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) After reading through the way Jesus taught us to pray, what objections came to mind if any? Do you struggle with the idea that prayer should be a first response?
2) Have you ever stopped praying because you were hurt, angry, or felt God didn’t hear you? What makes it hard to be completely honest with Him about how you feel?
3) Share an experience in your own life or someone else’s—where prayer actually changed a situation or gave someone strength to get through a hard time? Read Phil 1:18 and 4:12-13
4) Jesus told us not to pray using repetitive, empty words just to sound holy. What is the difference between talking to God like a real Father versus just repeating a routine? Do you have any practices/disciplines that you feel are helpful?
5) How does it change your day when you start your morning remembering that God wants to do it with you, that He is not looking for perfection but for a relationship?
6) What’s a practice that you adopt over the next 3 weeks as a group to grow your relationship with God?
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”.