Mediation

1 · Icebreaker · 7 min

Open the room

What is a gap you would not try to cross without help — a road, a conversation, a bill, a language?

Leader. Gaps, not their personal story of mediating a fight. That was the book’s question. Say that passing is allowed, especially the first few weeks.

2 · The word · 8 min

See it, then say it

Definition, from the book

Mediation is the work of Jesus Christ, the God-man, by which He stands between God and sinful humanity as the only representative who reconciles the two by His atoning death and ongoing intercession as our Great High Priest.

In the original language

Greek mesitēs — one who stands in the middle, a go-between.

Memory verse · 1 Timothy 2:5–6

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

Together, open the flashcard for Mediation. Say the word, the definition, and the verse once. Then put the phone away.

3 · Open the Bible · 15 min

Hebrews 7:23–25

The devotion asked why the incarnation matters for mediation. You are not repeating that. Hebrews 7 shows what the Mediator is doing now: He always lives to intercede.

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Have two readers if you can. Bibles open. The excerpt is only here so a forgotten Bible does not stop the night.

From the passage

1. 1.Why did the old priests have to be replaced, and why will this Priest not be?Core

   Leader. They died. He continues forever. The bridge does not collapse when a generation changes.

2. 2.“Save to the uttermost” is tied to “always lives to make intercession.” What is Jesus doing, right now, for people who draw near?

   Leader. He is praying, representing, holding. Mediation did not end at 3 p.m. on Friday.

4 · Around the room · 20 min

A conversation this chapter did not assign

1. 3.1 Timothy 2:5 says there is one mediator. What other bridges do people try to lay across this gorge — good people, saints, their own sincerity, a spiritual experience?Core

   Leader. Honor real helpers. Refuse substitutes. Drawing near is “through him,” not through a system that replaces Him.

2. 4.Hebrews 4:16 invites us to the throne of grace for timely help. If Jesus is the bridge, why do we still pray as if we were shouting across the canyon?

   Leader. We pray like outsiders. Intercession means we come with Him, not instead of Him and not without Him.

3. 5.Who in your life is standing on the other cliff, and what would it mean to introduce them to the Mediator instead of trying to be one yourself?

   Leader. We can witness. We cannot be the bridge. That relieves pressure and raises urgency.

5 · Say it · 5 min

In one sentence

Jesus is the one Mediator. He brings us to God by His death, and He still prays for us.

Ask for two volunteers, not the whole circle. They may look at the sentence, then try it without looking. Clumsy and true is the goal.

6 · Pray · 8 min

Leave silence between these

1. Thank Jesus for a bridge that is a Person.
2. Draw near out loud for one specific need. Do it through Him, not around Him.
3. Pray for someone on the far cliff.