CL Discussion Bloghttp://usmb.publishpath.comSat, 21 Nov 2009 20:04:56 GMTSeptember/October -- More Than Enoughhttp://usmb.publishpath.com/septemberoctober----more-than-enoughThu, 24 Sep 2009 18:15:24 GMTCL Staff MemberDiscussion questions by Joanna Felts

Questions are available for the following articles:

The Lord is My Shepherd by Pierre Gilbert

The Frugal Christian by Katie Funk Wiebe

The Saga of Stolen Stuff by Michelle Ferguson

 

The Lord is My Shepherd by Pierre Gilbert

1. Discuss the difference between the two statements:
  •   “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
  • “As long as the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”

2. What is the difference between the person who lives as under the “Landlord” and the person who lives as under the “Shepherd?” Which is the better relationship?

3. What does it mean to put yourself voluntarily under the Lord’s care?
  • Is it easy to stay under his care?
  • Do you find yourself wandering from his care?
  • What draws you back under his care?

4. What is the difference between the person who lives under the care of “Elohim,” the great and powerful creator, and the person who lives under the care of the “Shepherd?”

5. What is the meaning of the word “want” as found in the Hebrew in this passage? What is the meaning of the word “want” as used in 21st century North America?

6. How can a person get “close to or even into” the care of the Shepherd so that he or she is not distracted by the things calling to them from the world in which we live?


The Frugal Christian by Katie Funk Wiebe

1. Think about the statement, “Living frugally does mean releasing ourselves from our love affair with the clutter in our lives that keeps us from serving God wholeheartedly.”
  • How does this statement convict you?
  • How does this statement confirm you?

2. What can you do with your “stuff” now to help you live a life that seeks first God’s Kingdom? What can you do with your “stuff” to be able to focus again on God and his Kingdom?

  • Practically, begin making a list of things that you have that you don’t need.
  • Who do you know (a person or organization) that might need these things worse than you do?
  • Ask God to release you from the hold your “stuff” has placed upon you and begin to act on your list.

3. What activity can you remove from your life to make room for God and his call on your life?

4. What practical steps can you take to develop the “enough is enough” mentality?

5. How can you rearrange your life to make room for new and important relationships with others in your community of faith?

6. Consider the bumper stickers that state, “The one who dies with the most ______________ (toys, money, fabric, etc.) wins.” Imagine that someone is determining how to fill that blank in for you.
  • What would word would someone use to fill that space in describing you?
  • Are you using your resources, past, present, and future, to the best of your ability as you maintain this lifestyle or should some changes be made?


The Saga of Stolen Stuff by Michelle Ferguson

. 1. How does North American consumerism teach us to evaluate our adulthood according to the status of residence and possessions?

2. How can the idea of living simply be caught? How can it be taught?

3. Describe your most valuable possessions.
  • Why are they valuable to you?
  • What can you do to protect them?
  • How does protecting them remind us to “lay up our treasures in heaven” where we don’t have to worry about moths, rust, and thieves?

4. Describe a time when someone in your community of faith gave to you generously. What were your thoughts on that occasion?

5. How can we guard against the urge to consume more and more stuff?
  • Make out a checklist for yourself so that you will know when you have begun to start down the “consumption” highway.
  • Set realistic goals for yourself that will help you sidestep the urge to get more and more stuff.


]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/septemberoctober----more-than-enoughAug/Sept -- Created to Connecthttp://usmb.publishpath.com/augsept----created-to-connectFri, 14 Aug 2009 19:26:23 GMTCL Staff MemberDiscussion questions by Joanna Felts

Questions are available for the following articles:

When Gooey Meets Flakey by Ronald Pratt

Loving the Annoying by Jan Johnson

Created for Connecting by Lynnette Friesen, David Bruce Rose and Brooke Denni

Atonement by Tim Geddert

When Gooey Meets Flakey by Ronald Pratt

1. The author makes the statement, “A marriage will stand or fall independent of…” and in this case he is speaking of the two different cultures represented in the marriage. What are the some biblical mandates for marriage regardless of cultural differences?


2. The author asks, “Doesn’t God have a sense of humor?” What are some instances in creation where you see God’s sense of humor at work?


3. How can embracing another culture enrich our lives? Give examples of cross cultural friendships, relationships or marriages personal to those in your small group.


4. How can one person reach out to a person of a different race and culture but see personality instead of race or culture? What is the importance of seeing personality more than race or culture?

