Skip to main content

Piece of Quiet

*adapted from Discipleship Journal (by Amy Lanham)

When I recently helped lead a Bible study, I included a five-minute reflection time at the end of our meetings before we prayed. This helped the women in our group focus on what they wanted to take from the study each week.

To guide their time, I gave members reflection sheets I had created using the content of our study. Here are some ideas of things you might include on a reflection sheet. Choose one per week:
  • A verse from the lesson to meditate on
  • A reflection question about the chapter
  • A paragraph from the study to reread and think about
  • A guided prayer based on the week's lesson
  • A short letter from "God" based on truths from the study. Here is an example of one I wrote to encourage the women in our group.
Dear Daughter,
Do you know how much I love you? Stop making this spiritual path you are travelling into a toll road! You don't owe me anything. Grace is my gift to you (Eph.2:8). I sacrificed My Son so you wouldn't have to work so hard anymore (Ro.5:17; Eph.2:4-5). You don't need to earn My love, just show Me your gratitude through what you do -- not because you have to, but because you want to. You have been set free (2 Cor.3:17).

Your Loving Father
Reflection sheets could include a brief how-to paragraph for the activity. I also provided lines so people could journal their thoughts. As the women reflected, i played quiet instrumental music in the background to help relieve the awkwardness that can come from silence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity?  How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life?  How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...
3 comments
Read more

FIGHT CLUB! (iron sharpening iron)

Our youth pastor, Keith Sandison, has implemented "Fight Clubs" with the young men of our church. While these teenagers and young adults aren't actually pummeling each other physically, they are using the opportunity to aggressively challenge one another to be more attentive to their spiritual formation. Right now my son is participating in a fight club focusing on Proverbs. I love it. Keith has created a handout he uses for the fight clubs which lists seven different methods of "generic Bible study". I think the idea started with this post a few years ago, but as he often does; Keith took my thoughts and made them immensely more substantive and beneficial. Check out his system below:
1 comment
Read more

Community Killers: Crisis

Here is Part Two in my series on dealing with "Community Killers". Today the topic is "Crisis". Every group experiences crisis at some point. Death, illness, divorce, and financial ruin are just some of the issues that can threaten to destroy a group. These crisis, however, are not to be feared. Rather, they should be embraced as an opportunity for the group to care for one another in unique and deeply meaningful ways. The following are five suggestions (certainly not an exhaustive list) which can help a group handle crisis successfully: Openness. The first step in a group’s efforts to deal with crisis is simply knowing about and understanding the crisis. If a member does not feel comfortable sharing the crisis issues in their life, the group cannot come to their aid. A willingness to share not only the crisis situation, but also the details can significantly impact the degree to which the group can offer assistance. The role of the leader sometimes requires a per...
Post a Comment
Read more