Sun Valley Community Church
Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV
CONNECT:
Begin your small group with 10-15 minutes of catching up from the past week around a light snack or meal. Be sure everybody has a chance to share.
This Week’s Message:
God loves the vulnerable. If you want to be “religious” about something, then be religious about caring for the forgotten, the neglected, and the vulnerable. One mistake we will never make is caring too much for the needy.
Icebreaker Question:
You pull up to an intersection for the stoplight. You are in the left-hand lane next to the center section. Standing on the center section is a man with a sign asking for cash because he is a homeless veteran. What do you do? Look away? Roll up the window? Hope the light changes quickly? Or give him a few bucks? Why do you make the choice you did?
Discuss:
Open by praying God will help each member learn how to follow Christ by helping the needy.
Read Proverbs 6:16-19 as a group.
1. Today, how would you describe who is the needy?
2. How does God demonstrate his love for the needy?
3. Read Luke 10:25-29. What is the essence of being a follower of Christ?
4. How are the two commandments connected?
5. Read Luke 10:30-37. What point is Jesus making by telling this story after his statement about the greatest commandments?
6. Why is caring for the needy motivated by “He first loved us” important?
7. Why is caring for the needy important you us today?
Going Further:
8. What keeps you from caring for the needy?
9. How can you demonstrate God’s love for the needy this week?
Leadership Hints:
The icebreaker questions start with the general topic, then move to specific passage, and finishes with personal application questions. The application is the most important.
You don’t have to get though all the questions. Pick the ones most important to the group. Go beyond simply answering the questions. Dialogue how together the group can follow Christ in this area. You can learn from each other how to better follow Christ.
The Going Further Questions are designed for groups ready to be honest and accountable to each other with the Word.
Prayer:
Ask members to give one way the group can pray how they might demonstrate the love of God to the needy in their world. Then pray. (Make sure someone makes a list of the prayer requests then emails them out that week.)