Month: September 2014

Proverbs 6:6-11 // I Can’t, God Can: You Make The Call Wk 4

Lean In // 5 minutes

 What would you be willing to camp out all night for?

Sample answers may include…

  • IPhone
  • Movie premier
  • Concert
  • Black Friday
  • To meet a famous celebrity
  • Restaurant grand opening (IE- Chic-Fil-A)

Look Down // 10 minutes

Read Proverbs 6:6-11; 26:13-16 (NLT)

What are the lessons from the ants?

Sample answers may include…

  • Ants work hard and are diligent
  • Take initiative—no supervisor to make them work
  • Plan ahead—gather food for the winter
  • They understand the seasons by working in the summer
  • The ways of the ants can teach wisdom

What are the contrasts of the “lazybones” person?

Sample answers may include…

  • The lazy person is opposite of the ants
  • Complacent—waiting to take action
  • Lack understanding of seasons and time
  • Think they are smarter than everyone else
  • Complain and give excuses

Leader Note: In this week’s lesson, we are learning about what it takes to persevere.  As you study this passage, see what your group can learn about perseverance from the ant and lazy person.

Look Out // 10 minutes

Where have you seen someone persevere and what did it look like?

What are some of the characteristics involved when a person does not persevere?

Look In // 15 minutes

When was a time you wanted to quit but pushed through anyways?

Where are you currently struggling to persevere?

Leader Note:This is a good opportunity to take notes and listen to where group members are struggling to persevere so that you can pray with and for them.  Be careful to not necessarily jump in and rescue them but rather listen and encourage where it is appropriate.

Live It Out // 5 minutes

Who might be impacted if you made it through your struggle?

PRAY: Pray that God would strengthen your group in the areas where they are struggling to persevere.  Ask God to help your group experience His presence through it all.  And, pray that group members would find the understanding that they can’t persevere on their own strength but they can persevere in and through God’s strength.

Key Verse(s): I can do all this through him who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13

Key Step: Take the prayer challenge.  In the morning for the next 7 days, pray this prayer: I can’t.  God can.  He can through me.  Then in the evening, pray: Teach me the mystery of Christ in Me.

Click here for Life Group Serve Opportunities

Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 // Maps And Paths: You Make The Call Wk 3

Lean In // 5 minutes

What are the characteristics of a good resume? What are the types of characteristics read at an Eulogy and how do they differ?

Leader Note: Lead your group to see the difference between self-earned/driven achievements and the character traits, such as loving and self-giving which have more lasting impact.

Look Down // 10 minutes

Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

What do you learn about this difficult thing Paul faced?

Sample answers may include…

  • Paul asked three times for it to be taken away
  • The “weakness” led him to depend on God
  • He was given or gifted “a thorn in his flesh”
  • Christ’s power is made perfect in his weakness
  • Christ’s grace is sufficient for Paul
  • Paul’s weakness and Christ’s power are connected
  • He found purpose in the “thorn” or difficulty and a promise of grace and power in Christ

Commentary: There has been a lot of debate about the “thorn in the flesh” Paul references.  There are some commentators who think it was epilepsy while others thought it could have been depression or debilitating headaches or even a degenerative eye disease.  Also, the phrase “messenger of Satan” is unclear.  Commentators are not unified on whether Paul is making a theological statement or using the phrase as a figure of speech.  Although some of these things are unclear, what we do know is that Paul’s thorn was incredibly difficult and debilitating for him…and it didn’t go away: “Three times I pleaded with The Lord…” (v. 8).  With all that being said, Paul considered and understood his thorn as a gift where Christ’s power was made perfect and His grace was sufficient.

Look Out // 10 minutes

What are some of the “thorns” or difficulties you see people facing today?

Sample answers may include:

  • Health related issues
  • Difficulties at work
  • Financial pressures—student loans, debts, mortgages, etc.
  • Relational stress—marriage, kids, or dating

How have you seen people respond to their difficulty?

Leader Note: Just like The Apostle Paul, we all face “thorns” or difficulties in our lives and they range from seasonal to permanent.  As you lead your group, help them to identify the different hardships that people face in our world and their response to it.

Look In // 15 minutes

Where are you experiencing a “thorn” in your life?

What would it look like to receive it as a gift where Christ’s power and grace is made perfect in and through you?

Commentary: The Apostle Paul was a man of great faith that God used in incredible ways and even he faced a painfully debilitating “thorn” in his flesh.  Also, he asked God to take it away three times but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Even though Paul faced this difficulty, he found purpose and a promise of Christ’s grace and power.

Leader Note: A question we often want to know is why?  Why did this happen to me?  And, then we can jump to the conclusion that we did something wrong or that God is upset with us.    As you lead your group through these questions, be sensitive to the difficulties they face and the questions they may ask, while also reminding them that God is at work.  For when we are weak, then Christ (and us) are made strong. 

Live It Out // 5 minutes

What if we received our difficulty as an opportunity for Christ’s grace and power to be known?  How would it impact our world?