5. The author closed his article with the scripture from Malachi 2:10.
  • Discuss the diversity among people that God created.
  • Find the positives in that diversity and spend some time thanking God for his creativity as manifested in his creation.

Loving the Annoying by Jan Johnson

1. Look up and discuss the following verses that speak about how the heart attitude influences our actions. What does this lead us to do about our heart attitude towards those who annoy us?

a. Psalm 5:9

b. Psalm 13:5

c. Psalm 37:31

d. Psalm 58:1-2

e. Proverbs 23:6-7

f. Matthew 5:28

2. When we pray for someone else, what happens to our attitude about that person? What happens to the other person’s actions?


3. The author mentions that there are many ways to practice silence.
  • Talk about the need to practice silence and how it can be done.
  • What kind of attitude does it take to practice silence?

4. Think about a difficult person in your life. What service can you provide that person that will help you learn to deal with them in a Christ-like manner?

5. The author suggests four ways to learn to deal with the difficult people in our lives: prayer, confession, silence and service.

  • Has the Lord revealed another method that you have used in dealing with people around you that has been successful in changing your heart or the actions of a difficult person?
  •  Is there some part of that method that you feel comfortable sharing with the group?


Created for Connecting by Lynnette Friesen, David Bruce Rose and Brooke Denni

1. What are some ways that American society implies that fulfillment for the single adult will only be found in love and marriage?

2. Most people think of intimacy as a sexual term. However, Genesis 2:18 does not suggest sexual intimacy but the intimacy of friendship and/or relationship. We are created with the need for intimacy with each other and with the creator. Why is this such a difficult concept to understand in today’s society?

3. Faithfulness to Christ is the most important relationship in a person’s life, whether a person is single or married. How can we encourage each other to an intimate walk with Christ?

4. Examine the mystery of love and intimacy with others. Many people think that love for another is possessive and allows for no other relationships. One of the authors makes the statement, “…as we come to know and love the other, we find room to include more ‘others’ in our lives.” Examine and discuss times in your life when you found this to be amazingly true.

5. How can your church or small group take steps to affirm those who are single within the community of faith?



Atonement by Tim Geddert

1. What does the word atonement mean? What does atonement ‘look like’ in your relationship with God; in other words, how has your relationship to God been healed through atonement?

2. Look up the scriptures given for Ransom theories, Combat theories, and Penal satisfaction theories.
  • Using the Scriptures and the author’s discussion, come up with a one sentence description for each type of theory.
  •  Do these compete with or complement the other theories?

3. The author states, “…God accomplished the atonement through the death and resurrection of Jesus” and indicates that the metaphors and images used to describe the theories are not exclusive but encompassing. How does knowing that God accomplished the work and that he shows us how he did it through various pictures and metaphors allow us to discuss this concept “charitably” with each other?
]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/augsept----created-to-connectJune/July 2009 -- No Questions Availablehttp://usmb.publishpath.com/junejuly-2009----no-questions-availableThu, 04 Jun 2009 18:44:54 GMTStaff Member

]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/junejuly-2009----no-questions-availableApril 2009 — Transformationhttp://usmb.publishpath.com/april--transformationThu, 04 Jun 2009 18:45:21 GMTCL Staff MemberDiscussion Questions by Joanna Felts

Questions are available for the following articles:

The Greatest Moment by Pierre Gilbert

Later! by Lori Astle

Taking Curtis' Place by Lori Oswald Robinson

The Miracle Car by Kim West and Melissa Grube

Lenten Reflection: More Jesus by Mark Baker


The Greatest Moment  by Pierre Gilbert

1. Why is it important for Christians to study “apologetics?
  • Define apologetics.
  • Give an example of apologetics.

2. What is the difference between apologetics and apologizing?

3. How does the term “taking Christ out of Christianity” affect your belief system? Your heart, mind and feelings?
  • Can Christ be taken out of Christianity?
  • Is Christianity valid without Christ?

4. Why is the Jesus of the New Testament “a tad embarrassing?” Name some of the things Jesus says or does that causes him to stand out from other “leaders” in the religious world?

5. Discuss the statement, “Who Christ is has always been the major battlefield of the Christian faith.”

  • Why is this true?
  • Give an example of how differently people that you know see Christ? (For example, some refuse to think of him as “Lord” while others refuse to see that he has a right to judge us. Some only want to see his love, etc.)

