Pandemic. Discussion Guide I

pan·dem·ic  (pan-ˈde-mik) adj. From Greek pandēmos “of all the people”, (pan- all + dēmos people) : occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population.

For the next few weeks, we will be talking about a highly communicable disease that affects us all: suffering and evil. Each of us are victims of suffering in different ways and degrees. We are also, each of us, responsible for its spreading.

We Read in Genesis 1 and 2 an ideal. By chapter 3, sin and all its influence enters the scene and God’s “very good” world is infected. From rebellion against God in people, to pain and fear to ways that we slowly kill ourselves; what God intended for us and this earth has been deeply contaminated.

In this first week, we will ask the question that always comes first on the heels of suffering and tragedy….why? Why would God make/allow this to happen? Why, if I am a follower, would this happen to me? Why is God punishing me, since I, unlike so many others, am sincerely working on my faith in Him? We’ve all asked why-questions in our own words.

But maybe there are better questions to be asked. Questions that move beyond the “why?” and get into “what are God and His people going to do about suffering?”

This series could be a “next-level” season for your group. Not because the messages will be that groundbreaking (though, we’ll swing as hard as we can!) but because the discussion content could reveal the deepest issues your members have working against their lives, against their faith, and even against their ability to see God for who He really is. As their leader, be mindful that a superficial discussion about suffering fails to take advantage of perhaps the most significant issues growing inside those your journeying with. Make sure your LifeGroup environment is one you head into prayerfully, with a constant challenge to your members to wade out into deeper waters.

Special note: If you have someone in your group that has lost a loved one, and you feel like that is the exact suffering that needs dealt with in your group, you may want to watch and discuss the Nooma entitled "Matthew", as it deals with this issue specifically. We have copies in the office.

 

Thaw

• What's your favorite movie about someone's life not going how they wanted?
• What are the songs, foods, books, movies, activities, etc. that make a bad day better?
  
• Share about a day (week?) where everything went wrong, and what it was like. The proverbial “worst day of my life”.
  
• What were the main takeaways for you regarding this Sunday message?
  
• Were there any ideas you found helpful, surprising, confusing?

Read

• John 9:1-3
  

Discuss

• First thoughts?
  

Leader note: A couple things you may find worth noting. First, the question posed to Jesus about the man’s blindness being a punishment for his own sin is a silly one. How could a person commit a punishable act prior to being born? Next, you may also note that Jesus refers to Himself as being “sent” in verse 4 (as He does in numerous Gospel passages), and then to heal the man, he makes mud and then sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam, which means “sent”. Like Jesus’ teachings and parables, his healing is even theatrical and paints a broader picture for people to think about.

• What are the disciples trying to do in verse one?
  

Leader note: This may seem like a strange question, but the goal is to get people to look beneath the text and see if they can find the very human motivation behind the question. The disciples are trying to find meaning and purpose. “What’s the reason?” “Why has this happened?”

• What are some examples of “having a reason” for pain in your life that made it bearable?
  
• What are some examples of suffering you have experienced where you never got any explanation? What got you through?
  
• How is giving people who are in the midst of suffering trite explanations, clichés or speculation as to the “why” often a bad thing?
  

Leader note: See if you can uncover that when we speculate and try to give words of explanation to people in the throws of some kind of suffering, it’s generally for ourselves and our desire to fix. In other words, when we try and give a friend the possible rationale behind their darkest day, it’s really to sooth our own sense of discomfort and awkwardness about not knowing what to do. If you get into this with the group, you may want to discuss the principle of “sitting Sheva”, where Jewish people mourn silently with their friend who has just suffered the loss of a family member. The principle is helpful even beyond the scope of a death in the family, in that it puts us at ease with just being present and quiet until needed and spoken to, rather than the harried activity and telling the suffering what to think and feel while deciding what they need to heal quickly. You may also want to reference Romans 12:15.

Read

• Colossians 1:15-19
  

Discuss

• First thoughts?
• What does the cross “reconcile?”

Leader note: It may have never occurred to some of your group members that the death of Jesus doesn’t stop at forgiving our individual sin, but reconciles (squares, settles, puts to rights, resolves, patches up) everything on earth and in heaven. The effects of sin are currently being eradicated by the Cross and by those who live by it.

• What does this say about the role of Christ followers regarding evil and suffering in people’s lives and the world as a whole?
• You may not be able to answer the question “why is there suffering in the world?”, but in light of this passage from Colossians 1, what you say God is/is going to do about it? 

Leader note: Make sure that the church is highlighted as one of the primary means by which the power of the cross is carried out. This cannot be overstated!

Read

• Phil 1:28-30
  
• 2 Thes 1:4-5
  
• 1 Peter 4:12-13
  

Discuss

• What do these passages say to the idea that being faithful to God will result in ease?
  

Leader note: As simplistic as this sounds, many people reflexively assume that when suffering comes, it means God has gone. More Christian faith, for many, means less difficulty. But, this is not the case. In fact, it’s an easy argument from even a cursory reading of the New Testament that following Jesus makes your life, in many respects, harder. Harder in the sense that for many people in the world, you are now opening yourself to a certain kind of persecution. Harder in another sense that you are living selflessly in a world that seems to get by on selfishness. In Christ, we are people who love, give, live at peace, live wisely, live calmly, faithfully, interdependently. All the while, the same broken world exists around us, reinforcing the lie that the only way to survive in it is to be live as a selfish animal, constantly avoiding pain at other’s expense.

Be sure to discern how your members are dealing with this question, and don’t let your group off the hook here. Really dig around and see if the “why?” question, if ever asked of God in the midst of suffering (maybe even being asked this week by a member going through some crisis) is really being generated by a misunderstanding about faith. They may have the false view that “we” (God’s people) are supposed to be somehow exempt from pain, sorrow and even the seemingly random consequences of a world contaminated by sin. The passages above, as well as Jesus’ own life-example, contradict this idea.

Application

• How then, should followers of Christ suffer? How does it look differently?
  
• How is it unhealthy to spiritualize suffering as though spiritual maturity equals being less affected by tragedy?
  
• Leader note: Reference John 11 where Jesus weeps ( and is quite disturbed in that it says He cries, and twice, that He was “deeply moved”…) even though He knows Lazarus will be coming back to life in a matter of moments. Knowing with certainty what God is doing about the affects of sin in the world doesn’t equal “no heart-break”
  
• What is the role of your LifeGroup, or any small group of people you have entrusted your life to, in times of deep suffering? How does a suffering group member communicate need? How do the others find out if the communication is lacking?

Scriptures for further study

• Genesis 3
  
• 1 Corinthians 12:25-27
  
• 2 Timothy 3:10-12
  
• 1 Peter 3:8