Heres our LifeGroup questions for lesson 5 of #lovespeaks On Sunday we touched on the reality that – Everyone experiences hurt in relationships. Sadly, often our deepest hurts come from those we love the most. So, one of the most important life skills we can learn is how to deal with our hurts. Dave talked about 3 reasons why we should choose to forgive: 1. Because God forgives us. 2. Because resentment and revenge don’t work. 3. Because I’m going to need forgiveness from God in the future Regarding Reason #1, use a concordance or do an online search to discover at least 4 verses in the New Testament that talk about, or describe how God forgives us. • From what you read, are there any limits on God’s forgiveness? • Talk about what it cost God to forgive you. • What you did God require you to do to earn or deserve that forgiveness? • Do you offer forgiveness like God, or do you tend to want people to pay, earn or deserve your forgiveness? From Reason #2, talk about resentment and revenge. • Secular culture seems to promote resentment and revenge as antidotes to hurt, whereas the bulk of the research suggests that these do great damage to us physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. • What has your own experience shown… do revenge or resentment help heal your hurts? Share an experience where you tried resentment and revenge to deal with your pain. How did it go? What was the long-term outcome? From Reason #3, read Jesus words from Matt 6:12 & Mark 11:25. • From these verses, how does our willingness to forgive effect our own forgiveness? • Does knowing this motivate you to deal with anyone in your life differently right now? How? Dave then gave 4 things to help us learn to be more forgiving. 1. Accept the fact that no one is perfect – including me. (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23) 2. Surrender my right to get even. (Romans 12:19) 3. Respond to evil with good. (Luke 6:27-28) 4. Repeat the process as long as necessary. (Matthew 18:21-22) Dave said that we often want justice when others hurt us, but grace when we hurt others. Is this true? Can you share an experience of when you offended or hurt someone but felt that they should be understanding/ forgiving? Likewise, share a time when someone wanted you to be understanding when they hurt you. As a group, read these 4 steps and related verses: • Which one is the easiest/ hardest for you and why? • Which one(s) do you need to practice most right now? • Is forgiveness a strength or weakness of yours currently? • If comfortable, share who you need God’s help to forgive right now. • Have everyone answer this question: What next step you need to take in practicing forgiveness with someone who has hurt you? Have one or more people close in prayer, asking both that we be able to understand and receive Gods incredible forgiveness, and that we begin to practice it deliberately and immediately in our current circumstances.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 21:54:55 +0000
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