6. Why are people not excited about the “Teddy Bear Jesus?”

7. How do the stories of Jesus’ actions, teachings and interactions with others as recorded in Scripture make us aware that Jesus must be the Redeemer of the world?

8. Read 1 Corinthians 15:19. Why should Paul be pitied if Christ did not rise? Why should you or I be pitied?

9. How important is it that Christ has risen from the dead?

10. Why do we resent death?


Later! by Lori Astle


1. Describe a “grace” incident in your family or church family.
  • What is grace?
  • How can grace transform a person?

2. How can a person “go worship Jesus” when his or her heart is broken?

3. How did the testimony of one prodigal lead to the salvation of many prodigals?


Taking Curtis’ Place by Lori Oswald Robinson


1. Think about the statement, “(Curtis) didn’t talk about how he served God. He only talked about the God he served.” In what specific ways can you begin to talk about or reflect the God you serve?

2. In Exodus 4:2, God asked Moses, “What is in your hand?” Curtis had a love for God and a skill in agriculture that he was willing to use to lead others to a saving knowledge of Christ. What do you have in your hand that God can use?


The Miracle Car by Kim West and Melissa Grube


1. How did Kim get to experience God during the Christmas season of the year she met Melissa?

2. Why does God “interrupt” us in our busyness?

3. How did Melissa get to experience God through Kim’s work on Melissa’s behalf?

4. How did the words, “church family” become real to Melissa January 7?


Lenten Reflection: More Jesus by Mark Baker

1. Take a look at your community. How many different cultures or people groups are represented? Begin to pray that God would bring someone into your life from a different culture with whom you might share the significance of the cross.

2. How is the cross like a multi-faceted diamond?
  • As a group, name as many characteristics of the cross as you can.
  • Dwell on one aspect of the cross each day during the coming week and ask God to send you to someone who needs to hear that valuable explanation of the cross.

3. Which feature of the power of the cross is the most precious to you?

]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/april--transformationMarch 2009 -- The Missional Churchhttp://usmb.publishpath.com/march-the-missional-churchThu, 04 Jun 2009 18:45:43 GMTCL Staff Member

 

 Discussion Questions by Joanna Felts

Questions are available for the following articles:

Locked Out by Don Morris

This Must Be My Ship by Jeff Nikkel

God, What Are You Doing? by Jules Glanzer

Let It Shine by Cory Seibel

 

Locked Out

1. The author of “Locked Out” points out that we are tempted to isolate ourselves from the world around us. We could go a step further and say that we find ourselves isolated in many ways without knowing how we got there.

  • What are some signs that we (individually or collectively) are isolated from people who need to hear about Jesus Christ?
  • What specific steps can you take to become “un-isolated?”

2. What specific steps can you take to become a missional Christian?

3. What are some particular services that you and other Christians can perform in your community so that you will be able to meet and talk with the people in the community?

4. Outline a series of detailed steps you can take to get to know your neighbors better so that you can spread the light of Jesus in your neighborhood. Form an accountability partnership with one or more people to pray with you and encourage you as you move through the steps.


This Must Be My Ship

1. If you were to evaluate your Christianity right now, would you be working from a cruise ship mentality or a search and rescue boat mentality?

  • What about your small group?
  • What about your church?
2. Pull from Scriptures two examples that prove that God is a missionary God. Talk about these Scriptures and tell how God worked differently in each situation. How did he work the same?

3. The author speaks of the church as relational and organic.

  • How do those terms relate to the Church?
  • If the goal of the church is to be relational and organic, what changes would need to be made within your congregation?

4. What are some detailed ways that you and your church can become servant(s) to your city or town?



God, What Are You Doing?

1. How do you approach God when things do not go as planned?

2. Based on Exodus 6:6-8, how do you see God working among people today? What principles still hold true today even though we are not in slavery in Egypt?

3. Name someone that you believe is a “missional leader” today or cite an example from Scripture other than Moses. What qualities make (or made) that person stand out in your mind as someone used by God?

4. The author states, “Missional leadership understands that the church is not the end but the means…” Discuss the following:
  • Where does your church find itself on this continuum at the present time?
  • How can your congregation become the catalyst for the kingdom of God or how is it already the catalyst it should be for the means to the end?
  • How can your church become a leader in your community to show forth the kingdom of God?

