Friends: Glad To Be Together | Week Five

Welcome to the next session of the Friends group study! The questions below will help you dive into Discovery around a Biblical friendship!

CONNECT:

1. What are you thankful for?

2. What has been challenging for you or the people in your life and community this week?

3. How can this group help support one of the needs among us or in our community?

RECAP:

4. Someone retell the passage from your previous meeting (Paul, Silas, Timothy, Lydia).

5. How did your “I will…” statement from last week go? What stories do you have to share about how it went?

DISCOVER WHAT GOD IS SAYING:

Have two people read the passage out loud to the group. Each reader should use a different Bible translation: Acts 16

Have each group member retell the passage in their own words from memory with the reminders below. If you need to save time and you have a group of 6 or more, you can split into groups of 2-3 to retell the story to save time.

  • Tell the story like you would share it with a neighbor right outside their front door.

  • Don’t try to tell it perfectly from memory; instead, focus on getting the story deep into your heart in simple and accessible terms that the people around you would understand.

  • Note the different ways each person in the group brings out a new dimension of the story and appreciate the different perspectives.

6. What does this passage say about God, Jesus, His character, or His plan?

7. What does this passage teach us about people and how we are to live?

8. Which character do you relate to? What about them do you resonate with?

DO WHAT GOD IS SAYING:

Give everyone 2-5 minutes of silence to quiet their hearts, reflect on what they have heard, and to listen to God.

9. What will you do in response to this passage before we meet next? (frame it like “I will…”)

  • Make it tangible so you know whether or not you did it next time we meet.

  • Make a group chat and share these there to pray for each other and to be ready to share next week.

SHARE WHAT GOD IS SAYING:

10. Who will you share with or who will you invite to study the Bible like this before we meet next?

  • List their names and share on the group chat.

PRAY TOGETHER:

Pray for each person in a focused way to:

  • Sacrificially meet the challenges among us and around us—to bring life.

  • Support each person to obey what God said.

  • Share Jesus or the passage with neighbors, co-workers, and everyone around.

FriendsKASEY SMITH