Leader Guide

Objective
Students will see that we are called to have a radical commitment for Christ just has He radically loved, changed, and saved us.

Warm Up
Radical, Dude! – Divide your group into teams and have them come up with a short skit about what “radical” is to them. Give them about 5-10 minutes to develop their interpretations and then have them present their skits to the group. You may have surfers (“Surf’s up, dude!”), chemists (“atoms behaving as a unit to form a compound”), linguists (“basic parts of a word that others build on”), or others show up in their skits.

Transition
After completing all the skits, ask the group who they thought had the best interpretation of the theme. Allow for discussion.

The Song
Play the song.

Transition
One of the basic definitions for the word “radical” is: relating to or affecting the basic nature of something or characterized by departure from the traditional. When you really begin to think about it, this is what Jesus did for us.

Bible Study
Christianity is a lot more than just going to church, reading a book, or saying your prayers. It is not “do this/ don’t do that” kind of thinking. It is also not who at your church has the newest app for their tablets or phones so they can read the Bible in Klingon or other weird languages. It is a complete transformation of our lives. It begins, continues and ends with allowing Jesus to take control of us.

Radical Love! Jesus did a couple of things for us according to the Bible. First, He radically loved us. He didn’t have to, but He did. He loved us so much that He left heaven to rescue us from our sins. Look at it this way: if you had the best life, the best place to live, the best family, the best experiences and didn’t have a single care for all eternity, would you want to stay in that place? Of course! Who wouldn’t? The Bible says that Jesus gave it all up to come to earth and be with us and to sacrifice everything for us—all because He loved us. Look at the verses on your worksheet about Jesus radical love. (Zephaniah 3:17; John 3:16-17; Romans 5:8; Romans 8:37-39; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 John 3:1; 4:7-8)

Radical Transformation! Because He radically loved us, He didn’t want us to stay stuck in the same-old-sameold life. He radically changed us. The moment we accept Christ as Lord of our lives and say YES to Him, we are on the road to transformation. We are changing more and more each day to become like Jesus. Because God sees our true potential, He doesn’t want us limiting ourselves to just being ordinary our whole lives. We are changed, because of Him, working and molding our lives. Look at the verses on your worksheet about how Jesus radically changed us. (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:51; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:16; 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; Philippians 1:9-10; 2 Timothy 2:15)

Radical Salvation! Another way Jesus makes our lives radical is that He radically saved us. He went out of His way to go to the cross and pay the price for each and everyone who believes and calls on His name. He took on our sins and suffered for us. Jesus paid the price for sin so we wouldn’t have to but instead be totally and eternally saved! Look at the verses on your worksheet about how Jesus radically saved us. (Psalm 27:1; 62:2; 85:9; Luke 2:30; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9; 11:11; 2 Corinthians 7:10) A simple YES to Him can make us eternally new.

Wrap Up
What’s the bonus in all of this? We get to be with Him for all eternity where there is no more junk that keeps tripping us up. Our lives will become perfect! Forever! If you ask me, that is really radical.

Playlist
This song is featured on “The Linc: Commitment” Spotify playlist – which is the perfect way to remind your students what you’ve taught them in this session. To share it with them, click the live link on the web version of this study.