17 Feb Discussion Guide: The Story of the Bible Week 2
Ice Breaker
One of the things we value within community is fun. In the midst of all the pressures life throws at us, it is our ability to laugh, play and celebrate together that reminds us we serve a good, loving, and resurrected Lord who stands above it all. So, we want to take the first few minutes of our time together to play, have fun, and celebrate the fact that we belong to Jesus.
Today’s Ice Breaker: Collaborative Drawing
This game will combine your artistic talents together to create the ultimate drawing without seeing what others have added before you. You will divide the group up into teams of 4 and have each team sit in a circle or line.
Materials Needed:
- Paper for all participants
- Writing utensils for everyone
- A timer or stopwatch
How to Play:
- Instruct each person to fold their paper into four equal sections, as you would fold a letter. Start at the top and fold down 25%, and then the next fold will be in the middle (left to right crease) and so on. They should then unfold the paper so that it is flat again.
- Players are then told to draw a head for their drawing in the uppermost section. It doesn’t matter what kind of head they draw or where on the upper section it is, as long as the neck connects to the top of the second section on the paper.
- Instruct players to fold their paper over in order to hide the head they drew, leaving only the very bottom of the neck showing to help the next player in their drawing.
- All players pass their folded papers to their left and accept the paper being handed from their right side. Each time a new paper is given to each player, they must draw the missing section, connecting it to the other person’s previous section without actually looking to see what it looks like. This process will be repeated for all three of the other remaining sections: torso, legs, and feet. Make sure that all the players know to leave the very bottom of their drawing visible so that the next person can continue on. Each section should be timed to avoid spending too long on this game.
- Once the drawings are all completed, open up the papers and check out the crazy creatures or people that are featured there!
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 The Story of the Bible. Many of us may know some Bible stories, but we may not actually know the story of the Bible. Over the next couple of months, we will be walking through the overarching story of Scripture by looking at the 9 main acts of the story: Creation, Catastrophe, Calling, Covenant, Crown, Corruption, Captivity, Christ, Cross, Church, and Consummation. Our goal is to come away with a better understanding what the Bible, and history, are really all about, and the impact that has on our lives as a people.
Discussion Questions
Written by Pastor Cori Sullivan
What kinds of things do people place their identity in? Apart from Jesus what are you most likely to find your identity in?
Genesis 3:1-7
Why do you think Ishsha (woman) desired more than she currently had? What caused her to break?
What lies are you tempted to believe that you feel like you’re not enough?
What decisions do we make when we believe that we are not good enough?
What do those decisions tend to lead to?
And then, what actions do we take to cover the shame we often feel as a result?
By God’s grace through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, shame is put to death. Jesus wore our sin and shame on the cross and then it was buried with Him as well as death itself. Therefore, when we read through the profound book of Romans we get to rise up.
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Preach, brother Paul! Not today shame, not today! God only has good for me! I am His. The end.
*side note: You might need to read that verse over and over again to get hyped, but come on! NO condemnation. Let me give you an example of freedom. *enter teenage son hangry and blaming you for something. Your response: “Son, you’re welcome that I am not a perfect mom. That’s for you, boo.” 😉 #can’ttouchthis #thanksJesus #thanksforthecovering
Genesis 4:6-7
“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Do you tend to think of sin more as a noun or a verb a verb? How would you describe the difference?
God seeks to intervene in Cain’s life by painting a picture of what sin looks like; it is waiting to destroy you. How can we make space to listen to God in the midst of the messes we sometimes find ourselves in?
How might Cain have responded had he listened to God and recognized the Envy at work in his heart?
How can we battle sin and win?
God’s Word. Choose one. Then use it.
“Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3-5
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” 1 Pet. 5:8-9
“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.” Is. 54:17
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6:11-17
“In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rom. 8:37
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Zech. 4:6
“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”2 Thess. 3:3
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Luke 10:19
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth
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Closing Thought
How does God’s grace, as seen through our relationships with one another, keep us from following the path of Adam & Eve, Cain, Lamech, etc.?
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