PRAY: Although we can receive our difficulty as an opportunity for Christ to work, it doesn’t mean that we don’t pray for the situations that we face.  Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  From the things your group identified as “thorns”, pray that God would heal, provide, deliver, etc.  And, pray that your group would experience God’s grace and power in the face of the difficulty. 

Key Verse(s): But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

Life Group Connect Event Sign-Ups: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 6:30-8p, Upper Room

Click here for Life Group Serve Opportunities

Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.

Acts 2:42-47 // Don’t Go It Alone: You Make The Call Wk 2

Lean In // 5 minutes

What are some things you can’t do alone?

Sample answers may include… 

  • Have a party
  • Play catch
  • Get engaged/married
  • Play in a band
  • Have a conversation
  • Water ski

Leader Note: The goal of the question is to get your group to engage.  As the leader, be prepared to share a few lighthearted things you’ve tried to do alone but ended up having a hard time.  Allow some space for group members to share stories around their answers.

Look Down // 10 minutes

Read Acts 2:42-47

What are some of the activities the early believers practiced as a group?

Sample answers may include…

  • They gathered regularly together
  • They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching—studying Scripture
  • They committed themselves to doing life together and sharing meals (including communion)
  • They were devoted to prayer
  • They were in a deep sense of awe and they performed miracles and wonders
  • They were generous and met people’s needs
  • They worshiped together at the Temple
  • They met in homes
  • They shared their meals with great joy and celebration
  • They praised God and enjoyed the goodwill of all the people
  • God grew their group and added new people

Look Out // 10 minutes

Where are some of the places that people look to for community?

What are some of the key ingredients that hold a community together?

Leader Note: In every human there is a desire to belong and we all look for people and places where we can be in community.  Today, there are many ways to find it.  For example, sports teams, fitness clubs, and even online platforms are all ways we can find community.  Help your group identify the different places we look for community and what holds it together.  As the leader, be prepared to share your own observations.

Look In // 15 minutes

Where have you experienced “Acts 2” activities in your life group?

What are some activities you are hoping to experience?

Leader Note: Encourage your group to be honest about their life group experience and what they feel might be missing.  Perhaps you can share first about an aspect you feel is missing from the group.  How would you and your group like to do things the same or differently in this next season?  Also, it may be helpful to read off the list of observations you found in the Acts 2 passage and compare it with your life group experience.

Live It Out // 5 minutes

Who might be impacted by your group doing life together and being for your community?

PRAY: End your group time together thanking God for bringing you all together to form a group as described in Scripture.  Pray specifically for those areas your group highlighted that they wish were better within the group, and for opportunities to make the group stronger and to live out all aspects of Acts 2:42-47.

Key Verse(s): Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.  – Proverbs 13:20

Life Group Connect Event Sign-Ups: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 6:30-8p, Upper Room

Click here for Life Group Serve Opportunities

Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.

Proverbs 14:1-16 // Right Things, Wrong Way: You Make The call Wk 1

Lean In // 5 minutes

What are some things you’re looking forward to this fall? What are some things that you have reservations about?

Leader Note: Pay good attention to the answers here as they may help you guide the rest of your discussion and shape your group’s prayer time.

 

Look Down // 10 minutes

Ready Proverbs 14:1-16

What does Solomon say in the passage about wise living and it’s benefits?

Sample answers may include…

  • A wise woman builds her home
  • Fears the Lord
  • Does not lie
  • Understands where they are going
  • The godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation
  • The prudent carefully consider their steps
  • The wise are cautious and avoid danger
  • Knowledge comes easily to those with understanding
  • Words of the wise keep them safe
  • Tent of the godly flourish

What does he say about foolish living and it’s consequences?

Sample answers may include…

  • A foolish woman tears her house down with her own hands
  • Those who take the wrong path despise him
    Proud talk becomes a rod that beats him
  • False witness breathes lies
  • Mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it
  • Fools make fun of guilt
  • The house of the wicked will be destroyed
  • The path before each person that seems right, often ends in death
  • Simpletons believe everything they’re told
  • Fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence

 

Look Out // 10 minutes

When people live wisely, how does it affect those close to them?

When people live foolishly, how does it affect those close to them?

Leader Note: This question may be a bit harder for people to answer as they may have been affected by someone’s poor choice and foolish living. Direct your group to not use names – they can talk about personal experiences, but steer them away from naming names.

 

Look In // 15 minutes

Where are you currently in need of wisdom?

What verse from the passage can you hold onto as you pursue wise living this week?

Leader Note: As your group answers the second question ask them what it is about that verse that stands out to them, and what it would look like to not only hold onto that verse but live it out in the coming weeks.

 

Live It Out // 5 minutes

How would those around you be affected if you lived wisely in the area you identify in the look in question?

Key Verse(s): “The wise fear the Lord and shun evil. but a fool is hothead and yet feels secure.” Proverbs 14:16

Click here for Life Group Serve Opportunities

Life Group Leaders, have you rsvp’d for the Leader Vision Night on September 14th? Get more information and rsvp here.

Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.