Reel Luke
Meeting Jesus by Seeing Stories
Reel Luke is being updated during Spring 2026. Pardon our digital dust! All lessons are still available to access and use during construction.
SERIES OVERVIEW
"Let's rediscover the Bible as the cinematic book that it is."
— Matt Canlis (author of Godspeed) at New Staff Training 2024
Think about your favorite movie scene, one that you know so well you can describe it in detail, including the setting, the characters, the music, the action, and the dialogue — one that you love so much you can see it clearly in your mind at any time.
The stories of Jesus should be that powerful for us. We should be able to recall them, see them, and hear them, just like our favorite movie scenes. But many people never experience the Bible in that way. The stories never come to life for them as vivid scenes.
"Reel" Luke is not a typo. Yes, the stories of Luke are real, and we hope people believe that. But we also hope people develop reading skills that will bring the stories to life just as powerfully as if they were a movie reel, Instagram reel, or TikTok reel. There's no official name for the learning process we're introducing in this series. It's just reel discussion using reel questions for reel learning, i.e., reading and learning by first seeing and experiencing.
Reel learning isn't an end in itself. We don't aim to see, hear, and experience biblical stories as reels just because. We do it so that the story comes alive, engages us in new ways, and opens doors for deeper discovery and learning about Jesus and his truth.
Each of the lessons in this series (you'll find all of them below the BibleProject videos) focuses on one story from the Gospel of Luke and includes just a few reel questions related to setting, characters, and plot. (If you want to use more reel questions, you can see all of them in the dropdown menu below and in each lesson.)
It may take time for people to develop the imaginative muscles needed for reel learning. But the payoff will be worth it as people are drawn closer to Jesus.
Be sure to check out the leader's guide before starting.
LEADER'S GUIDE
Start Here
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Preparing for Reel Luke
- Watch the BibleProject videos at the bottom of this page. (You can also watch some more detailed Luke videos from BibleProject HERE.)
- Before each small group meeting, read that week's Bible story several times yourself. Also read what happens before and after the Bible story so you're familiar with the larger context. Read through the Helpful Stuff to Know, Be Sure Not to Miss, and Be Careful About sections so you have a solid framework for the story. Look through the questions so you're ready to lead discussion.
Leading Reel Luke
Start with an icebreaker (high/low, best/worst) and any other small group traditions you have. Then ask a fresh opening question to move things a bit deeper (you'll find a dropdown list of these in each lesson). Then move into the lesson.
1. Read the Bible Story
Here's a few different ways you can read and recap the story with your group.
- Read through it one time with people just listening. Then read through it a second time with people following along in their own Bibles.
- Ask one or two people to retell the story after hearing it.
- Ask two people to retell the story in the first person, as though they were actually there. One person can do the play-by-play (tell the details of what happened), and the other can offer color commentary (add details about how they felt, what surprised them, what confused them, what else they noticed, and more). First-person retelling can make the story feel more real. It's also a blast.
2. Ask the Reel Questions
Ask the three Reel Questions to help them remember and bring the story to life. If you want even more Reel Questions, you'll find them in the dropdown below and on each lesson page. Reel Questions are intended to help people process the story and bring it to life so they'll become curious about learning more.
3. Ask the Story-Specific Questions
After engaging with the Reel Questions, pick from the story specific questions.
4. Wrap-Up Question
Use the wrap-up question included in each lesson. Another option for wrapping up is to ask what the story is telling you — each story shows (observation of what Jesus does and says), teaches (the underlying truth in the story), and tells (what it means for me). So the story of Zacchaeus shows that Jesus notices and wants to spend time with people that others despise and ignore. It teaches that Jesus notices and wants to spend time with me, and I should notice and spend time with people who are overlooked or despised by others. And it tells me that I should personally reach out to that kid in the lunchroom that everyone else avoids and who always sits alone.
5. Pray Out
Reel Questions
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Here's the full list of reel questions. We've put a few into each Reel Luke lesson, the ones most suited for middle schoolers. You may never use any of the others listed here, but it's worth reading through them to get an idea of ways you can help students (and yourself) bring a Bible story to life.
Reel Setting (place)
- Where did this story happen? (Describe the setting — in a house, on a road, by a lake, in a city, etc.)
- What do you think that place looked like? smelled like? sounded like?
- Do you think it matters that this story happened in that specific place? Why?
- What about the place in this story feels familiar? What feels strange?
Reel People (characters)
- Make a list of all the people in this story and give a one-word description of each (include “crowd” if there is one). Why did you choose that word?
- What does Jesus say and do in this story? List all the things. Does anything surprise you? Why?
- Which person (besides Jesus) is most interesting to you? Why?
- What details about the characters do you wish were included or explained in the story? Why?
- Why do you think [choose a specific character or the crowd] spoke or acted the way they did?
- What are some different things that person (from previous question) could have said or done? How would that have changed the story?
- What do you think the onlookers were thinking and feeling as things were happening in this story? Why?
- How do you think the main characters might have changed after this story? Why? (Sometimes it tells us, like with Zacchaeus, but other times it doesn’t.)
- How do you think the crowd or onlookers might have changed after this story? Why?
- If you’d been there, where would you have been standing or sitting? What would you have been thinking or feeling? Why?
Reel Events (plot)
- List all the events in the story, like this for Luke 7:11-17, when Jesus raised a widow's son:
- Jesus and his friends were walking into town followed by a crowd.
- Another crowd was walking out of town.
- The two crowds meet.
- Jesus sees a sad woman.
- Jesus talks to a sad woman.
- Etc.
- List all the events that are assumed in the story, like this for Luke 7:11-17:
- A woman and her only son lived in a small village.
- They knew many people in the village.
- The son died (unexpectedly?) leaving the woman totally alone.
- Because the woman was so overcome with grief, her friends helped plan a funeral.
- Etc.
- What do you think are the two or three most important moments in this story? Why?
- If this story were a film, when would the music be scary or tense? When would it be joyful or upbeat? Why?
- What do you think maybe happened right before this story? What do you think maybe happened right after this story?
- Does the biblical story before or after this one matter to this story? How? Why do you think that?
- What are some different ways things could have happened or ended in this story?
- If this story were happening today in your school or town, what are ways Jesus might have acted or explained things for your context? (e.g. maybe he would have used a different phrase than “fishers of men” to explain what his followers would do)
- What would you call this story if it were a full-length book or movie? Why?
Real Faith
- What’s a way people could misunderstand or misuse this story? (e.g. “Jesus will calm all the ‘storms’ in my life,” or “Jesus will heal my grandma if she just believes enough.”)
- Why do you think this story is in the Bible? Why would God want us to read and learn from it?
- What are you learning about Jesus (or his Father or the Spirit) from this story?
- What are you learning about following Jesus (living for Jesus and living like Jesus) from this story?
- After reading this story, what are some questions you have about Jesus and following him?
