Fear is Not a Christian Response

Fear is Not a Christian Response

Week of November 12, 2017

Micah 4:1-4, Isaiah 43:1-13

Hang Out and Catch Up (10-20 min)

It’s hard to believe, but your groups only have 2 or 3 more weeks to go!  Let your groups know that there will be an Advent study to sign up for in the next week.  It will not follow the “Connect Group” format—more of a “study.”

Ask your group this opening question:

How do you find yourself dealing (or not dealing) with tragedies like Sutherland Springs? 

Prayer and Accountability (20-30 min)

I’m encouraged continually by hearing about how your groups are truly connecting with God and one another.  I look forward to hearing about which questions are most helpful in your groups, and which ones don’t connect as much with your groups. 

Passion: Where did I see God today?

Accepting: How am I building diverse relationships?

Invitational: Who am I connecting with God’s family?

Trusting: Where does God rank?

Active: How am I engaged with God’s work?

Bible Study and Discussion (20-30 min)

Read: Isaiah 43:1-13 together and listen to what words provide comfort in times of fear.

-Share together how these words would have been a comfort for those Israelites in exile and how they can be a comfort for us today.

Listen & Reflect:

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks gave an excellent TED Talk this year about overcoming fear by being in dialogue and relationship with people different from ourselves.  Your group might enjoy listening to or watching the talk as you gather, or you can highlight aspects of the transcript.  Both are available at this link, and you can send it to your group beforehand.  https://www.ted.com/talks/rabbi_lord_jonathan_sacks_how_we_can_face_the_future_without_fear_together/up-next

Jonathan Sacks says:

“The trouble with Google filters, Facebook friends and reading the news by narrowcasting rather than broadcasting means that we're surrounded almost entirely by people like us whose views, whose opinions, whose prejudices, even, are just like ours. And Cass Sunstein of Harvard has shown that if we surround ourselves with people with the same views as us, we get more extreme. I think we need to renew those face-to-face encounters with the people not like us. I think we need to do that in order to realize that we can disagree strongly and yet still stay friends. It's in those face-to-face encounters that we discover that the people not like us are just people, like us. And actually, every time we hold out the hand of friendship to somebody not like us, whose class or creed or color are different from ours, we heal one of the fractures of our wounded world. That is the us of relationship.”

Ask: How do we create opportunities for face-to-face encounters with people who think differently than ourselves? 

            *How can these relationships help to overcome fear?

Back to the Beginning: How do you think God is calling you to respond faithfully to situations like Sutherland Springs?