Let It Shine

1. The author describes a specific way that one church become “insulated” from its neighborhood. What are some other ways that churches become protected from their communities?

2. Why does “bug light theology” not work?
  • Did it work in historical societies? Why or why not?
  • How do current neighborhood trends further exacerbate the issue?

3. Read John 1:1-14.
  • Why did Jesus come to live among us?
  • Why should we “live” (i.e. fully enjoy life) among our neighbors?
  • How should we “live” (i.e. fully enjoy life) among our neighbors?

4. Jesus said, “So send I you.” We say “Y’all come.”
  • What intrinsic difference exists between those two statements?
  • Which method works the best for bringing people into the Kingdom?
  • Why?

5. Where are some places in your community where people already gather that might provide good places for your congregation to “go ye therefore?”

6. Discuss the difference between being “intentionally attractional” and “intentionally incarnational.”
]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/march-the-missional-churchFebruary 2009 -- "Blue Highway" Readinghttp://usmb.publishpath.com/february-blue-highway-readingThu, 04 Jun 2009 18:46:03 GMTCL Staff Member

Discussion Questions by Joanna Felts

Questions are available for the following articles: 

Blue Highway Reading

Demons, Pigs and Hope

Witty Word Power

People of the Book

How to Memorize

 

Blue Highway Reading

1. When was the last time you and your family took a “blue” highway route?
  • What did you discover about the route?
  • What did you discover about each other?
  • What interesting places and sights did you discover?

2. When was the last time you took a “blue” highway tour through the Bible?
  • What did you discover about the route?
  • What did you discover about your life?
  • What was one of the most interesting stories you uncovered?

3. The author says, “’Blue highway’ Bible study may provide a slower path to growth, but it can be deeply satisfying.” Why is that a hard concept to accept and follow in the 21st century?


4. Read through or retell the stories of the five women in Matthew 1.

  • Why do you think these stories are recorded?
  • What do they teach us today?
  • What part of each story did you remember from previous reading?
  • What part was new to you with this reading?

5. Find a portion of Scripture that you have not read or studied for awhile. Make it your purpose to meander through it during the coming month; take notes; read the other Scriptures that the Lord brings to mind to reinforce the Scripture you are reading.



Mark 5 – Demons, Pigs and Hope

1. Read through Mark 5:1-20, making notes of specific questions about the passage.


2. What does this passage teach us about the power of Satan and the evil he brings to the world?

3. Why do you think the people of the village are frightened by a man sitting there fully clothed more than they are frightened by the fact that a herd of 2,000 pigs just careened down a hill into the lake and drowned?

4. What story can you use from the week’s news to give authentication to the author’s statement, “Something is wrong with human beings.”


5. What salvation stories from your group today shows that God seeks humanity?

6. Describe the differences between reform and transformation.

7. The author proposes two truths to be found in this passage. From your reading and your discussion, what other truths can you add to his summary?


Witty Word Power

1. How do these two ideas correspond in your own mind?
  • God made me in his image.
  •  I have a sense of humor.

2. What specific examples can you think of in your own life when you’ve been moved to say, “Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?”

3. The author says, “Humor is necessary especially at the most serious time, because it takes just a little wind out of our sails and reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously.” Do you agree? Why or why not?


4. What other biblical stories can you recall that should be read with the idea that humor is imbeded in the story?


5. Discuss times that humor is used in your community of faith.
  • How can humor be used without offense?
  • What is the difference between “coarse jesting” in Ephesians 5:4 and humor used in good taste?


People of the Book

1. Sharon Weaver states, “Standing away from their context, these verses were still valuable reference points of God’s standards and character.”
  • How would memorizing passages enhance the context of individual verses?
  • Read John 3. Taking John 3:16 as an example, how do you think memorizing the surrounding passage would enhance this valuable scripture?

2. How would committing a passage of Scripture to memory help to answer questions about the passage: what it says, why a word is used, and what the connection is between the verses?


3. If you have seen a dramatized version of any passage of Scripture, how did that enhance your understanding of the passage? If you have not seen this done, how do you think it would help develop the meaning of the passage in your mind?


4. Read the following passages:

a. Romans 10:13-17

b. Hebrews 4:12

Why is the Word of God important to us?


5. Jesus often used the phrase, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Why is it important to memorize God’s Word in light of this admonition?


