04.30.08
Posted in Small Group Plans at 8:00 am by Bob
“Investment: Avoiding A Success That Fails”
Windows on the Soul
Small Group Plan
April 27, 2008
Dear Small Group Leader,
“He is no fool
to give what he cannot keep
to gain what he cannot lose.”
– Jim Elliot
“In Whatever Man Does Without God,
He Must Fail Miserably,
Or Succeed More Miserably.”
– George MacDonald
“What Good Is It …
To Gain The World, But Lose Your Soul?”
– Jesus
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· If your house caught on fire and family and pets were safe, what three possessions would you want to save from the flames?
· Are you more of a spender, saver, or giver? Explain.
· How does our culture define success? Why?
· If most people got what they wanted in “retirement” what would they get?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
The Story That Prompted The Story – Luke 12:13-15
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 1`5 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
· Why would someone conclude that the “abundance” defines their life?
· What would you say makes your life abundant right now?
A Success That Fails – Luke 12:16-20
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
· Count the personal pronouns in this man’s speech to himself. What does it tell you about him?
· What is the goal of this man’s life? If he were your son or close friend, what would you say to him?
· Is Jesus condemning material prosperity in this parable? Explain.
· What in the man’s attitude led to God’s condemnation?
· What does “the ground” represent in verse 16?
Possessed By Possessions – Luke 12:21
“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
· How do you reconcile this verse with Proverbs 6:6-8, which tells us to be, like the ant and store up for the future?
· Also, how do you balance the message of this parable with Paul’s message to provide for our families (1 Tim. 5:8)?
· What does it mean to be “rich toward God?”
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Why do you think people place such value on money and material possessions?
· Even though America is wealthy compared to the rest of the world, do you think of yourself as wealthy? Why or why not?
· Is it possible to be prosperous without being greedy? If so, how?
· If you could write your obituary, how would you fill in the following blanks?
- Last night, __________ died suddenly.
- He/she will always be remembered for _____________.
- He/she always had time for ______________.
- He/she felt that their possessions were _______________.
As you close in prayer, confess to God that He already owns everything and ask for His help to manage His wealth.
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04.23.08
Posted in Small Group Plans at 8:00 am by Bob
“Waste: Looking for a Purpose”
Windows on the Soul
Small Group Plan
April 20, 2008
Dear Small Group Leader,
prod·i·gal
Pronunciation: prä-di-gəl
Etymology: Latin prodigus, from prodigere to waste, to squander
— Merriam-Webster
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· What is the closest you came to running away from home? Explain.
· If you were to “run away” to a “far country,” where would you go and why?
· If you had access to a lot of wealth to “squander” how would you do it?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
The Rebellion – Luke 15:11-16
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”
· Why would a boy with such a loving Father choose to leave?
· What does this parable tell us about he nature of humanity?
· What is the modern equivalent to being “in need?”
· What has happened to the son when he wanted to eat pig’s food?
The Realization – Luke 15:17-20a
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.”
· What brought the boy to “his senses?”
· Why did he rehearse his speech?
· What was he expecting from his father?
· Find the process in the story that turned the boy’s life around.
The Reunion – Luke 15:20b-24
20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”
· What does the Father teach us about the nature of God?
· Does this parable speak to the issue of grave and works? How?
The Resentment – Luke 15:25-32
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
· Who does the older brother represent?
· Why does Jesus tell this story and who is it aimed at?
· Is it possible to be with the “Father” (God) and not have His heart?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Who are you most like in the story – leaving prodigal, hurting Father, returning prodigal, resentful older brother? Explain.
· How do you identity with the younger son?
· How would you compare your spiritual journey to that of the younger son?
· This story ends with celebration. What do you have to celebrate?
As you close in prayer, ask God for His heart of mercy and grace.
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04.16.08
Posted in Small Group Plans at 8:00 am by Bob
“Heart: Looking Up or Down”
Windows on the Soul
Small Group Plan
April 13, 2008
Dear Small Group Leader,
Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble,
when you’re perfect in every way.
I can’t wait to look in the mirror
cuz I get better looking every day.
To know me is to love me,
I must be one really great man.
Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble
but I’m doin’ the best that I can.
– Country Song
Luke 18:9
To some who were confident
of their own righteousness
and looked down on everybody else,
Jesus told this parable:
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· When does religious confidence turn into religious pride?
· What are the usual reasons that someone would “look down” on someone else?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
Two Men – Luke 18:10
Two Men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a Tax Collector.
· What are the basic differences between these two men?
· How did their own world see and judge them?
· How much of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector do you see in yourself? Use percentages - _____% Pharisee / _____% Tax Collector.
Two Prayers – Luke 18:11-13
11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
· Why do you think the Pharisee acted at he did? Where did his feelings come from? Why did Jesus want us to know about them?
· Why did Jesus make the Tax Collector the hero of the story?
Two Results – Luke 18:14
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
· Why did Jesus call the Tax Collector “justified?” What did Jesus see in him that he didn’t see in the Pharisee?
· What does “exalting” yourself look like? How do you do it?
· What does “humbling” yourself look like? How do you do it?
· Is it possible to be “proud” of your humility? Explain.
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Where is your favorite place to pray? Explain.
· How have your prayers changed or matured?
· Why does God honor the prayers of a humble person?
· How do you think our church would receive the Tax Collector? What about the Pharisee? Explain.
As you close in prayer, allow a time a silence for each group member to consciously reach a moment of humility before God.
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04.09.08
Posted in Small Group Plans at 8:00 am by Bob
“Growth: Looking for a Plan”
Windows on the Soul
Small Group Plan
April 6, 2008
Dear Small Group Leader,
In March of 1986, Roger Moore was given a traffic ticket for not having his toddler secured in a car seat. He grumbled about the ticket as he fastened his son in his car seat. Nineteen minutes later they were both involved in an accident. The toddler had a few minor injuries but was protected by his car seat. Unfortunately, Roger was killed. He had listened to the warning and fastened his son’s seat belt, but had never buckled his own.
James 1:23 could be paraphrased this way: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who … died in Bel Air, Maryland, in 1986.”
– Reader’s Digest, 5/88/105-109
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· Jesus’ parable uses the growth of plants to evaluate the growth of faith.
· When it comes to growing real plants, what has been your experience? How successful are you? Do you even try? Explain.
· When you were growing up, what kind of seeds did you sow – “wild oats,” seeds of discontent, seeds of optimism, others?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
Three Plans That Don’t Work
The Rigid Heart – Mark 4:4, 15
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
· Why does God’s word not take root in some hearts at all?
· What makes a heart hard?
· What could soften a hard heart?
The Shallow Heart – Mark 4:5-6, 16-17
19 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
· What challenge to your faith makes you want to quit?
· How can a shallow faith be deepened?
The Crowded Heart – Mark 4:7, 18-19
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
· What activities and concerns of your daily life compete the most with God’s activities and concerns?
· How does busyness do to personal faith?
· Why is “worry” so damaging to faith?
One Plan That Works
The Open Heart – Mark 4:20, Luke 8:15
20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.
15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
· Hear The Word
What most helps you to hear and really get God’s Word?
· Retain The Word
Why should hearing God always be followed with obeying God?
· Persevere With The Word
Where / how does Satan attack you?
· Produce From The Word
What does Jesus mean by this amazing harvest?
New converts? Good habits? Godly character qualities?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Do you think a person is one kind of “soil” throughout their life? Why or why not?
· What kind of soil best represents you right now? Explain.
· What can you do to improve the “crop” in your life?
· What specific “thorn of worry” can this group pray about with you?
Close with prayerful commitments to God to follow the plan that works.
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