Broken Kingdoms: WK 5 - GROUP GUIDE

INTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.

OPEN:  Think of a time when you were absolutely certain something was true — and later discovered you were wrong. How did that realization feel? What did it teach you about knowing, certainty, or humility?

SCRIPTURE READING
Read together:  2 Kings 22:8-11, 18-19, 23:1-3, 25-27

Josiah became king at 8 years old and led one of the biggest reforms in their history.

HEAD: Explore the Text

1. Share any wisdom, insights, or thoughts you received just from listening to the text, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead.
2. What were some of the signs that the people had not just lost the Word of the Lord, but had drifted from the heart of God and what He wanted for them?
3. Josiah immediately repents when he hears the Word of the Lord. What were some of the other potential responses he could have had? What do you think kept him open to be so quick to repent at this moment?
4. What do you think it might have been like to be in the crowd that day, and hear the word of the Lord spoken, maybe for the first time in your life?
5. Certainly in Josiah’s time, the reform was sweeping, but it didn’t take them long to drift back to their hold habits after Josiah was gone. How does reform become a matter of the heart, instead of just a checklist of external things done to appease someone?

HEART: Personal Reflection

1. In the course of your life, what is one or two specific versus that have really impacted you? Maybe they gave you a new understanding of yourself or God.
2. Have you ever experienced a real change of heart over an issue or situation in your life. What happened and did the change last?
3. Have you witnessed a dramatic change in another person’s life? Share with the group.
4. What do you think are the characteristics of real, lasting, change versus change that is easily susceptible to fall back to old patterns and habits?

HANDS: Practice This Week
Spiritual Practice: Listening to God’s Word

• Did you know that God’s Word was meant to be heard before it was meant to be read? For this week, take time to simply listen to God’s Word being read. Choose some Psalms, or the gospels, or even a short letter like Philippians or Colossians.
• After your experience, what was it like to listen to God’s Word, as opposed to reading it? Different? Similar? Any challenges? Any benefits?

Invite the group to check in next week about their experience.

FINISH WELL: Bring It Home

1. What is an area in your life where you see the need for reform? How can you commit to seeking reform in that area in the coming year?
2. What is an area you see in your church or community or workplace that could benefit from a heart full of love and grace? What would it look like to commit to praying over that need for a few months?

CLOSING PRAYER (Leader or Participant Reads) or Scripture to Memorize
Creator God,
You who formed the heart and designed the mind,
Who knows us more than we know ourselves,
Please, point out the areas in me that need more of you
Your Word, Your Spirit, Your Power.
Soften my heart and open my mind to what you need to do in me,
That my life may have you as the center and circumference of my faith.
Amen.