StoneBridge Community Church
Associate Pastor Jonathan Lusche
Making strides and accomplishing more, your friends and colleagues appear to be moving ahead while you feel overlooked. And your growing envy isn't helping much either. This weekend's message uncovers ancient wisdom and hope for those who are feeling, or have ever felt, sidelined
Exodus 2:11-25 NIV
Proverbs 14:29 NIV
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1) Haste makes waste. Have you (or someone you know) ever lost your patience & said something you later regretted? Share your story. What were the consequences?
2) Haste makes waste. Have you (or someone you know) ever lost your patience so badly that your words or actions caused life changing consequences - a la Steven Slater?
3) Have you ever experienced guilt, shame &/or depression over the consequences of your actions to the extent that you punished yourself with a "40 year detour" / a self-imposed isolation & exile? Share only as much as you are comfortable. What was it like?
Proverbs 14:29 NIV
Psalms 23:1-6 NIV
Isaiah 43:19 NIV
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1) In light of self-imposed exile and isolation, how does Psalm 23:4-5 speak to you?
2) Like sweet & sour pork or bittersweet chocolate, is there any logic that the light & goodness of God can be present with us in our darkest hours?
3) There's never a wasted moment with God. How has God used a dark valley in your past is such a way as to prepare you for a life victory?Celebrate your story by sharing it. How might this give you hope in the present, for the future?
Ephesians 2:10 NIV
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1) Generally speaking, do you presently feel your life is well aligned with God? If not, why not? What would alignment look/feel like?
2) What has misalignment with God looked and felt like in your past?
3) What has alignment with God looked and felt like in the past?
4) Can alignment and misalignment be discussed in terms of specific areas of our lives? For example, "I feel I'm aligned with God in my home life but misaligned in terms of my career." Or is it an all or nothing proposition?
NEXT STEPS
1) This week, I will daily pray, "God, show me where my impatience has led to folly and waste."
2) Inspired by the resilient prisoners of the Hanoi Hilton, I will memorize Proverbs 14:29 and/or Ephesians 2:10.
3) By faith, I will accept that God's light is with me in the dark places of my life.
4) Feeling misaligned in my relationship with God and other believers, I will sign up for a 6 week, Nehemiah growth group, today.
