January 22nd-26th Life Group Notes

Open in Prayer 

• Welcome/Introductions/Cast Vision – Remind the Life Group of the Guidelines– See bottom of this page.

•  Doing the Mission: Did anyone share Jesus or last week’s passage?  

• Does anyone have a God story? An undeniable encounter or experience with God that creates an impact or  breakthrough in your day-to-day life. These moments can be extraordinary or very humble, but always  personally powerful. 

• Opening Question: What is one of your favorite snack foods? Would you eat it out of a Raven’s mouth? 

• Share background for the passage:  Elijah had to pronounce judgement on his people.
  • Thought/Focus: Will we have faith and trust God’s process? Elijah could certainly answer this question! 
  • Have someone read this week’s passage: I Kings chapters 17-19 

Discuss these questions: Go deeper as led. Remember Head, Heart, Hands. 

1. How would you rate Elijah’s faith during this whole process?
2. Do you have enough faith to trust God’s process when life is hard?
3.  When you look at this story, when did Elijah eat better? When he was with the widow, or the Ravens?
4. How did Elijah act when he was in the valley of despair? Did he think it was fair?
5. Have you ever experienced the same kind of despair? (I’m serving God, but looks what’s happening to me!) 
6. How did you get out of that valley?
7. Have you ever helped someone else to get out of the valley of despair? What did you tell them?
8. Is it hard for you to stand up and speak what is right and wrong among your friends, family, acquaintances?
9. What fresh start is God requiring of you, and how will you make sure you do what is asking of you?

Next week’s passage/story: Genesis 22:1-19 (Choose someone to tell next week’s story.) 

• Dismiss in Prayer
  

CONFIDENTIALITY: What is said in the group  stays in the group.
 
LISTEN: Let’s value one another during the  discussions by really listening to what is  being shared. Try to avoid thinking about  how you are going to respond or what you  are going to say next.
 
PAUSE: Allow a pause in conversation after  someone shares. Give the person sharing a  chance to finish and the group the  opportunity to consider what was just  shared before responding.

NO “CROSS TALK”: Be considerate of others  as they are sharing- no side conversations.

NO FIXING: We are not here to fix each  other. Jesus does that part. Speak truth is love, give  
encouragement, empathize,  point to Jesus.  You may share  solutions God has led you through. The  other person should never feel shame or  failure, but rather connection & hope.

NO HIJACKING of shared stories.

NO RESCUING: When people are sharing  something deeply personal, there can be a  tendency to try to make them feel better  about themselves or the situation by  providing immediate condolences. This will  often cause them to stop sharing. Resist the  temptation to rescue people.
 
SHARING: Be sensitive about the amount of time  you share.
 
SILENCE: It is important to allow silence in the  group as it provides an opportunity for someone  else to share and for members in the group to  process the topic or question being considered.

BE SELF-AWARE: Be self-aware of how you are  personally affecting the environment through your  words, actions, and non-verbal communication.
 
“I” STATEMENTS: It’s easy to talk about the issues  of others, but for our purposes, we want you to put  yourself on the table. Try to use “I” statements rather than “them”, "they", "you", “the church”, “us”, “we”, etc.
 
FIGHT FOR RELATIONSHIP: We will commit to resolve conflict  biblically. When conflict or sin issues arise between  group members, we want to make sure that  we are honoring God and each other in the way we  deal with these issues. We will fight for  relationship.  I will discuss the struggle with the person I am in conflict with first, & if not resolved, seek wise advice. The following are a few key Scriptures  in this regard (there are many others.)

• If someone sins against you: Mat. 18:15-20
• Restoring someone in sin: Gal. 6:1-5 
• Forgive a sinner: Col. 3: 12-13 
• Reconciling differences: Mat. 5:23-24, Mat. 7:1-5