Winter Term: Week 6
About This Term
During this term we are inviting each small group to step into the practice of mission by serving alongside one of our partners or another local organization working for the good of the city. You can find a starting list of organizations on the JAM page of the Refuge website. For this reason, some weeks will not include a sermon discussion guide, but will instead give you space to plan together.
Entering Conversation
NOTE TO LEADERS: Depending on the size and makeup of your group, it might make sense to skip directly to the conversation in Tonight’s Practice instead.
As you transition from your meal time to talking together more purposefully, take a minute to come to quiet. Ask for a volunteer to read Psalm 119:105-112 aloud. Allow for a brief moment of listening and then read it a second time, listening for what the Spirit might be bringing to your attention in the moment.
Take a moment to ask: what stood out to you? Allow space for those who’d like to answer. Secondly, more than just finding a thought interesting, what might it look like to respond to what you’ve heard? Recognize that some of your members might process slowly, internally and some more quickly, verbally. Feel no pressure to answer this second question out loud. Ask someone to end this part of your time in prayer, inviting the Spirit to continue the conversation.
Tonight’s Practice
We want to give the rest of our time tonight to an extended time of sharing. On Sunday, we compared our time studying 1 Peter together to taking a hike. On any given hike, we don’t remember every step but we often remember a landmark or two. These landmarks stick in our memories and help us remember the path we’ve walked.
As you look back over 1 Peter, what “landmarks” emerge from this letter for you? It may a moment you were led to repent or a verse that encouraged you in a time when you needed hope. It could also even be a new thing you learned that you didn’t know before. There are many kinds of landmarks like this, as varied as our need and the Spirit’s responding.
As you talk together, let people speak as they feel comfortable. Some members of your group may not be ready to share.
As you close your time together, give thanks for how you’ve seen God at work in each other.