How to Memorize

1. Read the following scriptures and examine their meanings:
a. 2 Timothy 2:15
b. Psalm 119:105
c. Joshua 1:8

2. Why is it important to memorize Scripture?


3. Why is the context of scripture important?


5. Commit to memorize one of the following passages from any version you choose during the coming month:
a. 2 Timothy
b. Joshua 1
c. Psalm 63
d. Psalm 77


]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/february-blue-highway-readingJanuary 2009 -- Mental Healthhttp://usmb.publishpath.com/january----mental-healthThu, 04 Jun 2009 18:46:26 GMTCL Staff Member

Discussion Questions by Joanna Felts

 

Questions are available for the following articles:

A Journey Through the Dark

The Great Depression

Living High and Low

Praying in the Valley

 

A Journey Through the Dark

1. In the first paragraph of her article, the author talks about a friend who walked alongside her every day of that bleak time. Look at Proverbs 18:24. 

  • How did this friend “show herself friendly?”
  • Cite an example, either scriptural or personal, of a time that Jesus stuck closer than a brother.
  • Talk about the commitment it would take to stick to someone who is going through depression and why that kind of commitment is important both for the sufferer of depression and for the friend walking alongside.
  • What kind of sacrifices will be made by the person walking alongside?

2. The author used two conversations to help her come to grips with the idea of using anti-depressants to help in her healing process.
  • Discuss the views held in the faith community regarding medications, including those that help with mental illnesses and depression.
  • Why should depression be considered and dealt with holistically?


The Great Depression

1. Read Romans 8:38-39 in several different translations. What other 21st century problems could be discussed in light of the way that the authors have used these verses in this article?

2. Discuss the various ways that depression affects the whole person; their feelings, thoughts, behaviors, physiology, relationships, faith, and physical well-being.

3. Discuss the ways we treat people with physical defects versus the way we treat people with mental disorders.

  • Why do we do so?
  • How should our actions change as a result of reading this article?

4. The following passages remind us of God’s faithfulness to us at all times. How can we use these promises to help friends and family members overwhelmed by depression and mental disorders?

a. Lamentations 3:21-26
b. Psalm 36:5
c. Psalm 89:1-7
d. Ephesians 2:4-9

5. The authors suggest that local churches can and should make an effort to lift up those suffering from mood disorders.

  • Name some practical ways that you can follow through on their suggestions in your particular community of faith.
  • Personally, think of a friend, an acquaintance or a family member who needs a personal touch in their struggle with depression. Decide to stick with them through thick and thin. In that decision, map out ways that you can walk with them through this valley that would give comfort and a physical presence in their struggle.

 

Living High and Low

1. Based on what you have learned from this article, is there someone that has disappeared from your community of faith because of what you now might suspect to be a mood or bipolar disorder? How can your group go about coming alongside of him or her and gently loving them through their pain?

2. The author speaks of a cycle of care, intervention, assistance, or crisis.

  • How can you, as a community of faith, reach out to those in your congregation and not “grow weary in well-doing” while going through these cycles with a community member?
  • What are some practical ways that your group can build each other up for this mission?

3. How and why do we misuse the stories from Jesus’ earthly ministry to imply a quick and easy solution to mood, bipolar, or mental disorders?

4. 1 Kings 18 and 19 is a picture of victory and joy followed by despair. How did God minister to Elijah in both situations?

5. Choose several Psalms written by David. Find one that illustrates when David’s mood was joyous and happy, one that illustrates complete despair, and one that seems to be middle of the road.

6. What other biblical characters exhibited signs of bipolar or mood disorder?

 

Praying in the Valley

1. Read Psalm 88 in several different versions.

  • Who wrote this Psalm or to whom is it attributed?
  • What is the background of this Psalm?
  • To whom is this Psalm speaking?
  • Why is this Psalm not “hopeless” even though it sounds so?
2. Describe “lament.”

3. Find other “lament” Psalms.

  • What do they tell us about human nature?
  • What do they tell us about God?

4. In the second article, The Great Depression, we discussed Scriptures that spoke of God’s faithfulness to us. How does this article speak to our tenacious faithfulness to God in spite of the world around us?

5. Discuss the statement, “lament is driven by a conviction that God cares and matters and is who he says he is.”
  • How does that statement give hope, even when going through a time of mental illness?
  • How can we use it to help those around us who may be experiencing mental or bipolar disorders?
]]>http://usmb.publishpath.com/january----mental-health