06.10.07
Small Group Plan - June 10, 2007
“Friends”
Small Group Plan
June 10, 2007
Dear Group Leader…
Some people have lot of “friends” but none are very deep. Other people have a few friends who know their deepest hurts and joys. A few people have no friends. But regardless of the number or depth of our relationships, God designed us need each other. Paul knew this and closes his letter to the Romans with a list of a “few” (29 names) of his friends.
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· How would you describe one of your earliest “best friends?”
· Do you keep in touch with “old friends?” Why?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
Romans 16:1-16
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 3 Greet …
· What does this list of names reveal about the way Paul maintained his relationships?
· How does Paul affirm his friends even in a simple greeting?
· What does it tell you about Paul that he would list 26 names of individuals in a church he had never before visited?
· There is great diversity in this list. Nine of the greeted are women. Thirteen names occur in manuscripts of inscriptions related to the imperial household (cf. Phil 4:22).
· Describe both the power and the challenge of diversity in a church family?
· What concepts communicated in this list show the under-girding unity existing within their diversity?
· What kind of friends “risked their lives” (Vs. 4) “worked very hard” (Vs. 6) and “been a great help” (Vs. 2)?
Romans 16:17-20
17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
· What kinds of people cause division and problems in God’s family?
· What is “smooth talk” and “flattery?” How does it deceive?
· Why does Paul say, ”keep away from them?” How do we do this?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Would you feel at home among the people listed here? Explain.
· Why would Paul go to all the trouble to mention these people by name? How can we show this kind of affirmation to our Christian friends today?
· What does Verse 16 reveal about life together in Jesus? What would be the modern counterpart of the “holy kiss?”
· Why and how are we most vulnerable to Satan’s (Vs. 20) plans to twist and wound our relationships?
Close by praying for our relationships, our elders and our future.