Parent LiSTeNeRs

Parent LiSTeNeRs

Connect: What stands out the most about the way your parents/guardians raised you?

Surrender: Share a characteristic or attribute of God for which you are thankful (holiness, all knowing, all powerful, etc.)

Think about what it means that God is called our Father.

Use this prayer as a springboard or
Each person can read a line or
You can recite it together

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Grow:

The extremes in parenting are the authoritarian parent and the lenient parent. Do/did you tend toward one of these?

Ephesians 6:4 advises parents to “bring them (children) up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. What is the difference between discipline and instruction?

Do/did your children ever drive a wedge between you and your spouse by playing you against each other (“Mom said I could stay out until 11 pm”)? What do you do about this?

Let’s compare notes. What is the best way you have found to exasperate/irritate your children (Eph. 6:4)? How are you growing through this issue?
In the Ten Commandments, we are challenged to “Honor our fathers and mothers.” How do you obey this command when your parents are not Christians or continually hurt you?
Why do you suppose God attached a promise (long life) to the command to obey our fathers and mothers?
In 1Samuel 12:29, Eli was honoring his sons more than God. Bruce called this Kid Worship. Do you think this is a problem today? Have you seen yourself falling into this trap?

For those who do not have children: You have an opportunity (like the Apostle Paul) to spiritually father or mother people in the family that is our church. What are your thoughts on this?

Develop:

Talk about when/if the group will end for the summer.

You might ask for specific feedback on what you can do as a leader to make the group better next time around.

Share:

It is time to get the outreach events on the calendar.

· Push your group to evaluate your options and choose one.
· Remember to think relationally (How will this help us connect relationally with pre-Christians?).
· Invite pre-Christians to join you. Example: we ministered this weekend to an elderly woman who recently attempted suicide. We invited her neighbors to join us in doing some work around her house and playing Scrabble with her. We were able to share Christ’s love with her neighbors too.
· One group is hosting a pizza/game night at the church on a Saturday night. They will all invite pre-Christians t o join them.

This summer is a chance for us to get out into the fields and plant some gospel seed. My wife is planning on doing a “For Women Only” group either at a local bookstore or at the church poolside. The idea is for four women from our church to find four pre-Christian women to join them for this study.

There are lots of other ideas out there:

Science and the Bible discussion, knitting group, book club, etc. Anything that interests pre-Christians can become an opportunity for us to reach them with the good news. See if anyone in your LIFE Group is interested in starting one of these type groups. I will help them.