Group Discussion & Life Challenge
Use these notes as discussion prompts for your group, or in your personal time with God.
Connect:
Get to know each other. Connect, warm up to each other, fellowship.
Care:
Carry each other’s burdens. Share life’s challenges and practice Soul Care. Pray together.
Challenge:
1. This week, Aaron contrasted the legalist and the spirit-led Christian in their responses to others caught in sin. What does a legalistic response look like in regular life (at work, in parenting, or on social media) compared to a Spirit-led response?
2. Reread the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). How did Jesus restore the woman with gentleness and truth?
3. The Galatian church had a big issue on their hands, and Paul has called it out and offered a path forward. Imagine the church gathered together to hear Paul’s letter being read for the first time. As the reader finishes, how do you imagine folks gathered around the room responding to the sin that now needs to be confronted?
4. Aaron mentioned that while our church loves to help others, we struggle to let others help us. Why do you think it is so hard for us to swallow our pride and say, “I’m actually not okay, and I need help”? Can you share a time when you allowed others to help you carry a heavy burden?
5. When we see someone make a major mistake or fall into sin, our immediate gut reaction tells us a lot about our own hearts. Is your first instinct typically to grab a “rock” (judgment, frustration, or even sharing it as a “gossip prayer request”) or a “mirror” (humility, remembering your own flaws)? How can we intentionally train ourselves to grab the mirror first?
Clarify:
Does anyone need clarity on something? Are there any big God questions you are wrestling with?
Celebrate:
Celebrate life’s successes and God’s provision. Worship God’s presence. Time to brag about God.
BibleApp
Through the Bible in one Year
Join us in reading through the entire Bible in one year. Each day of this plan guides you through passages from both the Old and New Testaments, allowing you to see connections between the history of our faith, and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Readings average four chapters in length, so it is posible to do. When you use the YouVersion Bible App, you can even have the app read the Bible text to you – very useful when you are in the car or otherwise occupied with your hand.
All you need to do is click the link to the Bible Plan, which should lead you straight to the Bible app. Your two options are now (1) to read the plan on your own, one day at the time. Or (2) you can make it more fun and rewarding, by sharing the plan with one or more friends, and then even “Talk about it”.