LESSON SEVEN: Discussion Guide for Group & Individual Use (click more)
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time you have provided for us to come together to hear from you and have fellowship in your Word and to learn and apply your Word to our hearts. We need you, Lord. We need your grace all the time. We praise you for your goodness and your love and mercy. Please open our hearts to you and to one another and lead our discussion. Help us not to fear, but to put all of our hope in Christ. Help us to remember there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. May you be glorified in all our thoughts and words and deeds. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I. LECTURE
Will someone share how the Lord used the lecture to speak to your heart? Did anyone have any questions or concerns about the lecture? If you ever have a question or something is unclear, please let us know. We want to serve you in any way we can!
II. PLEASE READ THE MAIN POINT FROM THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK
It seems we worry about everything, but we were not built to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Worry can disguise itself as care and concern and thus distort our perspective and impact our actions and attitudes. Our hearts and minds get easily fixed on a circumstance, a wayward child, a failure, a conversation, etc., and we lose our fix on Christ. It is not that all that is going on in the world is unimportant or that it doesn’t need attention or prayer. But it’s how we respond that makes the difference. The Lord cares for us more than any earthly father could. Absolutely everything is under His power and His authority, and we are His daughters. Our worry is not pleasing to God. It is not what He desires. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Of course, underneath worry is fear. God tells us more than one hundred times in the Bible, ‘Do not be afraid.’ We are called to turn from our worry and worship the Lord, our God. We are given the comfort of knowing that when we deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Him, we can rest in Him. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Is. 26:3). This is the sweet fragrance of faith – a picture of a life of worship instead of a life of worry.
III. QUESTIONS FROM THE HOMEWORK
1. Go through the homework, occasionally calling on women. Read scriptures aloud. After asking a question, remember to allow a brief period of quiet “wait-time” to give women a chance to think before answering. After pausing, if no one shares, go ahead with your answer, rephrase question, and/or move on.
DAY ONE Devotion: Worry or Worship?
2. Would someone please share what spoke to your heart from Day One?
DAY TWO
3. Quiet Moment - Will someone vulnerably share from their list of fears?
4. Quiet Moment - How did the Lord speak to you through His word in Matthew 6:25-34, instructing you about why not to worry?
5. Going Deeper Question #2 - Will someone share a fear and the scriptures you found that spoke to your fear and to the faithfulness of God?
DAY THREE
6. Quiet Moment – Where are you most inclined to be vulnerable in worrying about the things of the world?
7. Going Deeper Question #1 - What insight did you gain from reading Luke 12:22-31?
8. Question #4 - Thankfulness is worship. Will someone share from their list of thanks to God?
DAY FOUR
9. Quiet Moment – What in your tomorrows do you worry about? In your weakest moments, what thoughts are flowing through your mind and your heart? What strategy or weapons does the enemy try to use to get you to worry about tomorrow or go down the path of pride, making plans to fix or prevent situations with human wisdom and strength?
10. Going Deeper Question #1 - What scripture did you choose to give you light when you are overcome by the darkness of the night?
11. Question #2 - What does the psalmist affirm in Psalm 139? How does the psalmist handle his anxiety and circumstances? What does he ask God to do?
12. Question # 4 – What do you see the Lord revealing in you?
DAY FIVE
13. Quiet Moment - In reading Luke 12:8-12, what does Jesus say we are to do?
14. Going Deeper Question #2 - What are your thoughts about rejoicing in being considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Christ?
15. Question #3 - Would each person share the first name of one person they wrote down to share the gospel with or one way you will take time to build a relationship? Please take time now to pray together for the people on your lists.
IV. PLEASE RECITE YOUR SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSES TOGETHER
V. TAKING THE TRUTH TO HEART TIME
We will now focus on taking God’s truth to our hearts and bringing it to life. James 5:16a states; “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” And 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
Please turn to your Taking the Truth to Heart and Bringing It to Life page. We will each have 3 minutes so that every woman will have a chance to share. Please record one another’s confessions on the Taking the Truth to Heart Guide on the following page so you can pray for one another throughout the week. Leaders, please set the example by always going first.
VI. PLEASE CLOSE IN PRAYER
