Wounded LiSTeNeRs

LiSTeNeRs with Wounds

Connect:
Finish this sentence: You don’t know a person until…

Surrender:
Read Isaiah 53 and spend some time thanking God for the wounds His son endured for us. Perhaps people could silently thank God for the wounds they have endured b/c they are closer to God because of them. Or perhaps people could offer up their uncertainty about why bad things have happened to them.

1 Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.

7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.[b]
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.[c]
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.

10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Grow:

Read 2 Corinthians 4:5-7
If we are like clay pots, what are some of the implications of that?

Have you ever considered yourself as wounded?

What part of your “woundedness” would you feel comfortable sharing with us all?

If God’s heart beats so for the wounded, why do we spend so much time “acting” as if we have it all together?

What do you think about this statement?
Your understanding of grace is in direct proportion to your own brokenness and need for God.

Read Luke 7:36-50. Does this passage validate the statement above? How does this thought relate to where you are right now spiritually speaking?

What weakness/brokenness do you think God wants to use within you to help you minister to others?

Are you being real with yourself about where you are spiritually?

Develop:
Blessing chair prayer for someone

Share:

Evaluate how the outreach event went.
§ What was perfect?
§ What could have been better?
§ What would you do different next time?
§ Does the group want to try something similar this summer?
§ How can we pray/followup on the people who came?

Remember, the pools will be opened soon! The group is welcomed to use the pool for outreach/fellowship events.

LiSTeNeRs Through the Seasons

LiSTeNeRs through the Seasons

Connect: What is your favorite season? Why?

Surrender:

Use this song lyric as a prayer or to inspire a surrender prayer from the group.

Great is thy faithfulness
Oh God my father
There is no shadow of turning with thee
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
As thou hast been
Thou forever will be

Summer and Winter
Springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join in all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness
Mercy and love

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Your strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with ten thousand aside

Grow:

Any thoughts from Sunday’s message on spiritual seasons?

Spring: preparation, freshness, focus, beginnings, planting, activity, breaking up the ground.

Summer: fullness, gifts to the max, weeding, watering.

Fall: reaping either good or bad, hard work pays off, storing.

Winters: Where is God? What has happened? Hopeful expectation, forced rest, living off what is stored.

What season do you see yourself in right now?

Several ways to get into a season…
In a season of your own doing (sinning, making bad choices into a winter, or following into a summer time). Can you think of biblical characters or Bible verses to back this up?

In a season because God has placed you there. Can you think of a biblical characters or Bible verses to back this up?

Sometimes it is hard to endure a long season while you are longing for another. Have you found yourself (along with Bruce) wanting to force the seasons on God?

Read Psalm 86:11
What do you think an undivided heart looks like in everyday life?

Read John 14:31
Bruce called this the secret to surviving spiritual seasons. Develop the ideas in this verse together.

Develop:
If you think someone has potential to start an outreach type discussion group this summer, take a moment to tell them so. You might help them develop some ideas for a group. Perhaps your group could sponsor an outreach type group or servant evangelism type project (where you find a need in the community and meet it).

Share: Did your group choose an outreach activity yet? Do you need help? Contact me.

the Power of a name

The power of a name

Connect:

§ Do you know what your name means?

§ If not, do you know how your parents chose your name?

§ If not, what are some nicknames you have been given over the years?

Surrender: In Revelation alone, Jesus is given 17 different names. Each of us can read one and remember our Lord. If someone feels led to pray something between names, they should feel free to, though it isn’t necessary.

The faithful witness, first to rise from the dead, commander of all the rulers of the world, son of man, first and last, living one who died, son of God, Lion of the tribe of Judah, lamb, shepherd, faithful and true, word of God, King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, root of David, bright and morning star.

By Faith we believe that Jesus is living up to and will live up to each of these names. By this same faith, we believe that we can live up to our individual names.

Grow:

What does it mean to you that you might receive a new name in heaven?

Read 1 Corinthians 4:15. Talk about the difference between a guardian (teacher) and a spiritual parent. How are these lived out in the family of the church?

As a generation passes off the scene of our church, what responsibility do you feel to “fill the gaps” that are left behind? In what area of ministry do you feel your gifts are best used?

In 1 Corinthians 4:16, Paul urged the people to imitate him as their spiritual father. The idea was that they should become spiritual fathers to others. What does that ministry look like today? How do you see this ideal being worked out in your life?

Is there someone in the church that you might come alongside and “mentor?”

Is there someone outside the church that you might “mentor?”

How do you feel about these two ideas?

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.

Blessing chair or prayer: you might offer the blessing chair to someone tonight or you might spend some extra time in prayer tonight (since there are less discussion questions than normal).

Perhaps someone in your group might be developed to organize an outreach type group this summer…

My wife is doing a “For Women Only” group either at a local bookstore. The idea is women from our church inviting pre-Christian women to join them for this study.

There are lots of other ideas out there already:

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.

This past week, one of the LIFE groups generated two ideas on this: 1) on person wants to organize to serve the homeless, 2) another wants to host a backyard picnic.

Share:

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

· Push your group to evaluate your options, choose one, and then choose a date.
· Remember to think relationally (How will this help us connect relationally with pre-Christians?).
· Invite pre-Christians to join you. Example: we ministered 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 talking about doing something for the upcoming “Concerts on the Green” series in Framingham. They may give out free water or setup a prayer booth.