Consecration (continued - part 4)
Scripture: John 15 (Vine and Branches)
We're usually in a large multipurpose room. We were in the prison library tonight. We had enough room for the guys that showed up, but it would have been too small for some of our discussion sessions. There was a table which we gathered our chairs around. Usually we don't have a table, we form a circle with our chairs. In the early days, I spoke from a podium. That's long over! Now, I see that it is so important for everyone to be on the same level for a good discussion.
Since we were in the library, the inmates looked in the book case for some bibles. They came up with a big old beautiful Strong's exhaustive concordance. We proceeded to have a short side lesson on what a concordance is (a large index of all the words used in the bible along with Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and references to all words to the dictionaries.) Most guys had never used a concordance and it was a good 5 minutes of discovering something new for them.
This is a good insight to a good small group discussion session. Our guys like to learn new things. I think most people do, it may be a human trait. Hearing the same old thing every week doesn't work, doesn't draw people into the discussion. But learning something new, together, in an unthreatening way, works well. Perhaps it's because everyone is on equal ground since it's a new subject?
We've been talking about how our lives become fruit for God as we walk in faith. We become kinder, more forgiving, more loving, more forgiving. Tonight we talked about what traits we got from our parents. Good and bad ones. Then we talked about children. What traits have our children picked up from us? Good and bad ones. Why?
Then I wrapped up the session by saying the more time we spend with God, our Father, the more we will pick up His traits of forgiveness and mercy and love and honesty and so on. Let us be children of God and grow in his likeness as we walk in the faith of his son Jesus.
Discussions: What traits do you have that your parents had? What traits are your children picking up from you? Is God our Father? What traits does he have? How can we pick up these traits?
We're usually in a large multipurpose room. We were in the prison library tonight. We had enough room for the guys that showed up, but it would have been too small for some of our discussion sessions. There was a table which we gathered our chairs around. Usually we don't have a table, we form a circle with our chairs. In the early days, I spoke from a podium. That's long over! Now, I see that it is so important for everyone to be on the same level for a good discussion.
Since we were in the library, the inmates looked in the book case for some bibles. They came up with a big old beautiful Strong's exhaustive concordance. We proceeded to have a short side lesson on what a concordance is (a large index of all the words used in the bible along with Greek and Hebrew dictionaries and references to all words to the dictionaries.) Most guys had never used a concordance and it was a good 5 minutes of discovering something new for them.
This is a good insight to a good small group discussion session. Our guys like to learn new things. I think most people do, it may be a human trait. Hearing the same old thing every week doesn't work, doesn't draw people into the discussion. But learning something new, together, in an unthreatening way, works well. Perhaps it's because everyone is on equal ground since it's a new subject?
We've been talking about how our lives become fruit for God as we walk in faith. We become kinder, more forgiving, more loving, more forgiving. Tonight we talked about what traits we got from our parents. Good and bad ones. Then we talked about children. What traits have our children picked up from us? Good and bad ones. Why?
Then I wrapped up the session by saying the more time we spend with God, our Father, the more we will pick up His traits of forgiveness and mercy and love and honesty and so on. Let us be children of God and grow in his likeness as we walk in the faith of his son Jesus.
Discussions: What traits do you have that your parents had? What traits are your children picking up from you? Is God our Father? What traits does he have? How can we pick up these traits?
posted by Kathy Kolb | 9:35 PM
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