KEY SCRIPTURE
- Genesis 2:18, 23
- Genesis 3:11-12
- Psalm 139:1-3, 23-24
1 You have searched me, Lord,and you know me.2 You know when I sit and when I rise;you perceive my thoughts from afar.3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting.
START TALKING
How has the start of the new year been for you? What are you looking forward to in the next few months?
- What are your hopes and expectations for small group in the next few months?
START SHARING
- On a scale of 1-10, where would you rate the amount of stress or tension you are currently experiencing in your relationships?
- It is often easier to point out what some else did wrong than to identify our own responsibility in a situation or relationship. Can you think of an example where you were quick to blame someone else, only to realize your own responsibility later?
- Have you had the experience of someone pointing out something about you that you didn’t even know or realize about yourself? How did you respond? In the end, were you glad to have this new perspective?
- Why do you think we hesitate or avoid self-reflection?
- What is at stake by not regularly looking in the mirror? What can be gained by being more self-aware and by inviting others to help you see yourself more wholly?
START LIVING
- Matt gave us to action steps, two challenges for the week ahead:
- Make Psalm 139 your prayer. “God, show me who I am…”
- For the brave at heart, ask yourself and ask those you interact with regularly (spouse, co-workers, etc.), “What is it like to be on the other end of me?”
QUOTES & RESOURCES MENTIONED
- “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” – Alfred Adler
- “Reality is always your friend.” – Dr. Henry Cloud
- “What is it like to be on the other end of me?” – Dr. Henry Cloud
