Icebreaker: What's one of the most embarrassing moment of your life?
READ John 8:3-5
1- Imagine Jesus catches you red-handed in the middle of sin. What do you think He would say? Why?
2- If Jesus caught you, what would you say? Why?
READ John 8:6
3- We might be quick to roll our eyes at the religious teachers for testing Jesus. But we can be guilty of the same thing. Can you think of ways that you might try and test Jesus' grace?
4- The religious teachers had malicious intent in questioning Jesus. Have you ever experienced someone questioning Christianity out of anger rather than genuine curiosity? What was your response?
READ John 8:7-9
5- According to Jesus' standard, who has the most reason to throw a stone in this crowd?
6- Even though Jesus had the authority to throw the stones, He did not. How did Jesus respond to this situation? What do you think this response means?
READ John 8:10-11
7- Put yourself in the woman's shoes. What do you think she is thinking at this point?
8- What was Jesus' response to the woman's sin? How could this help inform our response to sin?
READ John 1:14
9- The story in John 8 is a great example of grace and truth coexisting in a person. How can we as Jesus followers attempt to model this in our current world?
Icebreaker: If you were to attempt a Guiness World Record, what do you think you would do?
1- How are you feeling about this election season? Stressed? Worried? Ready to be done? Excited?
2- What comes to mind when you think about peace?
READ Philippians 4:4
3- Did you know you can find joy in God? What do you think about that command from Paul to find joy in God?
READ Philippians 4:5
4- Paul says that as a Christian everyone should know about your reasonableness or gentleness. What about this election makes you unreasonable or not gentle? How can you allow Jesus to use that passion in a positive way?
READ Philippians 4:6
5- "Do not be anxious about anything." What are you worried or anxious about these days? How do you cope with that?
6- Paul tells Christians to cope with worry and anxiety by praying about everything. What do you pray about? Why do you pray about those things?
7- Why do you think it's important to pray about everything?
READ Philippians 4:7-9
8- Looking at these verses in conjunction with verse 6, how can we receive peace? Out of those things you see in this text, what can you do this week to move toward peace?
9- What do you think it means to have peace that surpasses all understanding? How can it guard your heart and mind?
This leader huddle gives you a way that EVERY Christian leader should react no matter what!
Icebreaker: Share with the group one of the best meals you've ever had.
1- Have you ever had an awkward meal experience? Maybe a first date or a meeting the parents type situation that was really awkward? If so, share!
Our rGroup session for this week is about an awkward meal that Jesus ate with His disciples.
READ Matthew 26:18-21
2- What do you think you would have done if you were in the situations of the disciples in these verses?
READ Matthew 26:22-25
3- How do you think Jesus' disciples felt when Jesus told them one of them would betray Him? What do you think they felt when Jesus ousted Judas?
4- Put yourself in the shoes of each person. How would you feel if you were in Jesus' place? How would you feel if you were Judas? What would your thoughts be if you were in the other 11 disciples' shoes?
5- Now, think about this scenario through the lens of our new series called "OUTRAGE" leading up the Presidential election. If something like this happened today, what sort of response would our culture have? What response do you think you would have?
READ Matthew 26:26-30
6- After this awkward moment at dinner, Jesus displays symbols of sacrifice and forgiveness. How do you think we as Jesus followers, can apply this to our current cultural moment?
READ Eph. 4:1-3 (we studied this in a recent rGroup study a few weeks ago)
Often in our lives as Christians we avoid hard conversations in order to avoid outrage. However, Jesus addressed the difficult and awkward reality of the situation in Matthew 26. On the other hand, Ephesians 4 tells us to make every effort to live in unity.
7- As you think about the outrage culture we live in, how can Christians walk the fine line of addressing what needs to be addressed while still bearing with one another and keeping unity?
8- Each week during the OUTRAGE series we are going to pray through cultural issues that are often hotly discussed. A good rule Christians should consider is "if you haven't prayed about it, don't post about it."
Icebreaker: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Making adults talk about superpowers seems silly, but Ephesians 6 gives Christians insight into Holy Spirit superpowers, also known as the Armor of God.
READ Eph. 6:10-13
1- Why do you think Paul wraps up his letter to the Ephesians like this?
2- What is the purpose of the armor of God that Paul states in verses 11-13? What do you think that means?
3- Before reading about the Armor of God, think of some things you need in your own spiritual battles. If you could create your own "armor" based on your perceived needs, what are some things you would choose?
READ Eph. 6:14-17
4- List out the specific pieces of armor (ex. shield) that Paul lists and their purpose (ex. faith). Now think back to question 3. Does anything of this list match up with what you said? If not, why do you think that is?
5- Now that you've seen the list in it's totality, which pieces of armor do you think you need most in your current season of life?
READ Eph. 6:18
6- Although it often gets left out of the list, some have called prayer, the final piece of armor. What do you think? Should prayer be a part of the defense against enemy schemes? Why or why not?
Let's focus on a few specific pieces of armor.
READ Eph. 6:14-17 again and think about the list you made in question 4.
7- What do you think is important about "the belt of truth" in the life of a Christian in fighting schemes of Satan?
8- What is righteousness? Why do you think it's important to have as a piece of armor?
9- The sword of the Spirit is the only offensive piece of armor. Why do you think the Word of God is an offensive weapon in the life of a Christian?
10- How can you practically put on the armor in your life this week? Think about the ones you need most and come up with next steps that will help you remember to arm yourself with those this week.
