9/8 - 9/12 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 watch or listen to Sundays message if you missed it or just to refresh your memory. (Each Individual)
2. Sex, Celibacy & Marriage
What does celibacy teach us about ourselves and others? When we are too young for sex, when we are too old for sex, by choice, or when we have been truly called by God to a life without sex like nuns & some monks/priests/pastors? (Group Discussion)
Do you believe sex is reserved for marriage? If no, why does God want people having sex without being married? If yes, why does God want sex to only be a part of the marriage relationship? (Group Discussion)
3. Often & Ongoing
1 Corinthians 7:5
5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
We often talk about sex being reserved for marriage but we rarely talk about what sex within a marriage should be. On Sunday Pastor Vaughn said that sex is a good thing that God has given for the health & wellbeing of married men & women. He said that sex should be often and ongoing. He made a bold statement that if this is not the case, there will always be some unhealthy & ungodly sexual expression that manifests. Statistically sex is often "more important" to one spouse than the other (and which one may shift throughout the marriage) but Sunday's point about "Often & Ongoing" should be understood by the spouse to which frequency is important and the spouse to which it is less important. The math is 2 people + 2 separate lives of intimacy = a recipe 4 destruction & divorce.
How can couples prevent the tendency to withdraw from each other when one or both are hurting? Is sex within a marriage something that should only happen when both the husband & wife are feeling "great" emotionally, physically, & spiritually? Is sex within marriage primarily about pleasure? Does sex within marriage have a restorative affect on a couple? Does sex within marriage have a unifying/binding affect on a couple? How can couples keep the high view of sex as emotional and spiritual and a powerful expression of their love for one another BUT also understand the basic math that a deficiency in the frequency of the actual act will have significant negative impacts upon the marriage? (Group Discussion - Consider all the above as parts of the discussion)
4. Single & Ready To Mingle
1 Corinthians 7:32-34
32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.
For the unmarried, how is the undivided devotion to pleasing the Lord going? For the married, how is the balance between pleasing your spouse and pleasing God going? (Group Discussion)
As a single person who desires marriage or as a married person who desires to encourage singles on their journey towards marriage (for those who desire marriage, knowing that all singles don't) what is helpful and what is unhelpful? What should the priorities be and standards be for a potential spouse? What age or stage of life seems appropriate? What are the goals you have for your future marriage? What's one thing that tells you that you are or are not ready for marriage? (Group Discussion)
5. What is 1 area you feel God is calling you to take specific action in, based on Sunday's message and tonight's Life Group gathering? (Each individual)
* 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!