Glencairn Church

Going Deeper is designed for use with your small group, a friend, or on your own. Its aim is to create time for you to spend with God and his word. Do as much or as little as you like.

1. Pray for each other, our church and leaders, for the not-yet believers in your life, and for opportunities to disciple others. Share a recent entry from your Life Journal with the group.

2. In Mark 2:18-20 Jesus calls himself the Bridegroom – which is both an obvious reference to him being the Lord God Almighty, and a stunning analogy of what it means to be in relationship with God. What thoughts or questions did the message raise for you? Which ones, encouraged you or posed a challenge to you?

3. Read Isaiah 62:5; 54:5; Eze 16:8; 2 Cor 11:2; Rev 19:7-9; 21:2. The Bible is full of examples (hundreds of verses) where God sees our relationship to Him as a marriage – where He is the Bridegroom and we are the Bride . What strikes you about this image? Do you agree with the statement that God invented marriage to show us how He relates to us? Why or why not? What implications does this have in how we view earthly marriage?

4. A healthy marriage is made up of both duty and love, and therefore Christianity includes a balance of both. What does it look like when there is too much, or not enough duty in our lives as Christians? Where have you noticed an imbalance of duty in your relationship with God?

5. Read Eph 5:21-33. What is the mystery that Paul mentions in v32? How can the relationship between Christ and the church, shed light on what a marriage should look like? Read Gen 2:18-25. What causes God to say, “it is not good for man to be alone”? How does a husband and wife “complete” each other? How does Christ complete you?

6. Read Heb 13:5. If you have experienced abandonment, rejection, or worse – abuse, in a significant relationship, how has that affected your ability to embrace the permanent love of God?

7. Read Heb 7:23-27; Rom 12:1. Why should we offer up ourselves completely and exclusively to Jesus?

8. Read Jer 2:23-37. The Bible doesn’t shy away from using sexual infidelity as an illustration of our unfaithfulness to God. What struck you as you read this passage? Notice v32, where a Bride would never forget her earrings or makeup. How do we forget God? Read Col 1:22. How does God see us? What makes us beautiful? Are you smitten by his beauty, as He is of you?

9. Take a moment of silence to consider how God is speaking to you. Is He asking you to make changes or to do something new? What concrete steps of response do you want to take? How can your group support you
in these steps?