Week of June 27, 2011

1. Read Genesis 22:1-14.
2. Have you ever been through something that you thought was a test from God? If so, explain it.
3. Has someone ever made you a promise that he didn't fulfill?
4. If you attended worship this week, what stood out from the sermon or the worship service?
5. If someone told you to sacrifice your only child, what would you think? When folks in Abraham's day heard about this story do you think they thought he was crazy? Why or why not?
6. Read v. 1-2. The command God gave to Abraham makes no sense to us. Have you ever sensed God asking you to do something that made no sense to you at the time? What did you do? What was the result?
7. Read v. 3-5. Notice that Abraham never seems to doubt God. In Genesis 15:1-6 we read about how God promised Abraham that he would have many descendants. Have you ever doubted God?
8. Turn and read Hebrews 11:17-22. Do you think the events of this story impacted Isaac? What impact do you think this had on his children and grandchildren?
9. How is this story a foreshadowing of Jesus?
10. What challenges you about this reading and your discussion today?
11. Pray for one another....

Week of June 19, 2011

1. Read Matthew 28:16-20.
2. Which person of the Holy Spirit - Father, Son or Holy Spirit - do you feel the most comfortable with? do you know the most about? Which are you the most uncomfortable with? know the least about?
3. Share with the group what you understand about the doctrine of the Trinity.
4. Why does it matter that God's nature is that of a community, or a family?
5. How might faith in the Trinity allow for a personal knowledge of God?
6. How does God's nature (a community of Persons whose life is love) determine what He does?
7. Why is God being both transcendent (the "out there" God) and immanent (the God that is close) essential to believing what He does?
8. How can you better grow in your knowledge about the faith?
9. Pray for one another....

Week of June 13, 2011

1. Read Acts 2:1-13.
2. In school, were foreign languages easy or hard for you? Why?
3. Given that Pentecost was quite the harvest festival (see Deuteronomy 16:9-10), why does God choose this day to give the Holy Spirit? If you had been in that room, what would you have seen, heard and felt?
4. See if someone in the group has a good Bible map or even a contemporary Atlas. From how far away are these pilgrims in v. 9-11? What has attracted this crowd to the disciples?
5. Look back and read Acts 1:8. How is this promise already being fulfilled?
6. If you were one of the crowd, would you respond more like the folks in v. 12, or those in v. 13? Why?
7. When have you experienced an empowering from God to witness about Christ?
8. What do you think was God's part and Jesus' followers part in this event? What can you do this week to be better prepared for God's use?
9. Pray for one another....

Easter 7 - Small Group Questions

If you were not with us on Sunday you can listen to this sermon here.

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11
1. Who is your favorite superhero with super strength? Why?
2. Peter calls us to live humbly. How humbly do you believe you are living? Where does living humbly fall on your 'appealing/not appealing' scale? What is your image of a humble life? Where is the tension in your life between the self-assurance that the world admires and the humility to which the Gospel calls us? How might you cultivate living a more humble life?
3. How do you struggle to turn your cares over to God? What might this say about your ability to trust in God's care for you? What specific anxiety or concern do you need to cast on God?
4. Would you say your spiritual life is disciplined or undisciplined? What practices might make your spiritual life more disciplined? Is there a specific one to which you can commit?
5. Finally, Peter calls us to remain faithful. Can you recall a time or situation recently that tested your ability to remain faithful? How are you able to return to the Lord when your faith has been shaken or tested?
6. In all of these ways of living - being humble, casting our cares on God, being disciplined, and remaining faithful - we are called to rely on God's strength instead of our own. How do you struggle to rest in God's strength instead of asserting your own?
7. Over the last four weeks we looked at Christ our example, foundation, Lord, and strength. Which of these spoke to you most personally? Which challenged you most? Share how Christ is your hope.