4/19/20
1. CALL TO WORSHIP (HAVE SOMEONE READ ALOUD):
To all who desire an encounter with God,
To all who are weary and need promises of peace,
To all who are discouraged and long for an end to this crisis,
To all who feel afraid of the future and wonder if God is present,
To all who are frustrated and desire patience,
To all who have sinned and need a Savior:
Our Father opens wide His arms with a welcome from Jesus Christ,
the Strength of the weary,
the Keeper of His promises,
the Healer of the sick,
the Friend of sinners.
2. SHARING THE DETAILS OF OUR LIVES: (15 minutes)
What are you currently thankful for?
What is causing you stress?
Who needs our help and how can we help them?
3. PRAYER: (10-15 minutes)
Let the subjects brought up in your conversation lead you to prayer. (When the group falls silent, anyone can say amen and close the group prayer.)
Best Practices:
Spend a few moments praying conversationally.
Pray in sentences, not paragraphs.
Ask God, the Holy Spirit, to help you understand and apply His Word to your lives.
Allow the prayer of others to stimulate your prayers.
Invite any kids with you to pray.
4. have someone read PHILIPPIANS 1:19-30 (10 minutes)
At a slow to medium pace, read the passage two times outloud. Allow the content to sink in and become familiar. As a group, try to recall and piece together—from memory—what you read. This helps cement the content in our memories.
5. OBSERVE (30-35 minutes)
Observation begins to answer the question: What does this passage say? For the last several weeks, we’ve been practicing the four questions below. Try to make more observations from the passage before exclusively focusing on the four questions. You might observe repeating words, themes, thoughts. Recognize what comes before this passage in Philippians.
Exercise: Have someone record observations (short-hand) and set a timer for 10 minutes. Make as many observations as you can as a group in that time.
After spending time immersing yourself in the content, come to conclusions through the four questions below.
What does this passage teach us about God?
What does this passage teach us about humanity? (Christians and/or non-christians)
In light of what God teaches me in this passage, what am I ready to believe, think, do?
Who do I know who needs to hear this? How will I go about sharing it with them?
7. BENEDICTION:
Have someone read this out loud to the group:
“Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you…The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” —2 Cor. 13:11, 14