WHEN YOU GROW UP | Connection Group Discussion Guide | Week 1 Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? — Proverbs 8:1
Connect (5 to 10 minutes) Come together to build relationships through fellowship and sharing about this week’s worship. • Take a few minutes to share your thoughts about worship this week. – What aspects of worship did or did not connect with you? – What story or illustration made an impact on you? • Icebreaker: What is your favorite part of Holy Week or Easter and why? What did you do to celebrate Easter this year?
Context (30 to 40 minutes) Dig deeper into the video and scriptures for this week through questions and discussion. • How would you describe or define wisdom? Why do you define it in this way? Watch the video for this session on your Connection Group DVD or online. • Was the definition of wisdom shared in the video different than how you described it earlier? – Which definition do you prefer, and why? • How familiar are you with the book of Proverbs? – Have you ever read it? If so, when? Do you enjoy reading it? – If you are new to it, what are you looking forward to learning from this study about wisdom? • When was the point in your life where you felt “grown up,” that you were truly an adult? – Why did this point in your life affect you in this way? – If you haven’t had this experience yet, why do you not feel “grown up”? What life experience do you think will make you feel this way? • How do you respond to the idea that we are all “growing up” in our faith? – What stage of faith do you think you are in right now? • Share about a time when you have experienced God in nature. Why was this impactful? – Do you agree that God uses creation to teach us about who God is? Why or why not?
Read 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 • What are some “childish things” you have put away as you have grown up, either in your faith or in your life? – What childish things are you still doing in your life right now that you would like to stop? • What are some things you wish to know more fully, either in your faith or in your life? – What are some questions you’d like to ask Jesus? – When you ask these questions, how do you typically listen for Jesus to answer? – Where or how does Jesus speak most clearly to you? Read Proverbs 3:5-6 • Share about a time when you felt you truly trusted God with all your heart. – What was this experience like? – How did your faith change? – What things in your life are you currently having to trust God with? • When do you typically struggle with relying on your own insight instead of depending on God’s guidance and wisdom? • Why do you think you personally struggle in trusting God? – Are some areas easier to trust in than others? – How do you work through this? • Share about a time when you did not trust God’s wisdom and suffered because of it. – How did this experience impact your faith?
Call (10 minutes) We believe that God not only shows us who God is but invites us to participate in God’s ministry by answering unique calls in our own lives. Join together in discovering how we can actively respond to scripture and God’s presence. • Do you truly feel that you listen to Jesus regularly in your life? Why or why not? – How can you find more ways to be actively listening for Jesus, in more experiences besides church? – If this is a strength for you, how can you encourage others to listen to Jesus more fully?
Closing (5 minutes) God calls us into community by sharing our joys and concerns together in prayer and supporting one another in our walks with Christ. As we share testimony and stories of our lives, let us listen to where God is working within our community and how we can build each other up in Christian love. • Share joys and concerns with one another. • Close in prayer, either by inviting a group member to pray or by using the prayer provided below. Closing Prayer Gracious God, we admit that there are times in our lives that we do not listen to you. We recognize that you are trying to share your wisdom with us in so many ways: through creation, through scripture, and through prayer. Inspire us to take time to truly listen for your guidance, so that we might become more faithful and passionate servants. Amen.