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March 30, 2009
Dot Com(unity) Week 1
We're exploring the question, "How do I know if God is speaking to me?"
Hello everyone, and welcome to the first week of our Dot Com(unity) co-learning experience. As of my last count, just under 100 of you have used the coupon we provided to access the "Answering Difficult Questions" Bible study, and I am thrilled. It's great to have you here! Let me give you a few brief updates on how I hope this will all work.
On Monday morning of each week, I'll post some links to icebreakers and other content from SmallGroups.com that might be helpful as you prepare for your group sessions. I'll also post a brief overview of the Bible study for the week, and possible questions that might come up during your group meeting.
The rest is up to you. If questions pop up as you prepare the study material for your specific group, shoot me an e-mail (smallgroups at christianitytoday.com). If you have a great idea for an icebreaker or activity, or if you think of something cool that I've left out, send it my way. And most especially, if questions or great ideas pop up after you use this material in your group, please send them to me. Your experiences and insights will prove invaluable to those whose groups are going to meet later in the week.
I'll do my best to get your questions and ideas posted here, and then our community of group leaders can continue to ask and answer questions using the Comments feature on the blog.
Sound good? Good! Let's get to Week 1.
Lesson Overview
As you've already figured out, this particular Bible study addresses four difficult questions that apply to living as a Christian. As the group leader, your job will be to provide answers to these questions that are both practical and based in Scripture.
This week, we'll be discussing the question, "How do I know when God is speaking to me?" This question is especially intriguing to me, because I always get a little nervous when people say, "The Lord told me to do this," or "I feel God leading to me do that." When I hear such things, I want to ask, "How do you know it was God? What if it was just that pepperoni pizza you ate last night?"
From SmallGroups.com
Here are a few icebreakers that could work very well as introductions to this week's featured question:
- Sensing Jesus—with which sense have you experienced Jesus most this week?
- Stepping Out—group members go outside to look for evidence of God's presence.
- God's Pleasure—what could God say to let you know that he is pleased with you?
And one of our "Bible-Study Extras" could be a great activity for your group members to keep in mind as they listen specifically for God's voice in the next week. It's called Journal for the Journey.
Be Ready for These Questions
As your group tackles the issue of discerning God's voice and direction, you might want to do a little advance preparation to be ready for some tricky questions that might come up. For example:
- How exactly does God's "still, small voice" work. Is it the same as our conscience?"
- If the Bible is one way we hear God speaking to us, then why is it so difficult to understand?
- The idea of "listening to the Holy Spirit" makes me a little uncomfortable. Isn't that a little charismatic?
And if you've got some good answers to the questions above, please use the Comments feature on this blog to jot them down. You never know how many group leaders you might be helping!
posted by Sam O'Neal on March 30, 2009 10:41 AM
Comments
In regard to question #3
I believe the word "charasmatic" means gift. If we are believers we are a "gifted" people of God and the greatest gift of all, next to our salvation, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. God indwelling us.
If He is indwelling us - He will speak to us, won't He?
A study in the word of God as to the Personhood and Ministry of the Holy Spirit would be a good place to start when it comes to listening to the Holy Spirit.
What things Has He done in the past? How has He led people or spoken to them in the past?
Here are some places to get you started:
Acts 13:2-4 He commissions for service (He communicates in order to do this)
Romans 15:30; Ephesians 4:30 He can love, He can be grieved/He has emotions (will we sense His grief?)
Matthew 10:20; Acts 1:12, 1:16, 8:29, 21:11; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:7 (He most definately speaks)
Acts 16:6-7 He restrains (does He do this physically or internally?)
John 16:7-14 He convicts of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness & judgment - shows one's need of Jesus (is He speaking to us when He does this?)
John 16:13-15 Makes things of CHrist known to us (is He speaking to us when He does this?)
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 Reveals deep things of God to us (is He speaking to us when He does this?)
Ephesians 5:18 Fills us with Himself (is this a physical thing? or does it mean we are under His influence? if we are under His influence...wouldn't He be speaking to us?)
Romans 8:16 Bears witness to us that we are God's child (again, speaking to us?)
1 Peter 1:1-2 Sanctifies us/Makes us more like Jesus ( wouldn't He have to speak to us in order to do this in our lives? or would it just happen all on it's own?)
Ephesians 3:16 Strengthens us in our inner being (would He speak to us in order to do this? or will it happen all on it's own?)
John 16:13a Guides us into all truth ( How could He do this without speaking to us?)
Romans 8:26-27 Intercedes for us in accordance with God's will (He also speaks to God on our behalf)
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Counselor Who is sent from the Father to teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus said. (John 14:25)
How could He possibly do any of that if He didn't speak to us? What sort of "counselor" would be worth anything if they didn't speak?
The thought that scares me just as much as people saying they are hearing from God when what they are doing that they believed they heard runs contrary to what Scripture teaches.....are people who don't believe the Holy Spirit speaks to them and are in leadership positions in the church and leading from their own intellect many times rather than the guidance of God.
Posted By: Vicki | April 2, 2009 8:46 AM
These are very good thoughts, Vicki. And I should have gone on the record to say that being "Charismatic" is not a negative thing at all. But the unfortunate truth is that many people are uncomfortable with that term, and more importantly uncomfortable with the emphasis on the Holy Spirit that it represents.
So, when we're spending a week talking about "hearing from God" (a practice in which the Holy Spirit plays a vital role, as Vicki correctly points out), group leaders need to prepare themselves to deal with members who might come to the group with misconceptions.
Posted By: Sam O'Neal | April 2, 2009 1:40 PM