Study Manual content illuminates some aspect of the Jesus in the Gospels each week and connects Scripture to daily life and Jesus' call to discipleship. The overarching aim is to deepen discipleship through better understanding of the biblical texts and their message. The study helps group members understand that Jesus is rooted in Judaism and the Scriptures of Judaism and that Christianity and the New Testament are rooted in the Scriptures of Judaism—our Old Testament. The Study Manual guides daily study and preparation for the weekly group meeting. The main elements in the format are designated by scriptural phrases: “They have no wine” (John 2:3) is a brief statement about the human condition and alerts the reader to some aspect of daily life that Scripture can shed light on. “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27) is a way of referring to Scripture as a whole and signals the fact that we can understand Jesus in the Gospels better by understanding the Old Testament…

The leader guide provides guidance and the suggested schedule for weekly group sessions to enable discussion in small groups of what persons have discovered in their individual reading and study. Two pages of guidance per session include directions for using the related two-part video segment, procedures for group activity and study related to daily assignments, guidance for use of Gospel Comparisons in group study of Scripture, and questions for discussion. The portion of the weekly meeting when the group studies Scripture as a community recognizes the importance of and opens the way to reading Scripture aloud and hearing Scripture read aloud in the group.