The Reality Check series makes just one assumption: that you’re serious enough about your spiritual journey to investigate Christianity with an open mind. This isn’t about joining anyone’s religious club―it’s about being real with yourself and with the others in your group. Since no one has all the answers, there’s plenty of room for discussion. After all, if there is any truth to the Bible’s stories about Jesus, then one thing he’d welcome are questions and opinions that come from honest, earnest hearts.Whatever your opinion is of Jesus, you can’t deny his impact. Men left their careers to follow him. Prostitutes and extortionists reformed their ways. Grief-stricken women regained lost loved ones. One religious leader sought his wisdom while others sought to kill him. Taking a compelling look at six very different encounters with Jesus and their impact on real, flesh-and-blood people, Sudden Impact helps you consider how you might respond if Jesus entered your own world and turned it upside down. Sudden Impact includes these sessions: The Professor The Roof Smashers The Corpse Soldiers and Criminals The Prostitute The Blue-Collar Man and the IRS AgentFor the Group LeaderReality Check is for spiritual seekers of every persuasion. Uncompromisingly Christian in its perspective, it steers wide of pat answers and aims at honesty. This innovative and thought-provoking series will challenge you and those in your group to connect heart to heart as together you explore the interface between Jesus, the Bible, and the realities of this world in which we live. The Reality Check series makes just one assumption: that you're serious enough about your spiritual journey to investigate Christianity with an open mind. This isn't about joining anyone's religious club--it's about being real with yourself and with the others in your group. Since no one has all the answers, there's plenty of room for discussion. After all, if there is any truth to the Bible's stories about Jesus, then one thing he'd welcome are questions and opinions that come from honest, earnest hearts. Whatever your opinion is of Jesus, you can't deny his impact. Men left their careers to follow him. Prostitutes and extortionists reformed their ways. Grief-stricken women regained lost loved ones. One religious leader sought his wisdom while others sought to kill him. Taking a compelling look at six very different encounters with Jesus and their impact on real, flesh-and-blood people, Sudden Impact helps you consider how you might respond if Jesus entered your own world and turned it upside down. Sudden Impact includes these sessions: The Professor The Roof Smashers The Corpse Soldiers and Criminals The Prostitute The Blue-Collar Man and the IRS Agent For the Group Leader Reality Check is for spiritual seekers of every persuasion. Uncompromisingly Christian in its perspective, it steers wide of pat answers and aims at honesty. This innovative and thought-provoking series will challenge you and those in your group to connect heart to heart as together you explore the interface between Jesus, the Bible, and the realities of this world in which we live. Mark Ashton is the director of seeker small groups at Willow Creek Community Church. In addition, he supervises the staff for more than 40 new believer groups, 80 seeker groups, and Willow's Internationals ministry. He is also the director of TruthQuest - Willow's ministry that answers tough questions about Jesus and Christianity. Mark is a frequent speaker at conferences and is the author of Absolute Truth? ICEBREAKERWatch a clip from the last scene of Father of the Bride, Part 2. In this scene, George Banks (Steve Martin) is in the hospital. Both his wife and his daughter, Annie, are in labor.If you've birthed children, tell your best labor and delivery story. If you've adopted a child, tell about the 'birth pangs' of paperwork, seeing first photos, and meeting that child for the first time. If you are not a parent, discuss where your parents (or friends) told you babies came from.Read John 3:1 -- 21Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, 'Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.'In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.''How can a man be born when he is old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!'Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever itTHE PROFESSORpleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with e