Third Talk
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THIS WEEK?

I.	Purpose:  To know Jesus.

A.	To increase the benefits of study done by each individual in the group by sharing with others the insights each has had into "the mind of Christ" during the week.

B.	To encourage one another in the pursuit of effective study in order to discover the depth of God's love for us in Christ.

II.	To share our study for the week is to share with our group those previously hidden truths in scripture and other books which the Lord has revealed to us through grace.  To do this in the community formed by our Share and Prayer Group is to bring both to them and to ourselves a discipline of study and an encouragement to that discipline.

A.	Many of us have had the experience, when reading scripture, of reading a passage which we might have read dozens of times before with no special understanding, only to have it suddenly come alive, rich with meaning for the first time. 

B.	By sharing these insights with the other members of our group, we multiply the impact of these scriptures on our environment.

C.	During the Kairos short course, we hear an example of this kind of insight in the meditation on Accepting God's Forgiveness.  It concerned the parables about the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price.  We were told that one of the clergyman involved in Kairos in the early years said that he grew up knowing that those two parables were saying that one should give up everything to get a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

	Then one day, while reading this scripture passage in Matthew 13:44-45, the Holy Spirit suddenly revealed another very poignant meaning to him.  He felt the Spirit asking him to think of it in these terms:  "You are not the farmer in the field, nor are you the merchant.  No, you are the hidden treasure, you are the unusually fine pearl and Jesus is willing to give all he has for you."

D.	This not only gave a new insight into the depths of God's love for that clergyman, it has given it to thousands and thousands of others with whom that insight has been shared, beginning with his/her Share and Prayer Group.

III.	Example in scripture.

A.	Jesus himself, quoting scripture from the Old Testament, said "You have heard that it was said, `Love your friends, hate your enemies.' [Lev. 19:18]  But now I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven.  For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.  Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you?  Even the tax collectors do that!  And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary?  Even the pagans do that!"  Matt. 5:43-47.

1.	Jesus grew up in an environment where the book of Leviticus was considered to be holy scripture.  Yet, sitting on a hillside surrounded by his disciples, he began to teach them.  And when he suddenly was given a new insight into the true meaning of love, he shared it with everyone.  His understanding of love was to change the future course of history and to become the most powerful concept ever articulated.

2.	Paul's writings are full of such insights, as in the 7th chapter of his letter to the Romans.  So is the letter to the Hebrews.

IV.	Brief personal witness of speaker, sharing his/her study for the week.  The speaker should try to share either a selection in which he/she enjoyed a new revelation or a selection which illuminated a current situation in his/her life with new light, bringing new understanding not previously enjoyed.

V.	Response by the Leader
A.	Invites participants to spend 15 minutes in subjective discussion of talk.

B.	Team facilitators break up small groups into pairs, using a different pairing from the previous one.

C.	Leader instructs pairs to share with each other a new revelation they have gained in their study.