email:  whitpresby@mindspring.com

Session I, March 12, 2003

 Opening Prayer

Introductions of the class members, Announcements, etc.

Scripture for Sunday             Mark 8:31-38

Discussion

 Film Clip

Discussion material.  Pick the questions below that resonate with you and let’s talk about them!

1.  The opening of the film pans the village and moves in on a worship service and the wind blows the door open.  What Bible or religious connections do you see in this scene?

2.  Vianne comes to town, a stranger, a single woman, with a child.  How is she received?  By the church?  By the mayor?  By the people?

3.  The mayor is painted as a model citizen.  What is your opinion?

4.  Vianne is painted by the town as a “radical atheist.”  Is that how you perceive her?

5.  How is Lent portrayed in the movie and how does that compare with your observance of Lent?

6.  In Mark 8:31-38, Jesus talks about being rejected by the religious establishment.  Why does this upset Peter?

7.  Is it fair to compare Jesus and Vianne, in the way they are rejected?  How does the daughter take the rejection?  How do you take rejection?

8.  Jesus wrestles with the temptation that Peter offers.  What issues of temptation do you see in the film so far?  What issues of temptation do you face in life?

9.  Jesus calls the times “an adulterous and sinful generation.”  Who would wear that label in the film?  What is the meaning of “adulterous” in this passage.

Closing prayer.