- Read Acts 2:1-13.
- In school, were foreign languages easy or hard for you? Why?
- 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?
- If you can, find a Bible map and a contemporary map. From how far away are these pilgrims in verses 9-11? What attracts this crowd to the disciples?
- Go back and read Acts 1:8. How is that promise fulfilled here?
- If you were one of the crowd, would you respond more like those in v. 12 or those in v. 13? Why?
- When you have you experienced an empowering from God to witness about Christ?
- What do you think was God's part of Jesus' followers part in this event? What will you do this week to be better prepared for God's use?
- Pray for one another....
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Week of May 19th, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Week of May 13, 2013
- Read Ephesians 5:21-6:4.
- What was the most maddening thing your parents did when you were a child?
- How does the relationship between Christ and the church help explain what Paul means by "submission"? How does that relationship help explain the role of the husband in marriage?
- To what expression of "headship" - Christ's and the husband's - is the wife asked to submit: The sacrificial kind? The bossy kind? Or both?
- Can a wife's respect for her husband (5:33) be commanded? Or must it be earned? Why? Likewise, a children's respect for their parents?
- What does it mean to bring up children in the Lord without exasperating them (6:4)? Give examples from your experience.
- In summary, how does 5:21 apply to the types of relationships found in this section? What are the mutual obligations involved in these relationships? In what ways could Paul's instructions be misinterpreted apart from the context of 5:21? How have you been affected by these misinterpretations?
- How does Paul's teaching about marriage challenge common ideas today? Which affect you? What principles flowing for this section can you work on to help you be a better spouse (or potential spouse)?
- What does it mean for you as an adult to honor your parents? How might this help improve your relationships with them?
- Pray for one another....
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
If you were unable to be with us on Sunday you can listen to this sermon here.
The Book of Common Prayer
1. Do you believe that 'piety' has fallen onto hard times as a virtue? Why or why not?
2. Mtr. Mary spoke to the need to develop our piety because it creates for us a well of living water from which we can draw in our most needful times. How have you found this to be true for yourself?
3. Has the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) been a resource that you have used in developing your piety (or prayer life)? Why do you think you have, or have not, used it?
4. We read together the Collect for Grace on p.100. Have someone read it aloud now. What speaks to you from this prayer? Do you have a prayer that you say each morning?
5. We read together the Collect at the bottom of p.124. Have someone read it aloud now. What speaks to you from this prayer? Do you have a prayer that you say at the end of your day?
6. Turn to p. 810. Take a moment to look through the list of prayers. Did you know the BCP had prayers that spoke to all of these situations and conditions? From the titles, choose one that you want to read. Have each person read their chosen prayer aloud to the group and talk about why they chose it and how it speaks to them.
7. Over time, have you noticed that different prayers in the BCP speak to you at different phases or ages of your life?
8. Mtr. Mary 'provoked' us to memorize some of these prayers where they would be available to us when we need them. Have you memorized any prayers from the BCP? Would you like to?
9. Mtr. Mary addressed several acts of personal piety that are often engaged in worship - genuflecting, bowing, crossing, and acts of piety at the reading of the Gospel. Did you learn anything you didn't already know? Do you participate in any of these? Why? Are there some that don't feel authentic or helpful to you. Why do you think that is?
10. How might you grow your own personal piety?
The Book of Common Prayer
1. Do you believe that 'piety' has fallen onto hard times as a virtue? Why or why not?
2. Mtr. Mary spoke to the need to develop our piety because it creates for us a well of living water from which we can draw in our most needful times. How have you found this to be true for yourself?
3. Has the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) been a resource that you have used in developing your piety (or prayer life)? Why do you think you have, or have not, used it?
4. We read together the Collect for Grace on p.100. Have someone read it aloud now. What speaks to you from this prayer? Do you have a prayer that you say each morning?
5. We read together the Collect at the bottom of p.124. Have someone read it aloud now. What speaks to you from this prayer? Do you have a prayer that you say at the end of your day?
6. Turn to p. 810. Take a moment to look through the list of prayers. Did you know the BCP had prayers that spoke to all of these situations and conditions? From the titles, choose one that you want to read. Have each person read their chosen prayer aloud to the group and talk about why they chose it and how it speaks to them.
7. Over time, have you noticed that different prayers in the BCP speak to you at different phases or ages of your life?
8. Mtr. Mary 'provoked' us to memorize some of these prayers where they would be available to us when we need them. Have you memorized any prayers from the BCP? Would you like to?
9. Mtr. Mary addressed several acts of personal piety that are often engaged in worship - genuflecting, bowing, crossing, and acts of piety at the reading of the Gospel. Did you learn anything you didn't already know? Do you participate in any of these? Why? Are there some that don't feel authentic or helpful to you. Why do you think that is?
10. How might you grow your own personal piety?
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