3-20-24 Life Group Questions
^ Click Take A Note ^ Remember to write down some short notes for each of the questions below before heading to life group.
1.
Share 1 thing that stood out to you about Sunday's Message (1 minute max please) Also press play button in image above to listen to Sundays message if you missed it or just to refresh your memory. (Each Individual)
2.
On Sunday Pastor Vaughn talked about "The I Do & The I Am". He told us that one of the things that separates us from God is the fact that what God does is who God is and who God is is what God does. Pastor Vaughn challenged us to recognize that we are not like God in this way. Who we are is not connected to what we do in the same way.
Genesis 47:3
3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
Pharaoh did not know Joseph's brothers and he thought by knowing "what they do" he could also know "who they are". Pastor Vaughn said the 3 questions actually being asked by Pharaoh were 1. What is your occupation? 2. What is your identity? 3. What is your use?
Pastor Vaughn cautioned us about doing the same thing when we lead off conversations or prioritize asking each other what we do for a living or where we work. He challenged us to consider that our identity and value are decreased when we do this. Pastor Vaughn said If a person has a job instead of a career then their identity and value are automatically decreased in our society and if people don’t love their job or career then many struggle to know who they really are because they don’t find fulfillment and identity in their work when society says you should or even must.
Tell your group "who you are" without talking about what you do & where you work. For students without talking about where you're studying or what you're studying to become. Also as you tell your group "who you are" avoid talking about ways in which you are "useful" to others. For example "I'm a teacher or I'm helpful" are actually statements about how useful you are to those in need of help and those in need of learning instead of statements about "who you are". The group can stop you anytime you talk about what you do or how you're useful. This will be very hard if you haven't taken time to think about this and write down your thoughts before coming to life group. (Each Individual)
3.
Genesis 47:23-25
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.”
Romans 12:1-2
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price.
On Sunday Pastor Vaughn talked about the Egyptians giving "Everything & A Fifth" because they actually gave their lives/bodies to be purchased and then gave 20% of their produce to Pharaoh as well. Their reasoning was found in 47:25 where they say "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh."
Why do you think it is so difficult for Christians to make that same statement and commitment to Jesus? If we do make the statement do we actually live this way? Do we truly believe we have been "bought" at a price as 1 Corinthians 6:20 says? What does it mean to be "bought" and what was the "price"? Do we really believe all of our money is a gift from God like the Egyptians believed all the seed was a gift from Pharaoh? Do we believe that whatever the "minimum" amount God tells us to give is appropriate like the Egyptians believed 20% was an appropriate "minimum" from whatever they were able to produce? Beyond what people do with their money/produce, what other areas can we think of that should look different in the lives of "saved/purchased" people when compared to the lives of those who still "own" themselves? (Group Discussion)
* Remember to pray for each other before heading home from life group and to stay in communication here in the app throughout the week on your life group messaging thread!