Bridging the gap between faith & footsteps

Last week, I noticed people's tendency to depersonalize the questions we asked them. We asked them what resonated with them in the passage and most people answered the question without answering it. They talked about the passage, but didn't really answer the question. It is much easier to talk about the passage then to let the passage talk to us. Please gently nudge people away from depersonalization and toward answering the question. One way to do this is to give people hooks. Examples: does the downcast faces of the disciples resonate with you? Does the fact that Jesus didn't reveal Himself at first resonate with you? Does the trip back to Jerusalem to tell the good news resonate with you?

There are three levels of bible study 1. what does it say? 2. what does it mean? (Bruce does a great job of covering these for us) and 3. what is God saying to me (this is where we ought to spend most of our time). If we allow the group to depersonalize every question, we will never get to the third level, which is the goal of our groups.

7:00-7:25
Connection: Create a covenant. What do you value in a small group experience? What boundaries would you suggest we adopt as a group for the next 8 weeks? (if you want to warm up to this question, you could ask people to share one of the first Christian small group experiences they can recall).

7:25-7:35
Surrender:
Read over Romans 12:1-2 together as a group. If you have different Bible translations available, read from 2 or 3 different translations. As you listen to these words once again, what thoughts or questions come to your mind about Paul's challenge? Invite God to do His will with your group.

7:35-8:10
Grow:
1. If it is true for you that "you are the most attentive to God when you are the most desperate", what does it say about "trials" and "difficult times" in our lives?

2. As we strive to put "footsteps to our faith", what sort of inspiration (if any) do you draw from God's promise of rewards (eg. Jer. 17:10; 1 Cor 4:5 etc...)?

Warning: some people may ask if Jer. 17:10 is suggesting a works salvation. This verse confused a couple of people in the Sunday group. You could explain the different between works for salvation (which won't work) and works as a result of the fact that we are saved (which does work).

3. Which element of the Christian life do you find yourself having the greatest trouble with....

• Preparing for Installation (being honest in our self-evaluation)
• Removing old components (letting go of the "junk" from our past)
• Installing power source (living in the power of the Spirit)
• Mounting securely (living in faith that your salvation is secure)
• Customize (knowing and practicing your unique spiritual gift)
• Troubleshooting (knowing and relying on God's network of support for us in the event of trouble - eg. Scripture, spiritual friends, etc...)

5. Most Christians really want to "know God's will" for their lives. What do you think the difference might be between "knowing it" and "testing and approving" it (Rom 12:2)?

8:10-820 Develop: You could ask if anyone wants to say something encouraging about someone else. You could enlist people to help with various components (food, fun, outreach project).

8:20-8:30 Share: This might be a good time to introduce the idea of an outreach project/event and pray for God to open your eyes to the needs of people around you that you could meet. This is a good time to subgroup. In the coming weeks, I will suggest a brainstorming session for your group on this outreach event thing.