In The In-Between, He Restores My Soul
(Psalm 23)
(Leader: This guide is written so you can read it aloud like a “script” with the intent to serve and resource you. Anywhere you see parentheses and “Leader:” is an attempt to give you helpful guidance or tips.)
Sermon Recap
(Leader: To begin, you may choose to have someone in your group read aloud Psalm 23:1-3, offer some space for silence, then you continue reading through the recap).
Psalm 23:1-3 MSG
God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
In this four-week series In The In-Between, He Restores My Soul, we are attempting to invite a conversation like a family-talk around the three questions:
1) What situation do we find ourselves in?
2) What might God want to do or say?
3) What might it look like to open ourselves up to this?
We are allowing the Spirit of God through the words and imagery of Psalm 23 to be our good news and path for living into healthy spirituality and formation. We acknowledge each of us are coming from places within our own story, some of us may not feel the “in-between” while others of us are asking “what might be next” while in the in-between.
Last week our conversation focused on questions 1 and 2. These two questions invited us to notice where we now find ourselves in-between organizationally as a Refuge community, and to call us to trust that God is available to lead, shepherd, and restore our souls.
Tonight’s focus is on receiving He Restores My Soul as good news while asking the question, what might it look like to open ourselves up to this? We were given the Hebrew words shuwb (pronounced shoob) meaning “to return, to turn back” and nephesh meaning that of “breathing creature” to guide us in understanding what it means to “restore.”
Practices for Tonight
We are going to do our best to make our way through each movement of discussion below. As always, we will do our best to listen to one another and to the Spirit. If the conversation lingers in a meaningful way somewhere, I (the leader) will try not to force it onward.
Discussion.
From the teaching on Sunday and from your own experience, how would you define "spiritual health"?
Based on your own definition, the scripture references (Col 3; Matt 22), and the idea of "properly working systems" from the teaching, would you say you are spiritually healthy? Why or why not? Remember, as we are sharing, listen and respect one another. This is not a time for fixing or correcting.
Spiritual Formation, for those who have gone before us, has always included practices or disciplines—activities people engage in, not to earn God's love, but simply as a way to "intentionally keep company with Jesus." What practices do you or have you engaged in (present or past) that have breathed life into your relationship with God? Have you undergone times when the same practice has not been helpful or meaningful? What did you do?
Close your time in prayer
(Leader: You may decide between 2 different prayer time options based on how things have progressed)
(Option 1)
Prayer Requests. Are there any prayer requests people have this week? Let’s go around sharing any we may have, then we’ll take time to pray for each other.
(Option 2)
Listen & Respond. As we close our time in prayer, we will invite the question: How might God be calling me to respond to what has been shared tonight? We will start with a minute or so of silence, listening for God’s voice and/or what is stirring within. Then I will break the silence by inviting you to share “as prayer” in 1 to 3 words what might be surfacing as your response to God. After we’ve had some time to share, I will close that time in prayer.
Practice for the Week
Throughout your week, find 2-5 minutes in your day practicing the invitation of “ceasing” or “stopping.” Sit down in a comfortable place, light a candle, and close your eyes, or take a stroll to a quiet spot, give yourself permission to pause and breathe. Allow the presence of God to hold you in quiet and stillness, if possible sit with open hands and receive from the Lord the words “He Restores My Soul.”
