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CROSS OF GLORY
LUTHERAN CHURCH
14719 W 163rd Street
Homer Glen, IL 60491
708 301-6998 Phone
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Evangelical Lutheran
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God's Work, Our Hands

Small Group Resources

02/21/2010
02/14/2010
02/07/2010
01/31/2010
01/24/2010
01/17/2010
01/10/2010
01/03/2010

02/14/2010

Theme: The Adventure of Wearing & Sharing God’s Love

Opening Prayer

Scripture: Proverbs 3:3-10 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. In the sermon, pastor mentioned a favorite love song of his.  What are some of your favorite or meaningful love songs?
  2. The author of Proverbs invites us to wear God’s love.  He tells us to bind God’s chesed, God’s unfailing love, around our neck like a necklace.
    1. What might this imagery suggest about God’s love?
    2. What are some ways we might be able to wear God’s love?
  3. How does the Proverb suggest we can share God’s love? (see v. 5-10)
  4. We find other ideas about how to share God’s love in Hebrews 13:1-5; 15-18.  What are some?
  5. What promise from God grounds and directs the love we share with others? (Heb 13:5)
  6. What are some ways we might be able to share God’s love?
  7. Optional: We read some other stories of people wearing & sharing God’s love.  What further insights do theses stories provide for how we can wear and share God’s unfailing love?
    1. Exodus 13:1-9
    2. Exodus 15:1-2, 11-13, 20-21
    3. Exodus 16:31-35

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory?  Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

Closing Prayer

02/07/2010

Theme: The Adventure of Asking for Help (and Accepting it Gracefully)

Opening Prayer

Scripture:  Hebrews 2:14-18 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. In Nicole’s sermon she asked us if we like to ask for help.  Tell of a time you should have asked for help and the humorous consequences that may have led to.  What stops you from asking for help?
  2. Why did Jesus have to be made like his brothers? (v. 17)
  3. Why is it significant for us that Jesus suffered and was tempted? (v. 18)
  4. Why should we approach God with “confidence” for help solving our problems and what should we expect in return? (Hebrews 4:14-16) 
  5. Optional:  We read a number of other stories from the Bible this past week that demonstrated people asking for help.  Discuss how the characters of the stories asked for help and whether they demonstrated grace in accepting help.  How could they have done better?
    1. Joseph reassures his brothers (Genesis 50:15-21)
    2. The Birth of Moses (Exodus 2:1-19)
    3. Moses and God speak (Exodus 3:11-4:17)
  6. How does Psalm 40 offer us peace and hope in our times of need? (v. 1-4)  How does using the Psalms help to guide our prayers and teach us to better accept God’s help gracefully in our lives?
  7. What problems have you been holding back from God and why?  What could you do to become a more graceful recipient of God’s help?  Do you need help to figure out what your roadblocks are?

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory? Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

Closing Prayer

01/31/2010

Theme: The Adventure of Overcoming Temptation 

Opening Prayer

Scripture: Luke 22:39-46 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. In the sermon, pastor mentioned the list “You Know You’re an Illinoisan When…”  Work together for a few moments to create a list entitled, “You Know You’re From Cross of Glory When…”
  2. Step One in The Adventure of Overcoming Temptation is to Identify Temptations.  What are the temptations in this reading?  What makes them temptations?
  3. Optional: Several other characters in this week’s readings faced temptations.  What are the temptations?  What makes them temptations?
    1. Joseph: Genesis 39:6-15
    2. Pilate: Luke 23:13-23
  4. Step Two in The Adventure of Overcoming Temptation is to Access God’s Power.  In our story from Luke, how does Jesus access God’s power to overcome temptation?  How does he invite his disciples to access God’s power?
  5. Optional: What other suggestions do we find in our readings for how to access God’s power and put a CAP on our temptation?
    1. Psalm 29:4-11
    2. Psalm 32:1-11
  6. Identify the temptations in your life.  How are you being pressured from outside or inside forces to behave in ways that are hurtful and destructive?
  7. How will you access God’s power to overcome temptation this week?  What do you need to confess so you can experience the power of God’s forgiveness?  Who can you ask to be your accountability partner(s) so you can experience the power of God’s support?  When do you need to pray so you can experience the power of God’s strength?

