Community Groups Vision

If you have time and feel this would help the new people in your community group better understand what you are trying to accomplish as a group then take 2 minutes to show this video.

Today’s Discussion

This week we continue our new series titled And He Answered Me. We will be looking at the topic of prayer. Prayer is something we see all through Scripture, and yet it is something that many people who call themselves Christians do not practice on a regular basis. Could it be that we have misunderstood what prayer is and what God has intended it to accomplish in our lives? Let’s find out as we discuss this together.

Discussion Questions

What is a painful moment you have either walked someone through, or that someone has walked you through?

What was most needed in that moment?

C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

“We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.”

How does our culture tend to deal with pain and suffering?

Would you say that is a healthy approach? Why or why not?

What would you suggest as a better way to deal with pain?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

How might being part of a community (peole you do life with, not just people you are aquainted with) help in times of pain and trouble?

Why might someone be resistant to being part of a community? In other words, what are some obstacles that make it difficult for us to be part of that kind of community?

How could intimacy wiht Jesus and confidence in who He says you are help us to overcome those obstacles?

Ephesians 6:10-13

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

How does trusting God in the midst of our suffering preach the Gospel to the powers and principalities of the Universe?

How does allowing community to surround us in our suffering preach the Gospel to other people?

Closing Thought