Date: February 8, 2026
Session Title: Jesus Saves
The Point: Jesus saves all those who turn to Him.
Get Into the Study
Read after discussing Question 1:
Unable to produce seeds, the black-bulb yam has developed a unique way of cloning itself. Other self-cloning plants, like lilies, usually drop a bulbil near the parent plant to reproduce. But the black-bulb yam transforms its bulbils into berries that are eaten by birds, who then spread the plant through their droppings later. These bulbils are black and shiny, just like berries.
Gao Chen, an ecological scientist, first found these berries in 2019. Chen and his team then set up cameras watching the yam plants for three years, discovering that 22 bird species visit these bulbils and either eat them or carry them away. But even though the bulbils look like the berries these birds are used to eating, they have no food reward for the animals that have transported them.
The birds may believe that these bulbils are food, based on their appearance, but get no nutrition from eating them. The plant’s mimicry is so good that it fools birds and scientists alike. Similarly, there are several thoughts or philosophies in our world that mimic the truth but have no substance. When we rely on our own thoughts and reason, we are easily fooled. But when we rely on Scripture, we stand firm in the truth of God.
Option from Daily Discipleship Guide Leader Guide
Use the optional activity to introduce the session. Show a couple of TV commercials that promise joy or happiness if a person uses a certain product or service. Give the group an opportunity to consider ways we’re often enticed into believing these things can make our lives better—fill a spot where something is missing. Find examples here and here.
Get Into the Study (Option for Adult Leader Guide)
In advance, play a video clip of someone baking. Then ask Question #1.
Study the Bible
Read after discussing Question 2:
Mavis, wife of comedian Jay Leno, was diagnosed with dementia in 2024. During an episode of “Life Above the Noise with Maria Shriver,” Leno said that people have been shocked that he’s choosing to stay faithful to his wife now that she’s sick. In response to people asking Leno if he’s going to get a girlfriend now, he’s said “…I have a girlfriend…been married 45 years.”
Leno said that he’s amazed by how people’s views on marriage have changed over the years, that people aren’t used to “doing the right thing because you’re supposed to.” He said that he took a vow to his wife and intends to stick with it. “We kind of made a deal,” Leno said, shocked that honoring his marriage vows was so stunning to the people around him.
Leno sticking to his vows and not choosing to leave his wife during her dementia battle is a good example of someone sticking to what they know is true. That staying by your spouse in good and bad times is the right thing to do seems so strange in a culture that promotes individual happiness above self-sacrifice. By focusing on what we know to be true, we can guard against deceiving ourselves with something that those around us deem okay.
Study the Bible (Option for Adult Leader Guide)
In advance, play a worship song to give people an opportunity to praise God for His salvation. Invite someone to lead the group in singing or use the song as a time of reflection.
The week’s writer for Extra is Emily Duncan. Emily is a Southern California native who lives in west Georgia with her husband and daughter. God saved her from Wicca when she was sixteen while at a youth retreat. Emily’s a member of Midway Church in Villa Rica and mentors young women as they transition from high school to college.
Additional Questions
Icebreakers
- Why are the songs of our youth so memorable many years later?
- When in your life have you had a deep focus on learning or doing something that is no longer a part of your life?
- What childhood aspirations did you have that you’ve achieved as an adult?
Acts 2:22-24. Jesus was sent to be our Savior.
- Was Jesus’s death caused by lawless man’s sin or by God’s sovereign plan?
- What type of verification do you use to unlock your phone or access your bank account?
- How would you summarize the gospel from these verses?
Acts 2:32-36. Jesus is exalted to be the Lord.
- What attributes (about God or about us) are embedded in this idea of Him being “the Lord?”
- How is the trinity displayed in these verses?
- What do you think it was like for the disciples to see the resurrected Jesus?
Acts 2:37-41. Jesus becomes our Savior when we trust in Him.
- What are some of the ways that repentance and trust is an individual work that must be done in each heart?
- What was the core message of Peter’s sermon?
- What lessons can the church learn from Peter’s message of repentance?
Podcast
Click here for a podcast for both the group member and the leader.
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