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory?  Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

 Closing Prayer

 
01/24/2010
Theme: The Adventure of Seeking God’s Face 

Opening Prayer

Scripture: Psalm 27:4-14 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. In the sermon, pastor mentioned a particular member of the Addams family.  Who’s your favorite member of the Addams family and why?
  2. In this psalm, what “one thing” does the author seek? (see verses 4 & 8 )
  3. How would you describe the difference between seeking God’s face and seeking God’s hand?
  4. Optional: Several other psalms from this week talk about seeking God’s face.  What do these psalms tell us about who God is?
    1. Psalm 22:24-26
    2. Psalm 25:3-9
    3. Psalm 27:5, 10, 13
  5. Optional: Our readings from this week had several examples of people seeking God’s face.  Describe their God encounter.  What did they discover about God?  How did it affect them?
    1. Jacob: Genesis 32:30-33:12
    2. Zacchaeus: Luke 19:1-10
  6. The psalmist’s advice for how to seek God’s face is: wait for the Lord.  What does actively waiting for the Lord look like in Psalm 27? (see verses 4, 6, and 11)
  7. How will you seek God’s face this week?

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory?  Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

 Closing Prayer

 

01/17/2010

Theme: The Adventure of Living Generously 

Opening Prayer

Scripture: Psalm 19:1-6 / Luke 16:19-31 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. When was the last time you stopped to look at nature?  What were you looking at?
  2. Who speaks in Psalm 19:1-6, and what do they say?
  3. How do we experience God’s generosity in the created world?
  4. What do you think are God’s motives for giving so generously to us?
  5. Based on the story of Lazarus and the Rich man (Luke 16:19-31)
    1. What kind of things can get in the way of living generously?
    2. Who suffers when we are not generous?  Why?
  6. At the end of the story of Lazarus and the Rich man, there is mention of rising from the dead.  How do Jesus’ death and resurrection reveal God’s generosity?
  7. What is our motive for giving?  And how might we live generously this week?

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory?  Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

Closing Prayer

01/10/2010

Theme: The Adventure of Loving God and Neighbor

Opening Prayer

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. Take 30 seconds and come up with your own list of things that go together, like peanut butter and jelly.  Share your list with the group.
  2. What two things go together from this reading? (v. 27)
  3. What two Scriptures does the expert bring together in his rendering of the law? (see study notes 10:27)
  4. Jerusalem was the place where people _____________________?  
    Jericho was the place where people _____________________?
  5. If you had been traveling down the road to Jericho and saw the hurt man, what would you have done?
  6. What may be some reasons the priest and Levite didn’t stop to help the hurt man? (see Leviticus 21:1-3; Numbers 19:11-22)
  7. What reaction would the Jewish listeners have had to Jesus casting the Samaritan as the hero of the story? (see Luke 9:51-55)  What does this character choice reveal about the power God has to change hearts?
  8. Optional: We read several other stories about how loving God and loving others go together.  What do these stories reveal about the connection between loving God and loving others in our daily lives?
    1. Jesus’ Report to John the Baptist (Luke 7:20-23)
    2. Jesus Sends out the Twelve (Luke 9:1-2)
    3. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (Luke 9:10-17)
  9. How might you be a Good Samaritan this week to someone in need?

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory?  Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

Closing Prayer

 

01-03-10

Theme: The Adventure of Opening our Lives to God’s Word 

Opening Prayer

Scripture: Psalm 1 (TNIV)

Study Questions:

  1. In his sermon, Pastor PJ mentioned the movie Yes Man.  What’s a movie you saw this year that you liked?  Why did you like it?
  2. This psalm is painting two contrasting pictures.  How does the psalmist describe those who listen or follow the wicked, sinners, and mockers – people whose words cause pain and trouble? (v. 1, 4)
  3. How does the psalmist describe those who listen to God and meditate on God’s Word? (v. 2-3)
  4. The study notes on the back of the page explain some of the imagery used in this psalm.  How do these notes enhance the meaning of the picture?
  5. The psalm starts out by saying, “Blessed are” those who listen to God and meditate on God’s Word.  What kind of blessing is God offering us?
  6. Optional: We read several other stories this week about people opening their lives to God’s Word.  How do these stories enhance the picture of God’s blessing?
    1. Jesus calls Levi and eats with sinners (Luke 5:27-32)
    2. The Wise and Foolish builders (Luke 6:46-49)
    3. The Call of Abram (Genesis 12:1-4)
    4. Jesus Restores a Demon-possessed Man (Luke 8:26-39)
  7. This week, how will you come to God, hear God’s Word, and put it into practice?

Discussion of BASIC Questions & Closing Prayer

  1. Believing – What happened this week that challenged or strengthened your belief in God?
  2. Assembling – How did you assemble with God’s people this week, and how was that meaningful?
  3. Studying – What insight or inspiration did you have while studying God’s Word this week?
  4. Inviting – Who is someone you could invite to Cross of Glory?  Why?
  5. Caring – What needs did you encounter this week that we could care for?

Closing Prayer

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