LG Questions :: 12/19/2010

Matt Irvine | Sandy Lake Wesleyan

For Further Consideration | LG Questions

12/19/10 | Week 4 :: The Stories of Christmas

Today we talked about the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Who are some of your favorite characters from that movie? What are some of your favorite scenes? What’s the central theme/point of the movie?

Read Isaiah 53 and discuss the implications of its message…

Right up front, Matt asked a REALLY BIG question - What difference is my life making? Before you explore the difference your own life is making, take a moment to think of the impact OTHERS’ LIVES have made on you – here are the questions:

            What person/people have most dramatically impacted your life?

            What person/people have offered the most support encouragement?

            How would your life be different if this person/people hadn’t been in your life?

Consider John Ortberg’s thoughts about “Moral Therapeutic Deism”

            :: There is a god who created the earth and watches over it

:: God wants us to be nice, fair and good

:: The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about yourself

:: God doesn’t need to be involved except when there is a problem that needs a “Celestial Performance Enhancement”

:: Good people go to heaven when they die

:: What’s missing? JESUS

Question: How do you see this (Moral Therapeutic Deism) attitude bleeding through our culture these days?

Read Acts 17:6, then consider the following questions:

            What was the reputation of these disciples?

            Why were they called in?

            What reputation do many of today’s Christians have?

George Bailey gets a second chance from God, and he basically acts like a crazy man running around wishing everyone a ‘Merry Christmas’ – Have you received a second chance from God, and how have you responded to that second chance?

Read Romans 12:1-2, then consider the following questions:

            What does it mean to “offer our bodies to God”? What would that look like?

            How would doing this be considered a “spiritual act of worship”?

Read Luke 2:13-14, then consider the following questions:

Before this proclamation, God had been silent for 400 years. How do you think that time of silence felt to generations that passed through during this time?

How is God NOT silent anymore? How has he spoken, and what has he communicated to us?

Matt asked, What difference has Christ made in your life? And what are you doing with your second chance?

IN CLOSING :: Take some time to thank God together as a group for the people who have positively impacted your lives. Take time to thank God for his work and impact in and on your lives. And take time to ask God to use us to make a difference in the lives of others.

LG Questions :: 12/12/2010

For Further Consideration :: Life Group Questions

Week 2 :: The Stories of Christmas | Shawn Cossin

What’s the weirdest Christmas present you’ve ever given or received?

What were you like as a kid when it came to anticipating Christmas?

The definition of “anticipation”:

A prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action

The act of looking forward, especially to a pleasurable outcome

Read Matthew 6:7-8

            Why is it important to note that Jesus said, “When…”?

            What does he suggest about our praying? Why would that matter?

            What do these scriptures have to do with anticipation?

Read Matthew 7:7-12

            What did Shawn say about “asking, seeking, and knocking”?

            What do we know of God’s desire to help his children?

            How has God been faithful to you?

Read this out loud to the group:

In “A Christmas Story,” the main character Ralphie wanted a Red Rider BB Gun. But his desire was tempered by his inability to trust his parents would get him what he asked for.

That’s just a fictional movie, but how does our inability to trust God and his provision affect our relationship with Him? (If it’s helpful, review Shawn’s illustration about the gift of a musket he wanted from his grandfather, too.)

In “A Christmas Story,” everyone told Ralphie that he’d “shoot his eye out.” In our relationship with God, we get impatient about timing and safety about a lot of things. Sometimes the best thing God can do is say “no” or “not yet” or “in a little while.” Can you think of any moments from your own life where you got impatient with God?

Shawn asked, “What are you asking God for this Christmas,” then asked if we would be willing to wait on God’s answer/response, even if it’s not coming right away.

Read Psalm 5:3 – How does that tie in with your group discussion/study so far?

In the end of “A Christmas Story,” Ralphie finally gets the BB gun. In life, we don’t always have the storybook ending. Sometimes we do, but sometimes we continue to wait in expectation. Take a moment  to share the “storybook ending” moments you’ve experienced, and also take a moment to share the things you’re still waiting and praying about.

IN CLOSING :: Take time to reflect as a group – what are you asking God for this Christmas, and what are you anticipating? How can you be patient as God works His plans out in your life? Pray for each other and for our church, too!

(Don’t forget – please drop me a line with a Life Group update – THANKS!)

LG Questions :: 12/05/2010

For Further Consideration :: Life Group Questions

Week 1, “The Stories of Christmas” | Shawn Cossin

What are some of your personal or family Christmas traditions? Share a few with your group.

Discuss – Ever said or done anything really dumb? Felt out of place? Considered yourself out of place?

Shawn invited us to explore what it means to feel like a misfit. He said that “being a misfit … fits us.” In what ways do we as Christ-followers sometimes feel like misfits?

Today’s Christmas story  was connected to Rudolph. What do you remember/recall about the story of Rudolph and the “island of misfit toys”?

Why do you think this story of Rudolph resonates with so many people?

Pretty fascinating background to the story, isn’t it? (Bob May wrote it for his daughter after his wife died of cancer. He didn’t have anything else to give his daughter for Christmas, so he wrote this story.)

A working definition of “misfit”:

One who is unable to adjust to one’s environment or circumstances or is considered to be disturbingly different from others.

A person not suited in behavior or attitude to a particular social environment.

Why do Christians so often feel like misfits?

Read this quote and reflect on it as a group: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” [C.S. Lewis]

Read John 17:13-16, then explore the following questions:

            What does this section of scripture communicate?

            Who was speaking, and why would that be important to know as you read this?

            Why in this prayer would Jesus ask that we be kept in this world rather than taken out?

Read Jeremiah 29:11-13, then consider – What does this communicate to us? What must we do if we expect to seek and find God?

Shawn listed several people mentioned throughout Scripture that were misfits, and said that God “uses misfits, and often chooses misfits to accomplish His purposes in the world.” Who are some of the misfits of the Bible you especially appreciate?

Read Isaiah 53:2 and John 1:10-11 … What does this tell us about Jesus?

Jesus himself was a misfit. Sounds strange to say, but it’s true. How was He a misfit, and how was He used for the sake of the Kingdom?

Read 1^st Corinthians 1:27-28 – What encouragement can we receive from this section of Scripture? How do you see this section of scripture at work in your life?

Big Question – What misfit part of your life does God want to redeem this Christmas? (Take a stand? Endure criticism? Wait on Him in faith? Realize who God made you to be? Something else?)

IN CLOSING :: Take time to pray for each other and for our church, asking God to help us embrace the reality that, as Christ followers, we are misfits in the world. Commit again to be used by God for His purposes.