July 15th- July 20th Life Group Notes

Open in Prayer 

• Welcome/Introductions/Cast Vision – Remind the Life Group of the Guidelines– See bottom of 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: How do you define faith?

• Share background for the passage: The author of Hebrews writes about the "heroes of the faith" and how their faith was shown by their obedience and action apart.
• Thought/Focus: Obedience is faith exercised and brings about God's blessing and joy.
• Have someone, or a couple of people, read this week’s passage:  Hebrews 11:17-40

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

1. What do you see is the relationship between faith and obedience in this passage?
2. Which example is your favorite and why?
3. In verse 8, Abraham had to obey God's command to GO even though he didn't know where he was going. Are you willing to obey God even when you don't understand or see the other side of the command? Is this hard or easy for you?
4. What does verse 9 teach us about trust God with impossible odds?
5. Share a short story about obeying Jesus when it didn't make sense and how He blessed you (remember, make the story short, even it's long).
6. Where do you see joy in this passage? How did their obedience bring greater joy?
7. What you think the last two verse mean and how do they apply to us?

 
Next week’s passage/story: TBD

• 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