The Manhood Talks | Week 3

Week 3: Remade in God’s Image

Before the Meeting | Preparations

---

Download as PDF

MEETING PREP CHECKLIST:

1. Listen daily to the audio guides.

2. Check in daily on your discussion group.

3. Watch the Week 3 Leader Video (4 min).

4. Review this Guide, prep challenge & activity.

5. Preview the Week 3 Group Video (16 min).

BRING TO THE MEETING:

1. Bible, journal, pen, & this guide.

2. Video display with Week 3 Group Video cued up.

3. Giant paper or board with plenty of room for all to write, plus markers. At the top, write “How God Sees Me.” Split the page with a line and write “Old Self” and “New Self” on either side.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

More Pizza. Don’t overthink it. See the Week 2 guide for detailed instructions.

WEEK 3 GOAL: IDENTITY (RE)FORMATION

We want each young man to see the power of Jesus’ resurrection and begin to see himself remade in His image. 

LEADER TIP OF THE WEEK:

A safe space is one where views can be shared, challenged, and changed without fear. Follows these keys to make it happen: Speak with Grace. Grace means better than you deserve. Speak as if you can see God’s image in them. If you see it, they’ll begin to see it themselves and each other. Listen with Humility. Humility is a hallmark of godly wisdom. Remind them that sometimes wrong answers are the only path to getting it right. Encourage them to share & listen with a willingness to grow and change their views.No Shaming. Guys love trash talk, so it’s on you to set boundaries of respect. Set clear boundaries & challenge them to act like men.

DISCUSSION PREP:

As we focus in on identity formation, we want to help our young men see themselves and one another the way that God sees them. That starts with the humbling realization that we are all sinners. But then Jesus steps in to tell us that we’re all worth dying for. This week’s audio guides went deep into the heart of the gospel, so the group discussion is your opportunity to make sure they got it and took it to heart.

Broken Image: In Genesis 3 mankind fell and the image of God in us was broken.

God in Our Image: The 2^nd Commandment warns of the downward spiral of remaking God to reflect us.

The Image Returns: Jesus is God’s image. He came to do more than forgive us. He came to restore us back to the image we were created for (Colossians 3:10-11).

Do Not Conform: Cookie-cutter Christianity is not real manhood. Renew your mind and be transformed!

---

Group Meeting:

GROUP CHALLENGE (10 MINS):

 Pen Ball Challenge! Click for directions.

ICE BREAKER (8 MINS):

What is your favorite “be a man” movie? Why do we like those movies?

GROUP VIDEO (16 MINS):

Remade in God’s Image

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (30 MINS)

Start with prayer and the Rules of Engagement: Speak with Grace, Listen with Humility, & No Shaming. Ask your guys what they thought of Gabriel’s story and how they relate. (See link to Gabriel’s full interview below). Then open your journals to discuss these:

Simple: We’ve been talking a lot about identity. What does identity mean?

Personal Experience: Name some things in your life that affect your identity and how you see yourself.

Insight: Which matters most to identity: how others see you, how you see yourself, or how God sees you?

“…you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:9-10).

Thinker #1: Read Colossians 3:9-10. If you have an old and new self, which one do you think God sees?

Thinker #2: What do you think it means that we are remade in the image of our Creator? How does that work?

Share:  Open your journals to Day 6 where we wrote “How God sees me.” Have volunteers read their lists.

ACTIVITY: Lay out the large paper/board with “How God Sees Me.” Explain: The amazing thing about God is that he sees both the old and new self, and by the power of Jesus’ resurrection he calls us to take off the old and put on the new. Give everyone a marker, and have them write all the words from their list, and put each word on the side where they think it belongs. Encourage them to add more as they think of new things.

Discuss: Look over the board. Each man pick a word that’s important to you, then discuss why that one matters.

Challenge: How do we take off the old & put on the new?

Take Home Truth We were made in God’s image. We broke God’s image. Jesus is God’s image. He remakes us in His image.

WRAP-UP

Review the take-home truth. Remind everyone to listen daily to the Manhood Talks. Share this link to watch Gabriel’s full interview later.