Lean In // 5 minutes
What posters were on your wall in high school?
Sample answers may include…
- Cars/Trucks
- Movies/Movie Stars
- Athletes/Sports Teams
- Singers/Bands
- Travel Destinations
Leader note: Help your group remember some of the posters they or their friends hung on their walls when they were younger. The goal of this question is get your group thinking about the ways we compare ourselves to others. You may want to say something along the lines of… “the truth is many of us tend to compare ourselves to those we look up to or to things we do or don’t have.”
Look Down // 10 minutes
Circle the words or phrases that evoke emotion.
Sample answers may include…
- “lack nothing”
- “he leads me”
- “green pastures”
- “refreshes my soul”
- “fear no evil”
- “cup overflows”
- “goodness and love will follow me”
Leader note: As your group reads Psalm 23, ask them to identify words or phrases that create emotion. Then, give everyone an opportunity to name 2-3 words or phrases that made an impression on them. This is an important step as the discussion will involve some of the words or phrases the group identifies.
Look Out // 10 minutes
What do people look forward to during the holiday season?
What can create tension during the season?
Sample answers may include…
- Family
- Money/Finances
- Work
- Marriage
- Relationships/Loneliness
- Future
- Time
Leader note: After the group lists some things that people generally look forward to during the holiday season, help them list or categorize some things that might create stress or worry. As the leader, you might want to help capture and categorize the different areas.
Look In // 15 minutes
What challenges are you facing this season?
Where can you apply Psalm 23 to those challenges?
Sample answers may include…
- Money/Finances = “I lack nothing”
- Job/Vacation = “He guides me”
- Marriage = “My cup overflows”
Leader note: The holiday season tends to bring various areas of life into focus which can create thoughts, feelings, and emotions of all kinds. Help your group to identify 2-3 areas of life to where they can apply a Psalm 23 word or phrase. For example, “In my finances…I will lack nothing…” Often, the area of life that creates the most emotion is the primary place that God wants to speak. As the group “connects the dots”, encourage them to hold onto that Psalm 23 word or phrase through the season and beyond.
Live It Out // 5 minutes
How will applying Psalm 23 impact your life and others this season?
Leader note: The work that God does individually has an impact on all of us collectively. As your group identifies their area of life to apply the Psalm 23 word, help them to see how it will impact those around them—spouse, kids, co-workers, etc.
Key Verse(s): The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. – Psalm 23:1
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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.