Oct. 5th- Oct. 10th Life Group Notes

Open in Prayer 

• Welcome/Introductions/Cast Vision - Remind the Life Group of the Guidelines- See bottom of page.

•  Doing the Mission: Did anyone share Jesus or last week's passage?  

• Does anyone have a God story? 

• Opening Question: When facing a very stressful time, is your first response to try to forget about it? Pray about it?  Worry about it? Just go to sleep and hope it goes away?
                                                                                               
  
• Share background for the passage: King David, who once was a shepherd himself, is comparing his own ways of shepherding to the way God – The Great Shepherd- guides us through all types of life journeys.

                                                                                       

• Thought/Focus: Thinking of God as your shepherd, and you as one of His sheep, are you trusting Him on your journey through life, or do you find that you wander away from the path that He has for you? 

• Have someone read or tell this week's passage/story: Psalm 23

• Discuss these questions: Go deeper as led. Remember Head, Heart, Hands.

1. Why do you think that David was given the job of a shepherd in his youth?
2. In verse one, David says that:  because the Lord is his shepherd, he has no “want”. What do you think that this means?
3. In verse 2, what is the significance of “lying down in green pastures” and “still waters”?
4. What is the significance of having your soul “restored”?  Have you ever needed this kind of restoration?
5. Look at verse 4. What does David refuse to fear? Why?
6. Every shepherd in those days had both a rod and a staff. David said these brought comfort to him. What were each of these instruments used for? Why would David be comforted by a rod?
7. In verse 5, David said that his shepherd prepares a table even in the presence of his enemies.  Why would the shepherd do this? What could possibly be the outcome of sitting with your enemies?
8. There are 2 promises in verse 6. What are they? What were the pre-requisites? Are you on the path that the shepherd has for you? What will be your own personal rewards because of following the shepherd?

Next week's passage/story: TBD
Select someone to tell next week's story
Dismiss in Prayer  

CONFIDENTIALITY: What is said in the group stays in the group.
 
LISTEN: Let's value one another during the  discussions by really listening to what is  being shared. Try to avoid thinking about  how you are going to respond or what you  are going to say next.
 
PAUSE: Allow a pause in conversation after someone shares. Give the person sharing a  chance to finish and the group the  opportunity to consider what was just  shared before responding.

NO "CROSS TALK": Be considerate of others  as they are sharing- no side conversations.

NO FIXING: We are not here to fix each  other. Jesus does that part. Speak truth is love, give  
encouragement, empathize,  point to Jesus.  You may share  solutions God has led you through. The  other person should never feel shame or  failure, but rather connection & hope.

NO HIJACKING of shared stories.

NO RESCUING: When people are sharing  something deeply personal, there can be a  tendency to try to make them feel better  about themselves or the situation by  providing immediate condolences. This will  often cause them to stop sharing. Resist the  temptation to rescue people.
 
SHARING: Be sensitive about the amount of time  you share.
 
SILENCE: It is important to allow silence in the  group as it provides an opportunity for someone  else to share and for members in the group to  process the topic or question being considered.

BE SELF-AWARE: Be self-aware of how you are  personally affecting the environment through your  words, actions, and non-verbal communication.
 
"I"STATEMENTS: It's easy to talk about the issues  of others, but for our purposes, we want you to put  yourself on the table. Try to use "I" statements rather than "them', "they", "you", "the church", "us", "we", etc.
 
FIGHT FOR RELATIONSHIP: We will commit to resolve conflict  biblically. When conflict or sin issues arise between  group members, we want to make sure that  we are honoring God and each other in the way we  deal with these issues. We will fight for  relationship.  I will discuss the struggle with the person I am in conflict with first, & if not resolved, seek wise advice. The following are a few key Scriptures  in this regard (there are many others.)

• If someone sins against you: Mat. 18:15-20
• Restoring someone in sin: Gal. 6:1-5 
• Forgive a sinner: Col. 3: 12-13 
• Reconciling differences: Mat. 5:23-24, Mat. 7:1-5