Discussion questions in July.

Hi all
It's easy to leave the best part of the sunday message untouched. This is the part where people wrestle with it afterward and figure out what it has to do with real life. Thanks for creating environments where people get a chance to do this.

Over the next month, there will only be the generic discussion guide available. I say "only" as a measurement of quantity, not quality. These questions, and an attentive ear as a leader during a message and during group time, are plenty to create great conversations and challenging application to the individuals and to the group as a whole. As I am on sabbatical, I won't be producing this or anything else. But it will continue to be my hope that the groups we lead are challenged and comforted, encouraged and loved this summer.

We'll pick back up in August with specifically tailored discussion guides for you to you lead with.

Be creative.
Be attentive.
Be humble.
Be honest.
Above all, be loving!

Thanks for leading.
Steve

What most stuck out for you about Sunday morning?

What were the key points for you in the message?

What was the "one thing" you took away that seems applicable in your own, personal life?

What did you learn:

*About God?

*About yourself?

*About others?

What changes in thought and in style-of-relating might be necessary in light of what you've learned?

What are the hindrances to transformation, and what do we do about those?

What role can this group play to help you take steps this week and beyond?

Mark 9:2-29 "The Dad Who Saved his Kid with Doubt"

Use the generic discussion guide in your group this week to allow people to explore the ins and outs of knowing and being known. You probably won't have many members start completely unpacking their hidden interiors, but it will be another step toward the peace that comes from unconditional love and inclusion. This is a benchmark of a Christ community.

Key texts

• Mark 9:2-29
• John 1:14,17
• Psalm 85:10 
• Romans 2:4

Discussion

• What most stuck out for you about Sunday morning?
• What were the key points for you in the message?
• What was the "one thing" you took away that seems applicable in your own, personal life?
• What did you learn:
• *About God?
• *About yourself?
• *About others?
• What changes in thought and in style-of-relating might be necessary in light of what you've learned?
• What are the hindrances to transformation, and what do we do about those?
• What role can this group play to help you take steps this week and beyond?

Mark 8:27-9:1, 9:30-37 "Power down"

The gospel of Mark has taken a notable turn. The cross is now named and fully hanging over the events and words of Christ. We can see all this in retrospect with a fair amount of clarity, but the disciples were confused. And perhaps some of us are when we really stop and think about Christ's mission:

God showed the power of the Kingdom by something you and I would in any other context call weakness and loss.

Use this time in your group to see if you can begin to identify the "power systems" in your lives, both active presently and hoped for at one point in the future. In what ways do we strive for the kinds of power, the kinds of control, conquest and converting that our culture teaches are the key to succeeding? Like electricity, power itself isn't bad. But 9 times out of 10, it's not it's channeled in a way that aligns with the Kingdom, and therefor works against the human life God intends for us all to live together.


Thaw

• How have you been more present to notice the sacred within the mundane in the last week? 
• How has God helped you have "eyes to see and ears to hear" in ways that you normally struggle?
• What stood out the most from Sunday morning?

Read

• Mark 8:15
• Mark 8:27-9:1 
• Mark 9:30-37
• Thoughts and observations?
• What are you learning about Christ here?
• What is this teaching you about what it means to be a follower of this sort of King?

Discuss

• Who taught you what "powerful" was as a child?
• In what ways does your life (career, relationship style, etc.) require displays of strength, dominance, "overpowering"?
• If you were to relinquish control over certain aspects of your life, what would it cost you?

Read

• John 6:15
• Thoughts and observations?

Discuss

• How do you think Christ made such a name for himself if he wasn't even willing to be made a king?
• You probably won't be forced into a king/queen decision. What scenario might you face where the same kind of decision is necessary?

Apply

• Think ahead about the rest of this month. How can you display the power of the Kingdom in your specific circumstances, even if it at odds with how you normally think, behave or even get paid to do?
• What about all this seems so uncomfortable, even though, intellectually, we are reasonably certain that this is the very best, most unified way to exist?
• How can this group be a support and an encouragement to you as you try and "take up your cross" and "deny yourself" in ways you have never done before?

Mark 7:24-8:26 "Sigh..."

A recurring theme visited again this week: God continues to show us that there is enough in and around us already to begin experiencing fullness and joy. In fact, Jesus went so far as to say that the Kingdom isn't "over there", but is within us (Luke 17:21).

As a group, discuss the nuances of the text(s) this week, and spend some time adjusting your dials to become more aware of the beauty of the moment you find yourself in. 

Thaw

• It's June! How is this year going compared to your expectations and intentions six months ago?
• What have you learned over the years about what you intend and what actually occurs?
• What most stuck with you from Sunday morning?
• What is something sacred you noticed today?

Leader note: let the room go quiet as the group reviews their day. Sacred happened, even if it was missed on the first pass.

Read

• Mark 7:24-8:26
• Thoughts and observations?

Discuss

• Why is it easier to see God's work in retrospect?
• What would it take to better see God at work in the present?
• In what ways have you been figuratively blind and deaf in your life?

Read

• 1 Corinthians 2:8-10
• Thoughts and observations?

Discuss

• What causes us to miss or not recognize that which God is on record as having already revealed?
• Why do we continue to not adjust our lives to live more attuned to reality, even after recognizing we're "missing it"?
• In what ways can you imagine your group being a place that sees and hears what God is already up to, in the midst of all the peaks and valleys, busyness and boring of life?
• In what ways can this group accidentally add to the deafness and blindness Jesus deeply sighs about?