Bible study guide · Print on Amazon

Fresh: Following Jesus into a Fresh Start

One series. Your whole church.

Preach the Fresh series on Sunday morning, and let your small groups and Sunday School study the same passage that week. Each lesson in the study guide follows the same Scripture as its sermon, so your whole church walks through the series together.

For the pastor

Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Fresh Sermon Series

Eight complete sermon outlines for Sunday morning.

See the sermon outlines →

For small groups & Sunday School

Fresh: Following Jesus into a Fresh Start

Eight weekly lessons with discussion questions and a leader's guide.

Buy the study on Amazon →

Week by week

Each week of Fresh: Following Jesus into a Fresh Start beside the Sunday sermon on the same passage.
Week	Passage	Sunday sermon	Group lesson
1	Mark 1:16-20	Fresh	Follow Jesus Free below
2	Isaiah 1:12-17	Fresh – Worship	Worship
3	Acts 18:9-10	Fresh – The Word	The Word
4	Joshua 1:1-9	Fresh – Courage	Courage
5	Matthew 28:19-20	Fresh – Mission	Mission
6	2 Kings 6:13-17	Fresh – Perspective	Perspective
7	Matthew 16:18	Fresh – Church	Church
8	1 Corinthians 15:1-4	Fresh – Gospel	Gospel

Try Lesson 1 free

The complete first lesson with its full leader’s guide, so you can see exactly how a session runs.

Week 1 · Follow Jesus · Mark 1:16-20

Warm-up

Think about where your walk with Jesus has been over the past season. Name one thing that has gone well, and one thing you wish you could do over.

Teaching recap

Every believer knows the feeling of going through the motions. Prayer has become a habit we don’t feel, Bible reading is something on a list, and church is something we attend. A fresh start can begin at any point in the year, on any ordinary day. The question this study asks is what a fresh start actually requires.

Mark 1 gives the first answer. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen, which in their world meant they had probably been passed over. Boys were sifted out of schooling at every stage, and by their teens only the chosen few stayed on.

These four had been turned down at some point, and they likely thought often about what might have been. Then Jesus walked up to them at their work and said, “Follow me.” For men who had been waiting for a second chance, that was it. The call asked only one thing of them: to follow him. Their fresh start came on an ordinary day by the lake.

Mark 10 shows the other side. A rich young man came to Jesus asking how to have eternal life. He had everything, and he had kept the commandments since boyhood. He had settled into a life that was good enough, and it no longer satisfied him. Jesus told him the one thing he lacked, and the man walked away.

The four fishermen were rejected, and the rich young man was unsatisfied. Both groups could have had a fresh start, and both were given the same one thing to do. Many of us are like the rich young man: outwardly faithful, going through the motions, playing the Christian game. The same one thing is still available to us: to follow Jesus.

Big idea: A fresh start in life begins the moment we choose to follow Jesus.

Scripture (ESV)

Mark 1:16-20
¹⁶Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Mark 10:17-22
¹⁷And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²²Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Discussion questions

Think about your walk with Jesus over the past season. What has felt alive, and what has felt like going through the motions?
Read Mark 1:16-20. What did Jesus say, and what did the four fishermen do?
If boys were sifted out of schooling at each stage, how would it feel to be one of the ones not chosen?
What “what might have been” thoughts might have come back to these fishermen as they pulled in their nets?
Jesus chose men who had already been turned down. Why do you think he didn’t wait until they were more qualified? Wrestle
Read Mark 10:17-22. What did the rich young man have, and what did he still lack?
Why do we so often think a fresh start has to wait for a better time, a bigger change, or a turning point in our lives?
Whatever season of life you’re in right now, the one thing needed for a fresh start is the same. What would it look like to act on that today?
How are the fishermen’s story and the rich young man’s story alike? How are they different?
Read Mark 1:17 and Mark 10:21. What is the “one thing” Jesus asks of the fishermen, and what does he ask of the rich young man?
The rich young man walked away even though he was moral and had done everything right. Why is it so hard to let go of what has given us security, even when we know it isn’t enough? Wrestle
What do you think makes the four fishermen’s lives change so dramatically once they follow Jesus?
Be honest: where have you been playing the Christian game, asking Jesus to follow you rather than following him?
If you’re not yet a Christian, what in your life has not satisfied you? What might it look like to follow Jesus?
What is one step you will take this week to follow Jesus more closely? Who will you tell about it?

Go deeper

Compare this call with the parallel accounts in Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:2-11, and John 1:40-42. Each one adds a detail about how the first disciples came to follow Jesus.

Closing prayer

Pray together for each person in the group to take one step toward following Jesus this week.

Share nudge

This week, tell one person outside the group one thing you talked about today.

Leader’s guide · included free for this lesson

Session goal

Help the group see that a fresh start in life comes from following Jesus, whenever it begins, and that it’s available even to a believer who has grown lethargic.

Prep notes

Read Mark 1:16-20 and Mark 10:17-22 before the session. Hold onto one idea: the four fishermen and the rich young man had the same opportunity and the same single requirement, and they responded differently. Many in your group may see themselves in the rich young man.

60-minute agenda

0:00-0:10 Welcome & Warm-Up
Begin with the warm-up. Listen for honest answers, including ones about dryness or drifting. If the group is quiet, share one of your own first.
0:10-0:20 Teaching Recap
Read the recap aloud or summarize it. Listen for surprise at the social background of the fishermen. Keep it moving; the story is the point.
0:20-0:55 Discussion & Application
Work through the questions in order. Expect pushback on the rich young man, since many people see him as a good person. Redirect to the question: “Good isn’t the same as following.” Some people may feel shame about their lethargy; respond with grace and keep the focus on the one thing. Give the two wrestle questions extra time.
0:55-1:00 Closing Prayer
Keep it brief and invite one or two people to pray.

Icebreaker alternates

What’s one thing that has helped you feel close to God recently?
Who is someone who helped you start over?

Leader tip

Some people in the room may be far from God or simply tired of trying. Give them room, and don’t rush to fix them.

See a page from the book

A page from the print edition.

A page from the Fresh Bible study: discussion questions 7 to 15 with a wrestle question and a Go Deeper note.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Get all 8 lessons

Print edition, sold on Amazon. Includes the 60-minute leader’s guide for every week.

Buy the print book on Amazon