Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
Ice-Breaker:
- What are one or two of your all-time worst decisions? Oh, and let's keep em light :)
Discussion Questions:
- On Sunday, Amber talked about Abram and Sarai in Genesis 11. If you recall, Sarai could not have children, but God had promised the couple a son. But by chapter 16, Abram and Sarai have gotten impatient and take matters into their own hands. Sarai tells Abram to sleep with her servant in order to keep his blood line going. Sarai had suffered under the shame of her barrenness, and it led her to make a bad decision. Suffering can breed SIN. Sin tries to convince us that if we can just get what we want - BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. If we can just solve our problem, everything will be okay. But sin never delivers what it promises. Has there been a time in your life when suffering led you to sin? Have you ever chosen your own path, tried to make your own way and control things, rather than trust God?
- Waiting on God can be very difficult. Not only did Sarai choose the wrong path by offering up this alternate plan for a child, but Abram went along with it. Even though it wasn't long ago that God spoke directly to Abram and promised him a miracle, Abram silently goes along with a plan that clearly ISN'T God's. Abram was silent when he needed to speak up. Suffering can breed SILENCE. This is the definition of passivity. How often do you stay silent when you should speak up? How often do you go along to get along? How often do you choose comfort over conviction? Examples?
- So Abram sleeps with Hagar, the servant, and she becomes pregnant. This causes Hagar to be filled with contempt for Sarai, which then causes Sarai to be upset with Abram and blame him for everything. Every relationship is broken over this sinful decision and Sarai's plan has officially backfired. SIN and SILENCE will breed MORE SUFFERING. Abram and Sarai's suffering has now deepened even more. When we step outside the will of God and try to take matters into our own hands, the consequences often spiral out of control. St. Augustine once said, "Sin becomes the punishment of sin." Have you seen this truth play out in your own life, either in yourself or someone you know? How so?
- Because of all the brokenness in their relationships, and the fact that Sarai had begun to treat Hagar harshly, Hagar eventually runs away. But an angel appears to her and tells her to return to Sarai and submit to her authority. Hagar was so desperate to escape the misery of her situation she'd rather run off into the desert, pregnant and alone, risking death. Maybe you've never LITERALLY been in the desert, pregnant and alone... but you HAVE had those moments when you just wanted to run. Run from hurt, disappointment and situations that felt like they'd never change. Maybe you shut down, bury yourself in work, in distractions, in your kids, in an addiction... anything to escape. This is where Hagar finds herself, but God tells her to RETURN and SUBMIT. Suffering can birth SURRENDER... if we'll let it. Is there something you need to lay down? Is there an area of your life you need to surrender to God?
- Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Is there a situation in your life right now where you are doing what YOU think is right, rather than seeking God's way? Do you tend to fall into the trap of thinking you know best? How has that worked out for you?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would learn to suffer well.
- That we would always seek to go God's way and not do what we think is best.
- That we would surrender in our suffering.
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