Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 21
INTRODUCTION
The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.
OPEN
As we explore “holiness” this week, we find out that the word “holy” means set apart. Think of the people of your past, or those that you encounter today. Is there someone you would describe as holy and if so, why? If not, what qualities or attributes do you think would define a person who is holy?
HEAD
Read Exodus 3:1-12, I Peter1:15-16, Matthew 5: 43-48, Matthew 9: 20-26, Isaiah 6: 1-7, Leviticus 9:23-24 together and share any wisdom, insights, or questions in response to the reading.
God’s presence made the ground Moses was standing on holy, but why do you think Moses was instructed to remove his shoes? And the text makes it a point to say that Moses stared at the burning bush, he noticed it, took it in. Do you think there was a time in his life where he would have missed this sight, passed by it? If so, why?
It seems to go without needing to be said that God is holy, so if we are to be holy we need God. But what do you think “holiness” looks like and how do we receive holiness?
If you separate Matthew 5:48 from it’s context, you could take Jesus words to mean that we have to be perfect (sinless?). Have you known people who take this command out of context? Were they loving? What do you think being loving has to do with being perfect (keep in mind that in the original language, “perfect” meets complete or mature)?
Have you ever felt “undone” in the presence of God? If so, what happened or what came as a result?
Is there a space for you that feels holy? Where and what is it about that space?
HEART
How can we live a life that is more sensitive to the holy that is all around us?
Why do you think that the site of true Godly holiness might cause a fear response in us?
When we feel undone and unworthy before the almighty, how should we respond?
HANDS
If love and holiness are tied together, how might you be able to seek this week to be more loving like Jesus is loving (turning the other cheek, praying for those who persecute you/your enemies, forgiving, etc…)? Who in your life needs a gesture of God’s love this week and how could you participate in helping God communicate HIs love for them?
LIVING WORDS for YOUR WEEK
“Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Revelation 4:8-11 NLT
The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.
OPEN
As we explore “holiness” this week, we find out that the word “holy” means set apart. Think of the people of your past, or those that you encounter today. Is there someone you would describe as holy and if so, why? If not, what qualities or attributes do you think would define a person who is holy?
HEAD
Read Exodus 3:1-12, I Peter1:15-16, Matthew 5: 43-48, Matthew 9: 20-26, Isaiah 6: 1-7, Leviticus 9:23-24 together and share any wisdom, insights, or questions in response to the reading.
God’s presence made the ground Moses was standing on holy, but why do you think Moses was instructed to remove his shoes? And the text makes it a point to say that Moses stared at the burning bush, he noticed it, took it in. Do you think there was a time in his life where he would have missed this sight, passed by it? If so, why?
It seems to go without needing to be said that God is holy, so if we are to be holy we need God. But what do you think “holiness” looks like and how do we receive holiness?
If you separate Matthew 5:48 from it’s context, you could take Jesus words to mean that we have to be perfect (sinless?). Have you known people who take this command out of context? Were they loving? What do you think being loving has to do with being perfect (keep in mind that in the original language, “perfect” meets complete or mature)?
Have you ever felt “undone” in the presence of God? If so, what happened or what came as a result?
Is there a space for you that feels holy? Where and what is it about that space?
HEART
How can we live a life that is more sensitive to the holy that is all around us?
Why do you think that the site of true Godly holiness might cause a fear response in us?
When we feel undone and unworthy before the almighty, how should we respond?
HANDS
If love and holiness are tied together, how might you be able to seek this week to be more loving like Jesus is loving (turning the other cheek, praying for those who persecute you/your enemies, forgiving, etc…)? Who in your life needs a gesture of God’s love this week and how could you participate in helping God communicate HIs love for them?
LIVING WORDS for YOUR WEEK
“Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Revelation 4:8-11 NLT
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