bid. In today’s passage, we’re
going to see how Jesus gave a speech that also chased
away followers — not because it was strange but
because it was so shocking. Let’s see what Jesus
said so that we can start to consider why
He said it.
(Teacher’s Note: Read the text
at this point.)
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Explanation
After two memorable moments – the feeding of the 5,000 and
Jesus walking on water — Jesus had a huge platform and an opportunity
to build His popularity. But instead of using it to gain more and more
followers, He instead challenged the motivations of those who had
gravitated toward Him. Were they chasing Him because they wanted to
see more miracles and eat more heavenly food? Or were they looking for
“food that endures to eternal life”? (v. 27)
When Jesus challenged their belief, the crowd asked for another
miraculous sign as proof, even though they had just seen the miracle
of feeding 5,000. As Jesus talked about how God had sent manna from
heaven, they asked Him for more bread. Then Jesus said something so
scandalous that people couldn’t handle it: “I am the
bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry,
and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (v. 35)
Jesus didn’t stop there. He said that He had come from
heaven and that they didn’t believe in God the Father
because they didn’t believe in Him.
We must understand just how edgy and just
how shocking these statements were. The Jews in the
crowd began to grumble against Jesus because He said He
was from heaven, and then they couldn’t handle the idea
of eating the flesh of Jesus. Even His closest disciples said,
“This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (v. 60)
That was the point. Jesus had such an edge
here because He wanted the crowd to see that if they
were just there for food, they were missing the point.
Jesus didn’t want a crowd of many who saw Him as
provider; He wanted disciples who saw Him as provision.
He was making people consider whether they really
wanted God to break into their lives, even if it cost
them. In other words, He was calling people to evaluate
everything by focusing on the only thing, and those
who weren’t willing to see Jesus as the only thing
couldn’t accept it. They could embrace a Jesus who fed
everyone, but not a Jesus who challenged everyone.
But a few did accept what Jesus was saying. As
the throngs in the crowd left, Jesus went to His disciples and asked, “You
do not want to leave too, do you?” (v. 67) Peter answered, “Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that
you are the Holy One of God.” (v. 68-69) Peter and the rest of the 12 had
sold out everything for Jesus. He was their only option, and so they had
no other place to go. They wanted Jesus to keep breaking into their lives,
no matter what it cost. They had evaluated everything and decided that
He was the only thing they could build their lives around.
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Picture: Vending machine
The
point
where
students
see today’s
point and
match it
to what’s
happening in
their lives
Vending machines are a way of life for us. When we go
to a vending machine, we put in our money, and we get
out the drink or snack that we want. Vending machines
are the ultimate in convenience and choice, because they
allow us to get what we want at any time. But every once
in a while, a vending machine doesn’t work. And when
this happens, people go crazy. They beat on the machine,
tip it to try to dislodge the product, and basically lose
their minds in frustration and anger.
(Teacher’s Note: Tell a personal story of a time
when a vending machine didn’t give you what
you wanted and how you reacted.)
Connecting the picture:
The people in the crowd basically viewed Jesus
as a vending machine. They wanted Him to
provide food when they wanted and how they
wanted. They wanted to be able to request a
miracle and get it. But Jesus was unwilling to be
a vending machine. Instead, Jesus challenged the
crowd to make Him a priority. As a result, the
crowd got frustrated and angry at Jesus and left
Him behind. Let’s see how He extends the
same challenge to us.
Application
Just as He did in this passage, Jesus also calls us to evaluate everything
by focusing on the only thing. He challenges us to make Him our first priority.
He challenges us to embrace the ways God breaks into our lives, no matter what
it costs us. He wants to be our provision, not just the One who provides the things
we want.
Too often, we follow Jesus because we believe or expect or hope that
Jesus will give us all the things we wanted before we met Jesus. While Jesus loves
giving His people good gifts, and while He encourages us to ask Him for what
we need and even what we want, this is ultimately not what following Jesus is all
about. Jesus doesn’t just want to fulfill our desires; He wants our full devotion. As a
result, there is a cost to following Jesus.
This is not what we want to hear. It would be far easier for us to have a
vending-machine God who gives us what we want but doesn’t ask for anything
from us. But this is not how Jesus works. Jesus wants followers, not merely
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recipients of His gifts. We cannot have the work of Jesus in our lives without
living out the way of Jesus.
In this Kairos series, we’re going to let the way of Jesus break into
our lives. We’re going to learn to be more by becoming less and to do more by
doing less. We’re going to learn to spring forward into the future God has for us.
But for this to happen, we must be willing to let Jesus break into
our lives. We must be willing to be challenged and changed by these Kairos
moments. We must embrace the ways God is breaking into our lives, no matter
what it costs. This is what it means to evaluate everything by focusing on the
only thing.
As we do this, we will be greatly challenged. But we will also discover
what it means to follow Jesus as our Provision. As Mother Teresa once said,
“We will never know that Jesus is all we need until Jesus is all we have.” The
fact that He is the bread of life is good news for us. He is the bread we come
back to moment after moment after moment, because this bread never spoils.
It doesn’t satisfy us once and for all with a nibble, but it’s always available
whenever we are hungry. So we return to Jesus time after time, and as we do we
focus on the only thing.
