Lean In // 5 minutes
Tongue Twister Contest
Leader Note: A bit out of the norm, but it will make sense when you read the passage! See who the tongue twister champ is in your group, who can say one of these cleanly the most times. Think of a fun prize you could give the winner, i.e. twirlers or a Starbucks card fro extra caffeine!
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
And chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
If a woodchuck could chuck wood”
“She sells seashells by the seashore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
“dish soap” (This one is harder than you think!)
Look Down // 10 minutes
What do you learn about Paul’s struggle?
- He doesn’t understand what he does or why he does it
- He hates what he does but he does it anyway
- He affirms that the law is good, but still he fails to live up to it’s standards
- He wants to do good the desire is there, but he can’t do it
- The sinful nature is winning the struggle of sin over his will power
- He’s at war with this new nature in Christ and his sinful nature
- He understand that he can’t win the battle himself, that Jesus will deliver him
Look Out // 10 minutes
Where are people provoked to break rules and why?
Leader Note: Challenge your group to think about places where rules may be posted or implied but “people” seem all the more inclined to bend or break them. Then ask your group why do you think that is, what motivates people to break the rules anyway? Here are a few examples to get your conversation going…
- Lines at amusement parks
- Bringing in outside food/drink to the movies
- Costco food samples, just take one please!
- Rules of the road, speeding, carpool ect..
Leader Note: Transition your group to the next section by saying something like… “sometimes simply knowing the rules isn’t enough to keep us in line. Inheritetly we all have something within us that will test the boundaries, see what we can get away with even if we know it’s harmful. On the flip side some of us become legalistic with rules and will follow everyone to a tee and become critical of those that don’t. The passage today encourages us to consider that both approaches to sin and grace can become harmful distractions from what God really wants to expose and develop in us.”
Look In // 20 minutes
What are the things you hate doing that you do anyway?
Are you addressing those things and how?
Leader Note: As always set the tone for your group by being vulnrable yourself. Share with honesty places where you seem to be stuck just like Paul was in the passage. Think about how you are responding. Are you overcompensating with self-righethous behavior, are you ignoring that there’s even anything wrong with your actions? How might God want to transform not only your actions but more importantly your heart?
Live It Out // 5 minutes
What if you lived in honesty about that struggle? How would you and others be impacted?
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Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.