Kairos Course 11-14 Session 6: Travelling Light
Main Aim: To explore the challenges of the Kairos theme “Travelling Light”
Leaders Notes: The Body of Christ is made up of many parts & on the move. The church is moving to a new place, into 21st century Britain. We need to think about what this new place we are in is like, & what does God want us to do as church.
Opener: What are we thinking about?
Activity 5mins Choice 1/2 A Journey into the unknown
Ask the group to get comfortable and to close their eyes; then read through the following reflection;
Imagine that it is tomorrow morning; you wake up and head out as normal. (Pause) Just before lunchtime you receive a message. You will be picked up in 10 mins, taken home to pack your bags. You will then be flown to a strange country; you will not be able to contact anyone before you go. How do you feel, what is going through your head? (Pause) You return home, and pack a bag of personal items; what do you take with you? (Pause) As the car leaves for the airport, you look out of the back window. What are your feelings as you look at your home for the last time? (Pause) You arrive at the airport & board the plane. You do not know where you are going or what will happen when you get there. What are you thinking about? (Pause) An Air Steward asks you if every thing is alright; what do you say to them?
Ask the group what they felt about that situation? What was going through their minds at the different points in the story?
Video 7mins Choice 2/2 In the tank
Show the short clip from ‘Finding Nemo’ where Nemo is first in the fish tank & meets all the other fish. How does Nemo feel? What new situations/places have you gone in to? How have you felt when you have gone somewhere for the first time? How do you feel about travelling to new/different places?
Going deeper: Taking a closer look
Activity 5mins Choice 1/2 Weighing you down
Ask for a volunteer; get them to do a few exercises - running on the spot, jumping on & off a chair, press ups. Then get them to do the same again but with a backpack full of heavy objects, bricks, stone, weights, hardback Bibles. Ask them which time was easier. Then get the group to look at these verses; Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 28:19-20, John 13:43-35. These are the things that Jesus told us to do, but what can weigh us down & make it difficult for us to do them? Get the group to think of answers & write/stick them on the objects in the bag, and put them back in the bag.
Discuss 5mins Choice 2/2 Major Disaster
Get the group to imagine that last night the church tower/roof was struck by lighting and collapsed. The church is now unable to be used. Also the Church hall was destroyed beyond repair by a gas explosion. So, all the church buildings have been wiped-out. The group needs to come up with ideas about how your church is going to go on without any buildings; what should the church do? Chat about their answers. Highlight to them that this is the situation of Christians around the world, that they do not have purpose-built building like ours.
Going deeper: Taking a look at God’s word
Discuss 10mins Core “What are you up too?”
Ask the group to think of between 7-10 things that the church of which they are part does regularly. Then get them to read Acts 2:42-47. Every time they hear something that the church in Acts did they have to stand up & that activity needs to be added to a list of Acts Church activities. Compare the two lists, how are they similar, how are they different? How many of the activities, from either list, are they involved in? Who is involved in the different activities listed? Who should be involved in the different activities?
(Purpose: To make them think about what the church should be doing & what they should be doing as part of the church.)
Interactive Talk 3-5mins Core ‘Taking Away’
On a large piece of paper draw the shape of a church building. On smaller bits of paper get the group to write down as many things as they can think of that church is about. Also draw a shape of a person and on this place the group’s suggestions of things we should do as Christians. Next, from the list of Church things, ask the group to take away anything that a church can do without & still be church. Explain that we sometimes get mixed up about what being God’s people is really all about. Get them to take away from the body image anything that is not 100% necessary for us to do as Christians. Hopefully, these lists will be quite different. Now say that you have made a mistake & change over the suggestions from the picture of the body to the picture of the church. Explain to the group that being church is really about being a Christian and doing this alongside other Christians, to help & support them; that is what church is about.
Reflecting: God & us
Activity 10mins Choice We believe!
Go over with the group all the pervious sessions and read through the end of session summary posters. Ask them to produce 10 things that sum up what the group has covered & which are important to the Kairos process.
Prayer 5mins Choice Throwing off the load
Pass around the bag from “Weighing you down”, as one group or in smaller groups. Ask people to take out an object & pray about the problem written on it.
Conclusion 5mins Core Ask the group to sum up what they think is the single most important thing that they have thought about/learnt in this session
Ask the group what they now think ‘Kairos’ is about.
Using the summing up wall display talk them through all the things that the group has looked at.
Explain that Kairos is about realizing what are the most important things God wants us to do & how do we go about doing them, in our own lives and as a church.
List of things Need:
Tick the first box for what you will be using and the second for when you have it
You say we play cards oo “Is” & “God” cards oo
Paper, pens and card oo Trinity Pictures oo
Video oo Copies of Quote Sheet oo
Words & illustration for talk oo