Great Expectations: LIFEgroup Questions from Luke 1

What is the most unbelievable experience you have ever had? Would you want to do it again? Why or why not?

Read Luke 1:26-35.

Have different group members tell what is (in their minds) the most unbelievable part of this story.

Read verse 29. Why do you think Mary was troubled/confused? What do you think were the thoughts racing through her head?

Time-Out for Doctrine: (More about Mary in a minute) Why do you think it was important that Jesus was born through a normal pregnancy? Why do you think it was important that He was born from a virgin? (warning: these issues have been debated by theologians for centuries!)

If you were Mary, what is the first thing you would have done when the angel left? Why?

What difficulties can you imagine Mary faced during her pregnancy (check out Matthew 1:18-19)?

If God sent an angel to you to deliver a message that you were about to enter a 9 month trial which would be worse than anything you'd ever been through, how would you respond?

Read Mary's response in Luke 1:38.

Mary begins her response by calling herself the servant of the Lord. What do you think it means for someone to be the servant of the Lord? How can we live as servants of the Lord?

Mary's response is, "Let it be..." or "May it happen". Why do you think Mary was willing to give up control of her life?

We all know that God desires to have control of our lives. How do some people avoid giving God control of their lives?

What areas of control in your life do you need to hand over to God? How can this group help you?

Comments

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...

10 Summer Activities To Keep Your Small Group Connected

I just sent an email to all our small group leaders (I do this 3-4 times each month). This week's focus was STAYING CONNECTED THROUGH THE SUMMER. Below is a list of 10 summer activities a small group can use to stay connected. These are specifically created for groups at The Gathering, but you can pretty easily modify the list to fit your church or your community. Go to a Dragon's Game together. You can buy tickets as a group from the church for the game on July 11. Design a Progressive Dinner. Have appetizers at one house, salad at another, the main course somewhere else and dessert at a final destination. Have a monthly barbecue party. Serve together. Pick a place (Good Neighbor House, St. Vincents, Victory Project, Pirate Packs, Caring Partners International, One Bistro) and sign up to serve as a group one afternoon or evening. Meet up at the Family Movie Night on June 15. Spend a day at King's Island. Work at the church for an afternoon. We have many proj...

20 Questions to Build Group Connections

Here is a great exercise for a new group. The instructions are pretty simple. Go around the group giving each person the opportunity to choose one question and answer it honestly. Anyone can follow-up with an opinion or clarifying question (no critiquing each other's answers, though). Once a question has been answered, no one else may answer that question. If your group is larger, you may want to alter the rule and allow each question to be answered 2 or 3 times. Ideally, each person should end up answering 3-5 questions. As the leader, pay attention to the conversation. Let the discussion run its course as this is how people in the group build their relationships with one another. You can use these questions, modify them or create your own.

Creative Community

Search This Blog