Opening
Consider starting your group by asking people to share when they were most tempted to leave the faith. Invite them to share what kept them in the faith.
Overview
The Bible is for God’s family, about God’s family, to transform God’s family until Christ’s return. Without God’s spirit, we intuitively reject God’s Word and God’s people. We can drift away from the faith, in college or in other seasons of life, because we get confused by ideologies, because we are disillusioned by Christian hypocrisy, or because we are isolated from our Christian family.
God’s Spirit uses God’s Word to clarify our mental and ideological confusion, to reveal our hidden motivation and invoke repentance, and to deepen our trust and faith in God’s Word.
Discussion Questions
- How comfortable do you feel when people share their questions about the faith?
- Where do you take your own questions about God?
Practice
Hebrews 4 12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Read the passage out loud slowly. Ask the question “What part of your life are you pretending is not exposed to the Lord?” Allow for three to five minutes of silence for prayer and listening to the Spirit. Then read the passage again and ask “How does Jesus encounter you in that place?” Again, allow for three to five minutes of silence for contemplation. Read the passage again slowly and invite your group members to go boldly to the throne about what God has revealed to them during their prayers.
Closing
Pray to grow into people who are comfortable with the questions and doubts of others and who are willing to walk alongside other people in following Jesus.
