The essentials of faith. You can build a life on them.Like a house built on a firm foundation, the Christian faith is founded on some key, enduring truths. Do you know what they are? If not, you owe it to yourself to find out whether you're building your life-and your eternity-on solid ground.Essential Christianity is your invitation to spiritual discussion with others as you explore the basics of faith-principles deeper and more far-reaching than you may have imagined. You'll learn what it means to really know Christ. You'll discover the secret to confident living, how to grow spiritually, how to handle your failures, how to follow Jesus in a world that's anything but devoted to Him, and the different ways God wants to guide you in the practical concerns of life.Interactions-a powerful and challenging tool for building deep relationships between you and your group members, and you and God. Interactions is far more than another group Bible study. It's a cutting-edge series designed to help small group participants develop into fully devoted followers of Christ.

Essential Christianity
Copyright © 1998 by Willow Creek Association
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
ISBN-10: 0-310-26604-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26604-4
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International
Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—
except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Interior design by Rick Devon & Michelle Espinoza
Printed in the United States of America
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SESSION 1
ESSENTIAL CHRISTIANITY
KNOWING CHRIST
THE BIG PICTURE
Have you ever wondered what you might say to the people
you love if you knew you had only one more chance to communicate
with them? What would you say? What would you
want to communicate?
If I knew I could write only one more book, teach only one
more class, preach only one more message, or write only one
more small group study guide, it would be on the topics contained
in the following pages. I am referring to the absolute
basics. Not basics in terms of simplistic thoughts or truths, but
basics in terms of the core building blocks of life.
It is not difficult for me to get motivated to prepare messages
on a whole variety of subjects. I love to teach on themes that
traverse the landscape of human experience. Over the years I
have tackled topics such as Christians in the marketplace,
Christians in a sex-crazed culture, handling personal finances,
and developing healthy relationships. I have been privileged
to give messages on many books of the Bible and speak on a
vast array of themes and topics. But of all of these, none is
more important than what we will focus on in this study.
From time to time we need to strip away all the extraneous
material and get right to the heart of the Christian message.
This core message of the Christian faith has transformed my
life. It grips me every time I have an opportunity to communicate
it. Whether I am talking with one person over a cup of
coffee, leading a small group, or teaching a few thousand
people, it really doesn’t make any difference—it is the same
life-changing message every time.
A WIDE ANGLE VIEW
1. If you knew it was your last chance to speak your
heart, what would you say to a family member or
friend who was not a Christ follower?
A BIBLICAL PORTRAIT
2. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit and disobeyed God,
the way they looked at everything changed. What
shift occurred in the way they viewed one of the
following:
• How they viewed themselves
• How they viewed each other
• How they viewed their God
3. Adam and Eve saw God slaughter innocent animals so
that He could make clothing to cover their nakedness
and shame. What did Adam and Eve learn about one of
the following:
• Their condition
• God’s view of sin
• The price of sin
SHARPENING THE FOCUS
Read Snapshot “The Passover Lamb”
THE PASSOVER LAMB
God had told Moses that every Israelite family must sacrifice a lamb and place the blood of that lamb
on the doorpost of their home. If they would not, the firstborn male of their home would die when the
angel of death came over Egypt.
Imagine you are transported back in time to Egypt in the days of Moses. You are in a pasture as a
Jewish father is taking his twelve-year-old son out to find a one-year-old lamb.
“What are we doing, Dad?” the boy asks.
“We are going to get a prize sheep.”
“What for, Dad?”
“You will see.”
They find the best lamb in the flock and bring it back to the shed. The boy sees his dad get the machete. “What are you
going to do, Dad?” the boy asks again.
“I am going to slaughter the lamb.”
“What did the lamb do, Dad?”
The father thinks long and hard and tries to form his words very carefully. “Son, the lamb didn’t do anything, but our
nation has sinned against God. He is about ready to exercise justice and pass judgment on all of us. But God said that
if we find an innocent third party, an innocent unblemished lamb, the lamb’s blood will act as a covering for us.”
The son thinks about this and says, “Dad, that sounds very unfair. What happens if we don’t sacrifice the lamb?”
With a solemn look at his son, the father speaks the truth. “If we don’t sacrifice the lamb and place its blood on the
doorpost of our house, you will die before morning.”
4. If you were that son talking to his father, what would
you say to your dad at this point in the conversation?
How would you feel if you were the son?
5. If you were the father, how would you explain the
necessity of the lamb being sacrificed?
Read Snapshot “A Perfect Sacrifice Is Coming”
A PERFECT SACRIFICE IS COMING
More than 700 years B.C. the prophet Isaiah broadcast a news brief that spread across the land. Isaiah
started talking about a new sacrifice, an ultimate sacrifice, the final sacrifice. He said that an innocent
third party would once again pay the price for sinful people. But this time the sacrifice would be radically
different; it would not be a lamb, but an innocent human (see Isa. 53:1–7). Centuries before it
would happen, Isaiah pointed to a perfect sacrifice that would be paid to free people from their sins
and save them from judgment.
Now turn the clock ahead to the first century. Jesus has already been born and is about thirty years old. A man by the
name of John the Baptist is living in the desert outside of Jerusalem. Multitudes of people are coming out to hear him
preach and be baptized. One day, in front of all of the people, John catches a glimpse of Jesus. John hushes the crowd
and says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John is declaring the truth. Jesus
is the ultimate Lamb, the innocent third party who will shed His blood as the payment for sinful people.
6. Isaiah pointed to Jesus and wrote:
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and
familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their
faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he
took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered
him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But
he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon
him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep,
have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and
the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
ISAIAH 53:3–6
What did Isaiah promise that Jesus would do for you?
How do you feel when you read these words?
7. Think about the story of the father and son going out

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Excerpted from Essential Christianity: Practical Steps for Spiritual Growth by Bill Hybels, Hybels
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.