Every moment is an opportunity to observe where God is breaking
into your life. The question is whether you will embrace how God breaks in.
Now is the time to answer that question. So evaluate everything by focusing
on the only thing.
The point
where
Picture: Leap second
you
inspire
students
and launch
them into
their small
groups
(Teacher’s Note: Leap in the air, and ask students how long your hang time was.
Use the picture of this leap time to discuss the idea of a leap second.)
We love the feeling of leaping in the air, because in these moments it feels like
time is standing still. But in 2008, time actually stood still for a leap second.
To align the calendar more precisely with the rotation of the earth, scientists
decided that they needed to add a second to the atomic clock. So at the end
of the year, after people counted down to the New Year, everyone waited
an additional second before screaming “Happy New Year!” During this leap
second, time basically stood still. The world wasn’t in 2008 anymore, but it
wasn’t in 2009 yet either.
Connecting the picture:
Just as we sometimes need a leap second to make the atomic clock work
just right, sometime we need time to stand still. Thankfully, now is a Kairos
moment that allows us to take a time out so that we can evaluate everything.
Do we want a Jesus who provides or a Jesus who is our provision?
Do we want a Jesus to give us our desires or a Jesus who deserves our
devotion?
Do you want Jesus to break into your life no matter what it costs you?
Jesus is challenging us to evaluate everything by focusing on the
only thing. Are you ready to make Him the only thing in your life?
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Master Teacher Outline
(Teacher’s Note: We have intentionally left room on this page for you to
take notes as you study that will help you as you present your lesson. Use
this sheet as a tool that helps you make the lesson your own.)
Show the Kairos video to
introduce the series
Do the One shining moment
illustration to describe the
difference between chronos time
and kairos time
Use the background and the
Popularity popped picture to
describe the setting for the text
Read John 6:25-69
Explain the text to show
how Jesus challenged the crowd
to see Him as provision, not just
a provider
Use the Vending machine
picture to show how we too
treat God as provider instead of
provision
Explain how we must look
for God to break into our lives
and then respond to what He
says
Use the Leap second picture
to show how we should respond
to Kairos moments
Launch your students into
their small groups to introduce
the Turning Point
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The point where
today’s point
changes our heart,
head, and hands
Introduction Questions
What inspired you about today’s lesson? What
disturbed you about today’s lesson?
Recap
In the opening session of Kairos, we saw that
God is ready to break into our lives. Every
moment is an opportunity to observe where
God is breaking into your life. The question is
whether we will embrace how God breaks in.
Do we just want a vending-machine God, or
do we want God to be our provision, our bread
of life? That’s the question we must answer as
we evaluate everything by focusing on the
only thing.
We see in today’s lesson that Jesus calls us to
evaluate everything by focusing on the only thing.
This was not a new theme in Scripture. Throughout
the Old Testament, God called His people to follow
Him and Him alone. Let’s look at one example of
how God did this.
& Read D e u t e r o n omy 6: 1 3 - 1 5
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
1.What did Jesus call Himself in this
passage? What did He tell the crowd
to do?
1.What does God call His people to do in
this passage?
2.Why were these statements
shocking?
3.What did Jesus want the crowd to
look for? What were they looking for
instead?
2.Why is God jealous? Is this a good thing
or a bad thing? Explain your answer.
3.What are some things that keep us from
following God as our only thing?
4.What are some things that can help us
follow God as our only thing?
4.How did the crowd respond to this?
Why did the crowd leave?
5.Why did Peter and the 12 disciples
stay?
6.How do we tend to treat God as
a vending machine? Why is it a
problem when we do this?
7.Why does Jesus want to be the only
thing in our lives?
8.What does it look like for us to make
Jesus our only thing? What has to
stop in our lives for us to do this?
What has to start in our lives?
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As we consider what it means to make God our only thing,
we want to look at the other things in our lives. On the list
below, put a check beside the things you desire to have now
or at some point in your future:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
A dating/marriage relationship
A family of your own
A good job that you enjoy
An education that prepares you for a career
Popularity
The ability to travel
Adventure
These things are not bad in and of themselves; in fact, they point to God-given
desires. But while these are not bad things, they make bad gods. Whenever we
make these things as much of a priority as God in our lives — or even more
of a priority — we run into trouble. So let’s evaluate which of these things is
competing with God in our lives right now.
Discussion Questions
1.Which of these things do you desire most? Why is this a desire?
2.Where does this desire come from? How can this be a good thing in
our lives?
3.Why does this desire compete with God for priority?
4.What does it look like to choose God over this desire? How can you
make this choice? How can this group help you as you do?
(Teacher’s Note: Give each student a small box, such as a Tic-Tac box. Ask the
students to write one thing that competes with God as a priority in their lives on a slip
of paper and put it in the box. You will also need a bigger box, such as a shoebox.)
Now that we’ve identified the things that compete with God for priority in our
lives, let’s symbolize the fact that we will make God the only thing in our lives
over these other desires. To do this, we’re going to put our boxes inside of a
bigger box that symbolizes God. This action will physically represent our desire
to focus on God as the only thing in our lives.
(Teacher’s Note: As students pray and commit to focus on God as the only thing
in their lives, they should physically put their smaller boxes inside the shoe box.
As students do this physical demonstration, pray for them to be able to evaluate
everything and focus on the only thing.)
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